The crash of an ATR 72-201 operated by Russian airline UTair continues the country’s spate of aviation accidents, although it marks the rare occurrence of a fatal accident with a western aircraft type.
The U.S. Defense Department plans to kick-start the domestic production of drop-in biofuels by co-funding the establishment of at least one regional supply chain, using Defense Production Act Title III money. Title III, usually wielded to create or protect industrial capabilities critical to U.S. security, will be used to fund the construction or retrofit of one or more integrated biorefineries capable of producing at least 10 million gal. of fuel annually from domestic feedstocks.
AMR Corp. in February allocated $339 million in reorganization costs due mainly to the rejection of municipal bonds on facilities at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and its maintenance operation at Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
Bombardier has closed a €500 million ($665 million) revolving credit facility to fund the company’s Transportation division. The Canadian manufacturer said it is closing the credit facility to take advantage of current market conditions and to increase its liquidity. The facility will go toward supporting “general corporate purposes of Bombardier Transportation,” the company said. “This transaction was more than 50% oversubscribed,” said Bombardier CFO Pierre Alary.
EVA Air is evaluating the Boeing 777 freighter and also will consider the 787-10 passenger aircraft with the intention of placing an order, says EVA President Chang Kuo-wei. The Taiwanese carrier originally planned to order 10 777Fs, but may end up taking as few as seven because of the current global economic uncertainty, says Chang.
National Air Transportation Association , Alexandria, Va., named Mary M. Miller, VP-industry and government affairs at Signature Flight Support, the recipient of NATA's Distinguished Service Award. Kenneth C. Ricci, chairman of Flight Options and CEO of Nextant Aerospace, received NATA's William A. "Bill" Ong Memorial Award.
The European Commission (EC) has given regulatory clearance to the takeover of BMI British Midland by International Airlines Group (IAG). The deal is subject to more concessions than initially proposed by IAG, but will nevertheless go ahead.
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The worldwide trend to set up low-cost carriers (LCCs) has yet to arrive in Taiwan, but EVA Air President Chang Kuo-wei may become an agent of change. “A lot of people think the future of EVA Air’s subsidiary Uni Air is to be a LCC, and one of the options we are thinking of is to transform Uni into a LCC,” he says from Taipei. But he is quick to add, “This is very early thinking, but maybe in future you will see Uni being a LCC.”
The U.S. has taken the next step in the long-running World Trade Organization (WTO) battle over subsidies for large commercial aircraft. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative says it is requesting that a compliance panel be established to address the European Union’s alleged non-compliance with the WTO’s findings in DS316, the U.S. case against the EU over subsidies to Airbus.
FlightSafety International , Flushing, N.Y., promoted Winston Leong to marketing manager-commercial simulation for the Asia Pacific region from remote assets manager.
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Brazil’s dominant international carrier TAM Airlines is up-gauging its double daily Airbus A330 service between Sao Paulo and Miami to a Boeing 777-300ER as domestic rival GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes prepares to add the same route to its network.
May 23-24, 2012Crowne Plaza • Vilnius, Lithuania Utilizing case studies, proven best practices and industry speakers with regional and global expertise, attendees will get the knowledge required for sustaining growth plans and ensuring success. Register today and secure your place!www.aviationweek.com/events Click here to view the pdf
United Airlines expects its first-quarter unit revenues to improve 4-5% year-on-year, but warns unit costs will likely grow at almost twice that rate. The carrier’s latest guidance shows that some of the 8-8.7% unit cost increase expected in the three-month period is attributed to fuel costs, which now are expected to reach $3.35 a gallon in the March quarter, or eight cents more than forecast in United’s update in January. A further $65 million cost also will be recorded in the quarter for an unspecified, third-party business expense.
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) April 3-5—MRO Americas 2012 Conference & Exhibition, Dallas April 3-5—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition, Dallas May 23—MRO Regional (Eastern Europe, Baltics and Russia) Conference & Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania Nov. 29-Dec. 1—Certification Together-AeroConseil, Toulouse
NASA is claiming a breakthrough in the design of supersonic aircraft, with wind-tunnel tests proving it is possible to design configurations that combine low sonic boom with low cruise drag, characteristics once thought to be mutually exclusive.
