NewsUPS goes big with freighters as e-commerce booms In the early hours of 1 February, a gleaming white-and-brown Boeing 747 touched down in Louisville, Kentucky, and taxied to a stand. Arriving from Anchorage, Alaska, the aircraft was one among a hundred UPS freighters that peppered the runways, taxiways and apron at Louisville that clear night, but this behemoth stood out.
LinkQatar targets 100 aircraft fleet for prospective Indian carrierQatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker has reaffirmed the carrier's plan to launch a carrier in India, but has been coy on the details. Answering a question during a recent press conference, Al Baker spoke briefly about the fleet plans for the proposed carrier.
LinkRolls-Royce 'confident' XWB will not suffer Trent 1000 issuesRolls-Royce is confident that its Trent XWB powerplant for the Airbus A350 will not be afflicted by similar technical problems which have emerged on the Trent 1000. The A350 family is exclusively powered by the Trent XWB – the -900 variant is fitted with the XWB-84 and the larger -1000 has the higher-thrust XWB-97.
LinkGrupo Aeromexico 2017 net profit hit by rise in fuel costs, inflationGrupo Aeromexico reported a MXP18 million ($914,000) net profit for 2017, down 98.4% from MXP1.1 billion net income in 2016. While economic growth in Mexico remained stable in 2017, as the country’s GDP increased 2.3%, the peso appreciated 4.7% year-over-year (YOY) relative to the US dollar and annual inflation hit 6.8%, the country’s highest rate in 17 years. The rise in inflation put pressure on peso cost line items, the company said. Increasing fuel prices took a toll as well, rising 34%, as peso-dominated fuel prices increased 16.3% YOY during the fourth quarter.
LinkFinnair to begin Helsinki-Minsk service June 9Finnair said it would open a direct, year-round route between Helsinki and Minsk, Belarus as it continues its network expansion. The new twice-weekly Embraer E190 service will launch June 9. Finnair currently cooperates with Belarusian carrier Belavia on the Helsinki-Minsk route and Finnair’s own flights will bring the total number of weekly flights up to five, the Finnish carrier said.
LinkAirAsia X doubles 4Q profit, plans fleet expansion Long-haul LCC AirAsia X is targeting further fleet and network growth this year, supported by healthy improvement in the carrier’s financial performance.
LinkTWA iconic terminal to transform into hotelTyler Morse, chief executive of MCR, a hotel owner and developer in New York, talks about his plans for the empty TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Morse plans to transform the terminal into a hotel with a 200,000-square-foot museum celebrating the terminal, midcentury design and the dawn of the jet age.
LinkElectric unmanned rotorcraft make economic case for air taxi roleAirbus A3 gave employees working on Project Vahana the day off on 2 February. The team had spent the previous two days on an unmanned air systems test range in Oregon marking the first and second test flights of Alpha One, the San Francisco-based rapid innovation cell’s concept for an electric-powered, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Link Sikorsky begins final assembly of first HH-60WSikorsky has introduced the first HH-60W combat rescue helicopter (CRH) into final assembly ahead of a scheduled first flight by the end of this year. The derivative of the UH-60M is the first of a planned 112-aircraft production programme worth $8.12 billion to replace the aging fleet charged with rescuing downed US Air Force pilots.
LinkUS clears RNLAF for $1.19b Apache dealThe Royal Netherlands Air Force is cleared by the US State Department to buy 28 remanufactured Boeing AH-64E helicopters worth a total of $1.19 billion, the US government announced on 20 February. The deal calls for remanufacturing the RNLAF’s 28 AH-64D airframes to the Echo-model standard.
LinkAHRLAC variant Bronco II unveiled for US light attack bidNewly-formed Bronco Combat Systems on 21 February launched the Bronco II light attack aircraft for the US military market, leveraging the South African-designed AHRLAC platform with a US-based mission systems integrator named Fulcrum Concepts. The announcement on the eve of the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando adds yet another platform to a growing field of competitors chasing the US military’s on-again, off-again interest in light attack aircraft.
LinkElbit edges closer to IMI acquisitionElbit Systems is to buy state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI), in a move which will make it the largest defense and aerospace company in Israel. Following a lengthy review process, all the necessary regulatory bodies have given their approval for the step, with some of IMI's programs which are considered to be "critical defense assets" to remain under government control.
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