Aviation Daily Roundup: April 25, 2022

April 25, 2022

South African Airways Seeks Up To Seven A320s, One A330

South African Airways (SAA) is seeking two Airbus A320ceos and a single A330-300, with scope to expand this by a further five A320 ceos or neos. Credit: Airbus

Breeze To Launch U.S. Transcon Flights From Secondary New York Airport

U.S. startup Breeze Airways plans to launch service from Westchester County Airport (HPN)—located 35 minutes north of New York City—including the only transcontinental flights from the airport. Created by JetBlue Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines founder David Neeleman, Breeze is approaching the one-year anniversary of its May 2021 launch. Credit: Tad Denson / Airwind / Airbus

Brussels Airlines To Rebuild Hub System, Operate At 80% Capacity

Lufthansa subsidiary Brussels Airlines has successfully rebuilt its hub system at Brussels International Airport as it emerges from a deep restructuring process. Related to its Reboot Plus transformation program, Brussels Airlines reduced its fleet size by 30% and staff numbers by 25%. Credit: Nigel Howarth / Aviation Week

FAA Flags Fuel Blockage Risk On Rolls-Powered 787s

Rolls-Royce is developing software to address a “design issue” that puts certain Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787s at risk of fuel flow restrictions under certain conditions. In the meantime, operators are being told to follow revised refueling limitations that raise minimum temperatures. Credit: Rolls-Royce

Africa’s Eswatini To Revive National Carrier, End Airlink Tie-Up

The Southern African nation of Eswatini plans to resurrect its national carrier after a two-decade hiatus. The decision means an end to a joint venture (JV) between the government of Eswatini—known until 2018 as Swaziland—and South African regional carrier Airlink. Eswatini Airlink was established in 1999 to provide air services for the small kingdom after Royal Swazi National Airways ceased operating. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Alaska Airlines Pilots To Vote On Strike Authorization

The leadership of Alaska Airlines’ pilot union voted unanimously to conduct a strike authorization ballot in May, as negotiations with management toward a new contract remain at a standstill. Alaska’s pilot union leaders—represented by the Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)—voted 11-to-0 on April 22 to conduct a strike-authorization vote among the Seattle-based airline’s roughly 3,100 unionized pilots. Credit: Air Line Pilots Association

Jazeera Airways Aims For Growth As Pandemic Fades

Kuwaiti LCC Jazeera Airways plans to expand its route network ahead of the summer season to cater to high tourist demand, the airline said April 25. Earlier in April the carrier announced the launch of routes to Vienna and Prague; other, as yet unspecified, destinations will be added later in 2022. Credit: Jazeera Airways

Aeroflot Group Reports 20% Drop In Passengers

Russia’s largest airline group Aeroflot reported carrying 2.2 million passengers in March 2022, a 20.4% drop compared to the same period the previous year. The group’s international traffic slumped by 50% year-over-year (YOY) to just 189,000 passengers, while domestic traffic decreased by almost 16%, to just over 2 million passengers. The number of international flights shrank by 56%, and domestic flights fell 13%, the group reported on April 25. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Daily Memo: How Bad Is The Pilot Shortage? United’s Done The Math

U.S. airlines were battling a pilot shortage well before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the crisis has exacerbated the challenge with no short-term solution in sight. During a recent earnings call, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby offered the airline’s assessment of the pilot crunch, warning, “this is not a temporary issue.” He explained United conducted a “deep dive” to analyze historical trends in pilot hiring. Credit: United Airlines

Oneworld, Russia’s S7 Airlines Suspend Alliance Membership

Russian carrier S7 Airlines has been suspended from the Oneworld alliance by mutual agreement, with effect from April 19. Moscow Domodedovo-based S7 Airlines joined Oneworld in 2010, four years after Aeroflot joined SkyTeam. However, the status of S7’s alliance membership was questioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered wide-ranging sanctions against Russian interests. Credit: Philippe Masclet / Master Films / Airbus

Plans Announced For Toronto SAF Plant

Canadian startup Refuel Energy has announced plans to build a 3,000 barrel/day (126,000 gal.) renewable fuels plant in southern Ontario. A final investment decision is expected in 2023. If approved, production would start in 2025. Credit: Toronto Pearson Airport

Ampaire Ground-Tests Hybrid-Electric Caravan

Once again an independent company, Ampaire has begun ground testing a Cessna Grand Caravan modified to hybrid-electric propulsion. The Eco Caravan plans to fly by year-end 2022, and the startup is aiming for FAA supplemental type certification of the modification by mid-2024. Credit: Ampaire

Hong Kong To Relax Border Rules, Beijing Airports Under Pressure

More than two years after it shut its borders to non-residents, Hong Kong is finally allowing international travelers to enter the city starting in May, although still retaining test and quarantine requirements. To encourage airlines to return, the government is also revising the so-called circuit breaker policy for suspending flights that have three infected passengers. Credit: Rob Finlayson

South African Airways seeks up to seven A320s, Breeze to launch U.S. Transcon flights from secondary New York Airport and more. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.

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