ST Aerospace has acquired a 35% stake in EADS EFW and plans to begin an Airbus A330 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) engineering development phase this month.
Japan Airlines has postponed the launch of 4X-weekly Tokyo Narita-Helsinki Boeing 787 service originally scheduled for Feb. 25. It has made adjustments to its international routes affected by the grounding of the 787 since Jan. 16. Brussels Airlines will launch 5X-weekly Brussels-Washington Dulles Airbus A330 service June 18. The route is Brussels Airlines’ second transatlantic destination, following the launch of Brussels-New York service in June 2012.
Vienna International Airport in January opened the first phase of its dedicated terminal for Air Berlin and its subsidiary, FlyNiki, as well for oneworld alliance partners. The 3,500 sq. m. terminal has 30 check-in counters and eight self-check-in terminals. Within the next 12 months, the gate areas will also be completely renovated.
The supervisory board of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport dismissed CEO and commercial director Rainer Schwarz. He was relieved of his post due to the much-delayed opening of the airport. The airport opening has been delayed three times and is two years behind schedule, and more delays appear likely.
UK airport company Heathrow Airport Holdings (formerly BAA) has agreed to sell its 100% interest in London Stansted Airport to Manchester Airports Group (MAG) for £1.5 billion ($2.4 billion) in cash in a deal expected to close by the end of February.
An opposition motion against the Welsh government’s plans to buy Cardiff Airport has been defeated after a heated debate in Wales’ National Assembly. Two amendments to the motion were also defeated. In mid-December, Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones announced that the government had entered into an exclusive due diligence agreement with TBI, the owner of Cardiff Airport.
Brazil said it will invest BRL$7.3 billion ($3.58 billion) to improve the country’s regional aviation infrastructure and quality of airport services. The investment marks the first phase of a modernization plan that aims to improve the quality of service, add new airports to the air transportation network and increase the number of airline routes operated in Brazil. It will initially include 270 regional airports and ultimately involve all 689 civil aviation airports and airfields in Brazil
Indian airport regulator AERA (Airports Economic Regulatory Authority) approved a 154% increase in aeronautical charges for airlines operating to the city’s airport. The new charges went into effect Feb. 1. For the first time, AERA has also allowed a user development fee, to be charged to passengers flying out of the city. The new charges are to partly compensate for the huge investments being made in redeveloping the airport.
Doha Hamad International Airport, formerly known as the New Doha International Airport, is set to open April 1 and will be operated by national carrier Qatar Airways. The first phase of the $15.5 billion project will see 12 international carriers operating from the new facility from that date. These are reportedly carriers, including low-cost airlines, which do not require use of the airport lounges that have yet to be completed. Qatar Airways will move its entire operations to Hamad International in the second half of this year once the lounges have been completed.
UK regional carrier Flybe has reached “agreement in principle” with Ryanair to take on a package of routes as part of Ryanair’s bid to take over Irish flag-carrier Aer Lingus.
AD Aerospace has appointed Andrew Rushton as business development manager in response to the growing demand for its state-of-the-art CCTV solutions for safety and security of aircraft. The 30-year aerospace veteran has formerly served in technical and sales departments for companies including Boeing, BAE Systems and Thales. Avantair has named veteran finance and customer service executive David Haslett as its new COO. Haslett is former managing director of Sportech Racing.
