Air Transport World

Icelandair has placed a firm order for 16 Boeing 737 MAXs valued at more than $1.6 billion at list prices.

Arabian Gulf carrier Bahrain Air has filed for voluntary liquidation, squarely blaming the Bahraini authorities for its predicament.

Air Transport World has announced the selection of All Nippon Airways as its Airline of the Year for 2013 as part of the ATW 39th Airline Industry Achievement Awards.

Canadian Auto Workers-represented Horizon Air passenger service agents in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. ratified a new three-year contract.

Silver Airways named David Pflieger to president and CEO, effective May 1, 2013.

Air Berlin has begun performing satellite-based approaches (RNP-AR) into Salzburg. The German carrier already uses RNP-AR procedures for its approaches and take-offs at Innsbruck Airport.

Grupo Aeroméxico has reported 2012 net income of MXP1.3 billion ($103.9 million), down 25.3% from the previous year despite a 10.5% increase in revenues to a record MXP39.5 billion.

Recaro Aircraft Seating opened a 13,000 sq. m. addition to its existing 10,000 sq. m. manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

Air Tahiti Nui will unveil a $17 million cabin upgrade in April on its fleet of five Airbus A340-300s.

The long-range Sukhoi Superjet 100 (MSN 95032) has performed its first test flight.

Southwest Airlines told the court in which American Airlines is suing Travelport that American is trying to obtain its trade secrets.

Cargolux has revealed it is in negotiations with Boeing to push back its 747-8 freighter deliveries and is unlikely to firm up two options it holds for the type.

Iberia will cut 3,807 jobs after it failed to reach an agreement with its unions on a scaled back restructuring plan.

Ryanair has been notified that the European Commission plans to block its third Aer Lingus takeover attempt.

Four Sukhoi Superjet 100s, grounded temporarily due to technical reasons, will resume operations before the end of the month.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published the third edition of its European Aviation Safety Plan (EASp) aimed at tackling key aviation safety risks.

EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has launched a new volley of criticism at the airline’s chairman Michael Rake, arguing he should not be re-elected at a forthcoming annual meeting.

Spirit Airlines will launch daily Las Vegas service from Baltimore and Philadelphia April 25, daily Houston-Los Angeles service April 25 and seasonal daily Minneapolis-Denver service April 25-Nov. 6. Ethiopian Airlines will launch 3X-weekly Addis Ababa-Ndola, Zambia service March 31. Air China will launch 3X-weekly Chengdu-Frankfurt Airbus A330-200 service May 19.

Engine Alliance has selected Dean Athans from GE’s Power & Water Aero Derivatives business to succeed president Mary Ellen Jones. Jones has served as president of the GE Aviation/Pratt & Whitney joint venture since November 2009 and will now return to a senior leadership position at Pratt.

Aeroflot has launched an MRO joint venture with Russian state corporation Rostech and European based SR Technics.

IATA has appointed long-time aviation advocate and legal expert Jeffrey Shane as general counsel. Shane will begin working with IATA April 2 and will be based at its headquarters in Montreal.

Delta Air Lines and JFK IAT said they will spend $175 million to further expand New York JFK Airport’s Terminal 4.

Boeing operated a second 787 test flight as part of its effort to gather data on the inflight performance of the aircraft’s batteries.

Finnair may get a boost to its partnership credentials if rules limiting the carrier to majority state-ownership are dropped.

Cargolux is looking to renegotiate its collective agreements and boost its liquidity under its new 2013-17 business plan, following the withdrawal of former shareholder Qatar Airways.