The merged American Airlines will combine its two operations centers into American’s existing facility in Dallas Fort/Worth (DFW), shuttering the US Airways flight operations center in Moon Township, just northwest of Pittsburgh. The move, announced in a letter to the affected staff from American Senior VP-Air Operations Tim Campbell, is not a surprise. American CEO Doug Parker has said that the larger DFW facility makes sense as a combined home for the merged carrier’s operations center functions.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of January 22, 2014, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
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U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) has invested $100 million in the Ireland-based helicopter leasing subsidiary of LCI, LCI Helicopters (LCIH). KKR will receive a minority stake in LCI Helicopters’ common equity, while LCI will use the injection to expand its fleet and position in the rapidly growing helicopter leasing business.
Regional aircraft manufacturer ATR says 2013 was a record year for deliveries, though the joint venture between Airbus and Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aermacchi division fell short of a goal to deliver 80 aircraft this year. CEO Filippo Bagnato said ATR sold 89 aircraft in 2013 and delivered 74 units during the year, beating the previous year’s record of 64. Firm orders were valued at $2.1 billion, with total sales volume amounting to $4.65 billion, including 106 options.
Surplus parts, already well-established in the engine aftermarket, are becoming more prominent in the components world and may be responsible for smaller across-the-board OEM spare parts price increases, a Canaccord Genuity survey of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) service providers reveals.
Singapore Airlines is still not ready to reveal whether it will take a seat on the board of Virgin Australia, even though the two other airlines that are major shareholders in the Australian carrier have elected to do so. SIA is “keeping our options open” regarding a Virgin Australia board seat, a spokesman tells Aviation Week, adding that “ultimately that is a matter for the Virgin Australia Board to assess.”
United Airlines, still content with not becoming a significantly bigger carrier, will continue to focus on strategies to become a better one, from running a more efficient operation to boosting the appeal of its services to customers. The carrier’s just-completed calendar year saw capacity fall 1.3%, the third straight annual decline. Current projections of a 1%-2% capacity bump in 2014 means that downward run will come to an end, but only through upgauging, not growing its fleet.
Southwest Airlines’s international expansion, set to begin this year as part of wrapping up its integration of AirTran Airways, won’t include major changes from AirTran’s existing international network until at least 2015, Southwest President and CEO Gary Kelly confirms.
Japan Airlines is using its new daytime slot allocations at Tokyo Haneda Airport to launch new international services, as well as shifting flights from Tokyo Narita Airport to the more desirable Haneda.
Bombardier Aerospace is to lay off 1,700 employees in a bid to contain costs after stretching out CSeries development by at least 12 months and seeing business and commercial aircraft orders decline in 2013. Announced Tuesday in an internal memo to employees, the layoffs will be split between 1,100 in Canada and 600 in the U.S. Plants in Northern Ireland and Mexico are unaffected, the company says.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) plans to boost Superjet 100 regional jet production this year, nearly doubling the rate to 40 aircraft compared with 24 SSJ100s delivered in 2013, says SCAC President Andrey Kalinovsky. Aeroflot will continue to replace its initial batch of SSJ100s with upgraded aircraft specified as the full version. Russia’s largest carrier has 30 SSJ100s on order.
Deserts could become sources of biofuel, based on research conducted by Boeing and partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research has shown that saltwater-tolerant plants called halophytes, grown in coastal deserts and fed by seawater, can produce biofuel “more efficiently than other well-known feedstocks,” says Boeing.
JetBlue Airways and Etihad Airways have unveiled plans for a wide-ranging codeshare, which will initially cover 40 of JetBlue’s domestic routes. Subject to government approval, Etihad will initially place its code on 40 JetBlue-operated services from New York JFK and Washington Dulles. The DAILY reported that the announcement was likely this week (DAILY, Jan. 22).
The FAA, in its latest step to end a 25-year run of General Electric CF6-80C2 in-service fire risks tied to fuel manifolds, proposes adding repetitive inspections and parts replacements to an existing list of mandates. The proposed rule, published Friday, would require operators to replace loop clamps at designated intervals that vary based on several factors.
Declaring a truce of sorts, a coalition formed to oppose airlines’ plans to work together on a new data-transmission standard for fares, fees and product information is now withdrawing an objection it filed with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) last year, and vowing to work with airlines to help define the new standard.
A U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) decision to deny a code-sharing application by Air Serbia—previously Jat Airways—has won the praise of Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), but could serve as only a short-term victory considering parent owner Etihad Airways’ expansion plans.
Click here to view the pdf Mishandled Baggage Reports, November 2013 Total Baggage Enplaned Reports Per 1,000 Passengers Rank Airline Reports Passengers
Russia’s commercial air traffic reached a record level in 2013 as its domestic airlines carried 84.4 million passengers, the country’s Federal Air Transport Agency reports. This is more than one million passengers above the level for the year expected by Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov in November, and also 14% ahead of the prior year's pace, when Russian airlines carried 74 million passengers.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Jakarta - Surabaya, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Jakarta - Surabaya, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats/Dept.
