AirlinesEasyJet takes $19 million hit from Gatwick drone incident; firms guidance UK LCC easyJet—which took a £15 million ($19.4 million) hit as a result of December’s drone-related flight disruptions at its London Gatwick base—is not changing its pre-tax profit guidance for the year ended Sept. 30.
In a trading statement issued Jan. 22, easyJet said the Gatwick closures in December 2018 resulted in a £5 million revenue impact and an additional £10 million in “customer welfare costs.” The airline had to cancel 400 flights, affecting 82,000 passengers, when drone sightings near the airport’s runway caused it to shut down.
LinkGermany bans Mahan Air flights Germany has halted flights by Iranian airline Mahan Air into its airports. The Iranian carrier operates services from Tehran to Duesseldorf and Munich, but Germany’s foreign ministry announced Jan. 21 that a ban would take effect immediately.
The US placed the airline on a sanctions list as long ago as 2011 and has been pushing for nations to revoke permissions for Mahan Air to fly into their airports on grounds that the airline actively supports the Iranian Revolutionary Guard—particularly its Quds Force expeditionary unit.
LinkSouth African Airways suspends Blantyre services on safety findings South African Airways (SAA) has suspended its 3X-weekly service to Blantyre, Malawi, after the South African aviation regulator found what it described as serious safety risks at Blantyre Chileka International Airport.
Blantyre is the second city of the small southern African state.
LinkCCO: Lufthansa Cargo to add four 777Fs, speed up MD-11F phaseout Lufthansa Cargo (LHC) will take delivery of four Boeing 777Fs in 2019 to speed up the phaseout of its 12-aircraft strong MD-11F fleet.
“We are fortunate to get four Boeing 777Fs this year, one of the biggest fleet-renewal programs in our history,” Lufthansa Cargo CCO Dorothea von Boxberg told ATW in Nairobi.
LinkUtair Aviation to start 13 new destinations in 2019 Russia’s Utair Aviation will launch 13 new domestic destinations this year that are not served by other carriers, the airline said Jan. 21.
The services include:
Astrakhan-Sochi,
Volgograd-Kazan,
Nizhnevartovsk-Sochi;
from Surgut to Anapa and Perm;
from Tyumen to Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody and Khanty-Mansiysk;
from Ufa to Kazan and Samara;
and from Khanty-Mansiysk to Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg.
LinkAeroflot Boeing 737-800 skids off runway at Moscow Sheremetyevo An Aeroflot Airline Boeing 737-800, en route from Astana (Kazakhstan) to Moscow, skidded off the runway while taxiing after landing at Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) Jan. 21, at 5:49 p.m. local time.
There were no serious injuries reported among 78 passengers and seven crew aboard. SVO ground service evacuated the aircraft and repaired the runway within an hour-and-a-half.
LinkUnruly passenger causes Aeroflot Boeing 737 to divert landing An Aeroflot Airline Boeing 737-800, en route from Surgut to Moscow Sheremetyevo (flight SU1515), changed course and landed at Russia’s Khanty-Mansiysk Airport Jan. 22 after an unruly passenger demanded the aircraft be diverted to Afghanistan.
Russian media reported the unidentified passenger—who was detained when the aircraft landed—was either under the influence of alcohol or mentally unstable.
LinkAlaska delays Paine Field launch due to government shutdown Alaska Airlines is the first carrier to officially postpone a new service due to the on-going partial US federal government shutdown now in its 32nd day.
The Seattle-based carrier will delay the launch of service to Paine Field in Everett, Washington, to 4 March from 11 February as Federal Aviation Administration officials needed for the start of commercial air service to the airport are furloughed, Alaska says in a statement.
LinkLufthansa ends Ju 52 passenger flights Lufthansa is terminating passenger flights with its Junkers Ju 52 in an effort to reduce financial losses associated with operation of the historic trimotor.
The airline has until now subsidised its vintage aircraft foundation, Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin Stiftung, with a single-digit million euro sum every year. This allowed the 83-year-old aircraft to be used for seasonal sightseeing flights with fare-paying passengers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
LinkPICTURE: Delta A330neo emerges from painting Delta Air Lines’ first Airbus A330-900 has emerged having been painted in the US carrier’s livery.
Airbus has shown off the airline’s initial A330neo, MSN1915, which has yet to be fitted with its Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 powerplants.
Delta has 35 A330-900s on order with the European airframer. The twinjet type is set to complement its A350-900 fleet.
LinkTigerair Taiwan plans IPO China Airlines has disclosed that it is preparing to list its low-cost subsidiary Tigerair Taiwan.
In a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the flag carrier says that with the board’s approval, Tigerair Taiwan will “start planning to be a listed company”.
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