The Middle East air transport market may be among the fastest-growing in the world, but whether that translates into an equally fast development of the region’s maintenance, repair and overhaul business remains to be seen.
Delta Air Lines sees “significant opportunities” in adding used narrowbodies to its fleet because of a decline in residual values of relatively young aircraft, CEO Richard Anderson says.
Cargolux is searching for financial partners following the departure of a key investor late last year but remains uncertain about what course of action it will pursue, says the head of the Luxembourg-based operation. “Whether it’s an airline or an industrial partner or a pure financial partner, I think that decision still has to be made,” interim President and CEO Richard Forson tells Aviation Week. Qatar Airways in December relinquished its 35% stake in Cargolux, returning its holding to the government of Luxembourg for $117.5 million.
Southwest Airlines’ gradual takeover of domestic routes from AirTran Airways is freeing up some of its subsidiary’s two-class Boeing 737s for new international services to Mexico and the Caribbean, with Southwest acknowledging that AirTran’s fleet “has become more available to consider these opportunities.” In the most recent move, AirTran is asking for U.S. Transportation Department permission to launch service between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and Cabo San Lucas International Airport, Mexico, which it would begin in June.
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) Jan. 21-23—MRO Middle East, DWTC Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE 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.
Because of observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Aviation Daily will not be published Jan. 22. The next issue will be dated Jan. 23, 2013. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers may visit www.aviationweek.com/awin at any time for news updates.
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.
Qantas plans to boost its regional operation by leasing four more Boeing 717s and ordering three Bombardier Q400s, although it is also trimming one Boeing 787 from its order for that model. The additional aircraft are set to begin arriving in the second half of 2013. The 717s will be leased from Boeing, a Qantas spokesman tells Aviation Week. The carrier is not yet revealing whether they will be operated by a Qantas Group subsidiary or by another carrier. Qantas already leases 13 717s, which are all operated on behalf of Qantas by Cobham Aviation Services.
With another hectic year ahead for commercial aircraft manufacturers, 2013 will see a shift in focus to widebody developments with the first flight of the Airbus A350 and stretched Boeing 787-9, and more clarity over the fate of the smaller A350-800 and a timetable for the 777X.
A plan to align aviation in African countries with international safety standards by 2015 will come before the African Union for formal ratification by the end of the month, says Guenther Matschnigg, International Air Transport Association senior VP-safety operations and infrastructure. Ministers from about 40 African states approved the plan last July, and now the African Union must decide to ratify the joint IATA-International Civil Aviation Organization venture, which sets a number of benchmarks.
AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes has publicly ruled out establishing any more affiliate carriers in Southeast Asia. But Fernandes says he hopes to establish one more joint-venture airline somewhere outside of Southeast Asia, although he rules out South Korea. Fernandes on Friday made the disclosure in several entries on his Facebook page. AirAsia last year explored whether to buy T’way, a financially troubled low-cost carrier in South Korea that officials there have put up for sale.
As part of efforts to return the 787 to service as soon as possible, Boeing is understood to be evaluating an interim plan to check individual main batteries on every aircraft and to introduce new flight deck procedures to ensure that crews can spot early indications of battery error messages before further issues arise.
Airbus signed firm orders for 914 aircraft in 2012 and delivered 588 aircraft, according to figures released at the annual press conference in Toulouse. The results, particularly the number of orders, far exceed Airbus’s earlier guidance, which targeted 650 sales. However, Boeing still took over as the largest aircraft producer in 2012 after nine years in second place. The U.S. manufacturer also surpassed Airbus in terms of new orders.
Using third parties to determine passenger eligibility for expedited airport screening will help the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reduce bureaucracy and expedite deployment of such programs, the head of the agency says. “This is something that we see as an opportunity to expand the known and trusted population in a way that doesn’t require rulemaking,” Administrator John Pistole told a Jan. 17 International Aviation Club luncheon.
Because of observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Aviation Daily will not be published Jan. 22. The next issue will be dated Jan. 23, 2013. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers may visit www.aviationweek.com/awin at any time for news updates.
LIAT has placed an order with ATR for three 48-seat ATR 42-600s that also includes options for two 68-seat ATR 72-600s. This order comes a month after carrier’s CEO asserted that the airline would order six ATR 42s to replace some of its fleet of 14 Bombardier Dash 8-100s and -300s, which have an average fleet age of 19 years (Aviation Week, Dec. 11, 2012). Deliveries of the new turboprops are scheduled to begin in June.
A meeting in Washington of the joint committee overseeing the implementation of the EU-U.S. open-skies agreement was notable for what it did not discuss: The contentious EU emissions trading system (ETS). Previous joint committee meetings, which occur twice a year, have devolved into tense discussions of the ETS, but that did not occur this week, now that the EU has temporarily dropped foreign airlines from the system, a source who attended the meeting tells Aviation Week.
