Air Transport World

Already 2017 is shaping up to be another good year for the narrowbody, especially the new-generation of ultra-efficient airliners.

US legacy carriers and organized labor are appealing to the Trump administration to block Emirates Airline’s newly announced fifth-freedom route between Athens, Greece, and Newark Liberty International Airport.

American Airlines has decided against installing seatback video screens on its incoming fleet of Boeing 737 MAXs.

MRO Briefs-Jan. 25, 2017

UK-based engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has launched a new service for engines on board aircraft owned by the leasing community.

Oman Air is refreshing its first-class cabins on board three of its Airbus A330-300s.

Bombardier has made changes in responsibilities for members of its senior management team to support the Canadian manufacturer’s turnaround plan.

A White House report on “hidden fees” described airlines’ checked baggage fees as “de facto mandatory” and operating in a transparency “gray zone” in which the fees were optional only in a “theoretical sense.”

The aircraft leasing business sees strong growth despite competition concerns.

The LCC’s first route will be between the capital of Muscat and Oman’s second city, Salalah and will be followed by international service to Dubai on Feb. 15.

The new maintenance, repair and overhaul market is presenting its own challenges, mostly in the form of intense competition among diversified global giants.

AirBaltic aims to become the reference carrier for the Baltic region, strengthening its operations from the neighboring countries of Estonia and Lithuania.

The new-generation narrowbodies are entering service and demonstrating their efficiencies.

The developer of an electric taxi system is focusing on demonstrating its benefits to airlines.

Cyber crime is a fast-growing area of concern for aviation security, but addressing how to guard against it and mitigate the risks yields more questions than answers.

2016 year-end deliveries for Airbus and Boeing; airline traffic by region, traffic at key worldwide airports; airline financials; aircraft value projections.

Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines plans to add 4X-weekly Vienna-Shiraz (Iran) services from July 2.

Boeing reported a 2016 net profit of $4.9 billion, down 5% from net income of $5.2 billion in 2015, marking the company’s second straight year of declining earnings.

Tianjin-based regional carrier Joy Air will be hard pressed to earn a profit in the next two years because of consolidation challenges with Okay Airways and expansion restrictions imposed following accidents, including a May 2015 incident in which a MA60 skidded off the runway while landing at Fuzhou Changle International Airport, Okay Airways founder Liu Jieyin said.

Ireland’s ASL Aviation Group has named Ulf Weber as the new CEO of ASL Airlines Belgium, formerly known as TNT Airways.

The European Commission (EC) has approved UK security firm Smith Group’s plan to acquire Safran subsidiary Morpho Detection, subject to Morpho selling its explosive trace detection business.

Different flight information regions, a large percentage of military airspace and concerns over sovereignty contribute to ATC congestion in the region.

Hawaiian Airlines reported a full-year 2016 net profit of $244.1 million, up 33.7% from net income of $182.6 million in 2015.

Russia’s Aeroflot Group carried 43.4 million passengers in 2016, up 10.3% compared to 39.4 million passengers in 2015.

People-Jan. 24, 2017