Ryanair expects fares and yields will continue to fall in the reminder of its fiscal year due to a combination of increased competition and softer economic conditions across Europe, and has revised its full-year net profit guidance down to between €500 million ($675 million) and €520 million. Europe’s largest low-cost carrier expects fares to drop 9% in the third quarter and by 10% in the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2014. Average fares, including checked baggage fees, fell 2% year-on-year to €52 in the first half of the fiscal year.
U.S. airline traffic growth was stagnant in 2012, but carriers continued to shift traffic through large hub airports at the expense of medium hubs, pushing average enplanement costs up as big airports build to meet demand, a Moody’s analysis shows.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday said the Justice Department will only reach an out-of-court settlement with American Airlines and US Airways if the operators “fundamentally resolve the concerns” listed in the regulator’s lawsuit against their proposed merger. Those concerns involve more than 1,000 domestic routes currently operated by the two airlines that the Justice Department deems anti-competitive should the two companies consolidate.
KLM is introducing a new boarding procedure to reduce turnaround and provide greater comfort for passengers, says the carrier’s Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers.
Brazil’s ANAC has ordered Embraer 170 and 175 operators to make modifications that will prevent hot engine exhaust air from leaking from engine precooler systems and damaging nearby wiring and related components. The directive (ANAC AD 2013-11-01) gives operators 8,000 flight cycles or 12,000 hr. from its Nov. 4 effective date to install deflectors on left and right precooler exhaust flanges and apply silicone sealant to the precoolers. Operators also must verify that surrounding Electrical Wiring Interconnection System components are not damaged.
Lion Air’s new Thai affiliate wants to operate two of the Boeing 787s that its parent company has on order, for use on international routes out of Bangkok. Thai Lion Air “is speaking” with the Lion Group about adding 787-8s to its fleet and using these aircraft to launch services to Japan and South Korea, says Thai Lion Air CEO Darsito Hendro Septro. He says he would like Lion Group to allocate the two 787s in 2016. Lion has five 787s on order, with first delivery expected in 2015. It also has five options.
Curtiss-Wright Controls is working to turn South Korea from a customer to a supplier, exploiting the progress local manufacturers have made in gaining technology. Perhaps the most prominent opportunity is in actuation, the equipment that, for example, moves flight control surfaces, says Curtiss-Wright Controls Vice President Christopher Thomson. “South Korea has been a good market, growing faster than our other segments,” says Curtiss-Wright’s Tom Quinly. “We want to take it to another level.”
Bombardier says it is poised to accelerate CSeries flight testing now that it has completed a test-flight to proof-check calibration accuracy. The 1.5-hr. flight from Mirabel, near Montreal, on Oct. 30 was only the fourth for the first CSeries test aircraft, FTV-1, since its first flight on Sept. 16. The aircraft reached 340 kt. and 12,000 ft., but remained in the backup “direct” mode of its fly-by-wire control system.
Nov. 13-14—Aerospace & Defense Programs, Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Ariz. Jan. 21-22, 2014—MRO Latin America, Rio de Janerio, Brazil Feb. 4-6—MRO Middle East, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE March 4-5—Defense Technology & Affordability Requirements, Washington, D.C. March 6—57th Annual Laureates Awards, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. April 8-10—MRO Americas 2014, Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Ariz. April 9—MRO Military 2014, Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Ariz.
South Korea’s government and aerospace industry are persisting with low-level work on the proposed DRA 90-seat turboprop airliner, despite failing to come to an agreement with Bombardier to co-develop the aircraft, a government source tells Aviation Week.
Additive manufacture has the potential to improve the environmental sustainability of aircraft components in production and operation, concludes a study by EADS Innovation Works and EOS, a leader in direct metal laser-sintering (DMLS) technology. The study compared a current cast-steel nacelle hinge bracket for the Airbus A320 with an optimized titanium design additively manufactured on an EOS laser-sintering machine. DMLS builds up parts by using a laser to melt layers of powdered metal.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Rio De Janeiro, October 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers: Rio De Janeiro, October 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs
Air France-KLM Group’s Engineering & Maintenance (AFI-KLM E&M) unit saw third-party revenue jump 19.5% in the third quarter, continuing a trend that has the maintenance group’s outside revenues on pace to grow nearly 20% this year.
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Triumph Group’s Airborne Structures business unit recently won a five-year deal to support KLM Royal Dutch Airlines MD-11 nacelle components, its first multi-year win supporting a major European carrier, the aerostructures specialist reports. The deal, revealed by Triumph President and CEO Jeff Frisby during the company’s second-quarter 2014 earnings call, is valued at “less than $5 million” annually, Frisby says.
Air France-KLM has decided to fully write off the value of its 25% shareholding in Alitalia, citing the uncertainty of the Italian carrier’s situation. “The group recorded its share of loss of Alitalia and a provision for impairment, for a total amount of €202 million ($273 million),” Air France-KLM revealed in the financial statements accompanying its results for the third quarter.
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Qantas are boosting their investment in Japanese low-cost carrier Jerstar Japan, a move that represents a vote of confidence in the performance of the fledgling carrier and its growth prospects. The two mainline carriers have announced a combined equity injection of 11 billion yen ($111.9 million), which will lift their ownership stakes to 45.7% each, up from 41.7%. The other two partners in the joint venture, Mitsubishi Corp. and Century Tokyo Leasing, will now each own 4.3%.
Fewer commercial aircraft deliveries and a shift in the mix toward smaller regional and business jets caused Embraer to miss its profit forecast for the third quarter. But the Brazilian manufacturer expects a strong fourth quarter, and is maintaining its full-year forecast for 2013. Rival Bombardier also missed its third-quarter revenue and earnings forecasts on lower aircraft deliveries and orders, but has not commented on whether it will meet its full-year targets.
In another potential blow to the Airbus A380 program, Air France-KLM yesterday indicated it may not take all of the aircraft it has on firm order for its Air France unit. According to Air France-KLM CEO Alexandre de Juniac, the airline may swap part of its remaining order for other aircraft types and plans to enter discussions with Airbus on the matter. Air France has taken delivery of nine of the 12 A380s it has on order, and is scheduled to receive another A380 in 2014.
