A Jan. 8 story on Airbus misstated the death toll from the Alaska DeHavilland DHC-3T crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska.). Five people died in the accident.
Top U.S. House and Senate appropriators are confident they can introduce an omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2014 this week, but they need more time for it to pass both chambers of Congress before the Jan. 15 deadline to keep the U.S. government running. In turn, they are pushing a short-term extension of stopgap funding, which continues 2013 appropriations, until Jan. 17. Congress has to pass at least a continuing resolution (CR) of 2013 spending by Jan. 15, the day the current CR expires.
Latvian carrier Air Baltic is hoping to decide on its 10 Bombardier CSeries options this year, building on the order for 10 CS300s which it placed in December 2012. Air Baltic is bringing in the 10 firm-ordered CS300s, configured with 148 seats, from the fourth quarter of 2015 to replace its five Boeing 737-500s and eight 737-300s. However, this would mean a fleet contraction to 10 aircraft, leaving no scope for growth. Its remaining fleet is made up of 12 Q400s and two 757s, although 757s are largely on sub-lease until their return to ILFC in 2016.
REQUEST FOR BIDS FOR FIXED BASED OPERATOR (FBO) AT LA GUARDIA AIRPORT (LGA) Sealed Bids for the following contract(s) will be accepted at the address indicated below until 11:00 AM on the due date indicated and will then be publicly opened and read in the Bid Room. Send Bids to: The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Attn: BID/RFP Custodian, Procurement Department, 2 Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302.
After a seven-year investigation, Switzerland has fined 11 airlines 11 million Swiss francs (US$12.2 million) for air cargo price-fixing. The charges relate to the period between 2000 and 2005 and involve colluding on freight rates, fuel surcharges, war risk surcharges, customs clearance surcharges for the U.S. and surcharge commissioning. Air France-KLM Highest
KLM UK Engineering’s (KLMUKE) recent expansion into aircraft recycling gives the Air France-KLM conglomerate another cost-effective option for disposing of narrowbody aircraft and provides third-party revenue potential in both the scrapping and surplus parts arenas.
The Monarch Group has selected Andrew Swaffield, managing director of International Airlines Group (IAG)’s loyalty program since 2006, as the new managing director of Monarch Airlines. Swaffield’s appointment precedes the expected announcement for an order for 60 new-technology narrowbody aircraft for the U.K. charter and scheduled airline. Monarch has been evaluating offers from Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier, and in December said it aims to finalize the order in the first quarter of this year.
Swiss carrier Darwin Airline, poised to launch as Etihad Regional next week, is seeking four turboprops to add to its existing fleet of nine Saab 2000s with the ATR 72 emerging as a likely choice. The aircraft will be used to launch 21 new routes and 18 new destinations by mid-2014, following Etihad Airways’ decision to take a 33.3% stake in the Lugano-based carrier.
The combined American and US Airways networks boosted revenue passenger miles 5.7% in December and 2.7% for the year while available seat miles were up 1.9% and 2.1%, respectively. Total enplanements rose 4.2% for the month and 1.8% percent for the year, bolstered by a 4.5% jump in December mainline enplanements and a 2.1% annual increase.
While Boeing 787-9 launch customer Air New Zealand will receive three of the new model this year, there will be a significant gap before its next wave of -9 deliveries. The airline is set to receive its first stretched version of the 787 in July. The next is expected a few months later, and the carrier will have three by the end of 2014. Other carriers are also due to receive 787-9s during this period, with All Nippon Airways likely to be the next to take its first delivery after Air New Zealand.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of January 8, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Click here to view the pdf Largest 100 Worldwide Scheduled Airlines, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By ASMs (Page 1 of 2) ASMs % Chg. % Chg. Seats Per Stage
In a move that worsens the plight of airlines suffering unexpectedly weak demand, the Chinese government has limited most of its employees to flying economy class. Air China is likely to suffer the most from the new rules, which are part of President Xi Jinping’s campaign against the relentless efforts of millions of Chinese bureaucrats to divert public funds to their own benefit.
The U.K.’s Bristow Group will shortly return its last Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC225s to operations, following the nine-month-long grounding of the type from hazardous environment operations during 2012 and 2013. The company began returning its EC225s to revenue operations in November, after offshore operators voluntarily halted flights following the ditchings of two Aberdeen-based aircraft belonging to Bond Offshore Helicopters and CHC in May and October 2012, respectively.
The FAA is planning to issue a draft request for proposals in March for private companies to operate the agency’s 252 contract control towers for the next five years, an action some see as a sign that the FAA will continue to support the facilities despite a proposed cut to the program last year.
The global aerospace and defense sector should see revenue growth of 4-6% in calendar 2014, with high single-digit or low double-digit growth in commercial aerospace outpacing ongoing declines in defense, according to Deloitte’s 2014 Global Aerospace and Defense Industry Outlook.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Oslo - Stavanger, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Oslo - Stavanger, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats /Dept.
The FAA, responding to a recent U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) audit report, says it is still working on developing ways to make a key safety data repository more useful for its safety inspectors. Launched in 2007, the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) compiles data from multiple sources, including volunteer safety initiatives like Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP), in which employees self-disclose violations.
Singapore low-cost carrier Tigerair will sell its struggling Philippine affiliate to competitor Cebu Pacific, and deep cooperation with Cebu Pacific will replace Tigerair’s direct presence in the Philippine market. Tigerair’s retreat follows the growth in the Philippine market of the largest of the franchising low-cost groups, AirAsia, which bought Zest Air last year and rebranded it as AirAsia Zest.
Delta Air Lines, advancing its strategy of channeling capital into its existing fleet as opposed to more new aircraft, will pour $770 million into refreshing cabins and adding both seats and passenger creature comforts on 225 narrowbodies during the next three years. The changes will see an array of improvements, including new slim-line seats with plug-in power, in-seat video, satellite TV, and revamped galleys and lavatories installed on 56 Boeing 757-200s, 43 737-800s, 57 Airbus A319, and 69 A320s.
The NTSB says it will finish its detective work on the Boeing 787 lithium-ion batteries in March and will issue the final report and hold a public hearing this fall on the January 2013 Japan Airlines incident that spawned the investigation. A second battery failure led to the FAA’s grounding of the fleet one year ago this month. “Members of the investigative team have been conducting work in the United States, Japan, France, and Taiwan,” says the NTSB in its latest update on the investigation, released Wednesday.
