Airbus says the Airbus A350-900 is “ready for certification in the coming weeks” as planned. During the recently completed route-proving campaign, “the aircraft has performed remarkably well confirming the high level of maturity that it has been demonstrating all the way during our development and certification tests,” Fernando Alonso, senior vice president-flight and integration tests, said. “I truly believe the aircraft is fit to enter service.”
A collaboration between All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air is to begin Airbus A320 pilot training at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport from September. The new facility, called Pan Am Thailand Flight Training Center, will eventually house two A320 and two Boeing 737NG flight simulators. It is part of the Japanese carrier’s expansion plans for its recently acquired subsidiary, Pan Am International Flight Academy (Pan Am).
LATAM Airlines Group reported a second-quarter net loss of $58.9 million, narrowed from a net loss of $329.8 million in the year-ago quarter The company attributed the quarterly results as being “negatively affected by reduced passenger and cargo demand during the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament held in Brazil, as well as by very weak seed exports in the cargo business.” The LATAM Airlines Group is a consolidation of Chile’s LAN Airlines, LAN Cargo, Brazil’s TAM Airlines and each of the companies’ affiliates and subsidiaries.
Cathay Pacific Group expects its business to improve in the second half of 2014, following a modest profit recorded for the first half. The Hong Kong-based company, owner of Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, achieved higher passenger and cargo load factors in the first six months of this year by cutting prices.
ATLANTA — Discussions on whether to mandate bird-strike reporting in the U.S. or change the metric for calculating strike risks are tied to a broader theme underpinning the effort to make aviation safer through wildlife mitigation: the push for better data.
Finnair is introducing an “economy comfort” product as part of the ongoing cabin upgrades of its Airbus widebody fleet and this fall will begin unbundling services on short-haul routes, with the introduction of paid-for meals in economy. Finnair also revealed its initial Airbus A350 routes and said it will deploy the aircraft, for which it is European-launch customer, on services to Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai from the second half of 2015. The Oneworld carrier will subsequently roll out the aircraft on its Hong Kong and Singapore services in 2016.
Virgin America reported a $37.1 million profit in the second quarter, a four-fold increase from the same period in 2013, an achievement the airline says is related to a 7.8% jump in revenue per available seat mile (RASM) compared to last year. The profit, after a $22.4 million loss last quarter, comes as Virgin America readies its initial public offering. The seven-year-old carrier, based near San Francisco International Airport, has made money in four of the past five quarters and had its first annual profit last year.
Flight attendants at Virgin America voted to join the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) and will begin negotiating their first contract with the carrier this fall, officials said Wednesday. According to the National Mediation Board, 430 Virgin America flight attendants endorsed the union and 307 voted against it, while about 100 eligible workers did not vote. In 2011, the flight attendants handily rejected the TWU.
Boeing is escalating the war of words between it and Delta Air Lines over the role of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im), dispatching a letter to the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee that refutes, point-by-point, a letter the Atlanta-based carrier sent last week.
LAN Airlines is reaching the initial in-service reliability target of the Boeing 787 two years after it took delivery of its first aircraft. While the airline has seen significant improvements over time, LAN’s Vice President-Line Maintenance Network Sebastian Domenech says that “we are still far from our long term objectives and expectations. We still have a hard road to improvement on which we expect to continue to receive full support from Boeing.”
ATLANTA—Wildlife mitigation experts are working with FAA to develop a new basic standard for calculating bird-strike risk at airports that would replace the decades-old measurement of strikes per 10,000 movements.
BEIJING—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) will increase production of Boeing 787 outer-wing boxes from 2016 to support Boeing’s plan to build the aircraft at a rate of 14 a month by the end of the decade. MHI is one of three major Japanese suppliers of 787 structure. It will expand product facilities at its Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works and Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works, with an investment program to begin in October.
SYDNEY—Nauru Airlines is adding more narrowbody aircraft to its fleet as the carrier enjoys a remarkable revival with Nauru’s status as an offshore processing point for refugees trying to enter Australia.
NEW DELHI—Tata-SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), the aviation joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airline, has branded its new airline as Vistara, which is expected to start operations by October. The airline will take delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A320-200, in September.
Monarch Group has launched a strategic review of its capital structure and business, less than one month after committing to an order for 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and options on a further 15 aircraft. The privately held U.K.-based group said the review covers all areas of the business, from operations to ownership and financing, “with the objective of determining the optimum structure to realize the significant opportunity to build on the respected Monarch brand and distinctive offer to its customers in the budget airline market.”
