In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the U.S., Aviation Daily will not publish a Jan. 21 issue. The next issue will be dated Jan. 22. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers can visit www.aviationweek.com/awin for continuous news updates.
The U.K. Airports Commission is calling for more detailed proposals on the four options selected as potential solutions to increase airport capacity to serve London. The commission is also asking for the promoters of an airport in the Inner Thames Estuary on the Isle of Grain to provide more information, so that all the capacity growth options can be examined with the same set of specific data.
In overwhelming and rapid-fire motion—both unusual characteristics of the 113th Congress—U.S. lawmakers have passed the fiscal 2014 omnibus appropriations bill. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill before Jan. 19, averting another government shutdown and funding the government through September.
Airbus has completed modification work on fewer than one-quarter of the in-service A380 fleet, fixes that are required to strengthen wing rib-feet and ribs. Moving all 122 aircraft through the retrofit program will likely take until the end of 2015.
Airbus hopes to wrap up a new contract with its Chinese final assembly line (FAL) partners this year, potentially extending its remit to A320neos, and is progressing towards the operational opening of its new U.S. facility in Mobile, Ala. The Airbus A320 FAL in Tianjin, China, is a joint venture with a Chinese consortium, including Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) and China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC). It began line operations in September 2008 and delivered its first aircraft in June 2009, becoming the airframer’s first FAL outside Europe.
A project to provide a remote U.K. territory with an airport is entering its most critical year. Work to build an airport for the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic hit the halfway mark in November, with contractors making significant progress on the Dry Gut program to fill a valley with rubble to support the construction of the airport’s 1,550-meter (5,085-ft.) runway.
The budget bill making its way through Congress comes with language—but not dedicated funding—that calls on FAA to evaluate the pros and cons of mandating deployable flight recorders on airliners.
A U.S. effort to provide public-private financing for NextGen equipage is making significant progress, with access to a fund specifically for general aviation users to be provided in the spring.
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Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer Gary Kenneth Toomey has resigned—effective immediately—on Jan. 16, only seven months after joining India’s leading private carrier. Toomey, who was hired last June on a three-year contract, could not be immediately reached for comment. Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan, the chief financial officer of the airline, will be the “acting chief executive officer” until the board appoints a new chief, the airline says in a statement.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy is optimistic that China will soon agree to take 27 Airbus A330s which have been stalled by a dispute over the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). China blocked the aircraft back in 2012 in protest against the extension of the ETS to include aviation, which triggered an international backlash against the EU.
A proposed strategic alliance linking Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines will significantly broaden service between the two countries, and will also let Air New Zealand extend its reach into Southeast Asia and other important international markets. The two airlines intend to form a revenue-sharing joint venture on flights between New Zealand and Singapore. They will also code-share and coordinate sales in a range of markets beyond Singapore, and on New Zealand domestic routes.
Air Berlin and SAS Group, both among the worst financial performers in the European air transport sector during the past several years, have launched initiatives to obtain fresh capital. Air Berlin confirmed it plans to increase the size of a bond issue placed originally in April 2011 by a further €50 million ($68 million), while SAS plans to ask its annual shareholder meeting to approve a convertible bond and/or a capital increase.
Bombardier has pushed its service-entry target for the CSeries airliner back by at least 12 months, saying it will take longer than planned to complete certification flight testing. The announcement, which was expected, targets service entry of the initial 110-seat CS100 variant for the second half of 2015, with the 135-seat CS300 following about six months later. Malmo Aviation in Sweden will be the first airline to take delivery of the CSeries, Bombardier says. The airline has five CS100s and five CS300s on firm order.
Transport Canada (TC) has mandated Bombardier recommendations to regularly replace 50-seat CRJ elevator shear pins after learning that the pins “may fail prematurely.” The directive issued Jan. 13, does not explain why the pins are failing, nor does it say how Bombardier learned of the problem. There are no references to in-service issues.
American Airlines’ plan to complete required slot divestitures at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) leaves a nonstop monopoly in six markets and cuts Washington-area nonstop service completely in six more, while adding New York-area service in just one new market, an Aviation Week analysis shows.
Test ranges — from a mockup city for disaster-response training to the coasts and waters of the Gulf of Mexico — are key reasons the FAA chose Texas as the location for one of six test sites for research to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into civil airspace. The Lone Star UAS Center (LSUASC), operated by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), plans to offer test ranges providing different geographies, temperatures, altitudes and environments from maritime to urban, says Luis Cifuentes, vice president for research and commercialization.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of January 15, 2014, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Sabena technics will further expand its aircraft painting capabilities with a new shop at Toulouse Blagnac Airport, following the signing of a new 15-year contract with Airbus. The French MRO already has aircraft painting facilities at Dinard and Bordeaux, and will add two hangars dedicated to painting Airbus A320 aircraft. The two new painting hangars will replace existing shops, and be equipped with a suitable dockage set and a state-of-the-art vertical ventilation system. Operations are scheduled to start in late 2014.
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