Virgin Atlantic Airways on Friday confirmed a report in the UK's Daily Telegraph that its 51% owner, Virgin Group, contracted Deutsche Bank to assess the airline's position and growth opportunities in the quickly consolidating European airline industry.
Kenya Airways reported a net profit of KES1.44 billion ($172 million) for its fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, a 67% increase from the KES860 million it earned in the year-ago period. Revenue soared 23.1% to KES41.2 billion.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told media in Sydney on Friday that the airline’s remaining five Airbus A380s could resume flying as early as Sunday if a number of engine checks are satisfactory following the uncontained failure of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 aboard a Qantas A380 that had just taken off from Singapore on Thursday (ATW Daily News, Nov. 5).
An Aerocaribbean ATR 72-200 operating a domestic Cuban flight between Santiago and Havana crashed en route Thursday, killing all 68 passengers and crew onboard. The crash at 5:45 p.m. in a mountainous region near Sancti Spiritus occurred as Hurricane Tomas neared the eastern part of the island nation, where Santiago is located. By early Friday, Cuban authorities had suspended flights at the country's airports owing to the hurricane.
US Dept. of Transportation said last month that airline reports continue to show that long tarmac delays... London Heathrow became "Airport Carbon Accredited" ACI announced that its governing board unanimously approved Swissport International was sold by Ferrovial Singapore Changi said transit passengers will be charged
Airports Council International adopted a new, collaborative safety initiative at its World Assembly in Bermuda this week, noting that Flight Safety Foundation statistics show 30% of "major damage" accidents that occurred from 1995 to 2008 were "runway related."
US FAA reported in October that "serious runway incursions" at US airports dropped by 50% year-over-year to just six in the 2010 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the second straight year serious incursions have been lowered by half. Of the six, three involved commercial aircraft.
Dubai International recorded a massive 25% surge in passenger traffic year-over-year for September and an 11.3% rise in international freight. Some 34.09 million passengers passed through the airport in the first nine months of 2010, up 15.8% compared to the same period in 2009. The largest growth was seen on routes to and from Eastern Europe (up 247%), other Middle East destinations (up 36%), Asia/Pacific (up 33%), Africa (up 25%) and Western Europe (up 23%).
Airports worldwide reported 9% year-over-year passenger traffic growth in September, bringing the nine-month traffic gain to 6.5% compared to the same period in 2009, according to figures released by Airports Council International. September international traffic growth (plus 10.5%) at ACI airports outpaced domestic expansion (plus 7.5%). The divide was most pronounced in North America, ACI noted, pointing out that international traffic at the continent's airports grew at more than double the domestic traffic rate.
London Gatwick intends to start competing with Heathrow for A380 traffic now that it has received planning permission from regional authorities for the aircraft to operate at LGW. The airport obtained planning permission in 2008 to make runway improvements to enable it to handle diverted A380s in emergencies, but it was restricted from being served by the extra-large aircraft on a scheduled or charter basis.
Airport officials strongly cautioned against "massive overkill" in response to the recent interception of bombs in air cargo shipments, warning that a significant expansion of airfreight screening at airports could stifle global trade.
Morpho Detection Inc. announced Nov. 2 that the UK Dept. for Transport approved the Itemiser DX trace detection system for use in transportation security applications. Separately, Morpho announced it was contracted to install four CTX 9400 DSi explosives detection systems by Airport Authority Hong Kong, the operator of Hong Kong International Airport.
Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners inked a three-yearEngine Management Program agreement with Jordan Aviation to use its Web-based Advanced Diagnostics & Engine Management tools to provide engine performance monitoring services. Pratt & Whitney will also analyze the data to forecast engine health and maintenance for Jordan Aviation.
AirAsia X launched daily Kuala Lumpur–Seoul Incheon service Nov. 1 using an A330. Olympic Air launched new five-times-weekly Thessaloniki–London Gatwick service Oct. 31 with an A319 with 120 economy-class seats and 12 business-class seats.
Boeing on Wednesday announced it will begin a rotable exchange services program in support of the 787 Dreamliner, which it called the first program of its type to be developed in conjunction with entry into service of a new aircraft type. The program will provide access to a Boeing-managed inventory pool of parts available to ship to customers within 24 hours of request.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. announced the first Sukhoi Superjet production aircraft scheduled for delivery to launch customer Armavia next month took to the skies Thursday ( ATW Daily News, Oct. 19). During a 3-hr. test flight, the pilot crew checked the overall engines, systems and equipment performance having confirmed the aircraft characteristics within operational range.
American Airlines has told Orbitz that it will sever its ties to the online travel agency effective Dec. 1, terminating Orbitz’ authority to ticket AA flights on Orbitz.com and Orbitz for Business websites.
The three operators of Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered Airbus A380s followed the engine manufacturer's recommendations to conduct "basic precautionary engine checks" in the wake of the uncontained failure of an engine on a Qantas A380 that had just taken off from Singapore on Thursday.
