Air Transport World

Boeing said its 747-8 Intercontinental completed its first four-hour test flight this week with a package of performance improvements including enhanced GE engines.

Croatia Airlines pilots have settled their dispute with the airline and ended their part of strike action that began in conjunction with the flight attendants unions May 14.

The Aviation Consumer Protection division of the US Dept. of Transportation issued its March reports on compliance with consumer protection, including on-time performance, consumer complaints and mishandled baggage.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has approved the launch of Qingdao Airlines as it continues to green light new privately run airlines.

The US should look to what’s happening at airports worldwide and think bigger and more strategically about how its airports can best raise the investments necessary to keep them competitive on a global scale, the head of the Airports Council International said Monday.

People

A United Airlines Boeing 787 operated a commercial flight Monday for the first time since FAA grounded the Dreamliner Jan. 16.

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair reached new levels of profitability for the year ending March 31, turning in net profits of €569 million ($732 million), up 13% on the previous year's figure of €503 million.

Major restructuring or contractions in the short-haul operations of several major European carriers will present low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair with considerable short-term opportunities, the airline’s deputy CEO said Monday.

Lufthansa Group subsidiary Austrian Airlines is considering the Boeing 777 as its center of competence.

A Piedmont Airlines Bombardier Dash 8-100 turboprop landed early Saturday at Newark International Airport without its landing gear deployed, causing sparks on the runway.

LOT Polish Airlines has taken delivery of its third Boeing 787, paving the way for the type to re-enter service with the Polish carrier June 5.

Russia’s Ministry of Transport said Uzbekistan authorities have complied with its requirement to convert money received by Russian airlines for tickets sold in Uzbekistan through Jan. 1 before the April 15 deadline.

Etihad Airways has struck a deal to acquire Abu Dhabi Airport Services, Abu Dhabi Cargo Co. and Abu Dhabi In-Flight Catering.

The 10 largest US scheduled passenger airlines reported a net loss of $145 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, an improvement over the net loss of $602 million in the 2011 fourth quarter.

IATA reported that international premium traffic for March was up 4.4% year-over-year, showing some signs of improvement in the growth trend.

The CEOs of the Functional Airspace Block Central Europe (FABEC) air navigation service providers have confirmed that the common IP data exchange network between FABEC centers—the FABEC Interconnection of Existing IP Networks (FABIEN)—is ready for operation.

Airline Routes

Briefs from the May 20, 2013 issue of ATW's Skypaths

African low-cost carrier Fastjet has postponed its South African launch, which was originally planned for the end of May, until the beginning of July.

Bogota-based AviancaTaca Holdings reported a first-quarter net income of $75.3 million, more than doubled from $34.9 million in the year-ago period.

KLM is to take delivery of two Boeing 777-300ERs in spring 2015, one from Boeing and another from Air Lease, taking its total 777-300ER fleet to 10 aircraft.

Chinese carriers reported a collective net income of CNY 1.4 billion in April, down 28.3% compared with a net profit of CNY 1.953 billion for the same month last year.

Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) earned net income of S$379 million ($303.4 million) for its 2012-2013 fiscal year ended March 31, up 12.8% over a net profit of S$336 million in the prior fiscal year.

Both NAV CANADA and the UK’s NATS—the world’s two most extensively privatized air navigation services providers (ANSPs)—have reported significant environmental savings. &n