NewsPortuguese ACMI operator Hi Fly to add 10 A330-900neosPortuguese wet lease operator Hi Fly will add the first of 10 Airbus A330-900neos to its fleet in June 2019. The A330neos will ultimately renew the entire Hi Fly A330 fleet in upcoming years. Hi Fly did not say if the new aircraft will be a direct order with Airbus or leased.
LinkDOT allocates new US-Havana frequencies, Houston gains daily flightsThe US Department of Transportation (DOT) issued tentative allocations for re-assigned US-Havana, Cuba frequencies March 30 to five carriers, including a major boost for United Airlines’ service from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), with frequencies jumping from once a week to daily. Other carriers awarded new frequencies included Dallas/Fort Worth-based American Airlines, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, New York-based JetBlue Airways, and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.
LinkIstanbul New Airport commissions first runway; eyes October openingIstanbul New Airport (INA) has commissioned its first runway, a significant milestone as it prepares for opening in late October 2018. INA, which will initially have three runways (with up to six planned as traffic grows), is replacing Istanbul’s current main hub, Ataturk International (IST). INA’s initial capacity will be 90 million passengers a year, with the ability to grow to as many as 200 million through a series of expansion phases, if required, up to 2030.
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UK government announces details of airline insolvency reviewThe UK government has announced the terms of reference of an official review into airline industry failures. It will include looking at ways of allowing an airline facing terminal financial problems to wind down its flight operations gradually, rather than collapsing suddenly.
LinkChina Eastern’s 2017 net profit up 41% as demand, exchange rates improveChina Eastern Airlines reported a net profit of CNY6.4 billion ($983 million) in 2017, up 41% over net income of CNY4.5 billion in 2016 as market demand continues to grow and exchange rates improve.
LinkLion Group completes $5.5 billion LEAP-1A purchaseIndonesia’s Lion Group and engine maker CFM International have finalized an order for 380 LEAP-1A engines to power the Asian group’s Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft. The final engine order, which is valued at $5.5 billion at list price, was originally announced in February 2016. The final deal was signed in Jakarta March 29 by Transportation Partners, Lion Group’s leasing arm. Lion Group is Indonesia’s largest privately owned airline organization.
LinkAirbus A321LR flies longest flight on Seychelles-Toulouse routeAirbus’ prototype A321neo long-range (A321LR) flew 4,109 nautical miles from Seychelles to Toulouse on March 30, its longest-distance flight in the certification program.
LinkSingapore Airlines unveils new regional 787-10 cabinSingapore Airlines said it would invest $350 million to equip an initial 20 new Boeing 787-10s with new cabins including a fully flat bed in business class and personalized IFE for all passengers. The airline unveiled the new cabins, which will be used on regional routes of up to eight hours, at a launch event on March. 28 following the arrival of the first 787-10 from Boeing’s production facility in North Charleston, South Carolina.
LinkAmerican Airlines to launch six US-Latin America routesAmerican Airlines will boost its service to the Mexico, Caribbean and Latin America region to nearly 270 daily flights with the launch of six new routes from the US, the Dallas/Fort Worth-based carrier said March 29. Beginning Dec. 19, American will begin Boeing 787-9 flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), becoming the first airline to offer non-stop service between the two cities. Also on Dec. 19, nonstop flights between Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Oaxaca, Mexico will commence, with American flying Embraer E175s on the route.
LinkS.C. Boeing plant speeds production of DreamlinersA Boeing plant in North Charleston, S.C., is producing an average of one Dreamliner aircraft every 27 days, compared to its pace of roughly one per 35 days during the same period last year, according to the All Things 787 website. The improvement is attributable to a new assembly line practice that the company has adopted, said Boeing's Paisley Matthews.
LinkBoeing awarded contract to deliver 28 Super Hornets to KuwaitBoeing was awarded a contract worth up to $1.17 billion to produce and deliver 22 F/A-18E and 6 F/A-18F Super Hornets for the government of Kuwait by 2022, the US Defense Department announced on 30 March. State Department approval of the sale of F/A-18 Super Hornets to Kuwait was first announced in November 2016, with the country requesting a total of 40 Super Hornets, including 28 fighters for initial delivery, plus the option to order 12 more. Boeing was to provide Raytheon APG-79 active electronically scanned array radars and 20mm guns for the jets, per the original sale announcement.
LinkUK C-130J tapped as next Fat Albert aircraft for Blue AngelsA used Royal Air Force C-130J could soon be supporting the US Navy’s Blue Angels fighter demonstration team as a long-term replacement for the team’s famous “Fat Albert”. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) plans to quickly buy one of the RAF’s C-130Js to “avoid a gap in logistical support of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron”, according to a government acquisition notice posted on 23 March.
LinkUS Navy remotely lands F/A-18 Super Hornet on carrier deckNaval officers aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln demonstrated for the first time the ability to remotely take control of an aircraft and land it on an aircraft carrier’s deck. Using the ATARI system, or aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor, landing signal officers demonstrated remote piloting of the F/A-18E Super Hornet while conducting carrier qualifications and flight testing aboard the Abraham Lincoln in March. The officers also demonstrated touch-and-go maneuvers with the system.
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