Aviation Daily

Ryanair plans to open its 83rd base, in Sofia, Bulgaria, as the LCC implements its strategy to gain market share in Central and Eastern Europe.

Cebu Pacific Air plans major fleet growth over the next three years, with its expansion plans backed by substantial gains in financial performance.

Boeing is preparing to start key fuel burn tests of the 737 MAX that could prove pivotal in the model’s long-running market battle with the reengined Airbus A320neo.

View the Leisure Fares: Week of March 21 vs. Previous Week and Year-Ago Week Chart in PDF format.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is launching two new U.S. routes from England’s Manchester Airport, further strengthening its refocus on the transatlantic market.

An independent analysis of the latest unmanned aerial system sighting reports released by the FAA concludes that slightly more than one-third of incidents involved close encounters, and one-third of those involved multi-engine jet aircraft.

Singapore Airlines and Air China sign a new codeshare deal that will see both carriers improve their access to the important Singapore-Beijing market.

Australia’s customs and immigration workers have launched strikes at the country’s airports.

Virgin Australia’s largest stakeholder—Air New Zealand—is considering selling its share of the Australian carrier.

Alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) biofuel has passed balloting at standards developer ASTM international, and is expected to be approved for use in aircraft by early April.

A biofuels pilot plant to be built in Queensland by Australia’s Southern Oil Refining will supply fuels for the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy and could lead to a commercial-scale production facility that would also produce aviation biofuels for airlines.

Companies have started registering for the 52nd International Paris Air Show, which is slated to take place June 19-25 next year at the Le Bourget exhibition center northeast of the city.

The manufacturer confirms more than 4,000 jobs will be cut across the company’s Commercial Airplanes group by mid-year as part of cost reduction efforts announced in February.

View the Airport Profile — Pittsburgh International (PHL) chart in PDF format.

Assembly of the first MRJ regional jets for delivery to customers will begin in the second half of this year, said Mitsubishi Aircraft, which added that meeting the initial production target will require full use of the plant’s capacity.

The AirAsia Group is continuing its push into the Chinese market as it adds new routes to the mainland from multiple Southeast Asian hubs.

Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said it has “no plans” to publish cockpit voice recorder (CVR) information from FlyDubai Flight 981, the Boeing 737-800 that crashed after a second attempted instrument approach in turbulent weather at the Rostov-on-Don Airport on March 19.

Europe’s newest airline lobbying group, Airlines for Europe (A4E), has deplored a new planned strike in France by air traffic controllers that is due to last 35 hr.

Korean Air is expanding the relationship between its mainline operation and its LCC subsidiary Jin Air with new codeshare arrangements.

Fewer than six months after a bomb brought down a Metrojet Airbus A321-200 over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the country has faced another security incident with the hijacking of an EgyptAir domestic flight on March 29.

United Airlines has become launch customer for a newly certified ‘hot-and-high’ performance improvement package developed by Embraer for the E175 airliner.

Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines has exited bankruptcy protection, slightly more than a year after it applied for this process.

View the Overall Percentages Of Reported Domestic Flights Arriving On Time in PDF format.

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.) Mar. 30-31—Wings of Change 2016 (WoC), FIDAE Air Show Av. Diego Barros Ortiz 2300, Pudahuel, Santiago, Santiago, Chile, www.iata.org/events/Pages/wings-of-change.aspx Apr. 4-6—Airports Council International - North America, Business of Airports, Orlando, Florida, www.aci-na.org/boa

Despite a U.S. Transportation Department administrative law judge’s finding, the FAA is holding firm to its contention that a SkyWest Airlines Bombardier CRJ200 crew departed from Salt Lake Citywith a layer of frost on the wings more than four years ago.