Lufthansa subsidiary BMI is close to selling its BMI Regional division. The company stated that it is “in advanced discussions” to sell the unit to a “U.K.-based investor group previously associated with the regional business.” The investors would buy the airline in the form of BMI Regional shares, and the transaction would include all aircraft, employees and the route network.
Republic Airways, looking to negotiate lower costs on its 50-seat regional jet fleet, will need to convince GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace that lowering the lease rates is in their best interest. Republic subsidiary Chautauqua Airlines currently has 55 Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft in its fleet: 50 in service and five in storage. Of those, 22 are owned by Chautauqua.
AirAsia Japan, the joint-venture between AirAsia of Malaysia and All Nippon Airways, says it has applied for an air operator certificate (AOC). The AOC application was submitted to the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, the carrier says, adding that it hopes to start operations in August 2012 with flights from its base at Tokyo Narita International Airport to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa. It will launch flights from Narita to Seoul Incheon and Busan in South Korea in October of that year, it says.
Although airlines have shown strong capacity discipline in the past few years in response to external economic shocks, the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show that capacity may have begun outstripping demand. Along with this, September marked a further divergence between air freight and passenger traffic figures, with cargo taking a sharp dive and passenger traffic rebounding.
The panel of ministers looking into Air India’s financial restructuring plan has recommended an equity infusion of 66 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) into the cash-strapped airline and referred the aircraft purchase to the federal Cabinet. “The report by the group of officers on the turnaround plan was discussed today at the meeting of group of ministers. The report and the observations by the group of officers would be sent to the central bank of India for further referral,” Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said after the meeting Friday.
A disagreement with national airport operator Angkasa Pura I appears to have killed Lion Air’s plan to have its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business for the country centered on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.
Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost carrier Citilink is switching from International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500s to CFM International CFM56s to power its next round of Airbus A320s. In June, Garuda signed an order for 15 Airbus A320s and 10 A320NEOs on behalf of Citilink, with first deliveries set for 2014. Citilink adviser to the board, Con Korfiatis, says these aircraft will be powered by CFM engines. The carrier also has signed a lease deal with GE Commercial Aviation Services for six CFM-powered A320s for delivery beginning in early 2013.
Mexicana de Aviacion’s fate may be decided in the next few weeks after a judge gave the bankrupt carrier until Nov. 15 to avoid liquidation. The airline has been grounded since it filed for the Mexican equivalent of Chapter 11 protection in August 2010, although its revival has been promised by a plethora of suitors that until now have been unable, or unwilling, to deposit the $250 million deemed necessary to return Mexicana to the air.
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is installing new windows on the south side of Terminal 1 to replace more than 300 panes of glass damaged by the April 22 tornado. More than 15,000 sq. ft. of new glass will be installed within the original frame. Hilboldt Curtainwall, St. Louis, is performing the work on the $900,000 project.
Asur, the Mexican airport group, building on a solid growth of overall passenger traffic, increased earnings 44.95% to MXP588.21 million ($42.6 million) in the third quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with the same period last year. International and domestic traffic growth was mixed across the nine airports, down for international passengers in six of the nine airports, but rising sharply in the rest, including lead facility Cancun.
Aeromexico plans to add three more lines to the four available at its Guadalajara, Mexico, maintenance facility as it prepares to expand maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations under its joint venture with Delta Air Lines. The expansion will be completed in the third quarter of 2012, and the facility should be “fully functional” by the end of next year, Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa told Aviation Week during the carrier’s third-quarter results conference call. Total investment, he added, will amount to $30-35 million.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 31-Nov. 2—ACI World Annual General Assembly and Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition, Marrakesh, Morocco, 514-373-1219, www.aci.aero Nov. 2-4—Aircraft Engine World China Summit 2011: Propulsion for a Green World, Intercontinental Hotel Pudong, Shanghai, +86 (21) 5058-9600, www.opplandcorp.com/engine/index.html
Boeing Chief Financial Officer James Bell misunderstood a question on 787 profitability as referring to the year 2015 and not 2021 during a third-quarter teleconference, says spokesman Chaz Bickers. Aviation Daily used the 2021 date in its Oct. 27 report. Boeing’s goal is to produce 10 units per month in 2013. If production stabilizes at that rate, then unit margins will break even in the 2015 timeframe, Bell says. The 2021 date refers to when the program’s deferred production costs should theoretically reach zero.
The North American launch customer for the Boeing 787-8 now will have to wait until the second half of 2012 to take delivery of its first aircraft even though the airframe already has rolled off the production line. As revealed Oct. 13 by Aviation Week, United Continental Holdings expects to take five 787s in 2012, one fewer than the six detailed in a September analyst presentation. A source told Aviation Week the delay was due to unspecified production setbacks.
The EU recently calculated that the per-passenger cost of the emissions trading system (ETS) will add €2 on a transatlantic flight, but the accuracy of this number remains to be determined as the EU has yet to release the emissions baselines it will use for the system. The ETS will use the average of aircraft emissions between 2004 and 2006 as a baseline for setting the cap for aviation emissions. In the first year, the cap will be 97% of the baseline; in 2013-2020, the cap will be 95% of the baseline.
Transaero could become the first Russian operator of Airbus A380s following the signing of a memorandum of understanding for four of the model. Deliveries are due to start in the fourth quarter of 2015. Airbus has been courting both Transaero and Aeroflot to buy the mega-transport. Airbus says Transaero would operate a high-density A380, with about 700 seats.
As Embraer mulls its airliner product strategy, one of its big customers, Flybe, recommends that the aircraft maker not overdo it. “We don’t want to see an ultra-long-range, ultra-heavy [aircraft],” says Andrew Strong, managing director of Flybe U.K. “We want 600-700 nm” in range.
Airbus A320NEO and Bombardier CSeries customer Republic Airways, the parent company of three regional airlines and money-losing, low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, will present a business plan to its board Nov. 2 that could include deferring the remainder of its Embraer E-190 order indefinitely, selling off the 10 E-190s it already owns and selling the 113 slots it holds at Reagan Washington National Airport to US Airways.
New Zealand’s aviation regulators are undertaking a sweeping reform of a cumbersome rule-making process, and are looking to make greater use of industry partnerships as alternatives to introducing new rules.
