GE Aviation announced yesterday that it has acquired Naverus, the Performance-Based Navigation services provider that develops RNP procedures for airlines and air traffic management organizations.
Gulf Air plans to add regional aircraft and more A320s while downsizing its widebody fleet, including selling its five A340s, as part of a three-year "realignment program" aimed at making the unprofitable carrier a "commercially sustainable business" by 2012, it announced yesterday.
Eurofly and Meridiana will merge into Meridiana Fly, the Italian carriers confirmed last week. Meridiana already owns 60.7% of Eurofly. The new airline will focus on medium- and long-haul services while "peak" summer and winter short-haul and charter operations will be handled by a newly incorporated company called Meridiana Express that will be part of Meridiana Fly. Deadline for the integration is Jan. 31.
US FAA yesterday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to require "scheduled airlines to either retrofit their existing fleet with ice-detection equipment or make sure the ice protection system activates at the proper time," the agency said in a statement. For aircraft with an ice-detection system, FAA is proposing to mandate that the system "alert the crew each time they should activate the ice protection system.
Japan Airlines President Haruka Nishimatsu yesterday told former employees that the company's pension benefits must be cut significantly to enable it to become sustainable long-term.
Air Berlin said it is seeking to recruit 700 flight attendants and 120 pilots. The new employees would be based in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Munster/Osnabruck, Nuremberg, Paderborn-Lippstadt and Stuttgart in Germany as well as Basel/Muhlhausen and Zurich in Switzerland, AB said. It currently operates 129 aircraft. It has retired all of its 737 Classics and plans to ground two 757s and one 767-300ER by the end of January.
Lufthansa said its first A380 delivery will be delayed again by several weeks and it now is expected in early summer next year instead of spring, a spokesperson told ATWOnline.
Oxford Aviation Academy signed a five-year agreement with Icelandair for provision of simulator training for 757s and 767s as well as Dash 8-100/-300 training for Air Iceland.
Honeywell said Air New Zealand extended by seven years two of its wheels and brakes service agreements for 737 Classics and 767-300s. Financial details were not disclosed.
KLM yesterday operated the first biofuel demonstration flight in which passengers were aboard, flying a 747-400 partially powered by camelina-derived fuel from Amsterdam Schiphol. The flight, carrying 40 select passengers including KLM President & CEO Peter Hartman and a number of Dutch officials, stayed in the air for about 1 hr. before returning to AMS. One of the aircraft's engines was powered by a 50/50 mixture of traditional jet fuel and camelina-based fuel. Honeywell subsidiary UOP converted the plant-based crude oil to biofuel and then blended it with jet fuel.
China's cargo industry appears to be moving toward consolidation as airfreight players look to mitigate damage from continuing losses that have resulted from the global economic downturn.
ICAO conference in Rio de Janeiro last week adopted a "Global Framework on Aviation and Alternative Fuels" endorsing the use of sustainable alternative fuels for aviation, "particularly the use of drop-in fuels in the short to mid-term." The "dynamic Web-based document" will be located on the ICAO website and "will serve as a global platform for the sharing of information, best practices and future initiatives by ICAO member states and the air transport industry." It will be updated regularly, the organization said.
Boeing Friday broke ground on a second 787 final assembly line site in North Charleston, S.C. The company last month announced that it would place a second 787 FAL in North Charleston rather than near Seattle ( ATWOnline, Oct. 29). It is expected to be completed by mid-2011 and is being built with the capacity to support production of three Dreamliners per month.
US Air Transport Assn. reported that US airlines' passenger revenue sank 15% year-over-year in October, marking the 12th consecutive month of falling passenger revenue. It said the drop was "fueled primarily by the 11th consecutive month of ticket price declines." US airlines' average domestic yield in October was down 12.9% to 13.68 cents, according to ATA. Yield fell 14.4% to 11.63 cents on transatlantic flights, dropped 17.3% on flights to/from Latin America to 12.8 cents and plunged 17.8% to 10.69 cents on transpacific flights.
IATA and Russia's Ministry of Transport signed an MOU Friday to form "a strategic partnership" focusing on safety, security, technology, airport infrastructure, air navigation, ground handling and training. DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, in Moscow for the signing, also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "IATA's global standards can contribute significantly to the development of safe, efficient and environmentally responsible aviation in Russia," Bisignani said.
Lufthansa Technik signed a Total Component Support contract with Air Berlin Group covering component support of its entire fleet of 737s, A320/A300 family aircraft and Q400s. It additionally signed a three-year contract extension with Air Transat covering total engine support for CF6-80C2 turbofans powering the carrier's A310 fleet. Iberia Maintenance won a three-year contract to provide line maintenance for DHL in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Vitoria.
The Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines, which held its 53rd Presidents Assembly in Singapore last week, called for a fresh approach from governments and regulatory agencies to commercial aviation, pushing for greater freedom from taxation and increased ATC system efficiency.
Boeing Commercial Airplane's Training & Flight Services unit (formerly Alteon) signed an agreement with ANA to update the visual systems on ANA's three 767-300 full-flight simulators in Tokyo.
Continental Airlines will launch daily Newark-Munich service on March 27 using a 767-200ER. Virgin America launched twice-daily service to Fort Lauderdale from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Horizon Air will start daily Spokane-Sacramento-San Jose and Spokane-San Jose-Sacramento service March 26 aboard 76-seat Q400s. American Eagle launched daily Los Angeles-Santa Fe service. Spirit Airlines launched twice-weekly Fort Lauderdale-Armenia, Colombia service.
Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng called for airlines in the Asia/Pacific region to line up in support of the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines in order to counter the regulatory strength of the EU and US.
Ascent Aviation announced the launch of its commercial aircraft MRO operation at Tucson International. It will specialize in 737 Classics, 737NGs and MD-80s, performing heavy and line maintenance, modifications, transition services, storage, paint, disassembly and consignment parts sales. It recently purchased the assets of Hamilton Aerospace Technologies and World Jet Corp. and "has retained a substantial base of skills and experience from those two firms," it said.
Air Works, a third-party MRO company based in India, received EASA repair station certification for its maintenance facilities in Hosur, marking the first time EASA has awarded repair station approval to an airframe MRO company in India, it said. The approval will cover airframe and component maintenance on ATR 42/72-500s and 737 Classics.
Worldwide Flight Services won contracts from Royal Air Maroc, Air Caraïbes, Air Mali, Air Burkina and Mauritania Airways for full ground handling at Paris Orly.
Travelport announced a new multiyear full-content GDS agreement with JetBlue Airways. Deal includes an upgrade to e-ticketing, interactive sell and interactive seats during the first quarter of 2010.
