Coronavirus Impacts Aerospace Manufacturing In China

Credit: AirbusThe coronavirus outbreak is beginning to affect aerospace manufacturing with several Western manufacturers temporarily closing down facilities in China.

TransDigm To Lay Off Up To 10% Due To MAX, 787 Rate Cuts

Credit: Brandon FarrisKey aerospace supplier TransDigm Group plans to lay off 3-10% of its direct and indirect workforce in part due to the Boeing 737 MAX production halt and rate reductions in other aircraft manufacturing programs.

Retirement Uptick Will Restock Used Engine Parts

Credit: BoeingAfter several years of lagging aircraft retirements, there are signs that an expected wave of removals is imminent if not underway, which will provide much-needed used-parts feed for several popular engine platforms.

Counter-Drone, UTM Systems Planned At Auckland Airport

Credit: Airways New ZealandAir navigation service provider Airways New Zealand has entered into an agreement with a UK company to build on a proof-of-concept drone detection system currently being tested at Auckland Airport.

IATA: Trade War Made 2019 Worst Year For Air Cargo Since 2009

Credit: IATADemand for global air freight fell 3.3% year-on-year, hit by global trade tensions that made 2019 the worst year for the industry in a decade, IATA said Feb. 5.

Cathay Pacific Urges Its 27,000 Employees To Take Unpaid Leave

Credit: Rob FinlaysonCathay Pacific Airways has asked its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave to “preserve cash,” as the Hong Kong-based carrier deals with the widespread Wuhan coronavirus in China, following seven months of anti-government protests that have severely affected the airline.

Emirates Customizes 777 Checks Using Own Data

Credit: Emirates AirlinesEmirates Airline is quickly transitioning its Boeing 777 fleet to a new, customized airframe maintenance program based on its own operational data, and is already reaping benefits from the ambitious project, a senior executive from the airline said.

UK Advertising Watchdog Bans Ryanair’s ‘Misleading’ Emissions Ads

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that Ryanair advertisements, claiming it is Europe’s greenest airline, are misleading and banned the Irish LCC from repeating the ads in their current form.

American, United Suspend Hong Kong Operations On Weak Demand

Credit: HKIAAmerican Airlines and United Airlines both announced on Feb. 4 plans to suspend their Hong Kong operations through Feb. 20, citing lower travel demand caused by the spread of a novel coronavirus in China.

Qatar Airways Outlines RwandAir Investment Plans

Credit: Rob FinlaysonQatar Airways is set to take a 49% stake in RwandAir, the national carrier of the central African nation of Rwanda, Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker announced Feb. 5.

Pegasus 737-800 Overruns Runway In Turkey, Breaks Into Pieces

Credit: DHA/Demiroren News Agency/AFP via Getty ImagesA Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 skidded off a runway after landing at Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, Turkey, on Feb. 5.

TUI Fly Names First 787 Long-Haul Destinations

Credit: TUI fly German leisure airline TUI fly announced the first long-haul destinations for its new Boeing 787-8 fleet, which will begin services from Dusseldorf, Germany to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on Nov. 4.

MAX Halt Casts Doubt Over Major Woodward-Hexcel Merger Benefit

Credit: WoodwardWall Street remains dubious that aircraft subsystems provider Woodward and composites supplier Hexcel can provide one of the main benefits they promised from their recent merger, particularly as the commercial aviation sector reels from the Boeing 737 MAX production halt and both companies lower their 2020 guidance as a result.

Boeing Must Prioritize New Narrowbody, Bloomberg Analyst Says

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts expect Boeing’s next product launch to target the larger narrowbody market and see the new midmarket airplane (NMA) as all but doomed thanks in large part to Airbus A321XLR orders by some of the NMA’s most likely customers.

United Buys Phoenix-Area Flight Academy To Bolster Pilot Pipeline

Credit: United AviateUnited Airlines has purchased a Phoenix-area flight training academy to feed into its pilot pipeline, part of the carrier’s efforts to hire more than 10,000 new pilots by 2029.

Kuwait Airways Chooses Panasonic IFE System For A330neos

Credit: AirbusPanasonic Avionics Corp. said Feb. 5 that it will supply the inflight entertainment system for Kuwait Airways’ new Airbus A330-800neo widebodies.