Aviation Daily Roundup: June 13, 2022

Airbus Partners With Kansai Airports In Hydrogen Fuel Study
Airbus and Japan’s Kansai Airports have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at exploring the use of hydrogen fuel at Kansai International Airport, Osaka International Airport and Kobe Airport. The study aims to identify infrastructure requirements, challenges or other aircraft and operational related data to define an advocacy plan for hydrogen needs. Credit: Airbus
Boeing On The Hunt For Engineers And Talent, From Arlington To Brazil
Boeing’s hunt for new engineering talent is taking it from suburban Washington to Brazil as it seeks to attract and retain a new generation of workers after the COVID-19 pandemic and production missteps. Boeing is ramping up efforts to hire new engineers and other technology graduates after an exodus of workers in recent years, stemming from early retirement of some baby boomers and other societal changes such as the Great Resignation. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
U.S. Fares Rose 13% In May On Higher Fuel Costs
Airfares surged by nearly 13% in May on the back of higher jet fuel prices, extending a streak of monthly price increases that some industry watchers are worried may soon start to eat into travel demand. The average round trip ticket price in the U.S. rose 12.6% in May from April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which tracks fare data as part of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). May’s increase followed monthly price gains of 18.6% in April and 10.7% in March. Fares rose 37.8% over the last 12 months from May 2021, the BLS reported. Credit: Chalabala / Getty Images
Silver Airways Sees Pilot Staffing As Biggest Constraint To Growth
Fort-Lauderdale based Silver Airways is seeing a robust recovery in demand, but pilot staffing remains a challenge. Speaking during the recent CAPA Americas Aviation and LCCs Summit in Puerto Rico, Silver Airways CEO Steve Rossum said the airline’s 2022 bookings and future projections are exceeding 2019 levels. Credit: Antony Nettle / Alamy Stock Photo
Dutch Fund Conversion Of Regional Turboprops To Hydrogen
The Netherlands’ government has backed a Dutch consortium’s plan to develop a hydrogen-electric propulsion system for retrofit into 40-80-seat regional turboprops. The consortium aims to have aircraft ready to fly routes between the Netherlands and London in 2028. Credit: Unified International
AIX: Time To Radically Rethink Cabin Interiors
As the industry moves beyond the pandemic, designers and innovators are looking to the next generation of aircraft and what passenger experience could look like. This involves discarding traditional approaches and radically rethinking what can be achieved in the cabin to deliver better, more compelling experiences for passengers, as well as support sustainable business for airlines. Credit: Teague
Daily Memo: Lessons Learned From UAS Ops Are Being Applied To AAM
Airbus is beefing up manufacturing at Mobile, Alabama; Boom Supersonic is siting production near Greensboro, North Carolina; and SpaceX has put Boca Chica, Texas, on the map. Meantime, defense spending—long known for spreading federal largesse across every U.S. congressional district—is set to grow robustly in the midterm. Credit: Volansi
African Traffic Lags At 66% Of Pre-Pandemic Levels
African airlines have restored around 76.6% of their 2019 capacity, but traffic is continuing to lag at 66.3% of pre-pandemic levels, causing cash-flow problems for local operators. “Generally, across Africa passenger traffic volumes remain low because of the high ticket cost and travel apathy,” the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) said in a June 10 update. “It is hoped that with the continued relaxation of lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions in many countries, traffic will increase as we approach the summer holiday peak season.” Credit: David Silverman / Getty Images
Cabins May Lead The Way In Sustainability, Panel Experts Say
Thanks to faster life cycles from design to replacement, passenger cabins may lead the way in aviation’s sustainability endeavor, experts said during a panel discussion at the Passenger Experience Conference here on June 13. A new cabin takes 2-5 years to develop and deliver, says Ben Orson, FlyZero cabins lead director with Orson Associates. Such speed may make more environmentally friendly cabins available much sooner than significant volumes of sustainable aviation fuels, not to mention hydrogen-powered aircraft, he says. Credit: Airbus / Michael Lindner
Denmark Says Yes To SAS Restructuring
The Danish government has acknowledged that Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is in a “very serious situation,” triggering the state to agree to a debt-to-equity conversion and a possible capital injection. However, the Danish government said the new equity was conditional on all stakeholders contributing “adequately.” This could be a reference to the Swedish government’s recent announcement that it will not inject additional new capital into SAS. The Danish and Swedish governments each hold 21.8% of SAS. Credit: SAS
Passengers Keen To See Airline Sustainability, Conference Hears
Passengers will be willing to pay higher ticket prices to airlines that can demonstrably prove that they are acting in a sustainable manner, design guru Paul Wylde said June 13. Speaking after a session at the Passenger Experience Conference (PEC) in Hamburg, Wylde said that this phenomenon had been seen in other industries and there was no reason why it should not also apply to airlines. Credit: ArtMassa
Collins Expands Additive Manufacturing Capabilities
Collins Aerospace opened an additive manufacturing facility across the street from its MRO facility in North Carolina that will focus on manufacturing aluminum and titanium parts. The $15 million investment comes on top of $30 million investments in the MRO site since 2018. Credit: Collins Aerospace
HAECO, Diehl Introduce Narrowbody Cabin Solutions
On the eve of this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Hong Kong’s HAECO Cabin Solutions and Germany’s Diehl Aviation have jointly introduced three cabin interior products for the narrowbody market. The first is a simplified aft-lavatory/galley complex branded Aft-Simplex. With a design concept similar to Airbus’ Space-Flex option, Aft-Simplex combines the two rear lavatories and galley into a single complex. Credit: HAECO
Fly Arna Schedules First Flights As Armenian Carrier Prepares To Launch
Fly Arna’s launch network will link Armenia’s capital Yerevan with destinations in Egypt and Lebanon once commercial operations begin in July. The startup, a joint venture between the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia Group, unveiled its launch plans after taking delivery of its first aircraft: an Airbus A320-200 with 174 seats. Credit: Danita Delimont / Alamy Stock Photo
Europe Looking For Alternatives To Russian Titanium
As the war in Ukraine continues to make the supply of titanium from Russia uncertain, the European aerospace industry is pressing on with efforts to find replacement sources. Titanium is a key ingredient in aircraft construction and Russian suppliers accounted for 30-50% of Europe’s needs before the war, says Raphael Danino-Perraud, a researcher at the French institute of international relations. Credit: Thierry Zoccolan/AFP/Getty ImagesAirbus partners with Kansai Airports in hydrogen fuel study, Boeing on the hunt for engineers and talent, from Arlington to Brazil and more. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.
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