NewsDelta seeks partners for joint venture ownership of Trainer refinery Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is seeking a joint venture partner for ownership of its refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania. The facility, owned and operated by Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy, produces 185,000 barrels of oil per day, and is optimized for jet fuel production but also produces gasoline, diesel and home heating oil. Delta said it expects to retain an ownership stake in the Trainer refinery under any potential joint venture, envisioning a scenario in which Delta and Monroe would maintain current levels of jet fuel production, while a strategic partner would “focus on gasoline, diesel fuel and other products made in the refining process.”
LinkEasyJet prepares for no-deal Brexit; converts UK pilot licenses to Austria EasyJet will shift 1,400 UK pilot licenses to Austrian ones as the UK-based LCC prepares for a no-deal Brexit. “Depending on the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, UK-issued pilot licenses after the UK leaves the European Union (EU) could be no longer valid within the EU,” an easyJet spokesperson said.
LinkBiman Bangladesh Airlines orders three Q400s Bombardier has secured an order for three Q400 turboprops from Bangladesh national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the Canadian manufacturer said Sept. 10. The order, valued at $106 million at list prices, was placed via a purchase agreement with the Canadian Commercial Corp. (CCC), the independently operated government-owned Crown Corp. that helps Canadian exporters gain access to foreign government procurement markets.
LinkNTSB investigates Delta 757-200 engine failure The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a reported uncontained engine failure on a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 Sept. 5. Delta flight 1418 had departed Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport bound for Orlando, Florida, with 121 passengers and six crew aboard when the incident occurred. The pilots shut down the engine and safely returned to the airport, the NTSB said Sept. 6. There were no injuries.
LinkO’Leary: Many airlines may follow Ryanair’s tighter hand-luggage policy Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary expects that an “awful lot” of airlines will follow the Irish LCC’s recently announced policy to further tighten its hand-luggage limit for non-priority passengers.
LinkSaudi LCC flyadeal nears decision on 50-aircraft RFP Saudi Arabian LCC flyadeal is within a few weeks of deciding its future narrowbody fleet, with Airbus and Boeing in the running for a 50-aircraft order.
LinkAirBaltic CEO sees long-haul opportunity from Riga Latvian carrier airBaltic has put together a business plan for long-haul flights from the Baltics, but it would rather support another airline than launch flights itself. There's not a single long-haul route from the Baltics
LinkVietnam Airlines, Aeroflot to expand cooperationVietnam Airlines and Russian flag carrier Aeroflot have signed an MOU for a strategic cooperation between the two carriers. From 2019, the two SkyTeam alliance members will begin codesharing on domestic routes in Vietnam and Russia and expand their cooperation across several areas of the business.
LinkFinnair to increase frequencies on Asian routes in summer 2019Finnair has added more frequencies on several Asian routes for summer 2019 as traffic steadily grows. Overall capacity to Japan will increase 15% for the summer season. From March 31, 2019, the Finland flag carrier will add three additional flights to the Helsinki-Osaka Kansai route for a total of 10X-weekly frequencies.
LinkAtlas Air to operate second 747-400F for Asiana CargoAir cargo operator Atlas Air will add another Boeing 747-400 freighter to its operations for South Korea’s Asiana Cargo this month, according to parent company Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAW). Atlas Air already flies a 747-400F for Asiana Cargo on transpacific routes connecting South Korea with several US destinations; the Purchase, New York-based company said the second 747-400F is being added as an incremental unit on the South Korea-US routes in response to customer demand.
LinkSpiceJet to launch dedicated freighter ops on 18 SeptemberIndia's SpiceJet has taken delivery of its first dedicated freighter aircraft as it plans to start its first cargo services on 18 September. The low-cost carrier tells FlightGlobal that cargo services will be operated by a separate business unit called SpiceXpress, which will fly between Delhi, Bengaluru, Guwahati, Amritsar, Hong Kong and Kabul.
LinkA320neo deliveries this year overtake A320'sAirbus’s A320neo family has overtaken the A320 in terms of 2018 deliveries, with the re-engined version accounting for the majority handed over so far this year. The airframer reached the tipping-point around 28-30 July, when deliveries of an A321neo to SriLankan Airlines, and subsequent transfer of A320neos to Avianca, Go Air and IndiGo Airlines, took the re-engined aircraft into the lead.
LinkAir Premia eyes 2020 start after securing fundingSouth Korean startup hybrid carrier Air Premia plans to launch services in the first half of 2020 after securing a total of $33 million in capital ahead of starting its license application process. The carrier discloses that it secured $22 million in Series A funding that closed on 7 September.
LinkCanada approves turboprop-powered BN2 IslanderBritten-Norman has gained Canadian type certification for the turboprop version of its BN2 Islander. The piston engine-powered BN2B version of the utility aircraft has been flying in Canada for some time. UK-based Britten-Norman says it intends to expand its presence in North America and is in the process of gaining Federal Aviation Administration approval for the turboprop-powered aircraft's military version, the BN2T-4S Defender.
LinkP&W awarded $437m for further development of adaptive jet enginePratt & Whitney was awarded a $437 million contract modification by the US Air Force to further develop its adaptive jet engine design, a propulsion system for a future sixth-generation fighter. The contract comes after the United Technologies-owned manufacturer’s competition for developing the new engine, GE Aviation, was awarded a $437 million contract modification on 29 June by the USAF. The two companies are competing in the Adaptive Engine Transition programme, an effort to develop a sixth-generation fighter propulsion system, which might also be used to replace the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine in the F-35 in the mid-2020s.
Link NATO rotates Baltic, Romanian air policing dutiesNATO air forces have made their latest rotations in the provision of air policing services for the Baltic states and eastern Europe. Late last month, deployments involving fighters from France, Portugal, Spain and the UK concluded in Estonia, Latvia and Romania, with their duties passed on to Alliance partners Belgium, Canada and Germany.
LinkAVIC rolls out first FTC-2000G light fighterAVIC has rolled out the first FTC-2000G, a light combat variant of its FTC-2000 trainer. The Chinese aircraft manufacturer says that assembly of the aircraft started in February at the Anshun factory of its Guizhou Aviation Industries Co unit. It is now scheduled to make its first flight in late September, and will also be displayed at the Zhuhai air show in November.
LinkChina Airlines and
Japan Airlines began a codeshare on seven domestic routes in Japan. The flights are JAL domestic flights from Sapporo-Niigata, Sapporo-Hanamaki, Fukuoka-Miyazaki, Fukuoka-Hanamaki, Fukuoka-Amami, Kagoshima-Amami, and Kagoshima-Tokunoshima.
LATAM Cargo launched 5X-weekly Lisbon-Guarulhos Boeing 767 service.
Korean Air will begin 5X-weekly Boston-Seoul Boeing 787-9 service from April 12, 2018; and launched 3X-weekly Seoul-Zagreb, Croatia Airbus A330-200 service.
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) and
Garuda Indonesia have expanded their existing bilateral codeshare agreement, which will see Saudia’s SV designator code added to Garuda flights between Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and beyond. The expanded agreement will include flights operated by both airlines to points within both countries, as well as three destinations in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth).
LOT Polish Airlines will begin 4X-weekly Warsaw-Miami (Florida) Boeing 787 services from June 1, 2019.
TAP Air Portugal will launch daily Lisbon-Tel Aviv Airbus A321neoLR services; 2X-daily Lisbon-Dublin; and 2X-daily Lisbon-Basel, Switzerland services from April 2019.
