India will have about 150 airports and about 2,000 airplanes by 2030, according to Airports Authority of India Chairman V.P. Agrawal. “The domestic aviation sector is poised to grow very rapidly in the coming years and we need well-equipped airports to cater to the growing demand,” Agrawal says.
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) Sept. 12—A&D Finance Europe, London Sept. 14-15—Airlines, MRO, Aircraft & Engine Lessors: “The Tricky Triangle,” Dublin Sept. 26—Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Zurich Sept. 27-29—MRO Europe 2011, Madrid Sept. 28—MRO Military Europe, Madrid Oct. 20-21—MRO IT, Chicago
Chinese missile and space group Casic (China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp.) is claiming significant but unspecified advances in titanium-aluminum intermetallics, a form of metallurgy used in gas turbines, such as aircraft engines.
A rights issue planned by low-cost carrier Tiger Airways, which has been financially impacted by a grounding of its Australian operation, could increase Singapore Airlines’ stake in the carrier to 49%. The issue, valued at about SG$159 million ($131 million), will be used to fund aircraft due for delivery in 2015.
WestJet is supporting a case against Air Canada’s and United Continental Holdings’ planned joint venture brought by Canada’s Competition Bureau. The low-cost carrier, unsurprisingly, argues the JV limits its ability to compete with its domestic rival.
Volaris has been granted temporary rights to serve another market designated to bankrupt carrier Mexicana de Aviacion with the U.S. Transportation Department’s approval of route authority between Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, a major base of operations for the Mexican carrier’s partner Southwest Airlines.
Airbus has confirmed a contract with Lao Airlines to acquire two Airbus A320s. The aircraft are the first Airbus airliners bought by the Vientiane, Laos-based airline. It briefly operated leased A320s. Aviation Week previously reported the aircraft were due to go to Tripoli-based Afriqiyah Airways, but have been diverted because of sanctions on Libya. Lao Airlines expects to receive the aircraft in October and November. The airline currently operates ATR 72 and Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprops.
The U.S. airline industry cannot seem to catch a break. Volatile fuel prices and an anemic economy are conspiring to wipe out the meager profits eked out last year. In fact, for the first half of this year, the publicly traded U.S. carriers reported a combined $290 million loss, and the rest of the year looks dicey.
The battle between EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the company’s management is showing no signs of abating even after board member David Michels agreed to depart the company immediately. Haji-Ioannou has been battling with EasyJet over the airline’s growth plans, arguing it should focus on profitability rather than expansion.
Although Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are the “prime” candidates to be the base for Qantas’s new premium airline, a decision is still some time away, says CEO Alan Joyce. Qantas is examining the implications of the new linkup between AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines—both with ties to the Qantas Group—which raises “interesting possibilities” in Kuala Lumpur, Joyce says. He describes the negotiations as a “competitive process.”
A new U.K government forecast suggests aviation will miss a target set by the previous administration to bring emissions down to 2005 levels by 2050. The report from the Department for Transport states that by 2050, U.K. aviation carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will lie somewhere in the 40–59 MtCO2 (million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide) range with a central forecast of 49 MtCO2. “This suggests that without further action emissions will exceed their level in 2005,” the report says.
Mitsubishi Aircraft’s regional jet is on schedule for first flight next year. The aircraft maker’s VP of sales and marketing Hitoshi Iwasa says the manufacture of sub-assemblies started in April and that final assembly of the first MRJ will commence “probably at the end of this year or beginning of next year.” This will give Mitsubishi Aircraft sufficient time for first roll-out and first flight in 2012 as planned, notes Iwasa, adding that the manufacturer is confident it can have first flight soon after the roll-out ceremony.
India is considering a proposal to permit civil air operations at a naval airport in the southern state of Karnataka. The Karnataka state government has approached the Ministry of Defense to give permission for civil operations at the naval airport at Karwar, Defense Minister A. K. Antony says.
The U.S. airline industry lost $290 million in the first half of this year. The wrong time period for the loss was printed in Aviation Daily on Aug. 25.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, on track to handle a record 49 million passengers this year, posted a net profit of €97.3 million ($139.7 million) in its 2011 interim report, a 40% increase over the profit in the same period last year.
LIAT’s board of directors has convened to discuss the growing animosity between the carrier’s management and staff that in the past weeks resulted in a strike by workers in Grenada (Aviation Daily, Aug. 2) and more recently another attack from its pilots about ongoing contract talks. The board in media reports says the meeting does not presume any mistakes have been made by the Antigua-based airline’s leadership, but wants to review the tactics employed in labor negotiations.
American Airlines is scheduled to operate four weekly flights between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and V. C. Bird International Airport in Antigua, beginning Nov. 17. The route will be served by 148-seat Boeing 737s. The carrier currently operates mainline service to Antigua from its hub at Miami International Airport as well as regional service from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, through affiliate American Eagle Airlines.
Virgin Australia is continuing its efforts to serve major markets by linking with larger international airlines, this time adding a Hong Kong route operated by Virgin Atlantic. The two carriers were already code-share partners, and have expanded this relationship to include Virgin Atlantic’s Hong Kong-Sydney flights from early 2012. This aligns with Virgin Australia’s strategy of building a “virtual international network” without investing heavily in long-haul aircraft.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics, 12 Months Ended December 2010, Jet Aircraft (Pages 1 and 2 of 11) DC-9-30 Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas
Mexican carrier Interjet is seeking the same U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) exemptions that allow Volaris to serve three airports designated to bankrupt Mexicana de Aviacion. Under the current bilateral air services accord between Mexico and the U.S., only two airlines from each country can serve a designated city pair. But because of Mexico’s bankruptcy laws, Mexicana still holds the rights to multiple routes despite grounding its operations in August 2010.
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft is boosting its presence in Asia-Pacific with the planned opening of a regional headquarters in Singapore. The office, which is being shared with the Canadian manufacturer’s sister company Bombardier Transportation, will include a sales office when it opens in September. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft currently has sales offices in China and India, but the rest of the Asia-Pacific region has been handled out of the company’s Montreal and Toronto offices. Rivals ATR and Embraer already have regional sales offices in Singapore.
