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.”
Nav Canada has secured a significant new customer for its tower air-traffic control system, with Italian air navigation service provider (ANSP) ENAV purchasing it for use at six major airports. Nav Canada is one of a handful of ANSPs that are successfully marketing air-traffic control (ATC) products based on technology they have developed for their own use. The Canadian company has previously sold its tower systems to ANSPs in the U.K., Australia, Dubai, Denmark and Hong Kong.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched a project to evaluate whether the check-in process is redundant, although it acknowledges the change won’t be easy to implement. “We are working on a process called ‘no more check-in.’ It’s gone; it’s history,” IATA head of passenger experience Paul Behan said. IATA is aiming to revamp the process so passengers can book and confirm flights, select seats and receive boarding passes in one transaction at the start of the process, similar to a cinema booking.
Frankfurt airport has received regulatory approval to build a third passenger terminal, but the project is unlikely to be finished before 2021. Construction could begin as early as next year, but depends on the agreement of the regional coalition government, which has opposing views on the airport’s development.
Even as JetBlue Airways expands into the Caribbean and Latin America and develops focus cities along the U.S. East Coast, it continues thinking of itself as a point-to-point low-cost carrier (LCC), CEO Dave Barger said.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS)’s Chief Commercial Officer Hugh Dunleavy underlined the need for the industry to improve information sharing about where it is safe to fly and where it isn’t.
Malaysian long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X is looking at flying between 80 and 110 Airbus A330s in its fleet in coming years. CEO Azran Osman Rani said its latest order placed with Airbus—for 50 A330neos—could either be used as a replacement for its existing fleet of Airbus A330s, or alternatively, for fleet expansion by 2024.
WASHINGTON—Dublin Aerospace added Airbus A330 base maintenance to its portfolio in response to leasing companies and airline customers who also operate A320s and want a single place to service both aircraft. Some of its customers who operate A330s include Aer Lingus, AerCap, BBAM, Gecas, Hi Fly, I-Fly and Flynas. The MRO, launched in 2009 after taking over most of SR Technics’ operation that closed at Dublin International Airport, also provides base maintenance, auxiliary power unit and landing-gear services for Boeing 737 and A320 aircraft.
While massive backlogs at some aspiring carriers help fuel talk of a potential order bubble, the number of established airlines yet to line up replacements for older aircraft have lessors bullish on long-term prospects—and their order books show it.
The U.S. Transportation Department’s delay in approving Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for a foreign air carrier permit is surely not hindering the low-cost carrier’s growth, with passenger numbers up 17% in July.
SYDNEY -— Fiji Airways plans to add turboprop, narrowbody and widebody aircraft to its fleet over the next few years, allowing it to expand its international services, the carrier’s CEO says.
BEIJING—Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has bought equity in U.S. biofuel developer Fulcrum BioEnergy and contracted for 10 years of fuel supplies from the company equivalent to 2% of the carrier’s current consumption. Cathay aims to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020.
Southwest Airlines reported in July that unit revenue grew by a percentage point more than it had previously guided, beating expectations on both growing load factors and traffic. The carrier said its passenger revenue per available seat-mile (PRASM) grew by 4% in July, up from the 3% growth-guidance which the carrier reported last month. Traffic rose 6.6% on capacity that was up 2.6%, while July load factor was almost 87%, compared with 83.5% in July of last year. Average stage length also rose 0.8%.
South African Airways needs around $4.6 billion in private funding to restructure and renew its inefficient long-haul fleet, but cannot count on direct government money as part of the rescue plan.
The agreement that will see Etihad Airways take a 49% shareholding in Alitalia will lead to a change at the top of the financially struggling Italian airline, including its CEO and chairman, and more than 2,000 jobs will be cut. Etihad is not losing any time with Alitalia’s restructuring and wants an accord by Sept. 10 delineating how many employees will take up the offer to accept the voluntary-redundancy package. Five days later, on Sept. 15, the letters of dismissal will be sent out.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Sept. 23-24—Brazing Symposium, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Arizona Oct. 7-9—MRO Europe, Madrid Spain Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 12-14, 2014 – 11th Annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, Sao Paulo, Brazil, www.abag.org.br/labace2014/eng/labace2014.htm l Sept. 7-10—2014 ACI-NA Annual Conference & Exhibition, Atlanta, Georgia, http://annual.aci-na.org/
Troubled Japanese domestic carrier Skymark Airlines is preparing to cut its remaining flights from Tokyo’s Narita Airport, as it looks for ways to reduce costs.
Brussels Airlines has closed its crew base in Monrovia, Liberia on Friday but it is maintaining its flight schedule to West African countries affected by the Ebola epidemic. The carrier, which is 45% owned by Lufthansa, said it decided to move the crew base to Dakar, Ivory Coast in response to concerns of its flight crew to overnight in a hotel in Monrovia. “Our pilots and flight attendants were increasingly uncomfortable with staying in a hotel in Liberia, hence this preventive measure,” a spokeswoman said.
