Aviation Daily Roundup: May 18, 2022

Surf Air To Go Public, Acquire Southern, Electrify Regional Service

Surf Air Mobility is to go public through a merger with a blank-check company that values the Los Angeles-based regional scheduled and on-demand charter carrier at $1.42 billion. The company plans to complete the acquisition of regional airline Southern Airways concurrently with closing the merger. Credit: Surf Air Mobility

Europe Eyes Subscale Testing For Novel Aircraft

A model of the Airbus A320, built under Europe’s Clean Sky 2 civil aeronautics research program to validate the viability of using scaled flight testing to complement wind tunnels, has entered flight testing. The Scaled Flight Demonstrator (SFD) has begun initial qualification flight testing in Deelen, Netherlands, and will be relocated to Grottaglie, Italy, for mission flight testing later in 2022. Credit: Royal NLR

Daily Memo: Will Spirit Shareholders Take The Money And Run?

The bidding war for Spirit Airlines has entered a new—and possibly final—phase. After getting rejected by Spirit’s board earlier in May, JetBlue Airways decided to go hostile and take its bid straight to Spirit’s shareholders, urging them to vote against Frontier’s competing offer at an upcoming shareholder meeting June 10. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

EASA Sets End Date For Cargo In Passenger Cabins

The slowly fading COVID-19 outbreak has led to EASA calling a halt to permission for airlines to carry cargo in passenger cabins. In the early days of the pandemic, EASA granted Third Country Operators (TCOs) permission to fill empty passenger seats with freight, particularly medical supplies, to offset the sudden shortage of underfloor cargo capacity caused by many of the world’s passenger aircraft being grounded. Credit: Ben Stansall / AFP / Getty Images

China Downplays Reports Of Deliberate Act In China Eastern Crash

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) insists the investigation into the March crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 is still in its early stages and no official preliminary conclusions have been reached. No “relevant information” has been released by investigators since a one-month update on the March 21 accident, CAAC said in a statement. Credit: CNS/AFP/Getty Images

EgyptAir Orders First Narrowbody Freighter Conversion

EgyptAir, joining the acceleration among Middle Eastern carriers toward increased cargo capacity, has placed a conversion order for its first Boeing 737-800SF freighter. The aircraft will be converted by U.S. company Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI), EgyptAir Holding Company’s chairman and CEO, Amr Abu El-Enein said. Credit: Boeing

Industry Bodies Back Greater Development Of ASEAN Open Skies

The successful implementation of an ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) could eventually spur the worldwide harmonization of aviation processes and regulations, and drive greater connectivity and sustainability, say industry leaders from ICAO, IATA, and Airport Council International (ACI). At the Changi Aviation Summit, seven of 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) reaffirmed the group’s vision to the development of the ASAM while at the same time mutually recognizing COVID-19 health certificates. Credit: Matthew Micah Wright / Getty Images

IndiGo Selects KLM’s Elbers To Replace Dutta As CEO

IndiGo has named KLM head Pieter Elbers as its next CEO, meaning India’s two largest carriers will both be led into the post-pandemic phase by new expatriate CEOs. Elbers is due to take over the top job at IndiGo on or before Oct. 1, replacing current IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta who is set to retire on Sept. 30. The IndiGo board has selected Elbers, but his appointment is still subject to regulatory approval. Credit: KLM

CMA CGM To Take Air France-KLM Stake In Strategic Partnership

CMA CGM and Air France-KLM and have signed a 10-year strategic air cargo partnership that will see the French shipping and logistics giant take a stake of up to 9% in the airline group as the two integrate their cargo networks, air freight capacity and related services. Under the agreement, announced May 18, Air France-KLM and CMA CGM will pool their respective freighter capacity. Credit: Airbus

A4E Calls For Reform Of Airport Charges

Airlines for Europe (A4E) MD Thomas Reynaert has called for a “proper consultation” on airport changes, labeling the current regulatory regime as “dysfunctional.” “It’s natural that after a crisis, or a downside, that suppliers will try to recuperate their losses,” Reynaert told delegates at Routes Europe in Bergen on May 18. But he stressed that airport price hikes of 10-30% will only hinder the recovery, given the cost-driven nature of aviation. Credit: Ocean Driven Media

Strong European Summer Awaits Despite Fresh Challenges

The removal of COVID-19-related travel restrictions coupled with strong leisure demand means the European aviation industry can look forward to a strong summer season, ACI Europe deputy DG Morgan Foulkes told delegates attending Routes Europe 2022 on May 18. However, he added that there are significant challenges threatening the pace of the recovery, explaining that rising inflation and the cost of fuel is bringing a new financial burden for airports and airlines. Credit: Ocean Driven Media

Collaboration Crucial To Achieving Sustainability Goals, Avinor CEO Says

Partners from across the aviation sector must work together if the industry is to achieve its aims of becoming net zero by 2050, according to the CEO of Norway’s airport operator Avinor. Speaking May 18 during the opening of Routes Europe 2022 in Bergen, Norway, Avinor CEO Abraham Foss said that despite the financial stress being felt by all stakeholders, the industry has no option but to collaborate and invest for the future. Credit: Ocean Driven Media

ATR Aims For 2023 Launch Of Reengined Turboprop

ATR aims to launch reengined and upgraded versions of its turboprop family in 2023 and is setting ambitious fuel-burn, emissions and maintenance-cost reduction targets. The company has published a request for information (RFI) to all relevant engine manufacturers and received backing for the launch from its shareholders, Airbus and Leonardo. Credit: ATR

Major Engine OEMs Ponder Hybrid-Power Bids for New ATR Turboprop

ATR plans to configure newly unveiled upgraded versions of its ATR 42/72 regional airliners with a low-emission, partially hybrid-electric propulsion system to replace the conventional Pratt & Whitney PW127 used on the company’s current aircraft. Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), which is providing the upgraded PW127XT as the new standard engine for the ATR 42/72 going forward, will almost certainly be among the front-runners for the ATR EVO. Credit: Pratt & Whitney Canada

Surf Air to go public, acquire Southern, electrify regional service, Europe eyes subscale testing for novel aircraft and more. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.

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