Air Transport World

By Linda Blachly
Aircraft Briefs-May 14, 2019
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
A Paris court ruling to allow a referendum on whether Paris airports operator Groupe ADP should be privatized looks set to push back the controversial sell-off of the French state’s stake in the airport operator.
Airports & Networks

By Alan Dron
Vinci Airports has completed the purchase of its controlling 50.01% stake in London Gatwick Airport, the French company announced May 14.
Airports & Networks

By Alan Dron
Air Italy plans a modest increase in its number of long-haul Airbus A330s, rather than taking on Boeing 787-8s, because of delays in delivering new aircraft to its minority shareholder, Qatar Airways.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Alan Dron
Jet Airways’ CEO Vinay Dube and his deputy and CFO Amit Agarwal have resigned, according to reports in the country’s press.
Airlines & Lessors

By Sean Broderick
Airbus A220 operators have been told to inspect fuel feed tubes for chafing caused by a clamp that, in extreme cases, could inhibit fuel from flowing to engines.
Maintenance & Training

By Guy Norris
Mitsubishi Aircraft said a stretched redesign of what was formerly dubbed the MRJ70, a regional jet follow-on to the company’s in-development MRJ90, is a “realistic possibility” and expects to release new configuration details over coming weeks.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Helen Massy-Beresford
TAP Air Portugal’s Airbus A321LR took its first commercial flight over the weekend, the Portuguese airline said, operating from Lisbon to Prague.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Star Alliance continues to open renovated branded lounges in key markets where no member carriers have a main hub.
Airports & Networks

By Victoria Moores
Aviation services firm Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has posted a 3% profit increase for the first three months of 2019.
Airlines & Lessors

The FAA has yet to develop a plan for modernizing its Civil Aviation Registry—despite being required to complete upgrades by October 2021—according to a new audit report from the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Safety, Ops & Regulation

A group representing US consumers wants Congress to abandon proposals under consideration to raise the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) cap to $8.50 per segment from $4, saying the hike would “disproportionately burden budget-conscious consumers and families.”
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Linda Blachly
Airline Routes-May 13, 2019
Airports & Networks

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is soliciting nominees for a new Lithium Battery Safety Advisory Committee that will be housed within the Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
Safety, Ops & Regulation

A coalition of aviation groups is urging the US Congress to “expeditiously consider and pass” a White House proposal to provide supplemental funding to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to counter the diversion of CBP Officers (CBPO) from airports to the US-Mexico border.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Victoria Moores
South African regional airline CemAir is hoping to resume operations after an appeal committee overturned the South African CAA’s (SACAA) decision to ground the airline twice in two months.
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
The leak of a study funded by the European Commission has thrown the issue of aviation taxation into the spotlight, with sustainable transport lobby group Transport & Environment (T&E), saying the report shows taxing aviation fuel would significantly cut emissions without affecting GDP and employment.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Victoria Moores
The backers of rival London Heathrow Airport expansion project “Heathrow Hub” are planning to appeal a High Court judgment that dismissed a series of legal challenges against the government’s third-runway plans.
Airports & Networks

Delta Air Lines is standing by a campaign to dissuade its flight attendants and baggage handlers from unionizing, saying that a union would interfere with the “direct relationship” between airline management and employees.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

No one was hurt when a Myanmar National Airlines Embraer E190-100 landed at Mandalay with its nose gear jammed in the raised position.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
Toronto-based private-equity firm Onex Capital will purchase Canadian LCC WestJet in an all-cash deal valued at C$3.5 billion ($2.6 billion), the companies announced May 13.
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
Air France plans to reduce its short-haul capacity in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs) by 15% by the end of 2021 and cut 465 jobs without forced departures in the face of growing competition from high-speed trains and low-cost airlines.
Airlines & Lessors

By Jens Flottau
Emirates Airline’s chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori has resigned in a surprise move May 12.
Airlines & Lessors

Financial results to-date for airlines worldwide, highlighting operating revenues, operating expenses, operating profits/losses, operating margins and net income/losses for each airline's 2019 fiscal first quarter or equivalent.
Airlines & Lessors

By Thierry Dubois
French air accident investigation bureau BEA is gearing up for a new search phase in Greenland, still hoping to find a key fragment of the Air France Airbus A380 engine that lost its fan in flight on Sept. 30, 2017.
Aircraft & Propulsion