Wencor Group, boosting its aftermarket capabilities and increasing its appeal to potential buyers, has purchased cabin interiors specialist Flight Line Products, Wencor reported. Flight Line’s services include passenger and crew seat overhauls as well as developing Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) parts, such as arm rest covers and tray tables, for use as spares.
FAA is giving Airbus A320-family operators as little as 48 months to weigh elevators or check maintenance records to ensure routine work—including painting—has not added too much weight to the structures. The U.S. agency, following a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandate issued in October 2012, ordered the inspections in a Jan. 6 airworthiness directive. “It has been identified that maintenance activities, such as repairs or the accumulation of paint layers, may cause the weight of an elevator to exceed the certified limits,” FAA says.
More MROs are entering the VIP completions market, which not only could lead to increased competition but to overcapacity, as well, fears Walter Heerdt, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Lufthansa Technik.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Berlin Tegel - Munich, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Berlin Tegel - Munich, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats/Dep
Guernsey-based regional airline Aurigny will wet-lease an Embraer 195 while awaiting delivery of its own aircraft, and is favoring the Dornier 228 as a replacement for its aging Britten-Norman Trislander fleet. State-owned Aurigny, based on the Channel Islands between the UK and France, operates a single ATR 72-200, two ATR 72-500s and six Britten-Norman Trislanders. It has also ordered its first jet, an Embraer 195, triggered by Flybe’s decision to ax its competing Guernsey-London Gatwick flights.
Less than a month after announcing a headcount reduction and restructuring in its European operations, Airbus Group is also making changes in its North America arm, tapping Airbus Americas Chairman Allan McArtor as CEO of Airbus Group in North America. McArtor will have oversight of operations in the U.S., Canada and Latin and South America, and is taking over for Sean O'Keefe, once the head of EADS North America (renamed Airbus Group), who is stepping down from his post.
Aviation Week Laureate Awards March 6, 2014 National Building Museum Washington, D.C. Join Us! Aviation Week’s 57th annual Laureate Awards will recognize individuals/teams for their extraordinary accomplishments. Their achievements embody the spirit of exploration, innovation, vision or any combination of these attributes that inspire others to strive for significant, broad-reaching progress in aviation and aerospace.
Air Methods has strengthened its aerial tourism business with the purchase of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. Air Methods, which is best known as a provider of aero-medical helicopters across the U.S. completed purchase of the Hawaii-based operator on December 16, for an undisclosed price. The move boosts Air Methods’ growing aerial tour business which also includes Las Vegas-based Sundance Helicopters, taken over by Air Methods in a December 2012 deal. Blue Hawaiian generated revenues of approximately $47 million in 2012.
Buoyed by the highest production rates ever achieved on the 737, 777 and 787 lines, Boeing delivered a record-breaking 648 commercial aircraft in 2013. The 737 made up the bulk of the year’s deliveries with 440 units produced, while the 777 program, which reached a new rate of 8.3 aircraft per month in January 2013, notched up 98 deliveries. The 787 also made a late run with 65 deliveries for the year.
UK leisure carrier Monarch Airlines has finalized plans to retire its last Airbus A300-600s this spring, marking the end of 23 years’ service for the carrier. London Luton-based Monarch, which claims to be the last European airline operating A300s passenger services, will operate its final commercial A300 flight on April 13. The flight will be performed by G-OJMR, which was delivered new to the carrier in 1991.
Alaska Air Group boosted revenue passenger miles (RPMs) 6.8% in 2013 on a 7.1% bump in available seat miles (ASMs), the company reports. Mainline carrier Alaska Airlines saw RPMs grow 7.2% on 7.9% more ASMs, while Horizon grew RPMs 3.5% while keeping ASMs almost flat.
Machinists union members accepted an improved contract proposal from Boeing by the narrowest of margins late Friday, guaranteeing the company’s new long-range 777X and its all-composite wings will be built in Everett and nearby facilities around the Puget Sound area of Washington state. Of the 24,000 ballots cast, 51% were in favor of approval. The outcome ends two months of speculation over where the assembly work will take place and draws a line under Boeing’s search for alternate sites that attracted bids from 22 states as well as Japan.
Turkish Airlines is planning to convert options on seven Airbus A321-200neos, as it looks to swell its fleet to 267 aircraft by the close of 2014. Last March Turkish signed a contract for up to 117 A320 family aircraft, including 25 A321neos, four A320neos, 53 A321neos and options for 35 additional A321neos. The airline said in a stock market announcement that it “has decided to convert the options for seven A321-200neo aircraft that have been purchased from Airbus to firm orders to be delivered in 2018.”
A nine-year-old investigation into the runway excursion of an Atlas Air Boeing 747-200 freighter in Dusseldorf reveals the challenges that remain in assessing winter runway conditions for landing aircraft. The German federal bureau of aircraft accident investigation (BFU) in December published its final report on the Jan. 24, 2005, accident, but did not issue any recommendations, in part due to new regulations or guidelines that have been put in place both in Germany and by ICAO since that time.
India’s ambitious initiative to design and develop a regional transport aircraft finally seems to have taken wings with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) inviting enginemakers worldwide to offer data on their engines and integrated propulsive systems (IPS) for developing a 70-100 seater airplane.
Etihad Airways says 2013 was a year “of record-breaking success” as it added three airlines—Air Serbia, Jet Airways and Switzerland’s Darwin Airline—to its so-called equity alliance and increased traffic with 16% to nearly 12 million passengers. Cargo volumes rose 32% compared to 2012.
Air Algerie has firmed up an order with ATR for three ATR 72-600s and also signed an agreement with Boeing for eight 737-800s, as part of its fleet renewal and expansion program. The new orders follow a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for three A330-200 passenger aircraft, signed at the Dubai Air Show in November. Air Algerie expects to take delivery of 16 new aircraft—of which two are freighters—by 2017 and is also considering an order for new-generation medium-sized widebodies.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Milan Linate - Rome Fiumicino, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Milan Linate - Rome Fiumicino, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats
Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority has approved a change of Kenya Airways’ operating license to include Boeing 787 operations. The airline is now allowed to deploy its 787s on international and domestic scheduled services. Kenya Airways had lodged the application for approval on November 1 and received the formal go-ahead December 27.
