Air Cote d’Ivoire, national carrier of the Ivory Coast, will add two Bombardier Q400s to its fleet after converting options it held on the type to a firm order. The two options were acquired under a contract announced Dec. 18, 2013, which also included a firm order for two Q400 NextGen aircraft. Air Cote d’Ivoire took delivery of its first two aircraft in 2014, in a dual-class configuration. The firm order is valued at approximately $69 million, based on current list prices.
In the worst clash so far among European airlines over how to deal with the Persian Gulf carriers, Iberia and BA left industry-lobby group Association of European Airlines at the end of March.
The carrier is achieving load factors of 80-90% on its new flights from Dallas Love Field, which is higher than its system average, Southwest Vice President-Network Planning Andrew Watterson says.
DOT allowed Delta to retain the coveted slots for flights from Seattle, but imposed a condition that the Atlanta-based carrier operate the route daily, requiring it to ask for a waiver if it intended to suspend service for any two days in a seven-day period. Delta called this condition unreasonable and unprecedented, and urged the DOT to reconsider the rule (Aviation Daily, April 10).
The total amount is essentially unchanged from a year ago, though the Venezuela government has allowed some carriers to repatriate small amounts at inconsistent intervals.
The strong dollar is both a headwind and a tailwind for Delta, CEO Richard Anderson told analysts during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on April 15. On the one hand, the strength of the dollar has dampened demand and reduced international revenues.
Tyler referenced Germanwings Flight 9525, acknowledging that this particular situation may have been ripe for an immediate criminal investigation because of the alleged actions of the aircraft’s first officer.
“You’re seeing [new] heavy maintenance facilities in the Americas,” Michaels told MRO Americas delegates on April 15. “We’re going to see more widebody maintenance done in North America.”
This big project is one of the last pieces of merging the operations of Continental and United. Airlines frequently save the tech-ops piece as a last step because of the complexity and scope—as well as the process changes that are first required.
Originally signed in 2010, the accord has been extended for five additional years, and expanded to include Azul gaining access to a pool of ATR spare parts the manufacturer will now maintain in Brazil.
“I think you’re going to see a real uptick in interest in the aftermarket,” says Nick Fazioli, the senior vice president of investment banking in aerospace and defense at Jeffries LLC, which consults on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). “It’s an area in need of investment and consolidation.”
“We need to be getting away from the ‘no trouble found’ that drives everybody nuts,” says Ahmad Zamany, the vice president of technical operations at Copa Airlines, the Panama-based carrier.
The massive re-fleeting underway in North America will keep the aftermarket growth rate nearly flat for the next decade, and the resulting higher-technology fleet will prompt more data-driven services that will change the maintenance landscape.
The introduction of new aft galley and lavatory layouts (space flex) has been a key in allowing Airbus to add another row of seats on the A320. As part of the re-arrangement, the rear galley is reduced in size to accommodate either 2 1/2 to four food and beverage trolleys, compared to the standard seven.
U.S. airlines expect that FAA will allow a five-year “grace period” for full compliance with the agency’s 2010 mandate that carriers’ aircraft be Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out capable by Jan. 1, 2020.
Airbus has decided to formally offer an 11-abreast economy configuration in the Airbus A380, despite Emirates Airline's decision not to further pursue that arrangement.
On April 9, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FAA had sent a letter on Feb. 6 to United, asking the airline to improve parts of its training and scheduling policies.
The workers—represented by Chile’s trade union confederation the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores—have been on strike since April 9, after rejecting an almost-zero wage increase offered by LATAM.
IATA said ISSA is a voluntary safety-audit program aligned with global best practices and created primarily for airlines that operate aircraft which have a lower maximum-takeoff weight (MTOW) than the 5,700-kg (12,566-lb.) threshold for participation in IOSA.
For the third-consecutive year, researchers at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University named Virgin America the top airline in the U.S., measured by several key operational statistics including on-time performance, customer complaints, denied boarding and mishandled bags. Hawaiian Airlines was second in the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) rankings, while Delta Air Lines finished third, JetBlue Airways finished fourth and Alaska Airlines finished fifth.
