Air Transport

A mixed bag of European airline results and strategy announcements underscores the big challenges carriers in the region are negotiating.

Several commercial aerospace engine providers have acknowledged production cuts in recent quarterly announcements, meaning Boeing 737 MAX issues increasingly may weigh on other suppliers who were seemingly insulated from the narrowbody’s problems to date, analysts said in a new report.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an informational alert warning of the vulnerability to hacking by intruders of Controller Area Network (CAN) data buses used on some large aircraft.

Start-up airline Midwest Express has signed an operating agreement with regional carrier Elite Airways to begin nonstop service from Midwest’s home base at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport.

Finnair operated its first biofuel-powered flight from San Francisco to Helsinki Aug. 5, with a second to follow Aug. 7.

The St. Petersburg government plans to sell 25%, plus one share, of Aeroflot subsidiary Rossiya Airlines.

Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East suggested the company could miss its year-end target of reducing to single digits the number of Boeing 787s grounded with Trent 1000 engine issues.

Malaysia Airlines Berhad’s (MAB) new chief strategy officer Bryan Foong is set to play a key role in guiding the next phase of the carrier’s restructuring efforts.

Swiss air navigation service provider (ANSP) Skyguide has activated an airspace management system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs/drones) at two airports under Switzerland’s U-space implementation program.

Ethiopian Airlines has received its 25th Dash 8-400 Aircraft, with registration number ET-AXE, from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.

Management made several strategic mistakes that could have been avoided had they been more lucid about their market and the industry dynamics.

The share price of Astronics plummeted more than 21% in regular stock trading Aug. 5 after the key supplier of aircraft passenger seat power and other inflight entertainment (IFE) products acknowledged a string of events that walloped its latest earnings and is lowering its financial outlook.

Brazilian LCC GOL is betting on a rapid increase in its Boeing 737 MAX fleet in 2020 to help it keep costs in check as it continues to grow.

Airbus has begun manufacturing the A220 aircraft at its Mobile, Alabama-based final assembly line, the company announced Aug. 5.

Unsuccessful bidders for the contract to run Bulgaria’s Sofia Airport have appealed the decision to award the deal to SOF Connect, a consortium led by Munich Airport International (MAI).

The UPS drone-delivery service at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina, is not affected by an accident in Switzerland earlier in 2019 that led Swiss Post to suspend operations of the drone both carriers use to transport medical samples.

Scores of flights to and from Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) were canceled Aug. 5 as air traffic controllers and other aviation workers went on strike as part of the territory’s civil protests.

With the sale of its CRJ business to Mitsubishi announced in June, Bombardier essentially exits a sector it entered 33 years ago when it acquired Canadair from the Canadian government.

Wizz Air will launch operations at Edinburgh Airport in December, offering flights to four European destinations from the Scottish capital.

Two of Asia-Pacific’s biggest MRO providers have obtained approvals from European regulator EASA.

A ground staff member at Kuwait International Airport was killed while performing a routine tractor tow of a Kuwait Airways 777 on Monday.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for March 2019 showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 3.1%, compared to the same month a year ago, which was the slowest pace for any month in nine years.

Etihad Airways is implementing fuel saving initiatives, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability.

Training organisation Insight Aviation based at Port Alfred in South Africa has been awarded a contract to select and train pilots for India’s low cost carrier IndiGo.

Air Seychelles has taken delivery of Africa’s first A320neo on lease from CDB Aviation, becoming the first African airline to operate the A320neo aircraft.