Aviation Daily Roundup: May 05, 2022

Qantas Proposes Full Takeover Of Alliance Aviation

Qantas has struck a deal to take over Alliance Aviation, the Australian charter and regional operator that it already partly owns. Under the agreement, Qantas would obtain 80% of the shares in Alliance, giving it full control. The deal is subject to a vote by Alliance shareholders and clearance from competition authorities. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Spirit Airlines Doubles Down On Opposition To JetBlue Merger

Executives at Spirit Airlines reiterated their opposition to the merger proposal from JetBlue Airways and urged shareholders to approve the competing bid from Frontier Airlines at an upcoming shareholder vote. Spirit’s board rejected a revised offer from JetBlue on May 2, describing the deal’s promised benefits as “illusory” and casting doubt on its likelihood of gaining federal approval. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Allegiant Remains On Track For First MAX Deliveries In Late 2023

Allegiant Air is still preparing to accept delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX in the second half of 2023 and has not been informed by the OEM of any delays. The ULCC placed a firm order for 50 MAX family aircraft in January, and at that time stated deliveries would begin next year. Allegiant’s order includes 30 737-7s and 20 737-8200s, The company also has options for 50 additional aircraft. Credit: Allegiant

Boeing Moving Headquarters To Washington Suburb Arlington

Boeing will move its corporate headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, home of the Pentagon and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., as well as create a new research and technology center in the area. Boeing will retain a “significant” presence in Chicago, its current headquarters, according to the May 5 announcement. Credit: Boeing

Norman Mineta, Longest-Serving U.S. DOT Chief, Dies At 90

Norman Mineta, the longest-serving U.S. Transportation Secretary in the department's history and a difference-making advocate for the nation’s aviation system, died May 4 at the age of 90. Building on a political career that began with a San José, Calif., city council seat appointment in 1967, Mineta was elected the city’s mayor in 1971, and in 1974 won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, starting what would be a productive 20-year run as a lawmaker. Credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images

Automation, Electrification Core To UPS Flight Forward’s Strategy

UPS’s drone airline subsidiary UPS Flight Forward has embarked on a strategy of deploying autonomous and remotely operated aircraft across a range of use cases from medical delivery drones to large feeder aircraft. UPS Flight Forward (UPSFF) was established in June 2019 and received the first FAA Part 135 standard air carrier certificate to operate a drone airline in September that year. Credit: UPS Flight Forward

Daily Memo: The Case Of The Disappearing U.S. Export-Import Bank

Before COVID-19, the commercial aviation sector had faced at least three other bone-rattling shocks in the new millennium, and each time governments helped the marketplace continue buying large commercial aircraft. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession, export credit agencies (ECAs) stepped in when private-sector financiers retreated. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Eurowings To Shift Loyalty Program To Lufthansa’s Miles And More

Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings will discontinue its frequent flyer program Boomerang Club on June 30 and its members will be transferred to Lufthansa Group’s loyalty program Miles and More starting July 1. Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof said May 3 the focus on Miles and More resulted from the carrier’s positioning as a value airline for Europe, a step related to its strategy to become a pan-European airline with bases in several countries. Credit: Eurowings

Icelandair Operating Entire Fleet; Fuel Prices Dampen Q1 Results

Icelandair continued ramping up its operations in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 as the airline prepares for a strong summer. “All our aircraft are operating again, which is a good feeling,” Icelandair Group President and CEO Bogi Bogason said during the carrier’s Q1 results 2022 presentation April 29. Credit: Rob Finlayson

Lufthansa Juggles Long-Haul Fleet Composition After 777-9 Delay

Lufthansa is slowly warming up to the idea of potentially reactivating its Airbus A380 fleet, should strong demand growth be sustained over the next few years. Group CEO Carsten Spohr said May 5 that the airline’s position on permanently retiring the A380 has not changed. Credit: Lufthansa

Air Dolomiti Receives RNP-AR Certification

Lufthansa subsidiary Air Dolomiti has become the first Italian airline approved to execute Required Navigation Performance-Authorization Required (RNP-AR) approaches from Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC to land in Innsbruck, Austria. Verona-based Air Dolomiti first obtained the authorization from Austrian Control authorities followed by the certificate from ENAC (Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile). Credit: Kurt Hofmann

Air France-KLM Expects ‘Successful Summer’ After Narrowed Q1 Net Loss

Air France-KLM reported strong bookings as it posted a narrowed net loss for the 2022 first quarter (Q1), despite the effects of the omicron variant, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and high fuel prices. The airline group recorded a net loss of €552 million ($585 million) for the quarter to end-March, up from a loss of €1.5 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier. Revenues more than doubled to €4.4 billion. Credit: Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo

Qantas proposes full takeover of Alliance Aviation, Spirit Airlines doubles down on opposition to JetBlue Merger and more. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.

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