To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Jun. 22-25—SAE 2015 International Conference on Icing of Aircraft, Engines, and Structures, Hotel International Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, www.sae.org/events/icing Jun. 22-26—Aviation Forum 2015, Dallas, Texas, www.aiaa-aviation.org/
Virgin America said this week it is upgrading its in-flight entertainment system with higher-resolution touch screens. Passengers will be able to watch high-definition video on Panasonic EcoV2 monitors, and the product can hold three times as much content as the current version. The system will run on Android-based software, and will be installed on 15 aircraft by the end of 2015. The airline will continue retrofits in 2016.
For a complete list of Aviation Week’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.awin.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 Oct. 13-15—MRO Europe, ExCel London Exhibition and Convention Center, London, U.K. Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, SingEx Exhibition and Convention Center, Singapore.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) confirms that it has no plans to take over Skymark Airlines’ unwanted Airbus A330 leases. ANA told Aviation Daily it has had discussions on this topic with lessor Intrepid Aviation—which owns the A330s—but does not intend to introduce A330s into its fleet at this time. ANA will become a part-owner of Skymark under a proposed restructuring plan, but Intrepid is offering an alternative restructuring plan for Skymark that would include a different airline sponsor, instead of ANA.
“The whole process could take up to year,” Pinto told Aviation Daily. “The new owners might want to start making changes while the company will be still owned by the Portuguese state until all approvals are obtained and documents signed.”
The carrier, which already has North American connections from Beijing and Shanghai, has applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to fly daily between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tianjin Binhai International, with an extension to Shanghai Pudong International. Flights are intended to begin in June 2016, using Boeing 787s.
The move is not the only sign that the two airlines are deepening their partnership, which began when Delta bought a 49% equity share in the London-based carrier in 2012. They plan to move Virgin Atlantic to Delta’s passenger-service technology system.
The ICAO ruling, based on a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP) audit, is expected on June 18, following a review of actions taken by the Thai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to address safety concerns raised by ICAO.
Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Director General Andrew Herdman said 2014 had been “very tough” for the region, with the majors and LCCs both struggling.
MIAMI—SkyTeam has reached a stable global footprint and is shifting its focus now from scale to being a “service connector” for its members and their passengers, the alliance’s Managing Director Michael Wisbrun asserted.
Boeing's Current Market Outlook reports an anticipated doubling of the commercial-airline fleet over the next 20 years, with Asia receiving the bulk of new-aircraft deliveries.
It will be at least two years before Safran can commit to increasing production of jet engines, even as customers Airbus and Boeing plan to boost production of some aircraft models over the next three years.
If the position is upheld, the takeover could be delayed by several months. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said on June 11 that he expects the process to be completed by year-end.
While studying the possibility, de Juniac cautioned that adding a GDS fee and changing the relationship with the likes of Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport “is financially complex, it is legally complex, it is technical complex and as regards to the balance of power it [is] also complex.”
Cargo is a major boon to Cathay’s business. Cargo Director James Woodrow is leaving Cathay to head China Navigation Company, which is also in the Swire Group.
The airline plans to begin serving Guam with a daily flight from Seoul, beginning around July 15. The carrier filed its application with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) in February, asking for broader approval to serve U.S. destinations.
The Delta Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) endorsed the tentative labor deal June 11, sending it to rank-and-file flight-deck crew for a ratification vote.
Speaking at the Wings Club meeting in New York on June 10, Clark called the study by Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines an “extremely dodgy, 55-page dossier that contains so many inaccuracies, falsehoods and leaps of logic one could probably drive an express train through it.”
Liebherr-Aerospace production, purchasing and asset investments managing director and COO Josef Gropper, says participation in the UltraFan demonstrator effort “gives us the opportunity to break new ground and significantly enlarge our scope of activities.”
