ZHUHAI, China—Establishing a reputation in the global aerospace sector is an early task for Aviage, a joint avionics company of Avic and General Electric aimed at developing its initial project, systems for the Comac C919, into higher standards for later programs. A key step in achieving the reputation will be good performance on the 158-seat C919, the development program for which prompted creation of the Shanghai-based company.
BEIJING—The latest Hainan Airlines subsidiary created with local-government backing, Fuzhou Airlines, aims at an initial fleet of five aircraft, with 40 to be in service by 2020. The carrier began flying on Oct. 30 from the east coast city after which it is named. The local government is a shareholder.
FAA is maintaining the minimum percentages for random drug and alcohol testing in 2015, after the industry once again remained well-below its positive-rate thresholds for 2013. Federal law requires randomly testing a minimum of 25% of employees in safety-sensitive roles for drugs, and 10% for alcohol. But to be able to test to those minimum percentages, the prior year’s positive rate must remain below 1% for drug testing, and below .50% for alcohol.
TOKYO—-Air New Zealand and Air China intend to establish a strategic partnership, with Air China launching service to Auckland as part of the proposal. The two carriers have signed a statement of intent and will begin detailed discussions aimed at reaching an agreement early next year, which can then be submitted for regulatory approval. While their statement of intent is non-binding, the airlines have committed resources to further partnership talks, an Air New Zealand spokeswoman says. New Service
Frontier Airlines has placed an order for nine Airbus A321 current engine option (ceo) aircraft with deliveries starting in late 2015, a move that will help the carrier lower its unit costs on heavily-trafficked routes and should help it compete better with rival Spirit Airlines.
Louis Chenevert, the architect of the biggest aerospace and defense (A&D) acquisition ever and a driving force behind Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engine, has stepped down as chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. (UTC). Gregory J. Hayes, UTC’s chief financial officer, is replacing him as CEO. Edward A. Kangas, a member of UTC’s board, will become non-executive chairman.
San Antonio International is the latest airport to install Airus Media’s virtual in-terminal assistant, and the first to use the avatar specifically for TSA Pre-Check. Each of the airport’s two avatars—one in the regular checkpoint area and one in Pre-Check—are located where passengers begin to stand during peak times. Motion sensors activate the avatar—named Ava—triggering a 90-sec. message in either English or Spanish.
Dubai Airports is seeking to implement dynamic minimum-connecting times (MCT) at Dubai World Central (DWC) to reflect actual aircraft gate information in passenger itineraries. The airport operator tries to stay within the 75-min. minimum connecting time in place at Dubai International Airport (DXB), but would like to move away from applying one MCT across the entire airport, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths says, potentially allowing more city pairs to be offered at competitive travel times.
Citing a pilot shortage, American Airlines will transfer at least 50 Embraer E145s from Envoy Air to other regional carriers beginning in the first quarter of 2015. Trans States Airlines and the other unnamed airline will each receive 15 aircraft, at a rate of one to two per month, beginning in the first quarter. Piedmont Airlines will take “at least” 20 aircraft beginning in 2016.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Dec. 4-5—ACI-NA 2014 International Aviation Issues Seminar, Washington, DC, http://www.aci-na.org/event/3222 Dec. 8-10—MEBA, Middle East Business Aviation, Dubai World Central, Dubai, UAE, www.meba.aero
For a complete list of Aviation Week’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events Jan 13-14, 2015—MRO Latin America, Buenos Aires, Argentina Feb. 2-3, 2015—MRO Middle East, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE Mar. 5, 2015—Laureate Awards, Washington, D.C. Apr. 14-16, 2015—MRO Americas 2015, Conference and Exhibit Hall, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, Florida
ZHUHAI, China—Avic is delivering its first composite parts for the Comac C919 airliner based on technology from its Austrian subsidiary, Fischer Advanced Composite Components (FACC). The parts are coming from a new plant that another Avic unit, Fesher Aviation Component, has established in Zhenjiang, in eastern China with help from FACC. Avic’s Xian Aircraft bought a controlling stake in FACC in 2009.
TOKYO—Mitsubishi Aircraft expects to achieve its new target for full-rate production of 10 MRJ regional jets a month about five years after beginning deliveries. The ramp-up plans were revealed by Mitsubishi Aircraft President Teruaki Kawai at a meeting of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) this week, and provide good indication as to how many production slots the company has available between 2017 and 2022.
TOKYO—Cathay Pacific Airways doubts the low-cost long-haul business model is sustainable over the long term and does not intend to change its full-service model to compete with the proliferation of low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the Asian market. Cathay Pacific Chief Operating Officer Rupert Hogg spoke about evolving airline strategies in the Asian market as a panelist at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) meeting here.
WASHINGTON—FAA organizational and funding reform is again emerging as a central theme among industry stakeholders as lawmakers begin to craft a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill, though no specific proposals--such as user fees--have been proposed.
Copa Airlines is planning 2015 capacity growth to reach 7% above that of this year, marking a significant slowing in growth for the historically rapidly expanding Panamanian carrier.
Southwest Airlines could be planning a competitive response to Spirit Airlines’ recent decision to add seven new routes to Mexico and Central America from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, one analyst said in an interview. “What’s noteworthy about Spirit is that I think it is a very deliberate move to [enter the market] before Southwest has the ability to fly to Mexico and South America,” said Henry Harteveldt, co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group. “Spirit wants to beat Southwest to the punch.”
Aer Lingus shareholders will decide in early December whether to accept a critical pensions deal. Aer Lingus is seeking shareholder approval to plow €190.7 million ($238.3 million) into its pension plan to resolve a deficit, which represents “a real and significant risk to the success of the company.” The airline believes the proposed solution, which has been under negotiation for four years, will help avoid labor conflict, give financial and legal clarity, and stabilize staff costs.
Airlines for America (A4A), together with a large regional consortium of airport service providers, filed suit in federal court Thursday against Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) over a new regulation that airport contractors allege illegally favors labor unions.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Norwegian Air Shuttle CEO Bjørn Kjos, speaking at an industry gathering in Washington, D.C., remained adamant that Irish labor laws played no role in the decision to base long-haul subsidiary Norwegian Air International (NAI) in Ireland, prompting a fierce response from a coalition of unions, who say the U.S. airline industry would be imperiled if NAI’s application to serve the U.S. is approved.
