India’s aviation regulatory agency has allowed the use of personal electronic devices (PEDs), including mobile phones, in airplane mode instead of the switched-off mode, during all phases of a flight. However, the PEDs must be in the non-transmitting mode, directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) chief Prabhat Kumar says. “The amended civil aviation regulation also directs all operators for reporting of any suspected or confirmed PED interference or smoke caused by PEDs,” he says.
Despite cancelling 17,000 flights and seeing its most important hub, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, closed for several days, Delta Air Lines reported a record first-quarter profit.
Brazilian domestic carrier Azul is making a giant strategy shift with plans to enter the long-haul market—including flights to the U.S.—starting next year. The airline has ordered five Airbus A350-900s and plans to lease six more Airbus A330-200s for the new services. Azul plans to launch its first international flights from Sao Paulo’s Viracopos-Campinas International Airport, which is currently its main base and where it is building a new $1.5 billion terminal.
The FAA faces another legal challenge to its ban on civil use of unmanned aircraft, with a voluntary search-and-rescue (SAR) organization filing a lawsuit appealing against an agency order to stop using radio-controlled model aircraft in its searches. On Feb. 14, the FAA ordered the company flying missions for the Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team to stop using the unmanned aircraft as it is “an illegal operation regardless if it is … doing volunteer SAR.”
Pratt & Whitney’s president of aftermarket, Matthew Bromberg, predicts that maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) shops in the future will “print” the parts they need with additive manufacturing technologies, speeding up repair tasks and reducing stored inventory. “It will work. It will be efficient. It’s the way the industry will go,” said Bromberg, speaking at Aviation Week’s MRO America conference in Phoenix on April 9.
Airbus has started working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to have its A320 recertified for a maximum load of 186 passengers, Aviation Week has learned. Airlines are currently allowed to fly the aircraft with a maximum of 180 seats, but Airbus would like to add an extra row to further increase efficiency.
US Airways is ending its code-share relationship with Turkish Airlines, telling the U.S. Transportation Dept. the deal will end July 31. This follows US Airways’ move from the Star Alliance to Oneworld on March 31 and is part of the carrier’s integration with American Airlines.
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Korean Air are expanding the already extensive codeshare relationship they have on flights between the two countries. Korean has far more routes than JAL between South Korea and Japan, and the latest deal means all of these will now be included in the codeshare. The 10 additional flights include six from Seoul Incheon, three from Busan and one from Jeju, covering eight Japanese destinations. They are all Korean Air flights, and will be added to the codeshare beginning April 22 or April 26.
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Adria Airways and Falko Regional Aircraft finalized a sale and leaseback for one Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen aircraft and are in talks to finance a second CRJ900 NextGen under a similar arrangement. Slovenia’s national airline in March signed a purchase agreement with Bombardier for two CRJ900 NextGens, which initially were ordered by Iraqi Airways but were never delivered to the operator.
Pilots at JetBlue Airways ended the carrier’s history of being among the last non-union airlines in the U.S. by voting for Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representation. More than 70% of the almost 2,600 pilots eligible to vote chose ALPA representation, the union says. The union failed in two previous attempts to organize the LCC’s pilots. After the National Mediation Board authorizes ALPA as the pilots union, JetBlue and ALPA will organize negotiating committees, the carrier says.
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Syphax Airlines will debut its long-haul expansion on April 24 with weekly service between Tunis-Carthage International Airport and Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (YUL) aboard a leased Airbus A330-200 configured with 28 seats in business class and 250 in economy.
The evolving relationship between Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines is in part a story about the fifth-freedom hub at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport but is also a story about a changing domestic U.S. airline business. Alaska dominates the Seattle market with its strong hub there and in Portland, Ore., but Delta is eager to build its presence in the city partially for feed for its international flights but also to build a domestic focus city on the West Coast, Atmosphere Research founder Henry Harteveldt tells Aviation Week.
Airbus has started working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to have its A320 recertified for a maximum load of 186 passengers, Aviation Week has learned.
