NewsHawaiian Airlines to launch new route with Airbus A321neoHawaiian Airlines will launch new nonstop service May 1, 2018, between San Diego and Kahului, Hawaii. The route will be flown by the carrier's new Airbus A321neo jets. "We are delighted to offer travelers more options to visit our islands next summer," said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian's chief commercial officer, who will take over as CEO in March.
LinkBoeing focused on 777-8 tweaks to meet Qantas requirementBoeing is focusing on tweaks it may be able to make to the 777-8 to meet Qantas’s requirement for an aircraft that can fly nonstop from Australia’s east coast to Europe. Boeing’s vice-president and general manager of the 777X program Eric Lindblad says the 777-8 is the right platform for the Australian carrier, but admits that the manufacturer will have to tweak it to meet the expectation of carrying a full passenger load on nonstop services from Sydney to London and New York.
LinkFlybondi marks delivery of first 737Argentina's low-cost start-up Flybondi has marked the delivery of its first aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. The aircraft, MSN33821 and registered LV-HKS, was delivered to Flybondi in November although the airline held an event today in Argentina to celebrate the milestone.
LinkDenver airport moves on master plan to address growthDenver International airport will break ground next year on a $1.5 billion expansion project that will see it add 39 gates to its bursting facilities by 2023. One of the largest gate expansions underway in the USA, the works include adding 12 gates to concourse A, 11 gates to concourse B and 16 gates to concourse C, an airport presentation to a Denver city council committee in November shows.
LinkJAL aims to go supersonic with investment in Boom SupersonicJapan Airlines has announced a $10 million investment in Boom Supersonic, which also gives it an option to order 20 of the new-generation supersonic jets the firm plans to develop. Boom says the two companies have been working behind the scenes for over a year, and that the Oneworld carrier will help to refine the design of the supersonic aircraft, which aims to fly at Mach 2.2 and carry 55 passengers.
LinkBoeing comfortable with slower pace of 777X salesBoeing is comfortable with the relatively slower sales of the 777X series this year given the state of the large aircraft market. Speaking to reporters in a briefing on the development of the new widebody, vice-president and general manager 777X program Eric Lindblad says that the 340 orders from seven customers for the new jets thus far shows strong confidence in the program
Link‘Urgent action’ needed to avoid Brexit airline disasterIf the UK fails to establish traffic rights for airlines before it leaves the European Union (EU), it would be “a disaster,” the head of IATA said Tuesday. While IATA and the aviation industry is hopeful that government negotiators will reach an agreement in time to avoid airline service disruption, news this week that broader Brexit talks were stalled is causing concern.
LinkIATA stresses need for UAV operation standardsIATA is working with ICAO to develop standards for the commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including how airlines and cargo operators use drones and how they will be integrated into airspace. ICAO has sent a state letter to its member countries calling for them to protect manned aircraft operations from drones, IATA director air traffic management infrastructure Rob Eagles said Dec. 5 at a media briefing at IATA’s Geneva headquarter. About 90 countries now have regulations in place governing drones.
LinkJetBlue to add 4th weekly flight to CuracaoIn June 2018, JetBlue Airways will launch a fourth weekly flight between New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and Curacao International Airport. The seasonal flight will be offered June 19 through Sept. 4.
LinkFedEx to spend $385M on equipment for Indianapolis airport hubFedEx is planning to spend $385 million on new equipment for its Indianapolis International Airport hub, creating 125 new jobs and 450 part-time jobs by 2026.
LinkBig Data, the big pictureIn a recent survey of airlines and aerospace professionals we looked at the role of Big Data within the aviation industry and how airlines can benefit from sharing their aircraft health data with OEMs and MROs. See the split of how many airlines and aerospace companies currently have a big data initiative underway and the opportunity they think they provide.
LinkChina’s ICBC Leasing orders 55 COMAC C919sChina’s ICBC Leasing has ordered 55 Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) C919s, becoming the biggest customer for the aircraft.
LinkCuba market strong despite anemic US demandIATA does not foresee more US carriers pulling out of Cuba and says the airlines now serving are the “right players” for the market. When US-Cuba air service was restored in 2016, US airlines rushed into a market for which they had little accurate data and threw too much capacity into the market, IATA regional VP-the Americas Peter Cerda said during a media briefing in Geneva Dec. 5.
LinkMAX 8 comes to Latin America with first Aerolíneas Argentinas flightAerolíneas Argentina took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 Nov. 29 and flew the aircraft’s first commercial flight from Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) to Mendoza in western Argentina Dec. 4. Aerolíneas is the first Latin American carrier to fly a MAX aircraft. The state-run airline plans to take delivery of an additional 11 MAX 8s by 2020, including one in December and three in 2018. Aerolíneas intends to utilize the aircraft on regional routes with an expansion to the Caribbean planned for late 2018.
LinkNorth American traffic recovery boosts October passenger growth Global air passenger traffic grew 7.2% year-over-year (YOY) in October, largely recovering from the weather-related slowdown seen in September, according to IATA’s October Air Passenger Market Analysis. North American airlines’ total market traffic was up 4.8% during the month, compared to 0.4% growth in September; domestic US traffic increased 5.3% in October, compared to a 1.2% drop the previous month.
LinkRussia flies first Su-57 fitted with new Product 30 engineRussia’s latest fighter aircraft flew on 5 December for the first time with the NPO Saturn “Product 30” engine, which will be the production standard for the Sukhoi Su-57. Sukhoi has built and flown nine flight test prototypes of the Su-57 fighter powered by NPO Saturn Product 117 engines, which are derived from the AL-41F-1S afterburning turbofans developed for the Su-35.
LinkAustralia retires its last legacy SeahawkThe Royal Australian Navy has completed its transition to the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin MH-60R maritime helicopter, having flown its last S-70B-2 Seahawk into retirement on 1 December. Introduced to service in 1988, the Seahawk fleet has been replaced by an active inventory of 24 MH-60R anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare rotorcraft, delivered to Australia from October 2014. The new type is operated by 725 Sqn from Nowra, New South Wales, including examples embarked on several naval vessels.
LinkSenegal takes more overhauled Mi-24sPoland's WZL-1 military aviation works in Lodz on 30 November transferred to the Senegal air force the remaining two of three overhauled Mil Mi-24V attack helicopters. The handover followed the completion of acceptance flights performed by Polish and Senegalese air force pilots.
LinkFrance welcomes first tanker-equipped A400MFrance has taken delivery of its first Airbus Defense & Space A400M equipped with underwing hose-and-drogue refuelling pods, edging its air force closer to introducing a new tactical tanker capability. Handed over to the nation's DGA defense procurement agency on 22 November and subsequently flown to Orléans-Bricy air base, MSN62 is the 12th Atlas from France's eventual 50-strong fleet of the type.
LinkZenith prepares for Learjet 75 deliveries as charter demand soarsUK charter and management company Zenith Aviation is preparing to take delivery early next year of the first of two Bombardier Learjet 75s from an October order for the superlight business jet. The arrival of the seven-seaters, in February and April 2018, will help to fill the demand for short-haul charter flights from within the burgeoning European market.
LinkMetal Master primes LAR 1 personal jet for 2018 first flightPolish start-up Metal Master has begun ground testing the first of two Flaris LAR 1 flight-test aircraft, and is preparing the five-seat, high-performance personal jet for its maiden sortie in the first quarter of 2018. The company says it is working with the Polish Civil Aviation Authority, with which it is seeking to obtain S-1 experimental certification next year, before pursuing validation with the European Aviation Safety Agency under CS-23 regulations.
LinkTecnam delivers first of 30 P2006T SMPs for aerial mappingTecnam has delivered the first three P2006T piston-twins in a special-mission (SMP) configuration to an undisclosed US aerial mapping company. An order for 30 aircraft, plus options for a further 24 units, was placed in June as part of the customer’s fleet expansion and modernization program.
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