Bombardier expects order intake for its Q400 turboprop to bounce back, with the company setting a near-term target of rebuilding the backlog to about 18 months. That target is equivalent to about 60 aircraft. Whether the objective can be met by year-end is not clear, however. Securing sufficient orders would represent “a really good year,” says Chet Fuller, senior VP-commercial for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
AMR Corp. plans to outsource many ground support functions, close a reservation center and continue overhauling its management structure as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization.
Avic says it will put its highest priority in coming years on aero-engine technology, a field of aerospace in which China has conspicuously lagged. The group has set a budget of 10 billion yuan ($1.56 billion) for aero-engine work for the next five years, says Avic President Lin Zuoming.
China’s regional jet capacity is expected to grow eightfold in the next 10 years, Aviation Week Intelligence Network data show. RJ capacity this year totals 5.6 billion available seat miles. But this number will grow to 19.4 billion in five years and to 40.5 billion by 2022. Narrowbody ASMs are expected to double in the same period, to 546 billion in 2022 from 265 billion now. Widebody capacity will triple to 223 billion ASMs in 2022 from 70 billion.
Boeing and All Nippon Airways took the occasion of the delivery of ANA’s seventh 787-8 to operate a transpacific flight using a conservative mixture of biofuels derived from recycled cooking oil and Jet-A kerosene.
AAR Corp., which has recently grown by acquisition, is focused on absorbing its most recent purchases, but it is open to more deals, if the “right situation” presents itself, Chairman and CEO David Storch says.
United Airlines has promoted John Rainey, senior VP of financial planning and analysis, to CFO following the resignation of Zane Rowe, who is leaving the airline to join Apple Inc.’s sales department. “While we are sorry Zane has decided to leave, we are excited to have such a talented executive as John Rainey become our chief financial officer,” says President and CEO Jeff Smisek. “John has the experience, intellect and skills to be a superb CFO, and my entire team looks forward to working together with him in his new role.”
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways plans to expand its air cargo services to India to meet high demand to and from the country’s leading information technology cities of Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The airline will launch a twice-weekly freighter service to Hyderabad and add a third weekly freighter flight to Bengaluru, both starting May 17, the carrier says. The new arrangement will present shippers more choice and flexibility in connecting to the airline’s international cargo network through the Hong Kong hub, it says.
Thomas Cook’s decision to cull its Boeing 757 fleet and terminate its charter contract with Jazz reduces competition in a leisure market Air Canada has identified as key to its survival. Jazz in October 2010 signed a five-year flight services agreement with Thomas Cook that allowed the European travel company to fly its 757s under the regional carrier’s operating certificate. The plan was to serve high-volume leisure markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico from November to the end of April each year from major cities across Canada.
Iberia is stepping up its fight to lower pilot costs by using draconian measures. The airline plans to reduce pilot payroll costs by 20% or €62 million ($81.22 million) annually and improve productivity by 25% at the same time. Representatives of the pilot union, Sindicato Espanol de Pilotos de Líneas Aereas (Sepla), refused to show up at a meeting that was scheduled for April 17, to protest the measures.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is hoping it can get some airline industry members to support a new bill that would force cargo carriers to comply with the FAA’s new crew rest requirements for pilots when they take effect in early 2014.
Brazilian carrier GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes is cutting 31 positions from its management structure as it continues to overhaul its operations. The reductions have resulted in the departure of Ricardo Khauaja, VP-customers and market, as well as the loss of four directors and 26 senior managers. With Khauaja gone, the airline will now employ two VPs—Adalberto Bogsan, VP-technical-operational, and Leonardo Pereira, VP-finance and strategy. Sales and marketing will report directly to President Constantino de Oliveira, Jr.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says House Republican lawmakers may be nearing a deal to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank). “I think we’re closer to a resolution than the rhetoric from the other side … might lead you to believe,” Schumer said during an April 17 Senate Banking Committee hearing describing the need of the marketplace to keep the bank in business. The charter for the bank that helps finance the export of U.S.-made goods abroad expires May 31, though it could reach its lending cap early in May.
The former head of the New Mexico spaceport effort, Steve Landeene, will now work as chief adviser to the proposed spaceport in Abu Dhabi with an eye on clearing the way for potential Virgin Galactic operations. Landeene’s initial focus will be on the regulatory environment. The focus would then shift to determining the right location for the spaceport, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said during the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The global airline industry is due to undergo major structural changes that will result in fewer, more powerful carriers, predicts Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh.
Royal Jordanian Airlines CEO Hussein Dabbas has resigned in a surprise move. The company says Dabbas will leave in June to take another position that has not been disclosed. A Royal Jordanian official says Dabbas believed it was time for a change and for new ideas to develop the airline further. It is unclear who will succeed Dabbas, who had worked for the airline since 1979.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Rome Fiumicino, April 8-14, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Rome Fiumicino, April 8-14, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats/Dept.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics, 12 Months Ended September 2011Jet Aircraft Pages 1 and 2 of 10 737-500 Manufacturer: Boeing
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson seeks to “challenge every aspect“ of the European Commission’s (EC) approval for International Airlines Group (IAG) to take over rival BMI from Lufthansa. In the British newspaper The Telegraph, Branson wrote that the decision would “damage the British airline industry for years to come. However you look at the likely outcome of the BA purchase of BMI, you cannot find anything other than a serious erosion of competition at London Heathrow, leading to the consumer paying dearly.”
A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aurora Flight Sciences and Pratt & Whitney is beginning key wind-tunnel tests to prove whether an innovative aircraft configuration can deliver big fuel-burn reductions without resorting to exotic airframe and engine technology.
Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have suspended operations in Wichita following tornadoes that hit production facilities as they swept through Kansas on Saturday night. The damage could hurt Boeing's production ramp-up. Spirit, which supplies 737 fuselages and 787 nose sections, says operations have been halted until Wednesday and told employees Sunday evening to “report to work only if contacted.” Boeing, which operates from adjacent facilities, says its site is shut down through at least yesterday while damage assessment takes place.
