Estonian Air’s drastic restructuring and downsizing efforts are starting to bear fruit, and the airline now has reached sustainability in its core business as a result of resizing operations, says CEO Jan Palmer says. The airline came close to bankruptcy at the end of 2012, owing to an over-ambitious growth strategy as a hub-and-spoke operator. However, it has now reduced its fleet to seven regional jet aircraft. Two Saab 340s were sent back to lessors during the second quarter and a Boeing 737 was returned in July.
The much-delayed maintenance, repair and overhaul facility jointly established by Air India and Boeing in India will be operational by mid-2014, the U.S. aircraft maker says. “The handover of the facility will be done by the end of this quarter or the next,” says Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president-sales, Asia Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Aircraft.
Inefficient certification processes are delaying hundreds of new applications for aircraft operations and repair stations, says Jeffrey Guzzetti, assistant inspector general for aviation audits for the U.S. Transportation Department.
Efforts to better understand wildlife strike patterns and translate that knowledge into reducing the risk of strikes with aircraft are paying off, the latest FAA wildlife hazard report shows. The recently released report—Wildlife Strikes to Civil Aircraft in The United States, 1990-2012—shows that strike reports, which mainly involve birds, are rising at about 4% per year, hitting a record 10,726 in 2012. This is not unexpected, as officials have focused efforts on expanding reporting in an effort to build the knowledge base.
The Spanish government in the next two weeks is expected to decide on the planned privatization of Aena Aeropuertos and is reviewing a government report that recommends selling up to 60% of the equity in the airport operator in two phases.
JetBlue Airways is targeting high-density markets as part of an effort to control costs, and has initiated a significant fleet revamp and a major retrofit program to reach its goal. The fleet plan, which upgauges and expands the airline’s Airbus narrowbody order book and defers 24 Embraer 190s, dominated the conversation during JetBlue’s Oct. 29 third-quarter earnings call, both in its scope and its financial implications.
Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes plans a campaign of 200 biofuel flights when the country hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2014. News of the plans emerged as the airline made the first commercial biofuel flight by an airline in Brazil. GOL has signed a memorandum of understanding with biofuel developer Amyris that could lead to the airline using renewable jet fuel produced from Brazilian sugar cane by Amyris once the company’s direct sugar to hydrocarbon feedstock-to-fuel pathway is approved for use in aircraft.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says he would be interested in a further stretch of the Airbus A350. Such an aircraft “could meet our requirements” if it has the right payload and range characteristics, even in the very hot Qatar summers, Al Baker said yesterday on the sidelines of an event in Doha marking the airline’s formal membership in Oneworld. Al Baker, however, did not specify the range requirements for the aircraft.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Mexico City, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Mexico City, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats/Dept.
Better-than-expected aerodynamic results from tests of the engine installation and advanced split winglet have prompted Boeing to increase its fuel-burn performance improvement predictions for the 737 MAX over the current models by one percentage point to 14%. The final performance audit follows the completion of firm configuration and systems definition this summer, and comes as Boeing continues to battle for market share equality with the Airbus A320neo.
Eyeing difficult budget negotiations and the prospect of more sequestration cuts, a dozen aviation organizations are urging lawmakers to ensure that the contract tower program receives adequate funding and is shielded from potential dismantling. The organizations, representing airports, local communities, business aviation, airlines and other interests, wrote the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees endorsing language that dedicates $140 million in funding to the contract tower program.
BAE Systems, making quick inroads into commercial aircraft maintenance, will support certain electronics on Japan Airlines Boeing 737-800s, 767s, and 777s. The three-year deal—the second commercial aftermarket win in a month for the defense- and security-focused company—includes repairs, spares and modifications. On Oct. 1, BAE Systems started a base maintenance support deal for Tigerair Australia. BAE is supporting the carrier’s Airbus A320 fleet from its Melbourne International Airport hangar.
Rolls-Royce (R-R) expects its engine production in Singapore to equal that in the U.K. by 2015. Its U.K. factory produces about 250 engines per year, and the Singapore facility at Seletar should assemble 150 in 2014 before it reaches the same number the following year. The Singapore facility currently assembles Trent 900s but will add the Trent 1000, which powers the Airbus A350, in the first half of 2014.
The surging surplus parts market caught Rockwell Collins off-guard in 2013 and held down the company’s airline aftermarket revenue growth, which still increased 6% on the strength of mandate-related avionics retrofits.
Europe’s plans to flight-test an open-rotor engine have taken a step forward, with confirmation by Airbus of the technical feasibility of an aircraft powered by the fuel-saving engines. The milestone has been announced by the European Clean Sky civil aviation research program, which says the planned counter-rotating open-rotor engine (Cror) demonstrator has passed its technology readiness level 3 decision gate.
Airline passenger traffic in France rose 2.2% in the first nine months of the year, but foreign carriers are growing markedly faster than French operators, even on domestic routes. French airlines—including Air France—increased passenger numbers just 0.7% year-over-year, comprising a 0.3% increase on domestic routes and 1% growth on international routes, according to data from the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC).
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Sao Paulo, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Sao Paulo, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats/Dept.
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) has purchased a 15% stake in AeroTurbine, giving the European company a major link in the surplus parts supply chain and providing AeroTurbine owner International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) with a partner well-positioned to help it manage its huge fleet.
Al Maktoum Airport—which is part of the Dubai World Central complex—on Oct. 27 welcomed its first passenger flight, a Wizz Air service from Budapest. The low-cost carrier is one of three airlines which have signed up to use the airport, located 40 km (25 mi.) southwest of Dubai. The facility has been open for freight traffic since June 2010, and was licensed to begin passenger operations by the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority on Sept. 17.
