The prospect of the increasing control of Virgin Australia by its foreign airline partners has prompted a bitter war of words with its rival Qantas, and has also angered a bloc of Virgin Australia’s smaller independent shareholders.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Tel Aviv, Nov. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Tel Aviv, Nov. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats/Dept.
Thai Lion Air has cleared the last regulatory hurdle needed to start domestic operations, although it still needs further approvals to launch international flights. Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation has issued an air operator’s certificate to the carrier, which is a joint-venture low-cost carrier established by Indonesia’s Lion Air and an unnamed local investor. This was the second major regulatory approval required after the carrier gained its air operator’s license in October.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has finalized a deal to purchase a 24% stake in Jet Airways, marking the completion of the first cross border transaction in the Indian aviation sector since last year’s change to the country’s ownership laws. The confirmation of the nearly $330 million deal comes after all necessary regulatory approvals were obtained by both airlines from Indian authorities on Nov. 12. The two sides closed the transaction on Nov. 20.
An unexplained mix-up at a repair station caused a Canadian British Aerospace Jetstream 31 operator to return an aircraft to service with expired landing gear components, prompting Transport Canada (TC) to warn other operators to double-check their records. The issue, outlined in a TC safety alert, focuses on a 2006 airworthiness directive (AD) issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency and adopted by TC that established life limits for certain main and nose landing gear components.
Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways has begun the process of setting up a low-cost carrier (LCC) affiliate, and another Taiwanese carrier, China Airlines, is also planning to establish an LCC in this market. TransAsia appears to be closest to launching its operation, as it has recently received approval to proceed from Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration. China Airlines has only confirmed its intentions and has yet to provide specifics about its LCC plans, although it could reveal more by the end of the year.
As CFM prepared to update future operators of its new Leap engine at the Dubai air show, the first engine to run was being prepared for a series of grueling icing tests in Manitoba, Canada. The Leap-1A engine, which ran for the first time on Sept. 4 at General Electric's Peebles, Ohio test site, is set to undertake cold weather evaluation in the run up to follow-on certification.
Preliminary findings from the probe of a May 2013 incident has led the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) to call attention to a scenario that can lead to a near-stall when an aircraft on approach intercepts an instrument landing system (ILS) glide slope from above.
International Aero Engines (IAE) has stepped into the certified surplus materials arena, announcing the Pure-V designation available to V2500 engines with approved parts and repair histories. Pure-V figures to bring several benefits to both the manufacturer and V2500 owners, notably lessors. Customers with Pure-V-certified engines stand to benefit from the potential of higher residual values when selling them, and will be offered extended warranties on parts.
CFM remains confident in its predictions of a slight fuel burn advantage for the new Leap-1A over the competing Pratt & Whitney (P&W) PW1100G geared turbofan on the Airbus A320neo, even though the two powerplants currently remain neck and neck in terms of firm engine selections. The joint venture between General Electric (GE) and Snecma has been running the first Leap-1A since Sept. 4, and “the results are outstanding in every way,” said CFM Executive Vice President Chaker Chahrour during the Dubai air show.
Airline ownership in the U.K.’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) will decline following the decision by Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic Airways, TUI Travel and Thomas Cook Group to sell the majority of their stakes in The Airline Group, which owns 41.9% of NATS.
Engine Alliance and Rolls-Royce (R-R) are studying new or modified propulsion options for the Airbus A380 after calls for longer-term improvements in fuel burn by Emirates Airline, which operates the largest fleet of this type.
Yields at Malaysia’s two largest airlines are being pressured by increasing competition, but while this kept Malaysia Airlines in the red for the third quarter, rival AirAsia signals that it will report a strong result for the same period.
Boeing says that despite an aggressive program to improve the 787-8’s in-service reliability levels, the aircraft’s overall performance is not expected to reach that of the 777 until sometime before mid-2014. During the Dubai air show, Boeing Commercial Sales Vice President Marty Bentrott said some operators, such as Qatar Airways, have experienced “some early teething problems,” and also have seen “reliability issues with some components.”
Bombardier Aerospace has launched an extra-capacity seating configuration option for the Q400 NextGen that adds up to 14 seats to the cabin to allow operators to carry a maximum of 86 passengers. Thailand-based Nok Air, the launch carrier for the newly configured Q400the launch customer, has placed a firm order for two of these high-capacity aircraft. The airline also holds two options and purchase rights on an additional four. The total list value of the deal is approximately $258 million.
Europe’s largest travel conglomerate TUI Travel says “exceptional” feedback of passengers flying the Boeing 787-8 prompted it to order two additional aircraft, which will be used by its Jetairfly and Arkefly units from 2016. Jetairfly, which is based in Belgium, is due to take delivery of its first 787-8 in the coming weeks while Amsterdam Schiphol Airport-based Arkefly is expected to receive its first 787 in May.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Jeddah, Nov. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Jeddah, Nov. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats/Dept.
