Eurocopter and Bell Helicopter are both claiming victory in a Canadian patent infringement lawsuit, but the long-running battle is expected to continue in U.S. and French courts. Canada’s Federal Court has ruled that Bell Helicopter “intentionally infringed” on a Eurocopter patent by copying the “sleigh-type” skid gear of the European manufacturer’s EC120 when designing the landing gear for its Bell 429 light twin.
BMI has reached an agreement in principle with an unidentified U.K.-based investor over the sale of low-fare division, bmibaby. The airline says that it expects the deal, which is not exclusive yet, to close in the first quarter.
Low-cost startup AirAsia Japan, a joint venture between. All Nippon Airways (ANA) and AirAsia, has been awarded its air operator’s certificate (AOC) by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, clearing the way for it to begin domestic operations on Aug. 1. AirAsia Japan is one of three low-cost carriers that are expected to debut in Japan this year. The others are Peach and Jetstar Japan.
MRO provider StandardAero is initiating a long-term workforce training and expansion plan to gear up for what it expects will be a surge in CFM56 shop visits. The company, which carried out maintenance, repairs and overhauls on 264 CF34 and CFM56-7B engines at its Plant 6 site in Winnipeg in 2011, is in talks with additional Boeing 737-600/700/800 operators to further expand its business.
Southwest Airlines could retire its entire fleet of Boeing 737 Classics and 717s by the end of 2017, when it begins to take delivery of its first re-engined 737 MAX, CFO Laura Wright told investors yesterday. The carrier will begin taking delivery of the first of the 150 MAX aircraft it has on order in late 2017. “This will allow us to retire all our -300s and -500s and 717s,” Wright says. Southwest previously had said the delivery of the MAX aircraft, slated for fleet renewal rather than expansion, would only accelerate the retirement of its Classics.
Jordanian Aircraft Maintenance Co. Ltd. (JorAMCo), the former Royal Jordanian Airlines maintenance division that was spun off an independent company in 2000, is weighing the addition of Boeing 787 maintenance capability. Royal Jordanian plans to take delivery of its first 787 in about a year, according to JorAMCo CEO Simon Tate, and the maintenance company would like to support it, but must find other 787 operators needing maintenance support to justify the investment.
The European maintenance facilities of the Mubadala Aerospace MRO network are sold out for the next five years, says James Stewart, group CEO. “We do very little work on the spot market” at SR Technics’ facilities in Switzerland and Malta. “In the Middle East, we’re moving toward longer-range contracts because they’re a better deal for us and for our customers,” he says. He also thinks there is definitely overcapacity in the airframe MRO market, which is why SR Technics did not expand its hangars in Malta as originally planned.
Lawmakers are getting behind an emerging market in civilian UAVs, setting in motion rules that would speed up the process of allowing law enforcement agencies and first responders to use pint-sized unmanned aircraft.
A rebound in ticket sales to the financial services sector contributed to a 15% year-on-year improvement in Delta Air Lines’ corporate revenue in the fourth quarter, and growth in its three main corporate sales sectors indicates continued growth in 2012, says President Ed Bastian.
The value of the Middle East MRO market will more than double in the next 10 years, the latest forecast by the ICF SH&E consultancy suggests. VP David Stewart told attendees at Aviation Week’s MRO Middle East Conference in Dubai that the market will grow from $3.0 billion annually in 2012 to $6.8 billion in 2021. That is equivalent to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4%
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of February 1, 2012 • compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
A European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandate that Airbus A380 operators inspect and potentially fix L-shaped wing rib-feet so far has had only a minor impact on operations at Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines found cracks on the small wing component on all six aircraft inspected. Five have been returned to service already and a sixth to be back in operations tomorrow. No major service disruptions resulted, although some A380 flights were downgauged to Boeing 777-300ERs while the Airbus aircraft was being fixed.
A Budapest court has placed Malev Hungarian Airlines under bankruptcy protection to keep the airline out of outright bankruptcy proceedings. A trustee has been appointed to control all expenditures planned by the airline, and management has been told to present a “liquidity plan” by today.
North American airports are unusual in that the largest source of non-aeronautical revenue, at 38%, comes from parking lots, compared with the global average of 18%, according to data from Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA). For airports worldwide, the largest source of non-aeronautical revenue, at 28%, derives from retail concessions, with 45% of non-aeronautical revenue at Asia-Pacific airports coming from this source. Non-aeronautical revenue is defined as revenue not directly tied to aircraft operations.
Two bills in Congress aim to expand the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to include Poland and would update the program to make it more flexible for the addition of other countries in the future. The two bills follow President Barack Obama’s speech in Orlando, Fla., in January, in which the president pushed to boost the economy by increasing travel and tourism to the U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced the Senate bill, and Reps. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) introduced a similar bill in the House.
Hawaiian Airlines is focused on another year of significant growth in 2012, as it launches new long-haul routes and takes delivery of additional Airbus A330s.
The amount airports collect through passenger facility charges (PFC) rebounded in 2010, after dipping slightly in 2008-2009, data from the FAA show. PFC collections broke the $2 billion mark in 2003 and rose steadily until the global financial crisis took a bite out of passenger traffic in 2008-2009. Annual enplanements peaked in 2007 at 769 million, according to data from Airlines for America (A4A), and that year, PFCs totaled $2.8 billion, data from FAA show.
Aviation regulators from the Persian Gulf states plan to meet Feb. 7-9 to brainstorm on how to harmonize regulations that apply to aircraft maintenance organizations (AMO). “The idea is to establish a multilateral acceptance and may even go to one approval, similar to EASA [European Aviation Safety Agency],” says Ahmed Salem Al Rawahi, director of airworthiness for the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Although it still has 42 options and 32 purchase rights for Airbus A320s left, EasyJet has begun evaluating the latest narrowbody offerings in the market, says Chris Essex, the carrier's head of central and fleet procurement.
Given the economic woes in their home markets, European airlines posted surprisingly strong traffic gains of 9.8% in December and 9.5% for the full year 2011, according to the latest figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA says the figures are “somewhat surprising in light of the European sovereign debt crisis,” but airlines have benefited from strong business travel demand on long-haul routes and exports from Northern Europe.
