American Airlines and US Airways have slammed the U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) arguments in their replies to the department’s efforts to block their proposed merger. In responses filed to the U.S. District Court in Washington late Sept. 10, the two carriers systematically refute the allegations made by the DOJ in its lawsuit. They also went a step further by heavily criticizing—at times almost ridiculing—the DOJ’s rationale for opposing the merger.
European charter operator Small Planet Airlines has put the next phase of its fleet renewal in place and signed agreements with Aircastle and CIT Aerospace to lease three Airbus A320-220 aircraft. The narrowbodies are scheduled to arrive in February, March and April 2014. Small Planet, which was purchased by its management in March, is replacing its Boeing 737-300s with the A320s. The operator late last year returned two 737s to their lessors and is in the process of returning a further two to their owners.
A new cooperation agreement between Airbus and the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) will see the manufacturer help the regulator determine its next steps. The memorandum of cooperation recently signed by the two parties appears to be heavily focused on assessment and analysis. The areas in question will be important as China tackles increasing airspace and airport congestion and delay issues.
In the build-up to first flight of the Boeing 787-9 later this month (see p.1), Rolls-Royce (R-R) has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification for the latest Package C variant of the Trent 1000, which will be the first to fly on the stretched aircraft. FAA certification is expected to follow soon with Part 33 approval for the engine.
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Aeros has begun outdoor tethered flights of its Dragon Dream rigid-hull hybrid airship, with a first free flight of the subscale demonstrator expected shortly. The variable-buoyancy vehicle reached at altitude of around 50 ft. on its first tethered flight outside the Tustin, Calif., airship hangar on Sept. 7. This followed the award of a FAA experimental certificate allowing company-funded research and development flights.
British Airways (BA) is extending its “hand baggage only” fares to short-haul flights at London Heathrow and London City airports, following their introduction earlier this year on European and domestic services from London Gatwick Airport.
Boeing is closing in on the first flight of the stretched 787-9 by starting the first series of ‘gauntlet’ ground tests that simulate the operation of major systems. The initial tests are focused on the flight control system, and come as ground test engineers calibrate the 787-9’s navigation and airspeed sensing devices.
Lufthansa plans to equip 20 Airbus A321s with the BoardConnect wireless system developed by its affiliate Lufthansa Systems that will be deployed on medium-haul routes to Central Asia, North Africa or the Middle East.
A private initiative to supply a test, evaluation, demonstration and experimentation facility for beyond-line-of-sight (BLoS) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in the U.K. took an important step forward with the formal launch of the National Aeronautical Centre (NAC) Sept. 9.
Two key aviation policy-making lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives want the Transportation Department’s inspector general, a regular watchdog over the FAA, to keep up its monitoring of industry’s and the aviation agency’s progress in implementing a new database of pilot records mandated by the 2010 airline safety act.
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A new report ranks Alaska Airlines as the most fuel-efficient, and Allegiant Air as the least, among 15 U.S. mainline carriers in 2010. The study uses a new methodology that compares efficiency independent of size, network structure and type of service, say the report’s authors.
Ghanaian carrier Starbow Airlines says it will embark on a “major” organizational restructuring and has promoted James Eric Antwi to CEO to lead the process. Antwi, who previously served as the director of safety and quality at the privately-owned carrier, is Starbow’s third CEO this year; in March, the airline’s board named Keith Luxton as CEO to replace Brock Friesen.
With 10 months operating experience, FedEx says a reduced wake turbulence separation (Recat) criteria developed with the FAA is paying large dividends at its Memphis International Airport hub. The new procedures have reduced average taxi time 27% and increased capacity 19%, FedEx Senior Vice President of Flight Operations Paul Cassell said during Aviation Week’s NextGen Ahead conference in Washington. Whereas the previous two-runway arrival rate was 56 aircraft per hour, Cassell says the airport can now handle 70 aircraft each hour.
Italy and the Philippines have initialed a new air services agreement (ASA) that awards Philippine operators up to 14 weekly services. The new deal will replace an agreement from 1969 that allowed only one flight a week to Rome Fiumicino Airport. This updated ASA, when formally approved, will grant Philippine carriers direct access to Rome and Milan and Italian airlines access to several points in the Philippines including Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Clark International Airport.
Two more Hong-Kong based airlines reportedly have filed objections against the establishment of the Jetstar Hong Kong low-cost carrier. Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express, which are affiliated airlines part-owned by China’s Hainan Airlines, said they will formally oppose Jetstar Hong Kong during the public comment period of Jetstar’s application, according to media reports. Jetstar Hong Kong is a joint venture between Jetstar Group, China Eastern Airlines and local company Shun Tak Holdings.
Tata Consultancy Services has been selected by Scandinavia’s SAS to overhaul its IT processes, applications and infrastructure. “TCS will implement its proprietary cloud-based solutions to simplify and standardize the SAS IT landscape. The initiative is a part of the SAS “4 Excellence Next Generation” strategy, aimed at improving the competitiveness of the SAS Group,” says Hans-Petter Aanby, SAS’s chief information officer.
JetBlue Airways Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster says the FAA has a “credibility” problem implementing the satellite-based NextGen air traffic control (ATC) system, leading many U.S. airlines to worry that expensive investments in equipment deemed critical to NextGen’s success will not “pay off.”
A team including Aurora Flight Sciences is proposing unmanned flights of the company’s Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) over the Alaskan tundra in 2014, following the completion of manned flights to measure greenhouse-gas released from thawing permafrost. On Aug. 30, the company-operated aircraft completed a month-long campaign led by Harvard University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Div.
Oneworld has cleared Qatar Airways to join the alliance on Oct. 30, about 12 months after it extended the airline an invitation to become a member. The membership, when completed, will make Qatar the only big Gulf operator to join an alliance. Qatar’s regional rivals, Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways, while remaining independent of the alliances, are, however, becoming increasingly connected with other carriers through bilateral deals.
