Bombardier Aerospace’s entire commercial backlog has dropped to six months, well beneath the 18- to 21-month target range, with the CRJ regional jet series currently left with 12 months of deliveries. “It has been a challenging year so far,” said Pierre Beaudoin, president and CEO of the parent company during its third-quarter results conference call, citing the economic uncertainty. However, he added that Bombardier is in “advanced discussion on several potential orders,” with a focus on its development program of the CSeries.
Boeing is dismissing Airbus’ claims that it will launch a clean-sheet narrowbody design early next year because of flagging sales for its 737 MAX re-engined offering, adding that an all-new aircraft is not scheduled until “well into the next decade.”
Lufthansa Technik plans to have a new nacelle repair shop up and running in Dubai in the early months of 2012, says Heiko Osterode, the MRO provider’s senior manager of product sales for airframe components. The opening of the new facility is part of a move to consolidate all Middle East sales and repair activities into one company called Lufthansa Technik Middle East Services (LTMES). LTMES will have the capability to repair all types of nacelle parts, including fan reversers, inlet cowls and fan cowls for most common engines.
AMR Corp.’s three main unions are included in a nine-member creditors committee chosen yesterday by the government department charged with overseeing the company's Chapter 11 reorganization. The committee, which represents parties with unsecured claims against AMR and can comment on many aspects of Chapter 11, including debt reorganization, includes the Allied Pilots Association, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and AMR’s largest collective bargaining group, the Transport Workers Union.
South America’s largest operator, Chile’s LAN Airlines, yesterday formally launched its Colombian subsidiary one year after acquiring Aires, the country’s second-largest airline. The rebranded carrier, now known as LAN Colombia, adds 23 destinations to the LAN network, including 22 domestic cities and a nonstop service between Bogota and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The airline has about one quarter of the Colombian market.
Possible regulations on noise mitigation at Europe’s airports has Airlines for America (A4A, formerly known as the Air Transport Association) concerned that the battle over hushkits could be replayed. In its “Better Airports Package” announced on Dec. 1, the European Commission said it will set up an oversight role for the EC, but the ultimate decision on handling noise issues will lie with the member state.
Airports need to be treated as “true partners” when airlines make decisions on where to divert their flights, “not merely as locations to divert planes,” the presidents of two U.S. airport associations told the leaders of the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) and FAA in a Dec. 5 letter.
Venezuelan state-owned carrier Conviasa apparently is preparing for an expansion across the Caribbean after the country’s president brokered a deal for 20 Embraer E-190ARs. The agreement adds yet another customer to Embraer’s E-Jet order book and mirrors a 20-aircraft order from Aerolineas Argentinas that was financed by Brazil’s development bank BNDES. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during his weekend announcement said the aircraft will be used to add more Caribbean routes to Conviasa’s network.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Madrid - Mexico City, November 20-26, 2011, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Madrid - Mexico City, November 20-26, 2011, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats /D
India and the Middle East countries will account for 11% of the world’s aircraft deliveries in the next decade, says a recent report by OAG. However, both markets face immense challenges in meeting the expected growth in passengers and aircraft operations, which will require massive expansion of infrastructure and high-performing aviation systems, the report says.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is joining Airlines for America (A4A, formerly known as the Air Transport Association) in its suit to block the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) from providing loan guarantees to Air India.
Bombardier has a race on to see which CSeries system will be commissioned by year-end, says CSeries General Manager Robert Dewar. “I’m not sure which one it will be, but it will be this year,” he says. He expects all 15-16 major systems to be in individual tests in the first quarter 2012 and finished in the second quarter. He would not be specific about which systems are closest to completion on Airplane Zero—the Completed Integrated Systems Test Area (CIASTA)—an advanced iron bird on which Bombardier will complete systems integration.
The U.S. Transportation Department’s (DOT) new rules on airline full-fare advertising are an unconstitutional infringement of commercial and political speech, Southwest Airlines argues in a new court filing in which it repeats and expands on First Amendment arguments it has made before. The airline also suggests to the court that the Obama administration wants the change in the rules to suit its own political purposes.
International routes have proven the most lucrative for U.S. airlines since 2000, but significant regulatory and financial hurdles prevent airlines from realizing the full potential of expansion outside the U.S., industry analysts say.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics 12 Months Ended March 2011 Jet Aircraft Page 11 of 11 DC-10-30 Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas
Airbus has paid €1.7 billion ($2.29 billion) against state-provided financing obligations as part of its effort to come into compliance with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on aircraft subsidies. The details of the transaction, or transactions, remain unclear. A cash payment of that size would require Airbus parent EADS to make a regulatory disclosure, but the company would not address the exact nature of the transaction referenced by the European Union in a document publicly released Friday.
