EcoDemonstrator Completes Quieter 787 Landing Gear Tests

Credit: Safran / Paul Weatherman

Boeing and Safran successfully completed flight tests of passive noise reduction fairings developed by Safran as part of the latest phase of its long-running ecoDemonstrator program.

SWISS Focuses On A220 Operations, Sends More Aircraft Into Storage

Credit: SWISS

Lufthansa subsidiary SWISS International Air Lines (SWISS) will focus on operating smaller scale Airbus A220 aircraft during the winter season as it expects demand to remain at very low levels.

Asian MROs Adapt As Airlines Decide Against Bringing Bookings Forward

Credit: China Aircraft Services Ltd

MRO providers in Asia are not seeing customers move their maintenance bookings forward, despite fleets being largely grounded because of the pandemic.

JetBlue Cuts Capacity Despite Modest Demand Uptick

Credit: JetBlue

JetBlue Airways reduced its planned capacity for the 2020 third quarter (Q3) below previously announced levels, despite observing a moderate demand improvement in recent weeks.

Neste, Shell Sign Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply Deal

Credit: Neste

Neste Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell have signed a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply agreement, in a bid to anticipate increasing demand from airlines.

U.S. Airline CEOs, Labor Group Leaders Rally For New PSP Bill

Credit: Karen Walker / ATW

Some 100,000 jobs could be furloughed and many small U.S. cities will lose air service on Oct. 1 if the U.S. Congress and the White House do not act immediately on a new bill that would extend the government Payroll Support Program (PSP) for airline workers, airline CEOs and labor group leaders warned.

Oman Air To Restart International Services During October

Credit: Oman Air / Facebook

Oman Air has signaled that it will restart international services Oct. 1, with reduced schedules to a series of European and African destinations.

UPS Airlines Adds Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City To Network

Credit: UPS

UPS Airlines has added Vietnam to its route network, launching freighter flights this month into both Hanoi (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN).

Wizz Air Debuts Interactive Travel Map To Track COVID Regulations

Credit: Wizz Air

With European governments coming under sustained attack from airlines and passengers for their myriad quarantine rule changes, ULCC Wizz Air has introduced an interactive website map feature to show prospective travelers the health regulations covering their destinations.

Wizz Air Delays Launch Of St. Petersburg Base

Credit: Wizz Air

The launch of Hungarian ULCC Wizz Air’s proposed base at St. Petersburg, Russia’s Pulkovo Airport (LED) has been pushed back until the end of 2020.

Dubai, London Heathrow Look To Partner Up On COVID Mitigation

Credit: Dubai AirportsThe CEOs of Dubai and London Heathrow airports believe bilateral testing trials could set the scene for a more unified response to COVID, while Amsterdam Schiphol’s CEO warned that the current status quo must not be normalized.

Airports See Increase In Spend-Per-Passenger Amid Pandemic Travel

Credit: Schiphol / Twitter

While non-aeronautical revenues remain depressed on low passenger volumes, Dubai and Amsterdam Schiphol airports have both seen an increase in spending per passenger during the COVID-19 downturn.

Gogo Adopts Poison Pill To Protect Large Tax Write-Off Losses

Credit: Gogo

Shrinking inflight entertainment provider Gogo announced Sept. 23 it adopted a so-called poison pill plan in case an opportunistic buyer is eyeing its “large” debt load for tax-reduction benefits.

Finnair To Temporarily Restart Regional Services

Credit: Joe Pries

Finnair plans to restart some domestic services, but only during the northern hemisphere 2020/2021 winter season.

Dubai Airports CEO Sets Wearable Health-Validation Challenge

Credit: Dubai International / Twitter

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths believes that wearable devices could play a role in real-time health validation for airlines passengers, especially in a digital ID post-COVID-19 era.