Aviation Daily Roundup: June 21, 2022

June 22, 2022

ATR Completes First Commercial Aircraft Flight With 100% SAF

On June 21, an ATR 72-600 operated by Swedish carrier Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA) completed a milestone test flight with both Pratt & Whitney engines 100%-powered with Neste sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Currently, commercial flights are certified to operate with a 50:50 blend of SAF and conventional kerosene. The sector flown on June 21 was therefore a Category 1 experimental test flight, because 100% SAF in both engines is not yet approved by EASA or the FAA. Credit: ATR

EasyJet To Firm Up 56 Additional A320neo Family Aircraft

UK LCC easyJet is looking to exercise purchase rights and options on 56 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft and convert orders for 18 A320neos to the larger A321neo, under a proposal valued at $6.5 billion at list prices. Announcing the plan on June 21, easyJet said the additional aircraft will be delivered between fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2029, substantially completing its 2013 aircraft-purchase agreement with Airbus. The 18 upgauged A321neos will arrive between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2027. Credit: Airbus - Master Films - Hervé Goussé

Boeing Adds Former UTC Aerospace Chief Gitlin To Board

Dave Gitlin, the former head of erstwhile UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) and now chairman and CEO of air-conditioning giant Carrier, is joining the Boeing board of directors, the airframer and large defense prime contractor announced late June 21. Gitlin, 53, will join the board’s relatively new Aerospace Safety Committee, which was established in the aftermath of the 737 MAX fiasco, as well as its Finance Committee. His election to the board fulfills Boeing’s commitment, as part of the settlement of certain shareholder derivative claims in March 2022, to add another director with aerospace, engineering or safety-systems background. Credit: UTC Aerospace Systems

Mokulele Airlines Eyes Regional Seaglider Routes In Hawaii

Regional carrier Mokulele Airlines has been named the launch partner in Hawaii for Regent’s 12-passenger Viceroy seaglider, an electric wing-in-ground-effect transport for dock-to-dock overwater routes. U.S. startup Regent has also selected clean energy company Pacific Current as its infrastructure partner in Hawaii, providing local operators access to vehicle leasing and financing, renewable electricity, and dock and charging infrastructure. Credit: Regent

Daily Memo: Commercial Aviation Is Out Of Control

Aviation executives departed into a parallel universe for a few days in June. They left for a place in which private concerts by Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez on two consecutive nights are possible, where open soccer stadiums can be cooled down to comfortable temperatures in otherwise 120 degrees heat. A place where hundreds of employees of the local airline are cheering when the CEO gives a speech and were given a bonus worth a month’s salary based on the high profits being made. Importantly, it was a universe in which there are actually enough people to ensure normal airline and airport operations. Credit: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/ANP/AFP/via Getty Images

EasyJet Set To Implement Inmarsat/ESA Iris Program

Inmarsat has signed up UK LCC easyJet as its first airline partner for the Iris air traffic modernization program it developed with the European Space Agency (ESA) to ease airspace congestion. Eleven of easyJet’s Airbus A320neos are set to start flying with the technology beginning in November. Credit: easyJet

Safran Invests In New Additive Technology For Engine Components

Safran has made an undisclosed investment in Sintermat, a five-year-old company specializing in an advanced sintering process for higher-performance engine components. With Sintermat’s technique, new types of powder may be used. The process can be largely automated at a factory’s scale, says Pierre Sallot, Safran Tech’s team leader for materials and innovative processes. “We are interested in nickel superalloys,” Sallot says. “We are talking about high added-value parts, the raw materials for which is strategic.” Credit: Safran

Kenya Airways’ Fahari Aviation Signs For Eve eVTOLs

Following up on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in August 2021, the uncrewed aircraft division of Kenya Airways, Fahari Aviation, has signed a letter of intent with Embraer spinoff Eve for up to 40 electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Under the agreement, a working group will conduct joint studies to develop the urban-air-mobility market and a business model for cargo drone operations in Kenya. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026, the companies said. Credit: Eve

JetBlue Boosts Spirit Offer Ahead Of Frontier Merger Vote

JetBlue Airways raised its offer to buy Spirit Airlines to $33.50/share, from $31.50/share previously, adding pressure to Frontier Airlines to sweeten its own bid before a crucial shareholder vote next week. Spirit’s shareholders are set to vote June 30 on whether to accept the merger proposal from Frontier, a move supported by Spirit’s board of directors. The meeting was originally scheduled for June 10 but was postponed amid signs that sufficient shareholders were not onboard. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

International Partners Key To Refocused Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia plans to leverage the strength of partner airlines to broaden its international network after restructuring its operations to focus on its core competencies. CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the carrier had “lost sight” of its roots in the decade before filing for voluntary administration in 2020 by “pursuing a strategy that was trying to be somebody that we weren’t.” Credit: Virgin Australia

LATAM Could Evaluate Future Options For Aging Widebodies

LATAM Airlines Group may need to consider a widebody refresh in the future, but those decisions will be considered by the company’s new board of directors. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently approved LATAM’s plan of reorganization, and the company aims to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the second half of 2022. The company entered into bankruptcy restructuring in May of 2020. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Global City-Pairs, Passenger Traffic Climb As Recovery Accelerates

The number of unique airport city-pairs worldwide is expected to recover to 92% of pre-pandemic levels this year as airlines continue to restore their networks. The latest IATA forecasts estimate the number of destinations connected directly by air service will rise to 20,424 in 2022—an increase of almost 9% on the previous 12 months and on par with 2017 levels. Credit: David Casey/Aviation Week

Blocked Airline Funds Risk Damaging African Connectivity

An estimated $1 billion in international airline revenues is being blocked from repatriation by 12 countries across Africa, threatening the recovery of travel and tourism on the continent. Kamil Al-Awadhi, IATA VP for Africa and the Middle East, says five African countries account for about $800 million of the total, with Nigeria the biggest offender. Credit: David Casey/Aviation Week

IATA Aims To Provide Industry Standard For Emission Calculations

IATA has launched a new online tool which it claims will provide the most accurate CO2 emission calculations for any given commercial passenger flight. IATA SVP of environment and sustainability Sebastian Mikosz said the platform, known as IATA CO2 Connect, would enable passengers and corporate travel managers to make the most sustainable choices for air travel, taking into consideration aircraft types, routings and class of service. Credit: Getty Images

UK Set To Amend Airport Slot Rules, IATA Says

Rules forcing UK airlines to use their allocated takeoff and landing slots are set to be scrapped during the current summer season to help reduce disruption at airports as travel demand soars. IATA VP for Europe Rafael Schvartzman says the UK’s Department for Transport no longer will demand that carriers use their slots for 70% of the time to retain the right to use them the following year. He notes alternate measures are being explored. Credit: Getty Images

ATR completes first commercial aircraft flight with 100% SAF, EasyJet to firm up 56 additional A320neo family aircraft and more. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.

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