The International Air Transport Association named Hussein Dabbas VP for the Middle East and North Africa, succeeding Majdi Sabri, who plans to retire in June. Dabbas currently is CEO of Royal Jordanian Airlines. He announced his resignation earlier this month following the carrier’s heavy losses last year.
The world’s two largest regional jet manufacturers see significant benefits from China’s adoption of leasing and financing facilities associated with more mature markets. Both Bombardier and Embraer already have been cementing their presence in China through operational ventures, such as Embraer Harbin and Bombardier’s supplier contracts with Avic. But now the two airframers are focusing on how to sell their products to a country expected to produce by far the largest demand for new commercial and business aircraft.
Rising oil prices could be both a blessing and a curse for United Technologies Corp. unit Pratt & Whitney. On the one hand, higher prices could curtail airlines’ ability to invest in new equipment, and on the other, the fuel efficiency of P&W’s geared turbofan engines could push airlines into investing, the company told analysts during UTC’s first-quarter earnings call.
Honeywell’s already buoyant outlook for 2012 has been boosted after “higher-than-expected organic sales” produced a near 17% increase in the manufacturer’s first-quarter net income. Aerospace, Honeywell’s second-largest division, contributed to this improvement with a 9% year-on-year rise in sales to almost $3 billion and a 14% growth in segment profit to $467 million. An 18.1% operating margin marked a 0.8-percentage-point gain on 2011’s March quarter.
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While the FAA highlights early successes from NextGen air traffic modernization program, a senior aerospace executive says this should not detract from the need for more sweeping changes in the long term, or the potential danger of funding cuts.
There may be some relief in sight for airlines as crude oil and jet fuel prices, although historically high, continue a gradual fall, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show. According to EIA, crude oil inventories are rising, which will put downward pressure on prices, with the U.S. now holding 25.4 days of supply of crude oil inventory, compared with 23.5 days of supply in early March. Meanwhile, U.S. oil production has risen to more than 6 million barrels per day, compared with 5.6 million barrels per day this time last year.
Pinnacle Airlines received bankruptcy court approval to reject leases on 19 aircraft and notified pilots that it expects to furlough 16% of them in the next 18 months, as one of the largest regional airline holding companies in the U.S. begins implementing a significant reduction in its size.
A long-awaited narrowbody order from United Airlines could soon be confirmed, with Boeing the likely beneficiary. The order is expected to comprise as many as 200 aircraft, a sufficient number to replace United’s 152 aging Airbus single-aisles, which average 12.4 years in age and 14.1 years in service, and 27 Boeing 737-500s, which have been operated for more than 17 years.
Meggitt plc will be the sole-source provider of the fire-suppression system on the Airbus A320NEO, bolstering its standing on the single-aisle product that once depended on sharing work with a United Technologies Corp. division.
Click here to view the pdf Excel Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics, 12 Months Ended June 2011, Jet Aircraft Pages 9 and 10 of 11 777 Manufacturer: Boeing
Malaysian Airlines’ (MAS) turboprop carrier Firefly has no plans to purchase additional ATR 72s in the next couple of years, but is interested in ordering the new-generation turboprop (NGTP) the European manufacturer is developing. Firefly CEO Ignatius Ong says MAS executives have been talking to ATR about the 90- to 100-seat NGTP and are interested in the 30% capacity increase on the ATR 72-500 and projected 20-30% lower fuel burn per available seat kilometer (ASK).
Pratt & Whitney Canada’s (PWC) PT6C-67E turboshaft has won Transport Canada certification, marking another step toward the start of deliveries of the Eurocopter EC175 helicopter later this year.
The boom in commercial aircraft production should enable aircraft interior supplier B/E Aerospace to boost this year’s earnings by almost one quarter and sales close to 20%, compared with an already successful 2011. Widebody production is fueling most of this growth, although its consumables business should also benefit from a growth in passenger traffic and capacity, says the U.S. manufacturer.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Sao Paulo, April 23-29, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Sao Paulo, April 23-29, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departu
Safran and Airbus have completed the first demonstration flight of a composite engine plug for potential use on the Leap-X turbofan. The ceramic matrix composite plug, first flown on a CFM56 on Airbus’s MSN A320 test aircraft on Feb. 27, is aimed at reducing the weight of the component compared with a metallic plug. The technology is due to undergo endurance testing on an Air France A320, where it is scheduled to log up to 5,000 flight hours in commercial service, according to Safran.
Lufthansa is planning sweeping changes to its fleet, network, cost structure and growth plans that are intended to stop the trend of deteriorating margins and higher debt.
AMR Corp.’s CEO Tom Horton has again dismissed US Airways’ takeover overtures as having little substance and being simply a diversion from “parties who don’t have our best interests at heart.” The dismissal, which also alludes to difficulties at US Airways, comes as the operator enters court seeking to terminate its current collective bargaining agreements and impose new labor contracts that reduce the carrier’s payroll and revise work rules.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued a proposed airworthiness directive for Airbus A380s because of cracking on the die-forged front spar on some of the aircraft in service. EASA says the cracks, which occur between Ribs 4 and 8, were found during full-scale fatigue tests. “The condition, if not detected and corrected, could reduce the structural integrity of the wing front spar,” EASA says.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways is looking to cut spending and is warning staff it will have to “take concerted action” if weakness in passenger demand persists. Reducing the carrier’s flight schedule and parking aircraft are possibilities, says CEO John Slosar, a month after the airline said its business was under pressure. Since then “the situation has, if anything, worsened,” Slosar tells staff in a company newsletter.
