European airlines can let passengers use portable electronic devices (PEDs) throughout the flight, regardless of whether the device is transmitting or not, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ruled on Friday. The new notice makes it possible, in principle, for airlines to let passengers use their mobile phones for texting, voice calls and Wi-Fi in all stages of the flights, even during landing and take-off. PEDs do not need to be in “airplane mode,” EASA said.
Taiwanese low-cost carrier (LCC) V Air plans to begin operations with two international routes by the end of this year, part of the emergin LCC sector in this country. V Air will be the second Taiwan-based LCC, following the first flight of Tigerair Taiwan on Sept. 26. The airlines are both being launched by larger Taiwan carriers, with V Air a subsidiary of TransAsia Airways, and Tigerair Taiwan a joint venture majority owned by China Airlines.
A critical Department of Transportation Inspector General (IG) report on ADS-B is drawing mixed reaction from industry, showing a divide among stakeholders over the looming 2020 equipage deadlines. Compiled at the request of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the report finds that “ADS-B benefits are limited due to a lack of advanced capabilities and delays in user equipage.”
Singapore-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Scoot is looking to expand and consolidate its route network next year as it finalizes the phasing out of its Boeing 777-200ER fleet with new 787s. Steven Greenway, who heads Scoot’s commercial division, said the airline would add frequencies to existing key destinations such as to Australia’s Gold Coast, other Asian destinations and “anywhere we fly already on a daily basis.”
Cathay Pacific will withdraw its 11 Airbus A340-300s between 2015 and 2017, the Hong Kong-based carrier says. Cathay needs to deploy more fuel-efficient aircraft on long-haul routes, Paul Barwell, airline planning manager, says. “Secondly, we need to recognize that the A340 is a costly aircraft to maintain, and there are considerable maintenance savings to be made by retiring these aircraft earlier.”
Lessor Macquarie AirFinance has signed a firm purchase agreement for 40 CS300 variants of Bombardier’s in-development CSeries airliner. No value is given for the deal, which takes firms orders for the CSeries to 243 aircraft, including 92 from lessors.
Financially struggling Air Berlin is making major changes to its fleet plan, canceling Boeing 787-9 and 737-800 orders and planning the phase-out of its 737s with an eye toward becoming an all-Airbus operator by 2016. The carrier is canceling 15 787-9s and 18 737-800s and is phasing out its fleet of 737-700s and 737-800s.
Hawaiian Airlines has named North American airline industry veteran Sean Menke as its new chief operating officer, effective Oct. 20. Menke has held several high-profile senior roles at various airlines, most notably as president and CEO of Frontier Airlines before the carrier’s acquisition by Republic Airways in 2009. At Republic, Menke also served as a senior executive following the acquisition and then became CEO of Pinnacle Airlines Corp, the parent of Pinnacle, Mesaba and Colgan Air.
Air France pilots, apparently digging in against expansion of a low-cost subsidiary in France, showed no signs of ending their walkout despite confirmation that Air France-KLM has officially dropped plans to launch a pan-European low-cost carrier. The board regarded the step as a “major concession to reach an agreement” with pilot unions SNPL and SPAF, but the move to abolish Transavia Europe has not given management what it sought.
The tentative agreement (TA) American Airlines reached with its flight attendants union levels the pay scale for legacy US Airways and legacy American cabin crews and matches flight attendant pay at Delta Air Lines, the union says.
Aircraft financing firms are voicing concerns that some kind of downward correction to commercial aircraft demand is likely and that there could be a corresponding effect on the number of aircraft cancellations or postponements.
