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Commercial

787 conquers China's Big Four
China Eastern Airlines signed for 15 787-9s on 28 April, becoming the last of the big four Chinese carriers to commit to the type. While Boeing boasts that there is a 787 landing or taking off in China every 13 minutes, the country itself has a relatively small fleet of 26 787s in service, accounting for about 6.6% of the global in-service fleet. All of these are the smaller -8 variant and powered by General Electric GEnx engines.
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Airlines

Airberlin reduces net losses in 1Q
Germany’s airberlin reported a first-quarter net loss of €182.3 million ($206.2 million), narrowed from a €210.1 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Airberlin said the 1Q results were heavily influenced by the “lengthy and detrimental codeshare debate” with equity partner Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which has a 29.21% stake in airberlin.
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Bangkok Airways sees 1Q profit rise 45%
Thai-based Bangkok Airways reported a net profit of THB1.57 billion ($44.5 million) for 1Q 2016, up THB487.9 million (44.9%) from the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue rose 15.5% to THB7.8 billion in 1Q 2016. The airline was profitable in 2015, and continues to return solid results from niche marketing of regional short-haul destinations that connect to codeshare majors—such as Dubai-based Emirates Airline, Australian flag carrier Qantas, Russia’s Aeroflot and Kazakhstan’s Air Astana—that bring tourist traffic in from outside the immediate region.
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Hong Kong Airlines investigating A330 engine slip incident
Hong Kong Airlines is investigating an engine chain slip incident, which happened during a scheduled engine change at Hong Kong International airport. In response to queries from Flightglobal, the carrier confirmed that one of the engines on its A330 "was tilted", during a scheduled engine change on 5 May.
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KLM expands long-haul network
Netherlands-based KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launched new services from Amsterdam to Astana May 3, becoming its second destination in Kazakhstan. The 4X-weekly service is part of the Amsterdam-Almaty-Astana-Amsterdam route. The Dutch flag carrier also added a twice-weekly Amsterdam-Salt Lake City service on May 5, becoming 3X-weekly from July 4. Starting from June 20, daily Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur services will increase to 10X-weekly.
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Ryanair To Pull Investment If UK Leaves EU
Ryanair would move some investment out of Britain if it votes to leave the European Union and the "extreme volatility" that would follow such an outcome could put downward pressure on air fares in the short term, chief executive Michael O'Leary said. The Irish low-cost airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, flies 40 million of its 100 million-plus passengers a year to and from the United Kingdom and has its largest hub at London's Stansted Airport.
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Southwest Airlines delivers reward seats, survey says
Southwest Airlines tied for first place in a survey of carriers offering the best availability for reward seats.. According to the Reward Seat Availability Survey by Switchfly, Southwest and Air Berlin had 100% availability.
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United to offer iPads for passengers at Houston airport
United Airlines plans to renovate its terminals at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The renovation will include around 8,000 iPads for passenger use, patterned after a successful revamp of United terminals at Newark Liberty International Airport. "We really believe that the ground experience is an integral part of the traveler's journey," said Gavin Molloy, vice president of corporate real estate for United.
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Vietnam Airlines to ramp up domestic, regional services
Vietnam Airlines and part-owned subsidiary Cambodia Angkor Air are looking to “substantially increase” domestic services in both countries, as well as expand regional services to nearby Asian countries. Vietnam Airlines spokesperson Le Thanh Dzung said the carrier’s new 6X-weekly Boeing 787 service from Heathrow to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be expanded to a daily schedule from July, and would help “provide an [expanded] network to and within the region.”
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VLM Airlines files for creditor protection
Belgian regional VLM Airlines has filed a formal application asking for creditor protection for six months to avoid bankruptcy, a source close to the situation confirmed to ATW following media reports in the Belgium and the Netherlands. A hearing will be held May 25.
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Airports

Delta launches automation trend for TSA lanes
Delta Air Lines may have started a new trend by acquiring automated security checkpoints to install at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International airport and be operated by the US Transportation Security Administration. The UK-sourced checkpoints are scheduled to be opened on 24 May in Atlanta, with the potential to increase throughput by 40% through each lane, says TSA administrator Peter Neffenger.
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Heathrow Airport promises to surpass ‘green’ conditions
London’s Heathrow Airport has pledged to exceed the environmental stipulations laid down for it in order to gain permission to build a third runway. Building a third runway at the west London airport, the UK’s main international hub, was declared the best option for extra runway capacity in the crowded southeast of England after a two-year investigation by a government-backed commission.
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Military

Boeing calls out USAF's sole-source EC-37B Compass Call plan
Boeing Defense has called for an open competition to replace the EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack turboprop, saying the requirement for a business jet airframe to re-host that equipment should not automatically go to Gulfstream, which will supply its G550 conformal airborne early warning type to create the EC-37B.
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Why Denmark is holding formation with F-35
The Danish government’s 12 May decision to hold formation with the Lockheed Martin F-35 is a welcome boost for the multinational programme in what will be a pivotal year, but is unlikely to have surprised rival bidders Boeing and the Eurofighter consortium. Summarising the findings of a new fighter programme evaluation conducted by selected panels of experts, Denmark’s defence ministry says: “The selection of the Joint Strike Fighter will entail the greatest potential for promoting Danish interests, in terms of both security policy and military strategy,” and will “provide the highest degree of flexibility at the political level.” Its intention is to now seek full parliamentary approval to acquire an operational fleet of 27 F-35s.
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Governmet/Regulatory

DHS outlines plan for US airport security lines, but urges patience
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has put forward a plan to address increasingly long lines at security checkpoints at major US airports, but also is asking for patience from air travelers. In front of a throng of television cameras at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA), DHS secretary Jeh Johnson and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) head Peter Neffenger fielded tough questioning about wait times reported as long as three hours at some US airport security checkpoints.
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Tired controller missed conflict between SIA A330, Jetstar A320
Controller fatigue contributed to a loss of separation assurance incident between a Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 and a Jetstar Airways A320 over Australia. The event occurred in the early hours of the morning on 24 April 2014, while the SIA A330 (regietered 9V-STQ) operated the northbound Brisbane-Singapore route, and the Jetstar A320 (VH-VFH) operated the soutbound Darwin-Brisbane route, says the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
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ICAO, Kazakhstan resolve safety concerns
ICAO said it has resolved a Significant Safety Concern (SSC) in the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan. “ICAO identified certain deficiencies in the system in place in Kazakhstan for issuing air operator certificates,” an ICAO spokesman said. “We recommended a number of measures to remedy these issues, which Kazakhstan duly implemented and … this progress was verified by the subsequent ICAO-coordinated validation missions.”
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