We are told there is no silver bullet for aviation biofuels, and that the best choice of feedstock-to-fuel pathway will be regional, even local, not global, as petroleum-based jet fuel is today. But there is an option the aviation industry hopes could work pretty well, almost anywhere, and that is algae.
Lufthansa Cargo has found potential buyers for two of its MD-11s as the airline reviews its capacity plans for next year. While the sale of one of the two aircraft to an as-yet unidentified buyer is firm, negotiations over pricing for the second aircraft are continuing. That aircraft is to be broken up for spares if the deal is completed.
Introducing the Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index Designed for anyone with risk on the future level of airfares – for example Airlines, Banks/Credit Card Companies, Corporate Travel Managers, etc. The Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index tracks daily airfares within the domestic airline market. The Aero 100 delivers financial risk mitigation and protection against constant fluctuation of airline ticket prices by providing the price settling mechanism for Commodity Futures Contracts.
A last-minute effort by the Italian government to save Alitalia will see the state-owned postal service invest in the loss-making airline. Under a deal unveiled late last week, Poste Italiane will become “an important industrial partner” in Alitalia’s recapitalization, the government said in a statement, noting that there would be scope for cooperation and synergies between the two companies. Poste Italiane owns Mistral Air, which operates mail and cargo services with a fleet of eight aircraft including seven Boeing 737s and one ATR 42.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Jakarta, October 20-26, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers: Jakarta, October 20-26, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures
The European Defense Agency (EDA) is preparing for a second series of manned test flights of a sense-and-avoid (S&A) system under development to allow unmanned aircraft to operate in unrestricted airspace. The system is being developed under the four-year Mid-air Collision Avoidance System (MidCAS) program, which ends in 2014, by a consortium of 13 companies from five European nations, including Saab, Alenia Aermacchi, EADS Cassidian, Indra, Selex and Thales.
Avianca Brasil has selected Byogy to supply renewable biofuel and signed an offtake agreement for alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel. U.S. firm Byogy already has an agreement in place in Brazil to convert ethanol produced from sugar cane into jet fuel. In March 2012, the company announced a feedstock agreement with Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol producer Itapecuru Bioenergia. ATJ is expected to approved for use in aircraft during 2014, and Byogy CEO Kevin Weiss says commercial production is expected to begin in Brazil between late 2015 and mid-2016.
Australia’s new government has delivered on the first of its pre-election promises relating to aviation by implementing a freeze on a controversial departure tax known as the passenger movement charge (PMC). Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb has confirmed that the PMC will remain at A$55 ($52.11) per passenger for the full term of the current parliament. Robb is one of the new ministers appointed after last month's Liberal-National Coalition election victory.
German company GroupEAD, which operates Europe’s primary aeronautical database, is expanding its presence into the Asia-Pacific region in cooperation with Airways New Zealand. The two companies have reached an agreement to form a joint venture, to be called GroupEAD Asia-Pacific Ltd. The joint venture will be headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, and will include Airways NZ’s aeronautical information management (AIM) staff. The two stakeholders expect the new company to launch operations in early 2014.
The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) strongly objects an extension of an intra-European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) until a global market-based measures (MBM) scheme comes into force in 2020.
Brisbane International Airport has launched a key stage in its controversial new runway project, even though it has still not reached a funding deal with its largest operator, Qantas Airways. The airport has been attempting to gain support from tenant airlines for its A$1.35 billion ($1.3 billion) second parallel runway, since the carriers will be helping pay for it through ticket taxes. An airport spokeswoman says of all the airlines using Brisbane only Qantas is not onboard.
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. (Hactl), the largest air freight handling company at the world’s busiest freight airport, is determined not to start a price war in response to a huge rise in capacity. Instead, the company is aiming at differentiating itself by service standards, though that may not be easy.
The U.K.’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) says passengers attempting to recover items from overhead bins as well as confusion about over-wing escape routes delayed a pre-dawn evacuation of a Jet2.com Boeing 737 after a rejected takeoff from Glasgow Airport on Oct. 19, 2012. The confusion, combined with rain greasing the evacuation slides, resulted in one elderly passenger fracturing bones in her neck and 15 other passengers receiving minor injuries during the evacuation on the runway, according to a new AAIB field investigation report.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of October 9, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
