China Express Airlines has placed a firm order for three Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft, as well as conditional purchase agreements for five of the type with options on an additional eight aircraft.
Italian flag-carrier Alitalia said it is confident it will still reach its cash call target of €300 million ($406 million) from shareholders, despite having only €173 million in pledges when the deadline for exercising option rights expired last Thursday.
Lufthansa, which announced in September that chairman and CEO Christoph Franz would leave in May 2014, said it is not in a hurry to announce a successor.
Aegean Airlines has reported a profit after tax of €59.2 million ($80.4 million) for the first nine months of 2013, reversing a loss of €8.7 million in the year-ago period.
Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines and its administrative and technical staff have reached a new collective wage agreement, effective Jan. 1, 2014.
Yuantong Express, one of China’s largest express delivery companies, has applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to launch a cargo carrier.
Qatar Airways became the 13th airline to join oneworld in October, making it the first of the major Gulf carriers to join a global alliance. In a signing ceremony in Doha, Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said oneworld membership was a win for the alliance, for Qatar and for the carrier’s customers.
When Peter Davies joined Air Malta in March 2011, the airline was technically insolvent and in dire need of a rescue loan, which the European Commission had just approved. Drawing on his experience as CEO of UK regional Air Southwest, Caribbean Airlines and SN Brussels Airlines, Davies has already made significant headway in narrowing Air Malta’s losses.
Over the last 12 months there has been a shake-up among Europe’s regional carriers. SAS has sold Wideroe, Air France has created the amalgamated regional brand HOP! and put CityJet on the auction block, bmi regional has completed its first year as an independent, and UK regional Flybe has hit hard times. What is driving this change?
The head of Lufthansa Group’s fleet management team takes a highly analytical approach to filling the future new aircraft requirements of the airlines that make up the Group. Looking out to 2025, Lufthansa has crunched all the numbers, calculated the best and worst case scenarios, and has planned for a fleet that will give the Group the most flexibility regardless of circumstance.
Long-term support of engines costs far more than the initial purchase, and engine maintenance is the largest element in aircraft maintenance costs. Engine support options are a critical consideration in fleet planning.
An improving economy worldwide, record orders for new commercial airliners, plus an emerging market for used equipment is for now improving the aircraft leasing business. But industry analysts worry about overcapacity of new aircraft with marginal airline growth expected in some areas for the foreseeable future.
There were two moments in 2013 signaling Avianca’s arrival as a formidable player in the global airline industry. The first came in June at the Paris Air Show, where the Colombian carrier’s first ATR 72-600—emblazoned with Avianca’s livery—was prominently displayed throughout the event. The airline formally took delivery of the aircraft in a champagne-soaked handover ceremony under sunny skies at Le Bourget.
Are the US’s new, fast-growing “ultra” low-cost carriers (LCCs)—in particular Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air—stealing customers from the godfather of LCCs, Southwest Airlines?
Recovery teams from LAM Mozambique Airlines and disaster management firm Kenyon International have arrived in Namibia, headed for the crash site of a LAM Mozambique Embraer 190.
