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.
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The FAA, sticking to the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) plan laid out to cope with a prolonged partial government closure, has called in more than 800 Office of Aviation Safety employees responsible for both field inspections and certification of “critical” products.
The demand for British civil aftermarket work is expected to grow in the next decade, but most startups face an uphill struggle to enter a market being squeezed by OEMs. To add to their headaches, the current shortage of skilled engineering labor is set to worsen in the next decade or two, while the trend of partnering with OEMs offers a double-edged sword: MRO providers can gain reliable work from a handful of big customers—but only while it lasts.
Canada has added three new bilateral air transport agreements in a negotiating effort that also expanded bilateral accords with four countries. The new agreements are with Burkino Faso, Ecuador and Macedonia, while deals with Algeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and Turkey have been amended “to introduce more flight options and routing.” Canada’s transport ministry says most of the agreements can be implemented immediately.
TAP Portugal CEO Fernando Pinto says he hopes the privatization of the airline will be restarted soon, and that Brazilian investor Synergy Group will again be the frontrunner. “I hear that Synergy Group continues to be interested. It would be a good fit,” Pinto said at the ISTAT Europe conference in Barcelona. Synergy was close to buying TAP at the end of last year, but the process collapsed just before closing. Pinto says that was because there was insufficient time to complete the transaction ahead of a self-imposed deadline before the end of the year.
Industry reaction to last week’s agreement at the 38th International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly to develop a global market based mechanism (MBM) for emissions from aviation has been generally positive. “Airlines need and want a global MBM. Without losing any of the momentum built up over these last two weeks, we are eager to get on with the detailed work needed to design the global scheme in time for finalization at the 2016 Assembly,” says Tony Tyler, CEO and director general for the International Air Transport Association.
A government and industry panel has recommended that the FAA loosen its ban on using e-readers, tablets, smartphones and other electronic devices in the passenger cabin below 10,000 ft.
The Scottish government plans to nationalize Glasgow Prestwick Airport in a bid to safeguard jobs at the loss-making airport. Prestwick—currently owned by New Zealand company Infratil—is a major base for low-cost carrier Ryanair, but reportedly has been making annual losses of around £2 million ($3.2 million).
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Southwest Airlines has no official stance on the proposed merger between AMR Corp. and US Airways merger, but the low-cost carrier wants to have a stronger presence at Washington National Airport (DCA) and is opposed to a “new American Airlines” controlling two-thirds of DCA’s slots. “I’m not for or against the AA-US merger—I’m for the ability to compete,” Southwest Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Bob Jordan said Oct. 6 at the World Route Development Forum in Las Vegas. “It’s very hard to gain access to National.”
Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy is indicating that the manufacturer might consider a larger A350 variant. “We might stretch it, we are not sure how big the market is,” he told delegates at the ISTAT Europe conference in Barcelona. “We are studying it.” Leahy made the argument that “what the market needs is simplicity” and that the three current versions of the A350 compete well with Boeing’s 777, 787 and 777X products.
The aftermarket issued a no-confidence vote for its tool control practices—with one-quarter of respondents selecting “highest concern” in a recent Aviation Week survey. The Web-based poll, conducted in June and July, questioned the global civil aviation aftermarket industry about tool control practices, in preparation for a panel on asset tracking during Aviation Week’s MRO Europe Conference late last month.
Opposition parties and trade unions have criticized India’s minister for civil aviation Ajit Singh for saying the government could consider privatizing Air India. Singh on Oct. 6 said it would not be possible to keep funding Air India beyond the current $5.8 billion government bailout through 2020 to restructure the carrier.
Airbus is projecting an active secondary market for the A340 family—an outlook that could be bolstered by Rolls-Royce’s (R-R’s) efforts to reduce shop visit costs of Trent 500 engines outfitted on -500s and -600s variants of the four-engine jet. The airframe manufacturer’s product-support forecast sees about 325 A340s still in service in 2017, down only by about 25 from today’s total. Notably, it expects about 90 aircraft to change hands in the next four years, including 26 A340-500s/600s.
Airbus looks set to finally catch up with Boeing in the Japanese market following a major deal for Airbus A350s from Japan Airlines (JAL). JAL yesterday announced a deal that includes a firm order for 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s and options for a further 25 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2019. The order is the first widebody commitment for Airbus aircraft by either Japan Airlines or All Nippon Airways, the dominant airlines in Japan. JAL inherited a fleet for Airbus A300s when it acquired Japan Air System.
