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Bohai Leasing To Buy 20 Percent Of Avolon
China's Bohai Leasing has agreed to buy 20 percent of US-listed Avolon for USD$429 million, in the latest acquisition by a unit of aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group. The purchase is HNA's biggest in logistics since the USD$1 billion purchase of marine container leasing firm GE SeaCo in 2011, and will provide access to an aircraft leasing market dominated by GECAS and AerCap.
LinkAirlines
American Airlines adds Caribbean destinations
American Airlines is launching service from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Curacao and to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Booking is available starting July 20.
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Maintenance team mixed up BA jets before A319 cowl loss
Investigation into an engine-cowl loss on a British Airways Airbus A319 has found the cowl was left unlatched by technicians who inadvertently mixed up the aircraft with another Airbus during overnight maintenance at London Heathrow. The technicians opened the cowls on the A319’s engines to carry out oil servicing of the integrated drive generator. But they did not have the necessary oil pump to complete the work, and left the cowls closed but unlatched while they moved on to inspect other aircraft and fetch the pump.
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Delta begins Orlando-Brazil service
Delta Air Lines will begin nonstop service between Orlando and Brasilia, Brazil starting Dec. 2.
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Delta adds three new flights to the Bahamas
Delta Air Lines will begin service between Atlanta and the Bahamas with flights to Eleuthera and Marsh Harbour in the Abaco Island, and Georgetown, Exuma.
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Delta makes investment offer to Skymark Airlines
Delta has extended an offer of investment to bankrupt Japanese carrier Skymark. If the deal is approved Delta will get a 20% stake in the company and better access to the cities it services.
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Emirates 777-200LR in ground collision at Lagos; no injuries
An Emirates Airline Boeing 777-200LR was involved in a ground collision with a Nigerian domestic carrier HAK Air 737-400 on Monday night at Lagos Murtala Muhammed Airport, Nigeria, West Africa. “Emirates can confirm that flight EK782 from Lagos to Dubai on 6th July made minor contact with the aircraft of another carrier while taxiing. All passengers and crew safely disembarked the aircraft, and were transferred back to the terminal after the incident. Passengers were provided overnight hotel accommodation and were flown to Dubai with Emirates on 7th July,” an Emirates spokesperson in Dubai confirmed
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JetBlue offers send-up of airport etiquette
JetBlue posted a new video utilizing humor to promote passenger etiquette when boarding a plane. Hopefully everyone on your next flight takes the time to watch it.
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JetBlue adds flights to Charleston, Providenciales
JetBlue is adding two new flights through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The first is to Charleston, the second is to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos. Both flights are expected to launch in November.
[url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/tourism/fl-jetblue-adds-fll-routes-20150713-story.html
Turkish Air Passenger Numbers Rise 8.5 Percent
Turkish Airlines' passenger numbers rose 8.5 percent in the January-June period, reaching 28.5 million people.
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United offers sneak peek at new Airbus 350
United will offer a sneak peek at its newest plane, Airbus 350, which will enter its fleet in 2018. United Airlines has ordered 35 of the planes and will be the launch customer for the aircraft in North America..
LinkAirports
FLL continues improvements in face of record traffic
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has seen million-passenger increases in traffic in recent years. The airport is in the midst of a $2.3 billion expansion and overhaul that has already seen new runways constructed. The airport will add more than 35,000 square feet to its terminal 4 before the overhaul is complete.
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Gatwick Attacks Heathrow Airport Expansion Report
London's Gatwick Airport said it is still in contention to be chosen as the site for an additional runway in southeast England, dismissing a report recommending expansion at Heathrow as flawed. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will make a decision on whether a new runway should be built at Heathrow or Gatwick by the end of the year, an issue which divides the ruling Conservative party.
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Lincoln Airport set to see third straight year of growth
Traffic is up 15% in the first six months of 2015, according to Lincoln Airport officials. If the trend continues it will mark the third consecutive year of growth for the airport.
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Orlando International saw major growth in May
Orlando International Airport saw major passenger growth in May. The growth was largely driven by international travel, which was up 13..7%.
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Outdoor lounges let fliers relax, enjoy view
Outdoor airport lounges give fliers a place to unwind, get a breath of fresh air and view the tarmac activity. Most outdoor lounges are a perk for premium ticket holders, but some, including JetBlue's lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, are open to everyone.
LinkMilitary
AFSOC retires two-thirds of C-145A fleet
The US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is retiring two-thirds of its PZL Mielec C-145A light cargo fleet, just two years after it moved to its current home at Duke Field, Florida. The twin-engined Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65B turboprop-powered C-145A has previously been used for AFSOC’s foreign internal defence – the training of foreign forces – but it is now to retire eleven of the type to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona – the “boneyard” of US government aircraft.
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Boeing not exclusively teamed going into JSTARS battle
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman’s JSTARS teams are in a “blackout period” awaiting an announcement by the US Air Force in late August or early September about which prime contractors will proceed to the first stage of the multi-billion dollar aircraft recapitalisation program. The air force intends to select “up to three teams” for the forthcoming pre-development technology maturation and risk-reduction phase, meaning neither’s place is secure and one, or perhaps even two, primes could miss out.
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USMC begins F35B readiness inspection ahead of IOC decision
The US Marine Corps has begun its one-week operational readiness inspection of the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron-121 (VMFA-121), the Green Knights, to assess whether the 10-aircraft F-35B squadron is ready for combat. The results will be briefed to Lt Gen Jon Davis, deputy commandant for Marine Corps aviation, who will decide whether to declare initial operational capability. That declaration would mean the squadron is fit to serve aboard an amphibious carrier in a contingency operation, Marine Corps spokesman Maj Paul Greenberg told Flightglobal in a statement. The inspection began 13 July.
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Tu-95 crash adds to list of recent Russian incidents
A Tupolev Tu-95MS “Bear H” strategic bomber has crashed during a training flight near Khabarovsk, marking the sixth incident involving a Russian air force aircraft since the beginning of June. According to reports from Russian media, the aircraft crashed at 16:50 local time on 14 July, with all seven on board managing to escape via parachute. A search for the crew members – using an Antonov AN-12 and Mil Mi-8 helicopter – is believed to be under way.
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Aviation Quote
I don't think JetBlue has a better chance of being profitable than 100 other predecessors with new airplanes, new employees, low fares, all touchy-feely ... all of them are losers. Most of these guys are smoking ragweed.
— Gordon Bethune, Continental Airlines CEO, Time magazine, June 2002.
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Russian Aerospace Names
1. IOMAKYN
2. VTPOEUL
3. OIHKSU
4. VEEBIR
5. LAYVEKVO
6. LUNISHYI
7. NOTVAON
8. RCVIUEGH
9. CLVHIKONA
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