Aviation Daily Roundup: August 10, 2023

Lufthansa group and pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit have signed a long-term collective agreement for Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots which the airline says provides it with a sound foundation for planning for the years ahead. 

With its regional flying transitioned to United Airlines from American Airlines, Mesa Air Group is focused on maximizing block hours, hiring pilots and reducing its inventory of surplus Bombardier CRJ900s.

Initial operating experience of a recently developed drag-reduction package on a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-800 indicates cruise fuel-burn savings of up to 2%, says Texas-based developer Aero Design Labs (ADL).

German aerospace center DLR has flown a subscale demonstrator of the HyBird concept for a small hybrid-electric regional aircraft.

Outbound travel from China could be set for a jump-start after Beijing lifted restrictions on group tours for 78 countries.

Global air traffic has risen to 94% of pre-pandemic levels, IATA data shows.

Viasat is still assessing the utility of its ViaSat-3 Americas communications satellite and the fallout from an antenna malfunction the spacecraft experienced after launch, the company said Aug. 9.