India’s cabinet has approved the sale of a 24% stake in Jet Airways to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, paving the way for the first deal between a local and a foreign carrier since last year’s change to the country’s airline ownership laws. The Indian government decided in September 2012 to allow foreign airlines to acquire up to 49% in domestic carriers.
Norwegian Air Shuttle is in the process of replacing the NavAero electronic flight bags (EFB) and software applications on its fleet of 79 Boeing 737s with a new system built by Scandinavian Avionics, running Jeppesen applications.
Embraer yesterday signed E-195 contracts with two customers at the European Regions Airline Association’s annual general assembly in Salzburg, Austria. Belarus state-owned carrier Belavia is taking two E-195s in May and June 2014, and has secured options for two more. The carrier, which currently operates a fleet of 21 aircraft of various types, is expanding, with traffic up more than 25% this year.
Rolls-Royce (R-R) has started tests on a second phase of engine upgrades for the Trent 900, aimed at further reductions in fuel burn for the Airbus A380 as well as improved reliability. “We have now moved into the test phase for the follow-on EP (enhanced performance) 2,” says Peter Johnston, R-R’s head of customer marketing for civil large engines. The upgrade is being tested as part of a multi-phased improvement to the Trent 900, which entered service in 2007 and now powers 58 aircraft with six operators.
Air Malta is on track to meet its restructuring plan’s goals and will break-even next year, the airline’s CEO Peter Davies told Aviation Week yesterday on the sidelines of the European Regions Airline Association annual general assembly in Salzburg, Austria. The airline, which was on the brink of collapse before being rescued by a government loan, expects to close the fiscal year ending in March 2014 with only a small loss of around €3 million ($4 million). That comes after losses of €13 million and €30 million in the previous two financial years.
EasyJet expects to announce a record pre-tax profit of between £470 million and £480 million ($760-776 million) for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, with unit revenue up 6% and units costs excluding fuel increasing 4%. The increase in costs was driven primarily by higher charges at regulated airports. In July, the airline had provided guidance for a full-year pre-tax profit of between £450 million and £480 million. The improved outlook follows strong demand during the summer, EasyJet said in a trading update.
The FAA plans to recall—on an as-needed basis—some furloughed Aviation Safety Organization (AVS) employees, including safety inspectors, if the government shutdown is not resolved quickly. “If the furlough extends longer than a few days, we will begin to recall as many as 2,500 employees back to work incrementally, including safety inspectors, engineers and technical support staff, depending on need,” the FAA says in a statement.
Bombardier collected the first noise data on its CSeries airliner during its Oct. 1 second flight from Mirabel, near Montreal. The data will help CSeries customer Porter Airlines build its case for lifting the ban on operating jets from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which is situated on an island close to downtown. The 90-min. flight was similar to the 2.5-hr. first flight on Sept. 16, says Bombardier, with flight-test aircraft FTV1 retracting its gear and reaching a speed of 230 kt. and altitude of 12,500 ft.
A revised plan to limit aviation’s greenhouse-gas emissions has been presented to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal, amid signs the European Union (EU) has softened its stance in a bid to secure a global agreement. After days of closed-door bilateral negotiations, a revised draft resolution on market-based measures (MBM) was presented Oct. 2 to the executive committee. The revisions focus of two key paragraphs that were the focus of disagreement at the first meeting, which was held Sept. 25.
EasyJet and Transaero Airlines have signed a commercial agreement for flights between Moscow Domodedovo and London Gatwick airports, under which Transaero will distribute a proportion of the seats on EasyJet’s flights on the route from Oct. 27. The U.K.-based low-cost carrier operates twice-daily flights between Gatwick and Domodedovo. As part of the deal, EasyJet’s services will also have the Transaero ‘UN’ designator code, although a spokeswoman for EasyJet insists it is not a typical code-share agreement.
Operators of Airbus narrowbodies powered by IAE engines continue to find cracks in engine pylon ribs under a mandated inspection program, leading European regulators to keep the checks in place for those models while ending the requirement for CFM56-powered aircraft. The cracks, in aft fairing Rib 5, caused one in-flight loss of a pylon tail cone. The incident led Airbus to recommend inspections for all of its narrowbodies—a move mandated last year by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
While campaign promises must always be viewed cautiously, it appears that the overthrow of Australia’s Labor government will benefit airlines in a few key areas. Most notably, the new Liberal-National Coalition government has signaled that it will throw out a carbon tax that has been severely hurting airline profits.
Japan Airlines is criticizing Japanese regulators for awarding a greater share of new slots at Tokyo Haneda Airport to rival All Nippon Airways, and is calling for an explanation of the criteria used by the government.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Madrid, September 15-21, 2013 Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers: Madrid, September 15-21, 2013 Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures
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Fastjet remains confident in the potential of its long-term strategy to become the dominant African low-cost airline, despite persistent hurdles to launching international operations and significant losses. Operating losses for the first six months totaled $39.4 million on revenue of $25.5 million, with cash outflows of $20.9 million. The operating loss before exceptional items was $24.9 million, including $13.3 million in trading losses for the Tanzanian operation. Net loss for the period was $41.9 million.
Cathay Pacific Airways is building its extensive Australian network by increasing direct flights to secondary cities, although the carrier wants to see the current aviation agreement liberalized to allow more flights to major cities. The airline plans to begin direct flights to Adelaide four times a week in March, a city it previously served as a one-stop via Melbourne. This will boost its weekly flights to Australia to 74.
William Franke’s Indigo Partners investment group, which turned Spirit Airlines into a profitable ultra-low-cost carrier, intends to repeat the effort with Frontier Airlines after buying the troubled operator from Republic Airways. Republic, which acquired Frontier in 2009 for about $110 million during the Denver-based airline’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, is selling its holding in the subsidiary for $36 million. Indigo also will pay $109 million to cover the debt being retained by Frontier.
AAR Corp., fresh off expanding its year-old Duluth, Minn., airframe facility to three lines and launching a new facility in Lake Charles, La., continues to report strong demand for airframe maintenance services, suggesting an economic shift favoring North American facilities may be underway.
