Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer Gary Kenneth Toomey has resigned—effective immediately—on Jan. 16, only seven months after joining India’s leading private carrier. Toomey, who was hired last June on a three-year contract, could not be immediately reached for comment. Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan, the chief financial officer of the airline, will be the “acting chief executive officer” until the board appoints a new chief, the airline says in a statement.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy is optimistic that China will soon agree to take 27 Airbus A330s which have been stalled by a dispute over the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). China blocked the aircraft back in 2012 in protest against the extension of the ETS to include aviation, which triggered an international backlash against the EU.
A proposed strategic alliance linking Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines will significantly broaden service between the two countries, and will also let Air New Zealand extend its reach into Southeast Asia and other important international markets. The two airlines intend to form a revenue-sharing joint venture on flights between New Zealand and Singapore. They will also code-share and coordinate sales in a range of markets beyond Singapore, and on New Zealand domestic routes.
Air Berlin and SAS Group, both among the worst financial performers in the European air transport sector during the past several years, have launched initiatives to obtain fresh capital. Air Berlin confirmed it plans to increase the size of a bond issue placed originally in April 2011 by a further €50 million ($68 million), while SAS plans to ask its annual shareholder meeting to approve a convertible bond and/or a capital increase.
Bombardier has pushed its service-entry target for the CSeries airliner back by at least 12 months, saying it will take longer than planned to complete certification flight testing. The announcement, which was expected, targets service entry of the initial 110-seat CS100 variant for the second half of 2015, with the 135-seat CS300 following about six months later. Malmo Aviation in Sweden will be the first airline to take delivery of the CSeries, Bombardier says. The airline has five CS100s and five CS300s on firm order.
Transport Canada (TC) has mandated Bombardier recommendations to regularly replace 50-seat CRJ elevator shear pins after learning that the pins “may fail prematurely.” The directive issued Jan. 13, does not explain why the pins are failing, nor does it say how Bombardier learned of the problem. There are no references to in-service issues.
American Airlines’ plan to complete required slot divestitures at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) leaves a nonstop monopoly in six markets and cuts Washington-area nonstop service completely in six more, while adding New York-area service in just one new market, an Aviation Week analysis shows.
Test ranges — from a mockup city for disaster-response training to the coasts and waters of the Gulf of Mexico — are key reasons the FAA chose Texas as the location for one of six test sites for research to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into civil airspace. The Lone Star UAS Center (LSUASC), operated by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), plans to offer test ranges providing different geographies, temperatures, altitudes and environments from maritime to urban, says Luis Cifuentes, vice president for research and commercialization.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of January 15, 2014, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Sabena technics will further expand its aircraft painting capabilities with a new shop at Toulouse Blagnac Airport, following the signing of a new 15-year contract with Airbus. The French MRO already has aircraft painting facilities at Dinard and Bordeaux, and will add two hangars dedicated to painting Airbus A320 aircraft. The two new painting hangars will replace existing shops, and be equipped with a suitable dockage set and a state-of-the-art vertical ventilation system. Operations are scheduled to start in late 2014.
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Boeing has begun high-speed evaluations of the 777X derivative in its transonic wind-tunnel test facility as part of a five-month test campaign which includes low-speed work that began in the U.K. earlier in December.
Spirit Airlines has tapped Acro Aircraft Seating to supply 30 shipsets of passenger seats, including five earmarked for in-service Airbus A319s that could help persuade the carrier to increase its commitment for on-order aircraft. In addition to outfitting the A319s, the order covers 25 of the carrier’s 117-aircraft A320-family backlog. The Aviation Week Intelligence Network Commercial Fleets database lists Spirit’s in-service fleet as 54 aircraft, including 29 A319s, 23 A320s, and two A321s. Its backlog consists of 37 A320s, 30 A321s, and 50 A320neos.
Had UPS Flight 1354 arrived at the Birmingham Airport in Alabama 12 min. later on the morning of Aug. 14, a longer runway with a precision instrument landing system (ILS) would have been available for the landing, according to air traffic control tapes and a transcript released by the FAA.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Fukuoka - Tokyo Haneda, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Fukuoka - Tokyo Haneda, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats /Dep
FAA communities pained last year by congressional gridlock and the long-feared effects of so-called sequestration budget cuts will benefit from a little more protection under the fiscal 2014 omnibus appropriations bill being considered on Capitol Hill this week.
India may soon consider allowing international airlines to fly the Airbus A380 into the country, a move that could benefit the customers of the largest passenger aircraft in the world in the Indian civil aviation market. Both the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation Ministry are consulting all stakeholders, such as Indian carriers and airports, before making a final decision to allow entry of the jumbo aircraft into India.
U.K. air navigation provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) says it is satisfied with the early results of a trans-Atlantic flight optimization trial. The Topflight project, run by NATS in partnership with NavCanada, tested the principle of “perfect” flights on a trans-Atlantic basis with the aim of potentially offering fuel savings and reductions in delays for customers using the ANSPs.
Atlas Air Worldwide has finalized a deal to acquire three more Boeing 777s for its growing dry-leasing business, continuing the company’s plan to diversify by adding stable sources of revenue. The 777s, purchased from affiliates of Guggenheim Aviation Partners, LLC, are on long-term lease with TNT, Aviation Week’s Commercial Fleets database shows. The aircraft, each delivered in 2011, are line numbers 947, 963, and 977.
Airbus is looking at an increase in narrowbody production even before the transition from the current version of the Airbus A320 family to the A320neo, which is scheduled to be completed by 2018. “There is an upside potential [to the production rate] and we are studying it,” says Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier. He hints that a decision is due to take place within the next few months.
Boeing says a Japan Airlines main lithium-ion battery system worked as designed when it began smoking during on-ground maintenance at Narita Airport on Jan. 13. “The 787 issue on ground at Narita appears to involve venting of a single battery cell during maintenance,” the airframer said in several Twitter messages on Jan. 14. “Improvements to 787 battery system appear to have worked as designed. We regret the impact to Japan Airlines and are working with them to return the airplane to service.”
