A bipartisan group of 168 congressmen has asked FAA to provide details on what the lawmakers call the agency’s “vague” plans to “right-size” the National Airspace System and explain how the effort might affect the Contract Tower Program (CTP). In a pair of identical July 31 letters to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, 54 senators and 114 House of Representatives members expressed concern that two FAA initiatives—the big-picture, right-sizing effort and a more focused working group—could threaten CTP.
American Airlines is retooling its Latin America schedule this winter, ending a Sao Paolo-Charlotte, North Carolina service, to focus on Miami as the carrier’s gateway to the continent.
Russian LCC Dobrolet temporally suspended operations from Aug. 4, 2014 due to sanctions the EU imposed on July 29 over the Ukraine crisis. As a result of the sanctions, the airline’s lessor canceled an agreement for two Boeing 737-800s currently operated by Dobrolet. A source close to Dobrolet’s parent company, Aeroflot, told Aviation Week that both aircraft were leased from BBAM and would be returned to the lessor soon. The carrier had initially planned to obtain up to ten Boeing 737-800s by year’s end.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings posted second-quarter net income of $29.6 million, up 47.5% from the $20 million net profit reported in the year-ago quarter. Purchase, New York-based, Atlas Air Worldwide is parent company to Atlas Air and Titan Aviation Leasing, as well as majority owner of Polar Air Cargo.
Delta Air Lines’ Latin-America traffic rose in July but load factors in the region fell, as business and leisure traffic dropped off during the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. Delta’s traffic in Latin America, measured in revenue passenger miles, rose more than 14% in July on more than 17% more capacity, measured in available seat-miles, but load factor was more than 2 points lower than the same month in 2013.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was never detected on Indonesian radar because the aircraft never flew over Indonesian air space, says Indonesia’s Defence Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro. He disputes news reports that have said MH370 flew over the northern tip of Sumatra. According to Purnomo, the aircraft flew further north of the island.
The proliferation of low-cost portable automatic-dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) “in”-systems in the general aviation fleet has prompted the FAA to reconsider how it disseminates traffic information from its now-completed ADS-B ground infrastructure. Bob Nichols, head of the FAA’s Surveillance and Broadcast Services office, told Aviation Week last week that the agency is investigating whether it might begin openly broadcasting secondary-surveillance radar (SSR) information on the Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) link that the portables receive.
More than a week of widespread flight delays in China have ended, with the authorities promising that the military, which caused the chaos, will cooperate in minimizing such disruption. “The capacity reductions at airports in eastern and southeastern China are canceled with effect from Aug. 1,” the Shanghai city government said.
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) Oct. 7-9 —MRO Europe, Madrid Spain Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, Singapore Nov. 19-20—A&D Programs, Wigwam Resort, Liltchfield Park, Ariz.
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, Ga., http://annual.aci-na.org/
The newly revamped Sihanouk International Airport in southern Cambodia has seen its first international flight, a Skywings Asia Airbus A320-200 flying out of Incheon in South Korea. The airport is aiming to tap into the expanding regional market for hard-to-access beachside tourist destinations along the northeast of the Gulf of Thailand.
More intense competition and careful airline aftermarket spending helped Lufthansa Technik’s year-over-year sales fall in the second quarter, breaking a one-year streak of quarterly growth. “Disproportionate growth in MRO capacities and airlines’ persistently tight financial situations are leading to consistently high pricing pressure in the MRO business,” LHT explained in analyzing its second-quarter results. “Moreover, the market stays affected by consolidation activities of both customers and competitors.”
Bombardier booked 18 net orders for commercial aircraft in the three months ending June 30, a 48.6% drop-off from the 35 commercial aircraft net orders in the prior-year quarter, the company told analysts during its second-quarter earnings call.
Embraer posted a second-quarter net profit of $146.7 million on a 12.8% rise in revenue to $1.76 billion, reversing a $3.8 million net loss in the 2013 June quarter.
While All Nippon Airways has pulled back from buying part of Myanmar’s Asian Wings Airways, the carrier says it is still interested in investing in that market. ANA will continue to seek possible business opportunities in airlines and airline-related businesses in Myanmar, an airline spokesman said. Despite the decision to cancel its investment in AWA, “we still realize that the potential for growth in Myanmar is high.”
Lufthansa Group will stick to plans to reduce capacity growth to offset the yield erosion, following a disappointing performance in the second quarter, when operating profit tumbled 17% on the year-ago period, net profit fell by a third and total revenue inched down 1.7%. Operating profit reduced to €359 million ($481 million) and net profit came in at €173 million on total revenue of €7.7 billion.
Lufthansa said it is rerouting flights over Iraq through Sunday, Aug. 3, as a “precautionary measure” due to security concerns. The decision, which applies to flights operated by Lufthansa, its cargo airline, Austrian Airlines and Swiss, is not expected to add significantly to flight times, the company said.
Lufthansa Group will stick to plans to reduce capacity growth to offset the yield erosion, following a disappointing performance in the second quarter, when operating profit tumbled 17% on the year-ago period, net profit fell by a third and total revenue inched down 1.7%. Operating profit reduced to €359 million ($481 million) and net profit came in at €173 million on total revenue of €7.7 billion.
Lufthansa said it is rerouting flights over Iraq through Sunday, Aug. 3, as a “precautionary measure” due to security concerns. The decision, which applies to flights operated by Lufthansa, its cargo airline, Austrian Airlines and Swiss, is not expected to add significantly to flight times, the company said.
BEIJING — Boeing 787-8s with General Electric GEnx engines have delivered an improvement in fuel economy of more than 20% by replacing Airbus A340-600s on transpacific routes, says Hainan Airlines, describing its experience with the new type after a year of operations. “Since Hainan Airlines introduced the 787 in July 2013, its performance in the market has been good,” says the airline. “Up to now, the load factor has been 90%. Passengers appreciate the smooth flight, quiet cabin and equipment that is easy to use.”
International Airlines Group (IAG) is acquiring eight Airbus A350-900s and eight A330-200s for Iberia Airlines, to replace the Spanish airline’s Airbus A340 fleet. The new aircraft will be delivered between 2015 and 2020. IAG CEO Willie Walsh said that the group decided not to order A330neos because “we wanted to get our hands on new fuel-efficient aircraft quickly. We would not have been able to secure A330neo before 2019-20. This is too late.”
