Air Transport World

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is facing “historically high” pressure on yields that will affect its full-year financial results.

American Airlines orders accounted for almost all the new sales logged by Airbus in April, according to figures released by the European manufacturer.

The Airbus A350 XWB, MSN 4, has completed water ingestion testing to demonstrate its ability to operate on wet runways.

SriLankan Airlines is planning to shift its maintenance and training activities, along with its leisure connecting traffic, to the island nation’s second international gateway at Mattala.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the second non-European state to join the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) Safety Assessment of Foreign Airlines (SAFA) program.

Manston Airport in Kent, Southeast England, is set to close May 15 despite an eleventh hour offer from US investment firm RiverOak to purchase the loss-making facility.

New Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approach and departure procedures are set to enable flights to operate into and out of Queenstown Airport on New Zealand’s South Island after dark in 2016.

People

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has announced new proposals for flight data and voice recorders and underwater locating devices (ULDs) in the wake of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline reported a profit of AED3.3 billion ($900 million) for the financial year ended March 31, 2014, up 43% from AED2.3 billion for the previous financial year.

Airberlin has raised €252 million ($351 million) from the issuing of new bonds as part of its recently announced recapitalization program to return to profitability.

China’s Xiamen Airlines is reportedly in negotiations with Hebei Airlines stakeholders to take over the loss-making Shijiazhuang-based carrier, according to a Xiamen Airlines insider.

Lufthansa Group posted a first-quarter net loss of €252 million ($351 million), narrowed from a net loss of €458 million in the year-ago quarter.

Penton announces that after an extraordinary 37-year career at Air Transport World (ATW), publisher Bill Freeman will retire following this year’s Farnborough Airshow in July.

Singapore-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Tigerair Group is replacing its CEO Koay Peng Yen with ex-Singapore Airlines executive and Tigerair board member Lee Lik Hsin after continuing heavy losses in Fiscal Year 2014.

Finnair has agreed to sell three of its Embraer E-170s to US lessor Infinity Aviation Capital in a deal valued at $40 million.

Utah-based SkyWest Inc., parent of regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, incurred a first-quarter net loss of $22.9 million that it largely blamed on severe winter weather.

Copa Holdings, parent of Panama’s Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia, posted first-quarter net income of $151.4 million, up 33% from a net income of $113.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

London Heathrow Airport’s development director John Holland-Kaye has been appointed to take over as CEO when Colin Matthews steps down July 1.

Worldwide passenger traffic grew 3.1% year-over-year in March, down 2.5 points from February’s 5.6% growth, according to IATA’s Air Passenger Market Analysis.

MRO News

Budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle has reported a first-quarter pre-tax loss of NOK813 million ($137 million), widened from a pre-tax loss of NOK160.1 million reported for the same period last year.

Finnair Group reported a first-quarter net loss of €28.1 million ($39 million), widened from a loss of €15.7 million in the same period last year.

India’s civil aviation regulator has asked Indian airlines to track all aircraft in real time.

US Airways has launched a codeshare with British Airways (BA) after becoming an affiliate member of the Atlantic Joint Business between BA, American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair.