Air Transport World

By Jens Flottau
Lufthansa on April 30 decided to stop any planned growth of its low-fare brand Eurowings as that unit’s financial performance continued to deteriorate in the first quarter.
Airlines & Lessors

Southern Airways Corp., parent of Mississippi-based commuter Southern Airways Express and Hawaii-based commuter Mokulele Airlines, has announced a strategic minority investment by SkyWest Inc., parent of Utah-based regional SkyWest Airlines.
Airlines & Lessors

China’s Hainan Airlines has incurred CNY3.6 billion ($523 million) loss for 2018, reversed from a net profit of CNY3.3 billion in 2017, ending its profit-making run.
Airlines & Lessors

By Bill Carey
Associations representing airports and the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry have formed a high-level task force to address the challenge of drone incursions at US airports.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Sean Broderick
United Airlines has not leveraged collateral in Avianca Holdings that could see it take control of the Colombian carrier following loan-covenant violations by majority shareholder BRW Aviation, which put up its ownership stake to guarantee a loan from the Chicago-based carrier.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Air France has made modest changes in its winter 2019-20 schedules, increasing frequencies rather than the number of destinations.
Airports & Networks

By Helen Massy-Beresford
An April 30 deadline for the presentation of a new business plan to rescue Alitalia looked set to be extended after Italian railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), which is expected to lead the relaunch, said it had discussed the possibility of an extension at a board meeting.
Airlines & Lessors

By Adrian Schofield
Virgin Australia has decided to delay its Boeing 737 MAX orders for two years, the first major move by the carrier’s new CEO as he seeks to improve the carrier’s near-term financial health.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines reported a 2019 first-quarter net loss of €99 million ($111 million), widened from a €73 million loss in the year-ago quarter.
Airlines & Lessors

A trade group representing the global aviation maintenance and manufacturing sector is defending Boeing’s inclusion on FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) amid ongoing investigations into the Boeing 737 MAX.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Jens Flottau
Airbus does not see any change in demand or supply chain relief for the A320neo family as a result of the Boeing 737 MAX grounding.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Sean Broderick
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, ramping up the company’s defense of the 737 MAX, insists the grounded aircraft was designed and certified to the company’s standards.
Aircraft & Propulsion

The head of the largest independent association of US flight attendants called on FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell to implement a host of safety initiatives from last year’s FAA Reauthorization Act, saying the agency “has already missed several deadlines” related to rest hours, seat size and toxic fumes.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Michael Bruno
Boeing chairman, president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg appears likely to keep all those titles after company shareholders opted April 29 not to make the chairmanship an independent position.
Aircraft & Propulsion

US Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) is temporarily reassigning a block of officers to the Mexican border from major US international airports, raising concerns about immigration delays at those airports this summer.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Victoria Moores
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is facing a fifth day of pilot strikes across its operations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, with another 546 flight cancellations anticipated for April 30.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Garuda Indonesia reported a net profit of $19.7 million for the 2019 first quarter, reversing a $64.3 million loss for the same period in 2018.
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways plans to refurbish 23 Airbus A320s and A321s with new economy seats, as part of a short- and mid-haul economy product refresh.
Interiors & Connectivity

By Helen Massy-Beresford
Italy’s deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio said more private investors are making offers for Alitalia and would play a role in the bankrupt airline’s relaunch.
Airlines & Lessors

By Helen Massy-Beresford
French leisure airline Aigle Azur will not relaunch flights from Paris to Beijing that form a key part of its network expansion plan this summer as planned.
Airports & Networks

By Adrian Schofield
Japan Airlines (JAL) achieved healthy growth in net profits for its fiscal year through March 31, although it is projected to decline in the current fiscal year.
Airlines & Lessors

Singapore LCC Scoot will suspend services to Lucknow (India), Kalibo (Philippines), Quanzhou (China) and Male (Maldives) because of “weak demand” and shortage of aircraft resources.
Airports & Networks

By Victoria Moores
Three flights were diverted from London’s Gatwick Airport April 28 following unconfirmed reports of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) activity outside the airport perimeter.
Airports & Networks

By Alan Dron
UK regional carrier Eastern Airways declined to comment on its future in light of the financial problems facing its parent company, US-based Bristow Group.
Airlines & Lessors

By Linda Blachly
People-April 26, 2019
Airlines & Lessors