Bahraini maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider Gulf Technics is considering component repair to supplement its multi-million-dollar spares inventory, which ST Aerospace has helped manage and support since 2011. The MRO provider recently started offering Airbus and Embraer airframe maintenance services and plans to build a two-bay widebody hangar at Bahrain International Airport in Muharraq.
LCF Conversions, a U.S. company promoting low-cost freighter conversions for widebody aircraft, says it is in discussions for a proof-of-concept contract. According to Cliff Duke, CEO of LCF parent company Eolia Group, the process could take four to 12 months. The conversion, which is targeted at widebodies such as the Airbus A340 and Boeing 777-200 and -300, uses the aircraft’s existing lower-deck cargo doors to load conventional pallets and containers, and moves freight to the main deck on platform lifts.
Air France has just revealed its new regional division with great fanfare. But it could be its last attempt to retain a serious presence in that segment. Experience in other parts of Europe has shown that matters could become much worse in the sector.
Ryanair’s proposal to disperse some of Aer Lingus’ route network to Flybe to gain regulatory approval to take over the national carrier has been dismissed by Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller as “farfetched,” despite approval from Flybe’s board of directors and many shareholders.
Thomas Cook Group will bring its U.K., German and Belgian airlines under a newly created segment within the group and has appointed a new management board to run the business. The move, which takes effect March 1, is part of Europe’s second-largest travel company’s turnaround plan to revive its profitability.
Former Thales CEO Denis Ranque is emerging as a strong contender for the position of EADS chairman. Ranque is one of 12 candidates nominated by EADS for its future board of directors, which is to be confirmed by an extraordinary general assembly around the end of March.
The FAA is seeking industry help to create “representative” mathematical stall models that could be used in flight simulators to train pilots to recognize and recover from stalls. In a new Broad Agency Announcement, the FAA links this effort to a 2010 congressional mandate that targeted pilot training deficiencies, such as those noted in the 2009 Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 loss-of-control crash near Buffalo, N.Y.
JetBlue Airways is considering a more than 50% increase in operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, with most of that expansion designated for more service to the Caribbean and Latin America. Scott Laurence, VP-network planning and partnerships, tells Aviation Week that departures this winter will peak at about 65 daily flights, but “the demographics are there and the market sizes are there” for expansion to some 100 departures, particularly given the carrier’s other route launch successes from Fort Lauderdale.
Delta Air Lines has purchase agreements for 23 SAS MD-80 family aircraft, which the carrier plans to use for spare parts for its own McDonnell Douglas fleet. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport-based airline will not say if it plans to acquire more aircraft, but it also has no short-term plans to retire any of its MD-90s, which it has been acquiring at a steady pace to supplement its narrowbody fleet. Delta now has more than 60 MD-90s, 54 of which are in service. It also has 117 MD-88 aircraft in service.
Late last month, American Airlines CEO Tom Horton unveiled with great fanfare the airline’s splashy new livery, the first update to the carrier’s logo since 1968. But it will take more than a few gallons of silver paint to restore this U.S. icon to its former glory.
Air Lease Corp. (ALC) has placed an order for 25 Airbus A350s, with 20 of the firm orders for the -900 variant and five for the -1000. The ALC order, which also includes options for five A350-1000s, follows a Cathay Pacific commitment for 26 -1000s announced in mid-2012, which at the time was the first new order for the type in four years. The -1000 backlog still falls far short of the 385 sales of the -900. The smallest aircraft in the A350 family, the A350-800, has a backlog of 92 aircraft.
Embraer expects its 2013 delivery schedule to remain at about the same level as in 2012, albeit with a greater emphasis on its regional jet portfolio. With an outlook for 195-215 deliveries this year, the Brazilian manufacturer expects rates to roughly match the 205 deliveries for 2012 reported in January. However, in contrast to last year, business jet deliveries in 2013 will exceed those of commercial jets.
JetBlue Airways expects its first full code-share with a major carrier to be with current one-way code-share airline partners, says Scott Resnick, the low-cost carrier’s director of airline partnerships. “We have typically started with interline and progressed to one way where we have seen good progress. I would envision that’s how we would continue. We like to test the waters, to see how things are going,” Resnick says.
While the hunt for the root cause of the 787 battery problems continues, at least one aspect of Boeing’s urgent recovery strategy is coming into sharper focus. The company remains adamant in its faith in the current lithium-ion technology and sees no fundamental reason to change its view as the pressure builds to return the airliner to service.
Transport Canada has ordered elevator control system parts swaps in some Bombardier regional jets following reports of uncommanded, erratic elevator movements. The Feb. 5 directive (CF-2013-03), which covers CRJ700s, 900s, and 1000s, blames a combination of factors for creating the problem.
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes incurred a BRL140 million ($70.5 million) charge in the fourth quarter 2012 for the closure of its Webjet Linhas Aereas Economicas unit, which was shuttered just weeks after GOL finalized its acquisition in October. The charge covers the cost of returning Webjet’s Boeing 737-300 fleet to the lessor, related maintenance costs and the departure of 850 employees. “These measures should make the company more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and passenger comfort,” says GOL in a regulatory filing.
John Spanjers’ career with Pinnacle Airlines will end when the regional carrier emerges from its Chapter 11 reorganization. Spanjers’ departure also coincides with Delta Air Lines’ planned purchase of the regional carrier, which was recently approved by Pinnacle’s bankruptcy court. A Delta executive, Ryan Gumm, will assume Spanjers’ responsibilities. Like Spanjers’ introduction to Pinnacle in October 2011, Gumm first assumes chief operating officer responsibilities. His promotion will come once Pinnacle exits Chapter 11.
China Eastern Airlines and Qantas’s Jetstar subsidiary are proceeding with plans to launch Jetstar Hong Kong and have appointed a CEO. The appointment of CEO Edward Lau, who was born in Hong Kong, fulfills the partners’ commitment to select a local person to lead the budget carrier. Jetstar last month named Howard Cheung CFO. Although China Eastern last year raised the possibility that Jetstar Hong Kong could be operating by the end of 2012, Jetstar now says the target is mid-2013.
Ryanair has reached an agreement in principle with British regional airline Flybe to transfer several routes and aircraft in order to win approval from the European Commission (EC) for its proposed acquisition of Aer Lingus. Up to 10 aircraft and 43 routes would be transferred under Ryanair’s plan.
