Air Transport World

The first Airbus A321neo equipped with CFM International LEAP-1A engines completed its maiden flight Feb. 9 from Hamburg, Germany.

Low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair will close two bases in Italy and stop services to another Italian destination completely over an increase in the country’s municipal tax.

Airberlin, which is undergoing an extensive restructuring process, has said about 80 managers will accept salary cuts up to 10% this year.

Plans for the first global CO₂ emissions standards for passenger aircraft have taken a significant step forward with the recommendation of a new standard by an ICAO committee.

Airberlin announced it has appointed Thilo Schäfer as managing director of Leisure Cargo on March 1.

Airline Routes-Feb. 8, 2016

IFE-Feb. 8, 2016

China’s Hainan Airlines is gearing up to launch a second Canadian flight to Calgary, the home base of interline partner WestJet Airlines.

Just two months after Portugal agreed to a private consortium taking a majority stake in national carrier TAP, the country’s government has scaled back the acquiring consortium’s share to 45%.

Malaysian low-cost carrier (LCC) Malindo Air has launched a daily service from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) using Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which is configured in 12 business and 150 economy class seats.

Russia’s Yekaterinburg-based Ural Airlines will develop its international network from Samara’s Kurumoch International Airport.

Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways posted a net profit of KD15.4 million ($51.3 million) for 2015, reversed from a loss of KD2.8 million in 2014.

Kuwaiti regional carrier Jazeera Airways has embarked on a search for an airline partner in a joint venture that will take it into the long-haul market for the first time.

Somali authorities say the Feb. 2 onboard explosion of a Djibouti-based Daallo Airlines Airbus A321-100, en route from Mogadishu to Djibouti, was caused by a bomb.

The FAA reauthorization bill introduced Feb. 3 by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will put FAA in charge of demonstrating remote tower technologies at seven airports in a pilot program that would be launched within six months. of the bill’s passage.

Sabre Corp. has deployed new distribution capability (NDC) technology to sell American Airlines’ Preferred and Main Cabin Extra Seats.

Boeing named Brett Gerry president of Boeing Japan, effective April 1.

Turkish Airlines and Boeing have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen the carrier’s industry position, as well as Turkey’s aerospace and technology capabilities.

SkyWest Inc., the St. George, Utah-based parent of regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, earned a net profit of $117.8 million for the full-year 2015, reversed from a net loss of $24.2 million in 2014.

Global air passenger traffic was up 6.5% year-over-year (YOY) in 2015, the fastest pace in five years, according to IATA’s Air Passenger Market Analysis.

Saint Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport handled 13.5 million passengers in 2015, down 5.4% year-over-year.

Virgin America it will fly from Los Angeles to Honolulu and Maui later this year.

Kazakhstan flag carrier Air Astana has signed a codeshare agreement with Air France-KLM on its 3X-weekly schedule from Astana International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG).

Air Vanuatu has confirmed it will continue operating flights out of Vanuatu’s main airport even though most Australasian carriers have now suspended service there due to concerns over its runway condition.

The Latvian government has signed the agreement to sell 20% of airBaltic to German investor Ralf-Dieter Montag-Girmes, securing the airline’s planned €132 million ($144.7 million) capital boost.