Air freight traffic will grow at an average of 4.8% a year over the coming 20 years, says Airbus, forecasting that 80% of the market will involve emerging markets by 2032. Airlines will need to introduce 2,730 freighters into service in that time, of which 870 will be new aircraft, the manufacturer predicts. Among the new aircraft, 45% will have payloads of 30-80 metric tons, the market that interests Airbus, since its A330F carries up to 70 metric tons.
Transport Canada has ordered Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 operators to modify slat components to prevent failure of a pin that could cause the related slat to break away. The directive (CF-2013-31), which is effective Oct. 22, gives operators 6,000 flight hours or 30 months, whichever comes first, to replace locking plates with “an anti-migration assembly” on both the left-and right-wing No. 3 slats.
Struggling Swiss regional carrier SkyWork Airlines will be able to continue operations after it concluded a strategic partnership with Germany’s MHS Aviation. Under the agreement, CEO Tomislav Lang has stepped down with immediate effect and sold his 40% shareholding in SkyWork. Chief Operating Officer Rolf Hartleb has been elevated to CEO.
EVA Airways and Garuda Indonesia Airlines will use General Electric’s (GE’s) fuel management service to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions for their entire fleets. GE Aviation is collecting the data this month from the airlines so it can “analyze behavior patterns and drive specific things in their operations to reduce fuel burn,” Giovanni Spitale, general manager of GE Aviation’s Flight Efficiency Services, told Aviation Week on the sidelines of GE’s Minds+Machines 2013 event in Chicago.
Russia’s largest airline Aeroflot yesterday unveiled a new low-cost subsidiary, Dobrolet. Named after the first Soviet commercial air transport organization that later served as the foundation for Aeroflot, the new carrier is expected to start operations in the second quarter of 2014. Aeroflot says the new airline initially will serve “the most popular destinations in the European part of Russia,” and that foreign destinations will be added in 2016.
DuPont is shipping a new lightweight flame barrier material to providers of thermal and acoustic insulation for aircraft cabins. The Nomex XF film meets FAA insulation “resistance to burn-through” rules that airframers are required to use on the lower half of the fuselage for new aircraft.
First Israel Mezzanine Investors Fund (FIMI) has cancelled its planned $75 million investment in El Al after the airline’s management failed to reach a new labor agreement. In April, FIMI, the country’s largest investment fund, agreed to invest in El Al in return for up to 47% of the carrier. El Alshareholders and regulatory bodies approved the bid, however, the accord was subject to the successful negotiation of a new labor contract that was acceptable to FIMI. The deal was scheduled to close on July 31 and FIMI has extended the deadline twice.
AirAsia’s Philippine affiliate is pressing for the group’s long-haul carrier AirAsia X to open a new hub near Manila, but it appears that no such move is on the horizon. While discussing plans for Zest AirAsia—a joint venture in the Philippines—Chairman Michael Romero said that Zest is trying to convince AirAsia X to establish an affiliate of its own at Clark International Airport. Clark is about 50 mi. from the more central, and crowded, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.
EasyJet aims to increase its market share in Italy by opening a base next spring in Naples, the country’s third largest city. The U.K.-based low-cost carrier will base two Airbus narrowbodies at Naples Capodichino Airport and intends to serve 20 destinations, including new routes to Brussels; Corfu and Mykonos in Greece; Catania, Italy; and Hamburg.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Tokyo Haneda, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Tokyo Haneda, Oct. 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats /Dept.
A majority of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) yesterday endorsed a new regulation that will revise and harmonize rules on flight and duty limitations and rest requirements (FTL) for air crews across the EU. The approval, which was backed by 387 legislators against 218 rejections and 66 abstentions, comes a week after the EP’s Transport Committee recommended a dismissal of the new rules.
The balance between Boeing and Airbus in one of the world’s most important air transport markets is shifting with Japan Airlines’ (JAL’s) firm order for 31 A350s, and the consequences will likely be transformational.
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted to fund the FAA in fiscal 2014, a move that would effectively end staff furloughs and permit the U.S. Registry to reopen. The bill, however, is not expected to go further than the House. This is one of only a few agency-specific funding the bills the House is passing independently while negotiations continue on a larger budget deal. Senate leaders, however, are pushing for a single bill, and have indicated they will not accept a piecemeal approach to funding and reopening of the federal government.
New runways to serve London’s airports now seem more likely, after the head of the U.K.’s Airports Commission said more capacity is required. Speaking ahead of the publication of a report examining short-term improvements to airport capacity in the U.K., Howard Davies, chairman of the U.K. Airports Commission, said the country would need “some net additional runway capacity in the southeast of England in the coming decades.”
Air Costa, a new regional carrier in India, aims to acquire more Embraer E-Jets to supplement its current fleet of two E-170s as part of a two-year, $100 million investment plan. The start-up, which will be based in the Andhra Pradesh state in southern India, is a part of LEPL Group, an infrastructure and real estate company. “The airline has already taken delivery of two Embraer 170 aircraft, and will add three more by the end of this year,” says Air Costa Chairman L. Ramesh.
The European Commission has authorized Aegean Airlines’ proposed acquisition of rival Olympic Air from its current owner, the Marfin Investment Group (MIG), reasoning that Olympic would disappear without the €72 million ($96.4 million) deal and that Aegean would then automatically assume Olympic’s market share.
Etihad Airways is set to introduce the Boeing 777-200LR to its fleet after cementing plans to purchase five of the widebodies from Air India. Subject to approvals, the aircraft will be delivered to Etihad from the beginning of 2014, and each will be re-fitted in a three-class cabin configuration consistent with similar aircraft in the Middle Eastern carrier’s fleet. The first aircraft is expected to enter service in April.
