Ross Garnaut, head of the Garnaut Climate Change Review developed in 2008 for the Australian government, said his view over the past four years has moved from an acceptance of “the balance of probabilities to beyond reasonable doubt.”
The general public in the UK has become somewhat skeptical about climate change after three of the harshest winters on record and people no longer are bothered by the issue, according to the head of a leading think tank.
The European Commission has published its historical emissions data upon which allocations for the aviation Emissions Trading Scheme will be based, stating that "aviation emissions of 219,476,343 tonnes of CO2 represents the average of the estimated annual emissions for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006" for flights that will be covered under the ETS starting next year.
Cathay Pacific Airways Head of Environmental Affairs Mark Watson warns that an emerging patchwork of regional environmental schemes to tax carbon and aviation will cause major market distortions and a nightmare of paperwork. Speaking with ATW’s Eco-Aviation Today, Watson said a number of countries such as Australia are moving to tax aviation carbon and warned that in the absence of a global scheme there could be “a plethora of competing schemes with significant overlap.”
Etihad Airways will increase its seven-times-weekly Abu Dhabi-Manchester service to 14-times-weekly, Aug. 1. It had previously announced an increase of up to 10-times-weekly. Spirit Airlines launched thrice-weekly Ft. Lauderdale-Charleston, W.Va. service. It will also operate seasonal thrice-weekly CRW-Myrtle Beach service starting May 5. Porter Airlines will increase thrice-daily Thunder Bay-Toronto City service to five-times-daily from May 25.
Southwest Aluminum Group signed an aluminum procurement contract with Airbus and EADS for the manufacture and supply of aluminum plate. The China-based supplier’s products will initially supply Airbus’ single-aisle and long-range families.
CAE said it sold four Level D full-flight simulators, as well as four CAE Simfinity trainers, to airline customers in Asia and Europe, in contracts worth approximately C$50 million ($51.4 million).
Russia-based Taimyr Airlines took delivery of the first of four ATR 42-500s ordered in 2010 that also includes options for three more. The carrier, which also operates under the NordStar Airlines brand, will base the -500s in Krasnoyarsk to fly to new regional destinations as well as to destinations such as Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Ekaterinburg.
International Aero Engines Executive Board of Directors announced the extension of the consortium's collaboration agreement to 2045. IAE, which comprises Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Japanese Aero Engines Corp. and MTU Aero Engines, produces the V2500 engine for the Airbus A320 family. “We are pleased with the extension of the IAE collaboration agreement to 2045,” said IAE President and CEO Ian Aitken. “After 27 years, we continue to be the industry leader for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft."
Air service to Tokyo Narita and Haneda airports was largely operating normally Monday, though governments worldwide continued to advise against travel to Japan as the nation attempts to manage unstable nuclear reactors in the aftermath of last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Long-time Pinnacle Airlines Corp. President and CEO Philip Trenary announced his resignation Monday, effective March 24, to “pursue other interests,” the company said in a statement.
American Airlines and United Airlines on Monday agreed to drop their lawsuit against the City of Chicago after reaching agreement with Mayor Richard Daley to allow a portion of the planned second phase of Chicago O'Hare expansion to move forward.
The Indian Commercial Pilots Assn., the union representing 800 Air India pilots who were Indian Airlines pilots prior to the 2007 merger, said its members will go on strike starting Wednesday.
Aegean Airlines posted a net loss of €23.3 million ($32.4 million) for 2010, reversed from a €23 million net profit in 2009, confirming earlier predictions that the Greek airline would suffer a loss “of over $22 million” for the year.
The Indian Commercial Pilots Assn., the union representing 800 Air India pilots who were Indian Airlines pilots prior to the 2007 merger, said its members will go on strike starting Wednesday.
SR Technics expanded its 10-year engine maintenance contract with the Airberlin Group to cover exclusive maintenance services for more than 300 engines, including CFM56-7B, CFM56-5B and PW4168 engines, for their entire Airbus and Boeing fleet. SR Technics is now responsible for providing maintenance services for 95% of Airberlin Group engines.
Emirates will launch a second-daily Dubai-Cape Town service March 27, using an Airbus A340-500. It will also launch a third-daily A330-200 service to Manchester May 1. AirAsia launched thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Palembang service March 10. Spirit Airlines launched five-times-weekly Chicago O'Hare-Atlantic City service, becoming daily April 1. Djibouti Air launched six-times-weekly Djibouti-Dubai service.
Swiss International Air Lines improved its fuel consumption by 3.9% year-over-year in 2010, and by a total of 17% since its founding in 2002. It ended 2010 with fuel consumption of 3.73 liters per 100 passenger km., versus 3.88 liters in 2009. “Maintaining a responsible attitude toward the environment has been a cornerstone of our corporate culture for several years now,” LX CEO Harry Hohmeister remarked.
Pinnacle Airlines said it reached a tentative accord with flight attendants to amend its collective bargaining agreement. If ratified, the contract would provide a five-year extension to the agreement that became amendable on Jan. 31, it said. Pinnacle’s 797 flight attendants are represented by the United Steelworkers AFL-CIO.
An ICAO study released Thursday estimates that demand for aviation personnel will reach 2 million by the year 2030 and reveals a shortfall of training capacity in existing facilities, equivalent to 160,000 pilots, 360,000 maintenance personnel and 40,000 air traffic controllers.
Aircell, provider of Gogo inflight connectivity services, will expand its capabilities beyond the continental US, implementing Ka-band satellite technology, and a next-generation version of Air-to-Ground technology. The options can be selected at the aircraft or fleet level, it said.
US FAA revealed last week that it "recently required the nation's airlines to disable the oxygen generators located in all aircraft lavatories to eliminate a potential safety and security vulnerability." Airlines completed the work on 6,000 aircraft by March 4, the agency said in a statement. It did not explain what danger the generators posed, but the concern was clearly that a knowledgeable terrorist could ignite the contents of the container while in the lavatory.
Etihad Airways reduced its order for 35 787s by four aircraft and instead exercised options on three 777s to safeguard its expansion, the airline said last week following a report in The Seattle Times.
