AirAsia’s growth in the Philippines will include a major expansion of operations at Mactan-Cebu International, the country’s second busiest airport. The AirAsia group is realigning the two Philippine joint venture carriers in which it holds major stakes. The group’s first foothold in the country was AirAsia Philippines (AAP), a relatively small carrier operating a few Airbus A320s. Through AAP, AirAsia in May bought into the much larger Zest Air, which it is in the process of rebranding as AirAsia Zest.
While leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate yesterday continued to negotiate an agreement to reopen the government, 44 House lawmakers are hoping to increase pressure on the FAA to re-open the U.S. Aircraft Registry. The legislators in a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta say the agency is “inflicting unnecessary hardship on aviation industries in our country” by handling the current shutdown in a different manner than previous shutdowns.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Shanghai, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Shanghai, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats/Dept.
In the aircraft parts world, speed matters. If properly applied, it reduces inventory, saves money and assures components are where they need to be when they are needed. The trick is flowing those parts through the system more quickly. That is the aim of Southwest Airlines’ recently initiated “Project Velocity,” an effort that promises a 5-7% reduction in per-aircraft parts inventory, according to Peter Requa, director of supply chain management. “We expect to take our per-aircraft inventory down from $650,000 . . . to $610,000 or $600,000,” he says.
Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Bedek Aviation Group has signed licensing agreements with Boeing to perform modifications of 767-200/300s and 747-400s, including passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions. The agreements apply to 72 767-200/300s and 29 747-400s that were previously converted by IAI for various customers, as well as future IAI conversions, the Israeli company says in a statement. Bedek has been a Boeing licensee for P2F conversions of the 737-300/400 since 2010.
The second Airbus A350 test aircraft, MSN3, yesterday completed its first flight from Toulouse Blagnac Airport, which lasted approximately five hours. The first Airbus A350 flight test aircraft, MSN1, completed its first flight June 14 after a 4 hr. 5 min. test. To date, MSN1 has flown about 330 flight test hours during almost 70 flights.
As Alitalia’s shareholders met yesterday to discuss a €500 million ($679 million) recapitalization plan, the European Commission declared that any effort to save the troubled airline from collapse will have to be reviewed to ensure it meets stringent rules on state aid. The investment plan, which includes a major influx of capital from Italy’s state-owned postal service, has already been attacked by International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines, as illegal.
Spanish tourism conglomerate Globalia has firmed up options for eight Boeing 787-9s to support the growth and modernization of the long-haul fleet of its fully-owned airline subsidiary, Air Europa. Air Europa’s widebody fleet currently consists of 13 Airbus A330-200s. In 2004, it was the first airline to express interest in the A350, but in 2007 canceled its letter of intent to purchase 10 A350-800s and instead placed an order for eight Boeing Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787-8s, which also included rights to buy an additional eight of the type.
The long-haul arm of the AirAsia group, AirAsia X, has taken a step closer to gaining the government approvals it needs to establish a joint venture affiliate in Thailand. Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation has granted an air operator’s license (AOL) for Thai AirAsia X. The airline will also need an air operator’s certificate (AOC), and Malaysia-based AirAsia X says it expects that to be issued by the end of this year. This approval would clear the way for the new carrier to begin flying in the first quarter of 2014, as planned.
Manufacturers and researchers appear to be in agreement: The way to develop electric propulsion for aircraft is to start small. But with the pace at which technology is developing, electric-powered aircraft may not stay small very long.
Australian investigators say multiple safety nets worked as designed to prevent two Airbus A330-200s from colliding at cruising altitude near Adelaide on Sept. 20. Initial media reports after the incident—which involved a Qantas Airways A330 heading for Perth Airport and a Jetstar A330 bound for Sydney Airport—claimed that a mid-air collision was avoided “by seconds” after the Jetstar pilots responded to a resolution advisory from the aircraft’s onboard traffic alerting and collision avoidance system (TCAS).
Aviation Week 2013 Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast! The MRO Fleet, Forecasts and Data you need to accurately plan and strategize for the future. See for yourself with a free demonstration: AviationWeek.com/FleetMRO Aviation Week Intelligence Network Click here to view the pdf
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Guangzhou, October 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers: Guangzhou, October 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Depart
We are told there is no silver bullet for aviation biofuels, and that the best choice of feedstock-to-fuel pathway will be regional, even local, not global, as petroleum-based jet fuel is today. But there is an option the aviation industry hopes could work pretty well, almost anywhere, and that is algae.
Lufthansa Cargo has found potential buyers for two of its MD-11s as the airline reviews its capacity plans for next year. While the sale of one of the two aircraft to an as-yet unidentified buyer is firm, negotiations over pricing for the second aircraft are continuing. That aircraft is to be broken up for spares if the deal is completed.
Introducing the Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index Designed for anyone with risk on the future level of airfares – for example Airlines, Banks/Credit Card Companies, Corporate Travel Managers, etc. The Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index tracks daily airfares within the domestic airline market. The Aero 100 delivers financial risk mitigation and protection against constant fluctuation of airline ticket prices by providing the price settling mechanism for Commodity Futures Contracts.
A last-minute effort by the Italian government to save Alitalia will see the state-owned postal service invest in the loss-making airline. Under a deal unveiled late last week, Poste Italiane will become “an important industrial partner” in Alitalia’s recapitalization, the government said in a statement, noting that there would be scope for cooperation and synergies between the two companies. Poste Italiane owns Mistral Air, which operates mail and cargo services with a fleet of eight aircraft including seven Boeing 737s and one ATR 42.
