Norwegian Air International’s pending application for permission to serve the U.S. is slated to be on the agenda at the next U.S.-EU aviation meeting, in April in Washington.
The company saw fourth-quarter commercial sales jump more than 9%, and is projecting a companywide revenue boost of 3% this year and 7.5% in 2017, even factoring in an expected dip in business aviation sales that will last for most of 2016.
The problem is most pronounced in Alberta, Canada’s oil economy center. Roughly 40% of the airline’s capacity touches the province, which has been hit hard by the recent drop in oil prices.
One factor behind the capacity constraints may be the airline’s need to allocate aircraft to other routes and to affiliate carriers in the HNA Group that are opening long-haul services.
Textron Aviation posted lower revenue but higher profit and business jet deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2015. For the full year, it posted higher revenue and profit.
Korean Air plans to take delivery of 16 Boeing aircraft this year to support its plans to increase capacity and meet profit growth projections. In a presentation released with its fourth-quarter earnings, Korean said it will receive three intercontinental 747-8s, two 777-300ERs and two 737s that will be operated by LCC subsidiary Jin Air. All of these deliveries are scheduled for delivery through June. In the second half of the year, Korean expects to receive five freighter aircraft, comprising four 777 freighters and a 747-8 freighter.
Feb. 1, 1996 —House Appropriations Committee chairmen called out senior U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) officials for excessive and questionable travel considered wasteful, and called upon DOT to submit monthly travel reports. Feb. 1, 2006 —American Airlines and British Airways sought to finalize antitrust immunity in advance of the U.S.-EU open skies agreement, which was expected to be approved later.
Like their U.S. counterparts, Japan’s two major carriers are also looking to gain more slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport for U.S. flights as a result of negotiations between their governments.
For a complete list of Aviation Week Network’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.awin.aviationweek.com/events Feb. 3-4—MRO Middle East, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE. Mar. 3—Laureate Awards, The National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. Apr. 5-7—MRO Americas, Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Flight attendants and pilots at Horizon Air have voted in favor of adding jets to the regional airline’s all-turboprop operation. Management from the carrier’s parent company, Alaska Air Group, said during the company’s Jan. 21 earnings call that it would likely place an order for 30 large regional jets this quarter for delivery next year, provided it could reach agreements with employees that would make them cost-competitive with other regional carriers (Aviation Daily, Jan. 22).
TORONTO— Air Canada is considering using its Boeing 737Max aircraft, the first two of which arrive in December 2017, to fly long, thin routes across the Atlantic, the airline’s president said in an interview.
Lufthansa is moving closer toward integrating Brussels Airlines into the Eurowings Group as the low-cost affiliate works to set up management structures.
Iran Air continues to place large aircraft orders, signing a commitment for up to 40 ATR turboprops. The contract, currently a memorandum of understanding, covers firm commitments for 20 ATR 72-600s, plus 20 options.
ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission (ANC) is recommending that no passenger airliners be allowed to carry lithium-ion batteries as bulk cargo until new packaging standards and threat assessments can mitigate the risks.
Although the test program is targeted at delivering the first aircraft to launch customer Southwest Airlines in the third quarter of 2017, there are indications Boeing may press for earlier completion and delivery.
