Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Guayaquil - Quito, April 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Guayaquil - Quito, April 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
China is developing four high-bypass turbofans, only two of which were previously known. All four have potential military and civil applications. Work at Shenyang on a high-bypass turbofan in the 30,000 lb. class and suitable for large transport aircraft was already known, along with development of the similarly sized CJ-1000 engine for the C919 commercial aircraft.
The FAA says it is “well underway” in responding to recommendations from a government and industry aviation rulemaking committee called together over the past year to evaluate how the agency’s certification and approval processes might be streamlined and improved. The work was mandated under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which called on FAA to consider reforms aimed at reviewing and approving certification applications “in a fair and timely fashion.”
Although it has yet to return its Boeing 787s to scheduled service, JAL is already revealing plans to deploy the aircraft to a handful of additional international routes later this year. Beyond the flights JAL had operated with the 787 before the fleet was grounded in January, the carrier says the aircraft will debut on three more routes. These include Tokyo Haneda-San Francisco from Sept. 1, Tokyo Narita-Sydney from Dec. 1, and Narita-Bangkok from Dec. 2. All are currently operated by other aircraft, primarily Boeing 777s.
Spirit Airlines’ continued growth will focus on adding flights that connect cities already in its route network, CEO Ben Baldanza says, citing the new service the carrier will begin between Latrobe, Pa., and Dallas this June as an example. Based in south Florida, the rapidly growing, low-cost carrier still is estimating capacity growth of 21% for this year, when it is taking delivery of two Airbus A319 and seven Airbus A320 aircraft.
Air New Zealand is calling for a regulatory change to tamp down charges at Auckland International Airport, disputing a recent assessment by New Zealand’s competition watchdog that contends the “light-handed” regulatory process appears effective.
United Airlines’ order for Embraer 175 jets will let the Brazilian airframer maintain its current production levels, and winning a few more orders would allow it to boost production by 10-15%, President and CEO Frederico Curado says. In an April 30 conference call on Embraer’s first-quarter earnings Curado says the United agreement in late April and a Republic Airways order finalized in late March means Embraer is “pretty much done” filling its slots for 2014 and is about two-thirds full for 2015.
Two more relatively young Boeing 737NGs arrived at a Wales-based part-out shop during the past weekend, evidently at the end of their service life, Aviation Week’s Fleets analysts report. The aircraft, each just a shade under 15 years old, are among only 30 NG-model 737s to have retired so far. Many of those retired aircraft left the fleet when Malev of Hungary folded in February of 2012 and its fleet was liquidated.
SriLankan Airlines, which hopes to buy Airbus A330-300s and A350-900s to replace a mix of older A330s and A340s, just got the go-ahead from the Sri Lankan government to place a multibillion dollar aircraft order and now plans to begin talks to finalize the deal. The fleet renewal program is part of a $2.5 billion capital injection that the government has committed to the carrier over a seven-year period, says an airline spokesman.
It will be “very difficult” for Republic Airways Holdings to compete for new business with mainline carriers on regional flying before it reaches agreements with its labor unions, and there still is no clear end in sight to the years-long negotiations with regional pilots, CEO Bryan Bedford says. “Until we have greater clarity on our labor costs, it is going to be very difficult for Republic to compete effectively for new business,” Bedford said during the airline holding company’s first-quarter earnings call today.
Innovative Solutions and Support is targeting a four-day turnaround on a cockpit refresh for 182 Delta Airlines MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft under a $62 million contract issued to the Pennsylvania-based avionics company in early April.
A team of consultants thinks perennially crowded Heathrow Airport could solve its capacity problem for a longer time and for less money by simply extending its existing runways, rather than building a proposed third runway.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Guadalajara - Mexico City, April 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Guadalajara - Mexico City, April 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats /D
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is sending four investigators to Afghanistan to help with the probe of the April 29 crash of a National Airlines Boeing 747-428 freighter on departure from Bagram Airfield. All seven crewmembers on board, who were Americans, were killed in the 11:20 a.m. crash. The GE CF6-80C2B1F-powered aircraft, one of three in Michigan-based National Airlines’ fleet, was destroyed.
Airport executives are still pursuing dozens of lawsuits against FAA as they await word on whether the agency will use its new budget flexibility to fund most of the U.S. contract tower program. Nearly 40 communities, along with the American Association of Airports Executives (AAAE) and U.S. Contract Tower Association (USCTA), are suing FAA over its plan to end funding for 149 contract towers – roughly 60% of the program – on June 15 as part of the agency’s sequestration cuts.
Dubai International Airport’s owners have begun planning for an 80-day runway closure next year set to bring a major upheaval to airport operations, and have asked airlines to reduce operations into Dubai or shift them over to the city’s World Central facility. In a letter detailing the plans, Dubai Airport chief executive Paul Griffiths tells operators that the closures, set to start on May 1, 2014, are essential because the airport’s northern runway, 12L-30R, is nearing the end of its design life.
United Airlines reached an agreement to add 30 Embraer 175 regional jets to its United Express fleet, with 40 more on option, but did not say which partner will operate them or how many of the 50-seat jets they will replace.
President Obama on Monday nominated the leader of a city with a US Airways hub to become the nation’s next transportation secretary, citing Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx’s experience in local government, relationships with other local government officials and advocacy for infrastructure improvements in his city. Those infrastructure projects included a third parallel runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which opened in 2010, as well as improvements for light rail and streetcar service.
Turboprop specialist ATR says it has received certification from the FAA for its ATR 42-600 and 72-600 aircraft, a milestone it believes will provide a boost not only for sales efforts in the U.S., but also Japan.
FAA is dropping its furlough plans for all 47,000 workers in its employee base after Congress last week passed a bill permitting the agency to shift up to $253 million in funds to prevent “reduced operations and staffing.” But the agency still has not outlined plans on whether it also will continue to fund the contract air traffic control tower program or whether it will move forward with anticipated cuts. And other services, such as most preventative maintenance of navigational aids, are still going to be curtailed.
If a true regional open-skies deal brokered by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) fails to materialize in 2015 as planned, flag carrier Malaysian Airlines’ (MAS) “Plan B” response will be expanding a joint-venture network to go beyond just its Oneworld partners or even, at a stretch, to invest, says MAS senior marketing VP Dean Dacko.
