Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs, 12 Months Ended September 2012,Widebody Aircraft (Sorted By Seats Per Departure) Cost Per Block Hour
German low-cost carrier Condor Airlines is moving part of its long-haul operation to Munich from Frankfurt. Starting with the next winter timetable, the carrier will base two Boeing 767-300ERs at Germany’s second-largest airport, CEO Ralf Teckentrup tells Aviation Week. If the move is successful, a further shift is possible.
United Airlines’ President and CEO Jeff Smisek says corporate sales are rebounding after a disastrous mid-2012 operational performance prompted many business travelers to choose rival carriers. Speaking yesterday at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Defense Conference in New York, Smisek noted that United’s passenger unit revenue now is almost on par with its domestic peers’ after trailing almost five percentage points in the second quarter 2012.
Boeing Shanghai is nearing completion of its first passenger-to-freighter (PTF) conversion, broadening the expanding facility’s experience as a full-service maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider in the region. The PTF conversion airframe, a Boeing 737-300 built in 1998 (MSN 29088), is for Kenya Airways. Work started in December, and the milestone door-cutting task was completed during the first week of February.
Lion Air’s new full-service carrier Batik Air has pushed its launch forward to April, the same month that it is due to receive its first aircraft. The carrier was originally planning to start in May, but Rusdi Kirana, Lion’s president director, tells Aviation Week that Batik will be getting its first aircraft in April and intends to launch operations in that month, too.
The distraction of a global grounding of Boeing’s 787-8 could have repercussions on the launch of the 787-10X variant as airlines focus on the flight ban, says Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner. “Having the fleet down now has slowed things down a bit” for launching the -10X, Conner said yesterday during the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Defense Conference in New York. The -10X is a higher-density version of the stretched 787-9 that is scheduled to complete final design approval and end final assembly mid-year.
Indonesian carrier Sriwijaya Air again is considering a turboprop fleet to serve smaller markets and feed its Boeing 737 mainline operation. The airline considered turboprops about three years ago but instead opted for Embraer E-190s. However, the Embraer deal later fell through after Sriwijaya signed a lease agreement with GE Commercial Aviation Services for 12 737-500s, at what is understood to be very competitive lease rates.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for widebody aircraft to replace older aircraft and expand its fleet. Sources says the airline is considering the Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-10. SIA already has 40 A350-900s and 20 787-9s on order, but the 787-9s have been assigned to the carrier's medium-haul low-cost carrier Scoot, and the A350-900s are mainly to be used to replace SIA’s A330-300s.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has purchased six Twin Otter 400s from Canadian manufacturer Viking Air and expects to place the first three aircraft into service at its MASwings subsidiary this year. MASwings’ CEO Nawawi Awang tells Aviation Week the aircraft will be based at MASwing’s Twin Otter base in Miri International Airport in East Malaysia. The first aircraft is scheduled to arrive in July and all six will be in operation in 2014.
Thales air traffic control (ATC) systems and radars that have been ordered for several African countries are expected to be deployed in the next two years, the company says.
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.
The European Commission (EC) has received formal notification of Aegean Airlines’ bid to acquire rival Olympic Air from Marfin Investment Group. Aegean, which unveiled its €72 million ($94 million) takeover in October, has been in informal discussions with the European Union’s antitrust regulators for several months and filed for approval Feb. 28. The EC is expected to rule on the bid by April 9.
India’s burgeoning maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry received a much-needed boost after the government announced tax concessions on the import of spare parts and testing equipment. The government also extended the period for required installation of the parts and equipment to one year from three months. “The MRO sector is at a nascent stage. Encouraging the industry will generate employment besides other benefits,” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said in a budget presentation to parliament.
Allegiant Air’s leadership is eyeing a long-term fleet and network growth strategy that includes more Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, the possible addition of the larger A321 and more Boeing 757s, the launch of 30-40 new routes and international service in 2014.
Indonesia’s Sky Aviation first Sukhoi Superjet is scheduled to enter service March 10 and will serve eastern Indonesia from a base at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar. The airline, which unveiled its new aircraft Feb. 28 at Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, has ordered 12 Superjets from the manufacturer. And while Sukhoi Civil Aircraft had previously said Sky Aviation had purchased the aircraft, the airline’s chairman, Yusuf Ardhi, tells Aviation Week the aircraft initially are being leased from a Russian lessor.
Patrick Ky, executive director of the Single Sky ATM Research, and Catalin Radu, president of the European Civil Aviation Conference and director general of Civil Aviation for Romania, have been shortlisted as candidates for the position of executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Aviation Week has learned.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) March 5-6—Defense Technology & Affordability Requirements, Hilton Arlington, Arlington, Va. March 7—Laureate Awards 2013, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. April 16-18—MRO Americas 2013, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. April 17-18—MRO Military 2013, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga.
Airservices Australia has commissioned the first two sites in a program to provide airport towers with an integrated air traffic control system. The Integrated Tower Automation Suites (Intas) system is operational at Broome and Rockhampton airports, and is being deployed at larger airports in Melbourne and Adelaide. Intas was developed by Nav Canada, Saab Sensis and Harris Corp.
Lion Air’s wholly owned maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company Lion Technics is scheduled to open a heavy maintenance base later this year on Batam island, off the coast of Singapore.
US Airways’ decision to contract nine Bombardier CRJ900s from Mesa Air Group from this spring through to 2021 does not change the expiration of the regional airline’s current agreement to feed the mainline carrier with 38 76-seat jets until September 2015, Mesa tells Aviation Week.
