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Airbus predicts more aircraft deliveries in 2016
Airbus reported a 15% increase in earnings for 2015 on a year-over-year basis. Airbus delivered 635 aircraft last year, and expects to deliver more than 650 aircraft in 2016.
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Embraer announces design revamp of E195-E2
Embraer has announced a major design revamp for the E195-E2, adding up to 450nm range by increasing take-off weight by 2t and a 1.4m wingspan extension. The longest version of the re-winged and re-engined E-Jet family now offers a maximum range of 2,450nm from a take-off at sea level, and up to 250nm additional range from high-altitude airports, such as Denver International, says Luis Carlos Affonso, chief operating officer of Embrear commercial aircraft.
LinkAirlines
Air Transat, pilots reach tentative labor deal
Montreal-based leisure carrier Air Transat and its pilots have reached a tentative agreement on renewal of the collective agreement that expired last April. The agreement will be submitted to the pilots in the coming days.
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Norwegian accepts first Boeing 787-9
Low-cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 as it continues to ramp up its long-haul services. Norwegian already operates eight 787-8s, mainly on North Atlantic flights. It will use the larger 787 variants to launch new routes to the Americas and Southeast Asia.
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Ryanair nears agreement on feeder plans
Ireland-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair has reached an “agreement in principle” with LCC Norwegian and Portuguese carrier TAP Portugal on supplying them with feeder passengers for long-haul flights, CEO Michael O’Leary said Feb. 24. Speaking in London, O’Leary said that areas such as passenger handling details had still to be worked out, but that talks were progressing. “We’re working more positively with Norwegian than TAP at the moment,” he said, adding that similar talks with Aer Lingus had now ended.
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Southwest exec comments on airline partnerships
Dave Harvey, managing director for business development at Southwest Airlines, said the carrier could pursue airline partnerships in the future. By 2020, Harvey said the carrier could ink deals for codeshare agreements or interline agreements.
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New Spirit CEO vows to smooth out ULCC’s ‘rough edges’
New Spirit Airlines president and CEO Bob Fornaro promised to make “small, but meaningful changes” to the ultra low-cost carrier’s (ULCC) operation, which he conceded has scored too low on key customer-service metrics.
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Tara Air Twin Otter crashes in Nepal, killing all 23 on board
A Twin Otter turboprop of Nepalese carrier Tara Air crashed in the mountainous Himalayan nation shortly after 1000 local time Feb. 24, killing all 23 passengers and crew. The aircraft—a new -400 variant of the long-lived Canadian design—lost contact with ground controllers around nine minutes into a 20-minute flight between Pokhara and Jomsom, around 220 km west of the capital, Kathmandu.
LinkMilitary
Boeing racing clock to deliver 18 KC-46 tankers by next August
The narrow window for Boeing to deliver 18 operational KC-46A Pegasus tankers to the US Air Force by August 2017 includes little to no room for error and a series of tests and events must go right to achieve that significant contractual milestone.
The $5 billion development program is about eight months behind its original schedule after facing a number of setbacks, but company officials have committed to achieving the “required assets available” milestone, meaning 18 jets delivered to two air force bases between March and August next year.
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Airbus to target near doubling of A400M deliveries in 2016
The delivery of only 11 A400M transports by Airbus Defense & Space in 2015 has prompted group chief executive Tom Enders to vow a target of “20-plus” deliveries in 2016. By Enders’ admission, the program faced a challenging year, with the type being grounded after the crash of an aircraft destined for Turkey. Additionally, customers are calling for a schedule and capability assessment on orders made, leading to a slower output than planned. The original target for 2015 was approximately 13 aircraft.
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If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible.
— Bob Hoover
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