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.
AirAsia’s Indonesian and Philippine affiliates plan to list their shares through initial public offerings (IPOs), AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes confirmed via social media. He did not detail the target dates for the IPOs, saying they are dependent upon approval from the carriers’ respective boards. AirAsia Indonesia has previously planned an IPO, but the effort was shelved.
Available for the A380 and A350, the service—Airbus Real-Time Health Monitoring, or AIRTHM—goes beyond pushing fault information off an airplane. Through ACARS, Airbus engineers can query sophisticated onboard computers like Centralized Maintenance Systems and Aircraft Condition Monitoring Systems to obtain specific parameters related to a fault.
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, along with several of their unions, circulated a report earlier this year showing the three Gulf carriers have received more than $42 billion in market-distorting government subsidies over the last decade, a charge the Gulf carriers vehemently deny (Aviation Daily, March 6).
In a note last week to pilots, Republic executives said Delta held a unilateral option to extend the contract for 38 aircraft for an extra five years, but suggested Republic had not expected it would be exercised.
The shop will focus on quick-turn maintenance, performing jobs that range in 1-10 days. Among the services the dedicated facility can perform are “zero checks,” horoscope blend repairs, gearbox changes and repairs, turbine rear-frame repairs, fan disc and case changes, and fuel-nozzle changes, Delta says.
The airline received certification from Philippine regulators for EDTO up to 120 min. from diversion airfields. This will enable fuel savings and reduced flight time on some routes served by Cebu’s Airbus A330 fleet.
Makers of traditional business jets are also awaiting the competition, since the government could decide to partly replace its two 737 Boeing Business Jets and three old Bombardier Challenger 604s with their products while relying on Airbus KC-30 tankers for carrying large passenger loads.
The aircraft is the third A320neo in the test fleet, and joins the first pair of test aircraft which are powered by the competing Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan. In all, eight A320neo-family aircraft will be involved in the certification effort, which will include one additional Leap-1A powered A320.
Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint)* /site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/04/avd_04_10_2015_fuelw.pdf As of April 8, 2015, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev. year NY Jet Barges 163.11 -5.17 -123.78
