NewsCommercial
Unidentified customers order 30 737s, six 777s
Boeing booked new orders for 30 737s and six 777 from one or more unidentified buyers during the week that ended on 16 December. An update posted on the company’s orders and deliveries web site on 17 December confirms the new order activity.
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US Aviation Sector Sees Big Opportunities In Cuba
President Barack Obama's decision to restore US diplomatic ties with Cuba could yield big opportunities for the US aviation sector. Marion Blakey, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association, welcomed the president's announcement and said it was likely to result in "a great deal of new commerce" for US companies. Several US airlines that already operate charter flights to Cuba said they would work with the US government to expand service as needed, in line with evolving policies and laws.
LinkAirlines
Bid for Aer Lingus rejected: IAG
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG has confirmed that it submitted "a proposal to make an offer" for Aer Lingus but met rejection from the Irish flag carrier's board. Reacting to a Financial Times report that it is targeting Aer Lingus – which caused a brief surge in the airline's share price today – IAG made the disclosure in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
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Air France Warns Again On Profits
Air France-KLM has issued its third profit warning in six months, cutting its 2014 earnings goal by EUR€200 million as higher-than-expected costs from a recent pilot strike added to weaker unit revenues. The airline group trimmed its EBITDA forecast to EUR€1.5 billion - EUR€1.6 billion and said it would step up investment and cost cuts to keep its medium-term goals. "We are still receiving bills from other airlines that carried our passengers during the strike," Finance Director Pierre-Francois Riolacci told journalists, referring to a two-week pilots' stoppage in September.
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NATS To Compensate Airlines For Travel Disruption
Airlines will get a rebate on their fees to the UK's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) to compensate them for a computer failure last week which disrupted hundreds of flights. "The amount is being calculated and will be notified to customers in due course," said NATS, which is jointly owned by the government, a group of airlines including IAG and others. A similar incident a year ago cost NATS GBP£7.4 million (USD$11.6 million) in lost incentives and penalties, according to the group's annual report.
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Southwest to add 150 weekly departures this summer
Southwest Airlines is adding 150 weekday departures this coming summer, for a total of 3,800, Southwest has announced. "We're connecting our customers to what's important to them -– more seats at our low fares, our great customer service and policies, and better schedules through nonstop options," said Andrew Watterson, VP of network planning & performance.
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Portugal Invokes Special Measures To Break TAP Strike
The Portuguese government has moved to halt a four-day strike at national airline TAP planned for the busy holiday period, invoking special powers that allow dismissal or in some cases criminal charges against strikers. Portugal's UGT union described imposition of a Labour Requisition, a rare measure, as "premature and abusive". The unions, campaigning against privatization plans they say will lead to lower wages and job losses, are likely to challenge the order in court. The government on Tuesday stuck to its privatization plan for TAP after three days of talks with the unions failed to persuade them to call off the strike set for December 27-30.
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UPS leases aircraft, boosts hiring for holidays
UPS is preparing for the busy holiday shipping season by hiring 95,000 seasonal workers and leasing aircraft to handle extra deliveries.
LinkAirports
Dallas-Fort Worth Airport wants to bring "high-end" experience to travel
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has announced an overhaul of the airport to bring in "high-end retailers, restaurants and services." The airport is currently soliciting proposals from partners interested in providing "new and exciting choices to eat, shop and relax" for its travelers.
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Yoga rooms, beer to go among airport amenities of 2014
Drinks "on the go" at Nashville International Airport, enabling travelers to enjoy alcoholic beverages while roaming; workout areas added to several U.S. airports and access to car services such as Uber and Lyft are among the new amenities that greeted travelers in 2014.
LinkMilitary
Germany receives first A400M airlifter
Germany has taken delivery of its first A400M tactical transport, with its air force becoming the fourth to introduce the type. “The Bundeswehr accepted the aircraft at the A400M final assembly line in Seville, Spain on 18 December,” says Airbus Defence & Space. The company had performed the first flight of the aircraft – production number MSN18 – from the site in mid-October.
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Spain takes first NH90 helicopter and enhanced Tigers
Spain has received its first NH Industries (NHI) NH90 troop transport helicopter, part of its reduced order for 22 of the type. Handed over at the Airbus Helicopters plant in Albacete, which assembled the helicopter, the NH90 is also the 50th to be received by an operator this year – a record annual delivery total for the program.
LinkRegulatory
FAA issues aircraft design and maintenance directive
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday proposed new airworthiness standards for airplane design and maintenance.
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Aviation Quote
Firewall: (1) The part of the airplane specially designed to allow all heat and exhaust to enter the cockpit. (2) The act of pulling 69 inches of manifold pressure, out of an engine designed to pull 60.
— Bob Stevens, 'There I Was.'
On This Date
---In 1908... The world’s first aerodrome, Port-Aviation, is opened 12 miles outside of Paris.
---In 1968... The Boeing Company receives its first order, from Israeli airline El Al, for a long-range version of the 747 Jumbo Jet, production of which was announced just under a month ago.
---In 1978... The first solar-powered aircraft, Solar One, makes a successful flight in England.
---In 1980… New York Air began airline operations.
---In 1990… Northwest Airlines buys a 25% share in Hawaiian Airlines.
---In 2005… Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 loses a wing and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Miami, killing twenty people. This crash spells the end for Chalk's Ocean Airways, operating since 1917.
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