Air Canada rouge’s 20 Airbus A319s will be converted by mid-June 2015 from current 3x3 seating configuration with a blocked middle seat to two side-by-side business class seats in a 2x2 configuration.
Belgian chemical company Solvay has launched Tegralite, a family of high performance lightweight materials that offers the aviation industry new downstream solutions and part-making capabilities to improve fuel efficiency and speed up the production, refurbishment and maintenance of planes at a lower cost.
Eastern European-based Wizz Air will launch two additional routes from Vilnius, Lithuania, after Air Lituanica ceased operations, offering rescue fares to passengers.
Kazakhstan-based Air Astana has opened a training center for engineers in Almaty, with certification in European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 147 standards by Kazakh and European aviation authorities.
Lufthansa is considering setting up a task force to evaluate implementing random medical checks of pilots to improve safety in the cockpit, Lufthansa spokesperson Barbara Schaedler told ATW in an email.
Irish budget carrier Ryanair has posted a 15% net profit margin for 2014-15, after generating €867 million ($944.5 million) in net income, up 66% from €523 million in the prior year.
Malaysian Airline Systems’ (MAS) new CEO, Christoph Mueller, has said he will run the new state-owned Malaysian airline “like a startup,” and that there is “very little margin for error” in the cost reduction schedule he has mapped out for the crisis-hit flag carrier.
The coalition of US airlines and labor groups that is campaigning against the three major Gulf carriers has claimed broad support from US lawmakers, local chambers of commerce and local unions.
US Airlines with over 1000 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) employees, ranked by increase in employees, year-over-year. FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
The Gulf carriers have not put excess capacity into the market, according to a report commissioned by Etihad Airways, the second white paper it has published in the ongoing dispute between the major US and Gulf carriers.
Lithuanian carrier Air Lituanica ceased flying from noon Friday, local time. The small airline, whose website credits it with operating an Embraer E-175, an Embraer E-145 and an ATR 42 said its management had decided to stop operations. The final flights operated from Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, were to Amsterdam, Tallinn and Paris. Afternoon services to Berlin, Prague, Brussels and Stockholm were canceled.
British Airways (BA) is trialing new landing procedures at London Heathrow Airport as it seeks to minimize noise disturbance to residents on the glide path.
UK-based environmental lobby groups Transport & Environment and Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) are calling on EU states to take action to ensure all airlines operating within the European Economic Area (EEA) comply with the region’s emissions trading system (ETS).
The Australian government will spend AUD26 million ($20.5 million) on upgrades to Townsville and Sunshine Coast airports as part of its ongoing plan to attract increased international passenger arrivals.
Lufthansa Group’s passenger airlines operated more efficiently in 2014, using an average of 3.84 liters of kerosene in 2014, to carry a passenger 100 km, a 1.6% improvement over the previous year (2013: 3.91 l/100pkm).
Turkish Airlines is evaluating a strategic alliance with Air Malta, which may include a partial investment or a complete takeover of Air Malta, according to several Maltese media reports.
