A July 5 article on Virgin America should have specified that the company in the first quarter posted a $49 million operating loss and a net loss of $76 million.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) July 9-15—Farnborough International Airshow 2012, www.farnborough.com July 15-17—Large Hub Winter Operations & Deicing Conference, Dulles, Va., www.necaaae.org July 16-17—Airports Council International-North America 2012 Small Airports Conference, JW Marriott Hotel, Grand Rapids, Mich., www.aci-na.org/event/562
Low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways faces about $600 million in engine overhaul costs within the next three years for its Airbus and Embraer fleet, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis shows.
Pinnacle Airlines is asking a bankruptcy court judge for an additional six months of exclusive rights to submit a reorganization plan under its Chapter 11 restructuring, which would give it until Jan. 25, 2013.
Virgin Australia has taken care of long-term fleet replacement with an order for 23 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, while also reshuffling its medium-term fleet plans. The new aircraft, which are due to be delivered between 2019 and 2021, are intended to replace the airline’s oldest 737-800s rather than grow the fleet, a Virgin Australia spokeswoman tells Aviation Week.
Spirit Airlines is leaving Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Southwest Airlines is emerging as one of the beneficiaries, having acquired four of Spirit’s slots at National to begin service to St. Louis this fall.
Indonesian authorities are planning an expansion of the country’s main airport, Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, but one important element is missing—a new runway. The airport currently is hindered by its capacity limitations, which cause lengthy and numerous flight delays. Airlines based at Soekarno-Hatta also have complained there are too few places to park aircraft.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says his carrier is talking to Qantas about a code-share partnership, although the Australian carrier is refusing to comment on the subject. Al Baker says that further talks between the airlines are scheduled, and that an agreement between the carriers would allow Qatar greater access to Australian domestic markets, and extend Qantas’s reach into Europe.
Valuable lessons can be learned from the final report by French accident investigation body BEA into the June 1, 2009, crash of Air France Flight 447, which has been attributed to pilot error. Flight 447 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport when the aircraft entered a zone of heavy weather in the intertropical convergence zone. It is believed that at the start of the sequence of events, the aircraft pitot tubes iced over and provided unreliable speed indications.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) should be able to fund a large portion of its remaining Boeing 787 deliveries from a planned share issue, which, because of its timing, could weaken the prospects for rival Japan Airlines’ upcoming stock relisting. The share issue is expected to yield up to 211 billion yen ($2.6 billion), which ANA says will be used primarily to pay for aircraft acquisitions.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of July 4, 2012, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
China’s state-controlled ABC Financial Leasing has ordered 45 Comac C919s, bringing claimed orders for the 158-seat jet to 280 aircraft. The actual number of aircraft that the lessor has ordered, however, is unclear because Comac previously has counted options as orders. Comac also counts orders from some contracts that are not binding, according to industry officials who have seen the documents. A Comac representative did not immediately respond to a request for delivery dates and a breakdown of orders and options in the ABC contract.
U.K.-based GKN Aerospace has agreed to buy engine specialist Volvo Aero for $987 million, ending months of speculation over the future of the Swedish aerospace company. Among others, MTU Aero Engines and the Carlyle Group—an investment company—are understood to have been interested in Volvo Aero, but pulled out of the bidding. Volvo Aero is currently part of the broader Volvo Group.
