Aviation Daily Roundup: May 24, 2022

Boeing Employees Speaking Up As Safety Plans Make Progress

Almost three years into a radical shake up of its safety practices following two successive 737 MAX accidents in 2018 and 2019, Boeing says the company is on track to strengthen its engineering discipline, enhance oversight, improve safety management and encourage transparency and openness with its 140,000 employees. Credit: Boeing

Abu Dhabi Re-Opens Terminal As Passengers, Flights Return

Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA) has re-opened its Terminal 2, as passenger and aircraft numbers continue to increase. Initial numbers operating through the re-opened terminal are modest, with five airlines operating more 50 weekly flights from the terminal. A gradual ramp-up will see that number increase to 71 by the end of May. Retail and duty-free services are also being reintroduced. Credit: Abu Dhabi Airports

FAA, Daedalean Study Machine-Learning In Avionics

Joint research by the FAA and Swiss AI startup Daedalean is expected to help shape certification requirements for the use of machine-learning in safety-critical avionics. The research included flight tests of a vision-based runway landing guidance system using neural networks. Credit: Daedalean

Spirit Airlines CEO Blasts ‘Cynical’ JetBlue Tender Offer

Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie is reiterating his firm opposition to the hostile takeover effort initiated by JetBlue Airways, describing it as a “cynical” attempt to disrupt Spirit’s planned merger with Frontier Airlines. Speaking on a May 23 conference call with analysts, Christie said that it “defies common sense” to believe that a JetBlue-Spirit merger would get approved by U.S. regulators and cast doubt on JetBlue’s motives for pursuing the company. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Embraer Taps Startups For Sustainable-Aircraft Ideas

Taking a nontraditional approach to the potential development of future sustainable aircraft, Embraer has completed the first startup “pitch day” under its Energia initiative. The Brazilian manufacturer in November 2021 unveiled an Energia-branded series of 9-50-seat sustainable regional aircraft concepts aimed for entry into service in 2030-40. Credit: Embraer

Qantas 787 Flight With Taped-Over Ports Prompts Changes

Boeing and Qantas have improved 787 short-term parking instructions following an incident that saw one of the airline’s 787-9s operate a trans-Pacific flight with its engine fan cowl static ports covered with protective tape. The September 2021 Melbourne-Los Angeles flight, which carried only cargo, took place after the aircraft—VH-CNJ—sat for about 40 hr. following its previous flight, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report found. Credit: Qantas

India’s Jet Airways To Resume Flying In Third Quarter

Jet Airways hopes to restart scheduled commercial flights before the end of September after receiving its air operator’s certificate (AOC) from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Granting of the AOC marks the final step in a comprehensive regulatory and compliance process, paving the way for the airline’s comeback with fresh funding, changed ownership and a new management team. Credit: Boeing

Brussels Airport Seeks To Diversify, Improve Sustainability

Brussels Airport Company (BAC) has revealed a five-year strategy which aims to strengthen the airport’s position as a major European hub while focusing on sustainability and diversifying its activities. The airport’s operators noted that the recovery of passenger traffic will take some time, while business travel, in particular, has declined, even as demand for air cargo is reaching record heights. Credit: Brussels Airport

EasyJet Ancillaries Boosted By Revenue-Management Approach

UK LCC easyJet is already seeing summer 2022 yields rise above 2019 levels, partly driven by the yield-management of ancillary revenues. “For the summer, our total yields are up over 2019, because we’ve made a significant step change on our ancillaries,” easyJet group markets and marketing director Thomas Haagensen told delegates at the recent Routes Europe event in Bergen, Norway. “We’re yield-managing our ancillaries as well, which very few other airlines―if any―are doing.” Credit: Airbus

Daily Memo: New CEOs Will Steer Indian Carriers Out Of Pandemic Period

High-profile leadership moves by Indian carriers highlight the fact that the country’s airline industry is entering a new phase. India’s two largest airlines―IndiGo and Air India―have both revealed new CEOs to guide the carriers out of the disruption of the COVID-19 era. Indian carriers are rebuilding their operations, although the competitive landscape has shifted due to ownership changes and the emergence of new players. Credit: Takatoshi Kurikawa / Alamy Stock Photo

Russian Startup Halts Operations As Cessna Aircraft Prove Unavailable

Kamchatka Airlines, an aviation startup from Russia’s Far East, has stopped operations due to the lack of Western-made aircraft, two sources from the company confirmed to Aviation Week. The new carrier received its air operator certificate in August 2021 and planned to make tourist flights from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport on Kamchatka peninsula on 9-seat Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops. Credit: Textron Aviation

Geneva Airport Reports Strong Long-Haul Business Recovery

Geneva International Airport (GVA) is reporting a strong recovery is under way for its long-haul network and new overseas destinations continue to be added. Schneider added that the Geneva region has potential clientele that can afford to travel, and this has already helped the airport to reach 80% of its pre-pandemic capacity. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty Images

AAM Is Bigger Than Just Aircraft, Panelists Advise

Advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles may be the aviation industry’s shiny new object, but there is more to consider before they become commercially viable—not the least of which is the ground infrastructure that will support them, AAM stakeholders say. The availability of launch and landing sites, the integration of electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicles in the air traffic control environment, electrical charging capability and community acceptance were among the challenges that stakeholders described during an AAM panel May 24 at EBACE. Credit: Mark Wagner/Aviation Images

Most SAF Supply Going to Airlines, Titan European CEO Says

EBACE has been hearing a lot about sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), the challenges of increasing the rate at which they are being bought, and the critical importance the technology will play in the sector's efforts to achieve its carbon-reduction targets. Aircraft manufacturers, operators, owners and users are all committed to increasing the adoption of SAF, and overcoming problems around pricing. Credit: Angus Batey/ShowNews

Air France-KLM Launches $2.4B Capital Increase

Air France-KLM has launched a €2.256 billion ($2.4 billion) rights issue to repay pandemic-related state aid, in an operation which will see the French state remain as its largest shareholder with 28.6% and the Netherlands keeping its 9.3% holding. The airline group will issue 1.93 million new shares and said it intends to “free itself” from the European conditions that govern the state aid it was awarded earlier on in the pandemic, using around €1.7 billion to repay it and the rest to reduce its net debt. Those conditions include limitations on M&A operations. Credit: J Poulssen / Alamy Stock Photo

Boeing Reiterates Risk In 737-10 Alerting Addition

Boeing executives are adamant that permitting the remaining 737 MAX variants to enter service without enhanced flight crew alerting systems―which would maintain commonality with their predecessors―is less risky than requiring upgrades to comply with an imminent U.S. congressional mandate. Credit: Boeing

Boeing employees speaking up as safety plans make progress, Abu Dhabi re-opens terminal as passengers, flights return and more. Take a look at the daily roundup of air transport news.

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