Norwegian Air Shuttle has received all necessary operating licenses from the Irish authorities for its Dublin-based subsidiary Norwegian Air International (NAI), accomplishing another step in establishing Europe’s first low-cost long-haul business model.
Air Canada’s expansion plans for Rouge, its low-cost leisure subsidiary and key element of its cost-reduction plan, remain on track for 2014, with up to 33 Boeing 767s and A319s destined to be reconfigured and shifted from the mainline operation to the new service by yearend, the carrier’s executives say.
Anticipating passenger growth in the coming years of 3-5% per annum, Singapore's government hopes to increase passenger capacity by 15 million per year with a new Terminal 4 (T4) due to open in 2017, and to build a “mega-terminal” T5 to boost capacity by another 50 million by the mid-2020s. Those moves together would bring capacity to 132 million passengers annually.
Indian regional start-up Air Costa has firmed up ambitious growth plans by signing an order for up to 100 Embraer E2 jets at the Singapore Air Show. The deal is made up of 25 firm orders each for the E190-E2 and the E195-E2. It includes the same number of options.
Emirates and Jetstar Airways will start codeshare flights on April 6, and their frequent-flyer programs will be linked starting March 1, under a new but long-expected codeshare deal which will extend Emirates' reach beyond its existing partnership with Jetstar parent Qantas. The Jetstar agreement will expand the number of destinations Emirates can offer, since Jetstar flies to several international points that Qantas does not. Jetstar is also due to grow far more quickly than the Qantas mainline operation.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of February 12, 2014, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Senior Australian politicians appear increasingly sympathetic to Qantas’ appeals for government help, but it remains unclear what sort of relief will be politically feasible.
Airbus revised its Asia-Pacific demand outlook upwards by almost 1,000 units over 20 years, reflecting the strong growth the manufacturer expects in the region. The company believes around 10,000 additional aircraft will be needed in Asia to cope with an annual increase in demand of close to 6%. “This is where the action will be in the coming years,” Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier said on the opening day of the Singapore airshow.
Thailand’s air traffic management agency Aerothai has selected Thales to provide a new ATM system to be installed at all of its major facilities, which will enable controllers to use advanced satellite-based surveillance technologies.
Airbus has scored its first major order for the A380 this year, after Amedeo firmed up a memorandum of understanding signed at last year’s Paris Air Show covering delivery of 20 aircraft through the end of the decade. The commmitment from Amedo, formerly a part of Doric Lease Corp., brings Airbus more than half-way to its target of reaching at least 30 additional orders for the aircraft in 2014. The deal was announced at the Singapore Airshow.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Dubai - Riyadh, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Dubai - Riyadh, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats/Dept.
General Electric expects the installed base of commercial engines it either builds directly or through joint venture partners to reach 41,000 units by 2017 compared with 34,000 in 2013 as production ramps up to historic highs in the wake of record orders.
Rep. Frank LoBiondo’s (R-N.J.) bill to require FAA to conduct a formal rulemaking process before imposing sleep apnea testing requirements is heading to the Senate for consideration after the House passed the measure, H.R. 3578, by voice vote on Tuesday. LoBiondo, who chairs the House aviation subcommittee, introduced the bill in November after FAA Federal Air Surgeon Frederick Tilton outlined plans to require pilots and air traffic controllers with a body mass index (BMI) to undergo testing for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Bombardier believes Asian carriers’ desire to grow in the face of slot constraints at capital city airports will lead them to adopt smaller aircraft so they can fly nonstops between secondary cities and help free up slots by bypassing the capital city airports altogether.
SpeedNews 2nd Annual Aerospace Manufacturing Conference! Registration Open April 1-2, 2014 The Battle House Renaissance Mobile, Alabama Supported by ATI Click here to view the pdf
Air Canada’s aggressive cost-cutting targets are bearing fruit, and helped the carrier deliver a record annual net income in 2013 despite a significant fourth-quarter revenue hit caused by adverse late-year weather.
Low-cost VietJetAir is acquiring up to 100 Airbus A320s, placing a firm order for 63 aircraft along with 30 purchase rights and leases for a further seven. The deal, the first and only commitment Airbus announced on the opening day of the Singapore airshow, reflects a broader market trend in the region—massive growth of low-cost carriers, partly at the expense of legacy carriers and partly complementing the traditional carriers.
Regulators should be assessing costs and benefits before imposing security regulations on the aviation industry, says the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. With great success, regulators have improved passenger safety over many decades while weighing potential gains against the disadvantages of new rules, says Andrew Herdman, director general of the association. The calculation is not easy, especially since it implies putting a value on life, but it can be done and is done. According to Herdman, the same approach should apply to security, too.
Europe’s defense and space agencies are to expand their cooperation on integrating unmanned aircraft systems into civil airspace for commercial and government missions with a second phase of a project to demonstrate that UAS can be controlled via satellite communications.
