Air Transport World

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified ATR’s Singapore flight training center in the Seletar Aerospace Park.

Ethiopian Airlines, which is now operating four Boeing 787s, remains on track for aggressive growth over the next several years.

[CORRECTED] A United Airlines Boeing 787 flight from Houston to Newark diverted to New Orleans Tuesday morning when one of its six electric generators failed.

Airbus parent EADS unveiled an agreement to make “a far-reaching change” in the way the company’s shareholding is structured.

Airlines for America (A4A) has launched a campaign for a National Airline Policy to ensure the US airline industry remains globally competitive.

The opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport could be postponed again, according to several German media reports, after fire safety experts found more problems with the facility’s security system last month. The airport was originally scheduled to open in June, a date that was postponed to August, and then to March 2013, due to technical issues concerning fire protection installations. In September, it confirmed the new opening date would be Oct. 27, 2013.

Ryanair will cut its flight schedule at Budapest Airport by 40% following its latest spat with the airport’s operator over the cost of services. The Irish low-cost carrier will cut 10 routes and reduce the number of flights to and from the Hungarian capital from 280 to 170 a week because of what it says are increased charges and inefficiencies at the airport.

London Stansted Airport is seeking financial aid from the UK government to improve its much-criticised rail link from London. Stansted lies approximately 30 miles northeast of the capital but the current Stansted Express rail service, although frequent and re-equipped just a year ago with modern rolling stock, takes between 45 minutes and an hour to traverse what is essentially a branch line. Journey times have actually increased in recent years due to ageing infrastructure, such as signalling equipment, which is becoming unreliable.

Ethiopian Airlines said Addis Ababa Bole Airport is expanding infrastructure to accommodate the carrier’s aggressive growth plans. “A new ramp is already completed and we can now park 24 airplanes,” CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told ATW. “Another ramp is being built for 14 more aircraft and the third step is to expand the terminal. This will take us to 2025. After that a new airport will be built.”

The Maldives government has terminated a $511 million contract awarded to Bangalore-based GMR Group in 2010 for the upgrade, expansion and operation of Male International Airport. The government said the agreement was “legally invalid,” a decision GMR is disputing.

China Southern Airlines has committed to purchase 10 Airbus A330-300s, in a deal valued at $1.9 billion, according to Reuters.

Virgin Atlantic Airways won its bid to take all 12 pairs of London Heathrow remedy slots demanded by the European Commission following the takeover by International Airlines Group of British Midland. The giving up of slots was a condition of the takeover deal; IAG also owns British Airways.

London Heathrow Airport has lost its position as Europe’s primary hub airport due to its runway capacity shortage, according to former IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani. Speaking at the Future of Air Transport Conference in London, Bisignani said that Heathrow now connects to fewer destinations than it did 20 years ago as well as to fewer destinations than its competitors—Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol.

Munich Airport, Lufthansa’s second largest hub in Germany after Frankfurt, said cost-reduction programs by Lufthansa and Air Berlin will curtail its growth.

New African low-cost start-up Fastjet confirmed it is in negotiations to buy 1time Airline, the South African LCC that went into liquidation last month.

[UPDATED] US FAA has issued an airworthiness directive ordering Boeing 787 operators to inspect the aircraft for “improperly assembled” engine fuel feed manifold couplings.

Boeing said the world’s airlines should have access to “reasonable liquidity and pricing” for financing new aircraft deliveries in 2013.

Flight trials were conducted late last month to validate the Airborne Separation Assistance System Spacing (ASPA), a system for aircraft spacing and merging in congested air traffic environments.

Frontier Airlines launched 3X-weekly Orlando International-Shenandoah Valley, Va. Airbus A319 service. Emirates SkyCargo will launch daily Dubai-Phuket Airbus A340-300F service Dec. 10. Southwest Airlines will launch Wichita, Kan. service to Chicago Midway, Dallas and Las Vegas as well as San Juan-Baltimore, Houston Hobby-New York LaGuardia and Chicago Midway-Tulsa service June 2.

Embraer broke ground on its $26 million Engineering and Technology Center at Melbourne International Airport in Florida late last month.

Bahrain-based Gulf Air will use network services from SITA to optimize its operations across its 48 destinations.

Boeing said it has delivered more 737s this year than in any year of the program’s history.

Defunct UK low-cost carrier bmibaby, which ceased operations in September, decided to shut down instead of accepting takeover bids from financially insecure purchasers.

China’s couriers are looking to launch their own cargo airlines in the fast-growing domestic express delivery market.

Star Alliance member AviancaTaca Airlines is ready to fill the gap in Brazil if TAM Airlines leaves the alliance, as expected.