Airbus sales chief John Leahy has warned that delays in setting up a secure system of money transfers in and out of Iran could jeopardize orders from the country.
Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo continues to lobby for ownership restrictions to be removed so that his company can participate in European airline consolidation.
As Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines battle in Los Angeles for share, United Airlines “won’t ignore” the market, but will concentrate its growth in San Francisco, two of the carrier’s top network executives told employees.
In observance of Memorial Day in the U.S., Aviation Daily will not be publishing on Monday, May 30. The next issue of Aviation Daily will be dated Weds., June 1.
BRUSSELS—In the same week Air France–KLM CEO Alexandre de Juniac is to be named to lead IATA, Air France’s main pilot union has voted in favor of an extended strike to protest the start of cost-saving measures.
25 Years Ago May 31, 1991—Randy Babbitt, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, disputes Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner’s blaming U.S. airline problems on high labor costs. Babbitt says labor costs declined from 42% of airline operating expenses in 1977, the year before deregulation, to 37% in 1990. 50 Years Ago
DUBLIN—China’s HNA Group has agreed to purchase a stake in Virgin Australia, adding a further twist to Virgin Australia’s already complicated ownership model.
Sustained capacity discipline, combined with more diverse revenue-generation strategies, have set up the U.S. airline industry for a soft landing when the current upcycle peaks and contraction begins, a new InterVistas analysis said. This will likely occur within the next 6-12 months, the report said.
BEIJING—Construction of the second airport for Chengdu, China, began May 27, with a target to complete the work in 2019, ahead of opening the facility the following year.
BRUSSELS—Brussels Airport (BRU) will close down the makeshift temporary structure it built following the March 22 terrorist attacks (Aviation Daily, March 22), and starting June 2, it will provide full check-in capacity in the main departures hall.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. For a complete list of Aviation Week Network’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) May 31— MRO Network, ap&m Summit, London, U.K., www.aviationweek.com/events June 1-2—The Global MRO Procurement Expo, Olympia London, United Kingdom, www.apmexpo.com/
"They will try to get close to a 'me-too' aircraft, but not quite get there," Airbus sales chief John Leahy said at the Airbus Innovation Days in Hamburg. "Boeing has not named the aircraft yet, but we have: We call it the Mad MAX."
“Rate 60 is enough for what we see today,” Chief Operating Officer Tom Williams said on Monday. “There is no real serious work going into anything beyond this.”
The Airbus A350 program was “in a big crisis” at the beginning of the year because of serious delays in the supply chain, Airbus head of programs Didier Evrard concedes, but he believes that “delivery targets for the year remain absolutely achievable.”
Using the CFM International Leap-1A engine on a stretched version of the Boeing 737 MAX would lead to a “full loss of commonality” within the family, Airbus A320 program chief Klaus Roewe believes.
“We have been building gliders for the first part of the year,” Airbus Chief Operating Officer Tom Williams said. But he pointed out that new standard PW1100G engines are about to arrive at the Airbus final assembly lines.
Boeing is studying the potential use of the larger CFM Leap-1A on a further stretch of the 737 MAX as part of efforts to counter the growing sales lead of the competing Airbus A321neo.
The only U.S. cabotage route got another extension May 26, when the Transportation Department lengthened for 30 days Polynesian Airlines’ right to operate between Pago Pago and the Manu’a Islands in American Samoa.
The FAA this summer will begin full-motion Boeing 737-800 simulator testing with airline crews in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The testing is to determine if certain cockpit visual aids can take the place of expensive ground infrastructure for takeoffs in lower-than-standard visibility conditions.
