Transaero Airlines is easing its dependence on Boeing aircraft for its short- and medium-haul network, signing a deal with China’s ICBC Leasing for six Airbus A321s to be delivered between July 2015 and March 2016. The aircraft will be operated under a long-term operating lease. Discussions with a lessor are underway for delivery of eight more A321 aircraft after March 2016, Transaero says while confirming it plans to take delivery of 30 A321s within the next five years.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of March 26, 2014, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
By R. W. "Bob" Mann / R.W. Mann & Company The Malaysian flight 370 tragedy, and particularly the problem of locating the aircraft to determine its cause, is a classic case of failure to use readily available off-the-shelf technology, and the implications of that lack of foresight. Following the Air France 447 tragedy, there were calls to stream complex and data-intensive Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder information, but that effort stalled over satellite capacity, costs and privacy issues.
Across-the-board declines in AAR Corp’s commercial aviation services segments last quarter underscore the motivation behind the company’s broad diversification strategy, even as the global aftermarket shows signs of recovery. AAR’s aftermarket sales dipped 10% to $368 million in the carrier’s fiscal second quarter, which ended February 28. Several major sub-units, including airframe maintenance, landing gear overhaul, engineering services, and parts sales were notably down. The reasons behind the declines vary, AAR executives say.
Japan Airlines is on track to record a hefty 148 billion yen ($1.4 billion) profit for its fiscal year ending March 31, although the carrier expects a tougher financial environment over the next 12 months. The current fiscal year projection is unchanged from its last update on Jan. 31, when the airline raised its guidance by 20 billion yen. However, JAL forecasts a smaller profit of 115 billion yen for the following fiscal year ending March 31, 2015.
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Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, Chicago O’Hare - London Heathrow Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, Chicago O’Hare - London Heathrow American British Airways Others 2008Q4 589 45
Delta Air Lines has put its first wi-fi-equipped international aircraft—a Boeing 747-400—into service, the carrier says. The aircraft also marks the debut of Gogo’s Ku-band satellite-based connectivity service. Delta is installing the service on its entire international fleet. The carrier has Gogo’s ground-based service on its 570-aircraft mainline domestic fleet. Delta’s 747 fleet is the first to get the service. Three have been modified, and the other 13 will be done by mid-year.
Air France KLM Group is analyzing whether it should ramp up development of its low-cost Transavia subsidiary into a truly pan-European airline with bases across the continent, Air France KLM chairman and CEO Alexandre de Juniac tells Aviation Week. In an exclusive interview at the group’s headquarters at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. de Juniac said a decision will be made in the coming months.
Southwest Airlines wants to keep two former Frontier Airlines slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) that it has been using on a daily DCA-Kansas City International Airport (MCI) flight while American Airlines wants to wrestle them away and stave off competition proposed by the three other applicants. The Department of Transportation (DOT) temporarily allocated the slots to Southwest after Republic Airline Inc. told DOT on Jan. 24 that subsidiary Frontier would stop flying its daily DCA-MCI route on Feb. 1.
Singapore’s Changi Airport is stepping up passenger security levels in light of possible lapses revealed by Malaysia Airlines’ MH370 disappearance. “In the light of MH370, the [Changi] security agencies have reviewed security measures and have enhanced some of the checks with stronger ground presence,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police (Airport Police Commander) Sam Tee.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is cautioning airline pilots to exercise “vigilance” in the approach phase of a flight to avoid “potentially catastrophic mistakes.” The safety alert, issued Wednesday, follows wrong-airport landings by Southwest Airlines and Atlas Air two months apart in January and November, respectively.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, New York Kennedy - Paris DeGaulle Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, New York Kennedy - Paris DeGaulle Air France American Others 2008Q4 2,009 334
Brazil’s GOL netted $40.7 million in U.S. Export-Import Bank-backed bond issuance to help finance an engine services contract with Delta Tech Ops—the third such deal in two years, the bank reports. Tech Ops has a five-year agreement to overhaul the airline’s CFM56-7Bs. The first two deals were done in 2012 as part of an $84.8 million Ex-Im Bank commitment supporting the contract.
New details about communications between the missing Malaysia Airlines 777-200 and an Inmarsat satellite show an additional, “partial ping” occurred 8 min. after the final hourly contact between the aircraft and spacecraft. Using an analysis of satellite data furnished by London-based Inmarsat, Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) says evidence of the final, partial signal between the MH370’s L-band terminal and Inmarsat’s gateway Earth station occurred March 8, when the plane vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Virgin America is counting on its bold moves in Dallas to spur enough demand to justify making Love Field its third-largest base, behind Los Angeles and San Francisco. Earlier this month the airline said it wants to move its North Texas operations from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Love this fall, by securing two Love gates that American must shed as part of divestitures from the American/ US Airways merger.
Air Canada’s low-cost Rouge subsidiary is beefing up its intra-North America operations and expanding west, adding five U.S. cities and doubling its Canadian stations by launching service in Calgary and Vancouver. The expansion will see Rouge take over current Air Canada service between Vancouver and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Anchorage, as well as between Calgary and Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The changes will be made by July 1.
The chairman of the U.S. House aviation subcommittee, tasked with leading the lower chamber of Congress in crafting its version of the next FAA reauthorization bill, said today that his panel’s priorities are the streamlined NextGen ATM overhaul and forthcoming domestic-flying UAS regulations, particularly how they manage safety and personal privacy concerns.
