Air Transport World

By Linda Blachly
The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said Monday that the US Navy’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), Bluefin-21, has found “no contacts of interest” after probing approximately two-thirds of the focused underwater search area since April 14 for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

The European Commission has published its first Transport Scoreboard comparing member state performance in 22 transport-related categories.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Linda Blachly
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways—which created Etihad Aviation Group in March—has announced five senior appointments in operations, marketing and guest experience, as part of the next step in its long-term business strategy.
Airlines & Lessors

Lufthansa economy passengers who reserve a specific seat at the time of booking will incur a €25 ($34.50) extra charge on long-haul flights from April 28.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Mark Nensel
Premium air travel demand slackened in February, increasing 4.1% year-over-year, but slowing from January’s 6.1% growth, according to IATA’s February Premium Traffic Monitor.
Airports & Networks

By Mark Nensel
In February, US scheduled passenger airlines employed 381,985 full-time workers, up 0.4% year-over-year, according to figures from the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
Airlines & Lessors

Airline Routes
Airports & Networks

Briefs from the April 21, 2014 issue of ATW's Skypaths

The Australian government has approved a second airport for Sydney after decades of debate. The airport will be built at Badgerys Creek in Western Sydney.
Airports & Networks

Swiss International Air Lines is reportedly considering using pilots from low-cost subsidiary Swiss European Air Lines to operate its new Boeing 777-300ER fleet as the carrier faces more competition from Gulf carriers. It is scheduled to take delivery of its new 777 fleet beginning in 2016.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

The British Airways-Solena Fuels partnership will build the GreenSky London facility on the site of the former Coryton oil refinery in Essex. The facility, which will convert landfill waste into jet fuel, will open in 2017, two years later than originally planned.

By Karen Walker
An international force of up to 11 military aircraft and 12 ships continue to assist in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, but there was still no detection of wreckage from the Boeing 777-200 as of Friday, more than 40 days after the aircraft disappeared.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

The next 10 years are set to be a “golden decade” for global travel growth, according to a recent report released by Amadeus. The report, “Shaping the Future of Travel,” looks at macro trends driving industry growth over the next decade. It forecasts that overnight travel is set to grow by 5.4% a year over the next 10 years
Airlines & Lessors

Hawaiian Airlines, which this week launched 3X-weekly Airbus A330 service between Honolulu and Beijing, has signed a codeshare agreement with Air China.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Oneworld alliance partners Cathay Pacific Airways and Qatar Airways have reached a new codeshare agreement. The announcement came as Cathay formally marked the inauguration of its new Hong Kong-Doha service, which began March 30.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Dubai International Airport—which will begin heavy maintenance work on its two runways May 1 for 80 days—has released more details of alterations to services caused by a major refurbishment of the runways over the summer.
Airports & Networks

By Alan Dron
Gulf Air plans to restart services from its Manama base to Athens from June 16, following an improvement in Greece’s economy.
Airports & Networks

By Mark Nensel
Flight cancellations in February were the highest-ever for the month, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. “The cancellation rate of 5.51% in February 2014 was the highest for any February, above the average of 2.88% in the previous 19 years and the … sixth highest (not including September 2001) for any month,” BTS said.
Airlines & Lessors

MRO News
Maintenance & Training

Regional operations for the new American Airlines continued to take shape this week as regional affiliate American Eagle formally rebranded as “Envoy Air” and PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary of US Airways, appointed a new CEO.
Airlines & Lessors

The final plenary session of the current European Parliament has adopted a new regulation giving national and regional authorities the right to have the final say in setting noise-related operating restrictions at European Union (EU) airports without intervention from the European Commission.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

As tensions heighten in the Ukraine, ICAO has confirmed Ukraine’s exclusive right to provide air navigation services in international airspace over the Black Sea within the Simferopol flight information region (FIR).
Airports & Networks

By Alan Dron
The continuing political unrest in Ukraine is affecting airline services both within the Eastern European nation and internationally.
Airports & Networks

By Linda Blachly
Indonesia’s Lion Air will lease five Boeing 737s—comprising four 737-800s and one 737-900ER—from Bank of China subsidiary BOC Aviation.
Airlines & Lessors

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Russia’s Transaero Airlines, which has unveiled the layout of its new fleet of four Airbus A380s, will be equipped with the highest number of seats—652—compared to other operators of the type.
Aircraft & Propulsion