Airnorth Brasilia turboprop crashed yesterday morning in Darwin during a training flight, killing both pilots, according to the manufacturer. It said it was dispatching a team to aid in the investigation. Aircraft first flew in 1988, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network and went down during the initial climb. Airnorth serves 11 Australian destinations as well as Dili in East Timor aboard Brasilias, E-170s and Metro 23s.
World Trade Org. may issue its final ruling on the long-running Airbus/Boeing state aid dispute as early as today, Boeing VP-Executive, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Ted Austell said yesterday in a statement likely prompted by reports that the German government is preparing to extend a €1.1 billion ($1.49 billion) loan to Airbus to aid in A350 development. German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology Parliamentary State Secretary Peter Hintze said, "All pre-conditions have been met and the funds are available," and that the loan satisfies WTO requirements.
Republic Airways Holdings has changed course and will abandon either the Frontier Airlines or Midwest Airlines name next month and combine its new subsidiaries into one company, new VP-Marketing and Branding Ian Arthur told American City Business Journals. "I think the name is very important. And certainly part of our decision is which customer base is more willing to migrate over to the other brand," Arthur said. "There's significant equity in both of them." Republic said it intended to keep both brands when it acquired the pair last year
Lufthansa Technik signed a five-year exclusive deal with Wizz Air for approximately 150 C checks on the LCC's current and future A320 fleet. Work ranging from C1 up to C4/C8 will be carried out by Lufthansa Technik Budapest.
Pan Am International Flight Academy is taking delivery of two Level D 737NG simulators. A Rockwell Collins simulator will be delivered to its Miami headquarters and a Sim-Industries device will be delivered to Pan Am's Las Vegas center.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. named Schering-Plough Executive VP and General Counsel Thomas Sabatino Jr. senior VP, general counsel and corporate secretary effective March 29. AWAS announced the resignation of President and CEO Franklin Pray.
Air New Zealand, Virgin Blue and Qantas, together with Boeing and Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organization, commissioned a world-first study aiming to accelerate the development and commercialization of sustainable aviation fuel in the region. The initiative, which commences today in Sydney, is being convened by the Australian and New Zealand group of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group and will be carried out by the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Org., Australia's peak scientific body.
Icelandair machinists went on strike early yesterday morning over a pay dispute, disrupting operations for several hours. The airline said it planned to resume flights at 4 p.m. local time. Virgin Atlantic Airways said it will open a customer service office in Swansea in September and hire more than 200 new employees. Welsh government is investing in the project.
JetBlue Airways announced its intention to maintain its headquarters in New York City. It had been considering a move to Orlando. It will combine its corporate offices currently located in Forest Hills, N.Y., and Darien, Conn., into one Long Island City location by mid-2012. CEO Dave Barger said New York City "is an important part of our heritage and culture, our brand and our customer connection, as well as our operation with our base at JFK's Terminal 5."
Sukhoi Superjet 100 completed cold soak testing in Yakutsk, the manufacturer announced. Aircraft was exposed to temperatures as low as -41C and was parked for up to 17 hr. before APU and engine startup. Seven test flights were conducted.
Philippine Airlines expects to post another loss in its fiscal year ending March 31, President Jaime Bautista told reporters in Manila. PAL was $301.4 million in the red in 2008-09, but anticipates an improvement in 2009-10. It lost $40.2 million through the nine months ended Dec. 31. It expects to report more than 9 million passengers and revenue of approximately $1.4-$1.5 billion for the full fiscal year.
Royal Jordanian will take delivery of two A330-200s on May 21 and an E-175 in the fourth quarter. A330s will seat 24 in business class and 259 in economy and will operate to London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Colombo and Kuala Lumpur. A twice-weekly Amman-Madinah service will launch on March 28 and the thrice-weekly KUL flights begin in June. RJ currently operates 29 A330s and seven E-175s/195s. Delivery of its 11 787s is scheduled to start in 2013. It did not reveal the source of the aircraft it is receiving.
Jat Airways lost €23.5 million ($31.8 million) in 2009 and expects another deficit this year, CEO Srdjan Radovanovic told reporters in Belgrade. The carrier had expected a €15 million ($31.8 million) loss in December ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8, 2009). Full-year operating loss was €16.5 million.
Aviastar-TU Tu-204 crashed on approach to Moscow Domodedovo Monday morning. There were no fatalities among the eight crew on the flight from Hurghada, although several were injuried seriously. The flight had no passengers, according to reports, which indicated that there was heavy fog at the time of the incident. Aviastar is a charter carrier based at Ramenskoye. Russian authorities banned the airline from operating passenger flights following the accident, PRIME-TASS reported.
US Air Transport Assn. and the Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Energy Support Center last week signed a strategic alliance agreement designed to spur the development and deployment of alternative aviation fuels.
ANA now expects to report a ¥65 billion ($720 million) consolidated net loss in its fiscal year ending March 31, compared to the ¥28 billion loss forecast last October, owing to a "slower than expected recovery," although it plans to return to profit in 2010-11.
Austrian Airlines will begin replacing regional jets and small turboprops with larger aircraft on its European routes from Sunday in order to bolster its competitiveness with higher volume and more attractive fares.
Boeing on Friday said it will "accelerate planned rate increases" on both the 777 and 747-8 in response to increasing demand "in the recovering airplane market." Last week, Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh signaled that the company likely would make an announcement in April regarding the 777 ( ATWOnline, March 18). The 777 monthly build rate will climb to seven from five in mid-2011, about six months earlier than had been planned.
Air Berlin posted a €9.5 million ($13 million) loss in 2009, narrowed from a restated €83.5 million deficit in 2008, it reported in a preliminary earnings statement. Germany's No. 2 airline said full-year revenue dropped 4.4% to €3.24 billion and operating expenses were cut 6.2% to €2.78 billion. It said EBIT rose to €28.5 million from €2 million, while financial losses were reduced to €51 million from €72 million in 2008. Detailed full-year results are due for release Thursday.
Continental Airlines plans to take delivery of four 787-8s in the third quarter of 2011 and two more in the fourth quarter, it said in a US Securities and Exchange filing last week. It has 11 -8s and 14 787-9s on order. The fleet plan included in the filing anticipates the 2010 delivery of two 777-200ERs, three 757-300s, two 737-900ERs, 10 737-800s (one of which will not enter service until 2011) and three 737-500s, plus the disposal of six 737 Classics. By year end, CO will have 350 aircraft in the mainline fleet.
Embraer earned a $248.5 million profit in 2009, down 36.1% from the $388.7 million reported the prior year, as the recession and industry downturn contributed to falls in both orders and deliveries. Full-year sales revenue declined 13.7% to $5.47 billion and EBIT dropped 37.5% to $335.6 million from $537 million. The company's commercial aviation segment posted $3.37 billion in revenue, a 20.5% decrease. It delivered 122 commercial aircraft in 2009, down from 162 the year before. Last year's deliveries comprised seven ERJ-145s, 22 E-170s, 11 E-175s, 62 E-190s and 20 E-195s.
Denmark's Cimber Sterling cited "extraordinarily tough competition, falling demand and thus significant pressure on yield," as it reported a loss of DKK95.2 million ($17.4 million) for the fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 31 compared to income of DKK12 million in the year-ago period. Three weeks ago the carrier reduced its forecast for its fiscal year ending April 30 to an operating loss of DKK200-DKK220 million
Copa Airlines parent Copa Holdings announced the pricing of 1.6 million nonvoting shares held by seller Corp. de Inversiones Aereas at $56 per share. The secondary offering is expected to close Wednesday.
Gol announced the conclusion of the BRL65 million ($36.4 million) expansion project at its Confins maintenance center that added a hangar, offices, storage and support areas and a larger ramp. The facility could serve 60 aircraft per year when it opened in 2005. The expansion began in 2008 and it now can handle 120 aircraft annually. It has 47,000 sq. m. dedicated to maintenance and support. Gol said it is seeking FAA certification, after which it will pursue third-party work.
