In observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, Aviation Daily did not publish an issue on July 4 and will not be published on July 8. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers may visit www.aviationweek.com/awin at any time for news updates.
Virgin Australia’s new code-share agreement with Delta Air Lines, covering six cities in Mexico, will allow the Australian carrier to compete with rival Qantas in another new market.
Trials have begun on a series of optimized transatlantic flights which will test technologies and ideas destined for use in the next generation of air traffic management systems. Air traffic control organizations in Canada and the U.K. hope these “perfect” flights will offer fuel savings of up to half a ton per transatlantic sector and help reduce delays without increasing workload for pilots and controllers.
After more than 10 years as chief executive of Flybe, Jim French is resigning from the position to become non-executive chairman of the troubled British regional airline. He will be replaced Aug. 1 by former EasyJet executive Saad Hammad.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs, 12 Months Ended September 2012, Narrowbody Jets (Sorted By Seats Per Departure) Cost Per Block Hour Crew
The European Commission (EC) has cleared General Electric’s (GE’s) planned acquisition of Italian aero-engine supplier Avio, but the ruling comes with caveats concerning Avio’s involvement in the Eurofighter program. GE’s $4.3 billion purchase of Avio’s aerospace business from private equity firm Cinven, announced at the end of 2012, comes with requirements about the safeguarding of the joint Eurojet consortium, which builds the EJ200 engine for the Eurofighter aircraft. The Eurojet consortium includes Avio, ITP, MTU Aero Engines and Rolls-Royce.
As Boeing closes on the firm configuration milestone for the 737 MAX later this month, the company has selected BAE Systems to provide the spoiler control electronics. The move to fly-by-wire spoilers is designed to improve handling characteristics, reduce weight and lower maintenance costs, and is one of the few major systems changes for the aircraft family, which is due to enter service in 2017. The control electronics award is BAE’s first win on the MAX, and the company’s first contract since the Partnering for Success program was rolled out by Boeing.
As airlines continue to watch engine expenses, MROs are being asked by their customers to design customized approaches to service and provide material solutions. The conversation is forcing MRO vendors to search for answers outside their facilities.
Anthony Foxx yesterday was sworn in as the 17th U.S. transportation secretary at a private ceremony at Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters in Washington. In a message to staff, Foxx noted that “[s]afety will remain our top priority at DOT. At the same time, I will work to improve the efficiency and performance of our current transportation system while building the infrastructure we need for future generations.”
Air Lituanica this week launched scheduled operations with a six-weekly service from Vilnius Airport to Brussels Airport using an Embraer 170 wet-leased from Estonian Air. A second route, to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, will commence July 8, and a four-weekly service to Berlin Tegel Airport is scheduled to follow in August.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Segment Performance: Europe, 12 Months Ending December 2012, Ranked By Onboard Passengers Onboard ASMs % Chg. Seats Per Load
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, London Heathrow - New York Kennedy Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, London Heathrow - New York Kennedy British Airways American Others 2008Q1 1,402
Hainan Airlines is making a determined effort to set up a base in the western Chinese city of Chengdu, with two of its affiliates applying to set up branch companies there. The move increases pressure on Air China, which already is being challenged by China Eastern Airlines at its Chengdu hub. One of the Hainan Airlines divisions seeking expansion at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is Lucky Air, which this week opened a third service to the city. All three routes go to Yunnan, the base province of Lucky Air.
The government of New Zealand is not taking a tough enough line on regulation of airport fees, resulting in high costs to airlines, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
“Numerous” close calls at airports with certain layouts and independent takeoff and landing operations have prompted the NTSB to ask the FAA for changes to certain air traffic control procedures. In a recommendation letter published July 1, the NTSB asks for new separation standards to set the procedures controllers use in situations in which an aircraft departs one runway and another aircraft is performing a go-around on a different, non-intersecting runway.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), exasperated by the continued delay in the release of the congressionally mandated aircraft repair station security rule, is urging Congress to reverse course on the penalty it imposed in 2008 after the U.S. Transportation Security Administration failed to produce the rule. Congress nearly five years ago banned the FAA from certifying any new foreign repair station until the rule is released.
Engine manufacturers constantly trade claims over whose product performs best, traditionally comparing apples to apples, turbofan to turbofan. But as the battle to power the Airbus A320NEO intensifies, engine makers increasingly are exchanging fire over their technology choices. Pratt & Whitney’s success in winning five applications for its geared turbofan (GTF)—and defeating conventional turbofan offerings on four of them—has changed the tone of the engine war of words. No more apples to apples, it’s now architecture against architecture.
Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America (A4A), says airlines will be willing to support the FAA’s next-generation air transportation system (NextGen) programs if the agency can show economic or operational benefits, particularly in the near-term. “That hasn’t always been the case so far, and more often than not, it hasn’t” said Calio late last week in Washington at a one-day symposium held by the Air Line Pilots Association and National Air Traffic Controllers Union.
United Airlines is to issue a formal request for proposals (RFP) for renewable jet fuel as a follow-on to the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative (Masbi), which presented its recommendations late last week.
AirAsia Group is planning to add 10 Airbus aircraft each year to its recently approved Indian joint venture, which is expected to start operations by the end of the year. The joint venture, which includes Tata Group and Telestra Tradeplace as partners, already has permission from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board to invest 800 million rupees ($13.4 million) in the new airline, and is currently awaiting regulatory approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to begin operations.
