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The future of China’s Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprop in commercial service in Southeast Asia appears to be in doubt, given a spate of recent mishaps involving the aircraft.
Delta Air Lines decided to increase its MD-90 fleet from 16 aircraft to its current strength of 65 because it could acquire them at 20% of the cost of a new Boeing 737-800, with engines that are just as fuel-efficient, the airline’s president Ed Bastian says. “It clearly was a no-brainer,” says Bastian, who defended the carrier’s reliance on used jets during a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Basic Materials Conference.
The first Airbus A350 is undergoing three to four days of inspections before the aircraft’s flight-test program continues. “We will be flying some time [this] week,” Airbus’s chief test pilot Peter Chandler told Aviation Week after the landing of the first flight in Toulouse June 14. Airbus indicates that the second flight is planned for June 18, if no major flaws are found.
European Union competition authorities have extended the deadline for their review of the proposed acquisition of Avio by General Electric (GE) to July 2 from June 18, after the U.S. manufacturer offered additional concessions to win regulatory approval for the deal. The European Commission (EC) confirmed the new deadline on its website, but gave no details about the remedies offered by GE to address the EC’s concerns that the acquisition will harm competition. Concessions could include the sale of assets or changes in business practices.
“This is a full-steam ahead transition, not a course correction. There is no change in direction,” says Kelly Ortberg, president of Rockwell Collins and the successor to CEO Clay Jones when he retires at the end of next month after 34 years. Jones was named president in 1999, and became CEO in 2001 after leading Rockwell through its initial public offering.
Pilatus Aircraft is venturing into a new market segment by launching the PC-24, a single-pilot, midsize twin-turbofan aircraft that will be able to operate from short, unpaved fields yet cruise at 425 kt. The Swiss manufacturer says the model creates a “Super Versatile Jet” segment; its closest conventional competitor is the Embraer Phenom 300. Similar to the Brazilian jet, the PC-24 will use aluminum alloys for the primary airframe, limiting composites to secondary structures.
India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has sought more clarity on the terms and conditions in the sale of Jet Airways stock to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. In the first transaction since the Indian government relaxed ownership rules to allow foreign operators to buy up to 49% of local airlines in 2012, Etihad in April decided to acquire a 24% stake in the Indian carrier.
U.K.-based low-cost carrier EasyJet has concluded an agreement with London Stansted Airport’s new owner, the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), to more than double its operations at Stansted.
India Jet Airways has announced a change in the airline’s leadership, with the appointment of Gary Toomey as its new CEO. The appointment follows the resignation of Nikos Kardassis, who left the airline after serving two terms as the CEO, initially between 1993 and 1999, and again from October 2009 through May 2013.
Raytheon is to upgrade four additional airport surveillance radars in the Netherlands to mitigate interference from wind turbines after completing the first upgrade to a radar near the largest wind farm in Europe, close to Amsterdam Schipol Airport. Under contract to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the company will upgrade primary radars at Leeuwarden, Volkel, Soesterberg and Twenthe air bases over the next 15 months.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of June 12, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Barry Biffle has resigned as executive vice president and chief marketing officer at U.S. low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines to become CEO of Viva Colombia. Biffle joined Spirit in 2005, as did Spirit Chief Executive Ben Baldanza, from US Airways where he served as managing director of marketing from 2003-2005. Prior to that, Biffle also worked in US Airways’ network planning and sales departments. Biffle also held several management positions at American Eagle Airlines.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is forecasting that carriers in the region will experience an increase in passenger numbers this year, but it stops short of predicting whether that will translate into higher profits. “We’re not in the business of forecasting profits,” says AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman, adding that with margins “wafer thin” in the airline industry, it is always hard to estimate profits.
What a difference two years can make in the aero engine business. As the Franco-U.S. engine maker approached the 2011 Paris air show, the chill wind of uncertainty was blowing through CFM’s traditional market base with Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G geared turbofan taking the lead in engine selections for the newly launched Airbus A320NEO.
The first phase of an airport capacity study for the major New York area airports could be completed by October, providing guidance on the potential addition or reconfiguration of runways, says Susan Baer, who is soon to retire from her position as aviation director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
