Boeing has begun assembly of the wings for the first 737 MAX, marking the start of a process that will culminate with rollout and first flight of the new twinjet in early 2016.
BRUSSELS—Extremely low load factors and persistently weak forward bookings have prompted VLM Airlines to stop scheduled flights from the Belgian regional airport of Liege, just six weeks after the base’s inauguration.
UniteHere, a union representing more than 30,000 airport employees, has launched a new web advertising campaign designed to embarrass airlines for opposing Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) fee increases.
LONDON—Manchester Airports Group (MAG) says its new transformation plan covers 60 enhancements that the company hopes will attract more airlines and routes as well as pave the way for greater numbers of passengers at the airport, which is the busiest U.K. facility outside London.
Etihad’s filing to the public docket on the issue refutes claims made by Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines that it is subsidized by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to open customs, immigration and agriculture preclearance at 10 additional airports, most of them in Europe— with none in the Gulf region.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Jun. 1-3—ACI-NA’s JumpStart® Air Service Development Conference, The Westin Seattle, Seattle, Washington, www.aci-na.org/jumpstart
For a complete list of Aviation Week’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events Jun. 17—Commercial Aerospace Manufacturing Briefing C0-located with the International Paris Air Show, Auditorium, (Conference Centre - Hall 2C), 9:00am-11:15am Sept. 14—SpeedNews 3rd Annual European Aerospace Raw Materialas & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference, Hotel Palladia, Toulouse, France
Air Canada said May 27 that its proposed joint venture with Air China is expected to “come into effect” in the second half of this year. Until a more formal agreement is reached, Air Canada will place its code on Air China’s three-times-weekly Beijing-Montreal service, flown with Boeing 777-300ERs. That route begins on Sept. 29, and Air Canada expects it to eventually become part of the joint venture.
The owners will be investment company Integral Corp., All Nippon Airways (ANA) parent ANA Holdings, and the UDS Airlines Investment Ltd. UDS is a fund jointly created by the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC).
Meanwhile, some of the country’s airways are handling far-higher traffic densities than would normally be accepted by Western countries, CAAC said in a report on the efficiency of scheduled air operations last year.
LOS ANGELES—Non-aeronautical sources will account for only 32% of revenue at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in fiscal year 2016, a percentage the airport’s outgoing executive director said is too low.
Among the seven zones that the CAAC divides the country into, the strongest growth is occurring in Xinjiang, the huge and sparsely populated western province that stretches toward Central Asia. Airlines operated about 22% more scheduled flights there last year than in 2013.
Europe’s largest LCC is still considering launching transatlantic flights, but Ryanair will stick to short- and medium-haul services for at least the next four to five years because of a“massive shortage of long-haul aircraft,” CFO Neil Sorahan said. “The Gulf carriers have mopped up all spare capacity there,” he said. Reiterating past statements, Sorahan insisted that if the airline were to go transatlantic “it wouldn’t be Ryanair itself; it would be a separate company, separate management, and indeed a separate brand.”
Cathay Pacific has reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendant union that would prevent potential strikes during the summer-travel period. The union and the airline have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) after negotiations overseen by Hong Kong’s labor department. Flight attendants have been protesting over concerns about pay structure, overseas allowances and changes to legal protection policy wording.
Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint)* As of Month xx, 2015, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev. year NY Jet Barges 179.73 -7.66 -112.18 Chicago Jet 178.34 -8.80 -121.32 West Coast (LA) Jet 196.34 -44.05 -106.82
