General Electric’s share of the total Boeing 787 announced orderbook has officially broken the 50% barrier with the selection by Air France-KLM of the GEnx-1B engine to power its mixed fleet of 37 owned and leased 787-8s and 9s.
China Eastern will build up air services in the Chinese northwestern province Gansu on behalf of the local government, according to a framework agreement signed by the airline and the province. The move extends two current trends in Chinese aviation: airlines’ strengthening of operations in the west of the country, and the setting up or enlargement of services thanks to subsidies from local governments that see commercial air services as an aid to economic growth.
AirAsia India, the country’s new no-frills carrier, received its first Airbus A320, inching closer to launching its operation in the domestic sector to help connect smaller Indian cities. A joint venture between Malaysia’s low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd and local investors the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace, the airline got permission from the Indian government late last year to import 10 aircraft.
New analysis of satellite data confirms that Malaysian Airlines Flight 370’s last known position was southwest of Perth over a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean, leading officials to conclude the Boeing 777 went down in the water, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday evening.
Inmarsat leveraged a “groundbreaking but traditional mathematics-based process” to analyze data from other flights that use its satellite network and establish a pattern that helped investigators nail down Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s (MH370) final flight path as traveling south over the Indian Ocean, an Inmarsat executive explains.
Singapore-based Tiger Airways Holdings, parent company for the Tigerair group of LCCs in southeast Asia and Taiwan, has ordered 37 Airbus A320neos—but bumped an existing order for nine conventional-engine A320s. The move will save money and help position the carrier for route and service expansion. Explaining the decision, Tiger Air Chief Executive Officer Koay Peng Yen noted in a statement that Tiger has “...re-calibrated its strategy and taken the necessary steps to re-position Tigerair for a brighter future.”
SpaceX delayed its third commercial cargo flight to the international space station (ISS) because of “payload contamination” problems in the unpressurized “trunk” of its Dragon spacecraft, but don't try to find out what those problems are. “We've had some issues with payload contamination that we will be addressing,” says Sam Scimemi, ISS program director at NASA headquarters, during a March 14 Space Transportation Association presentation. “We're going to have to assess that and replace some parts and get the rocket ready for launch again.
The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has thrown a harsh light on the fragile nature of internal and cross-border relationships in Southeast Asia, as a lack of coordination hampered both detection of the flightpath and response to its disappearance.
The White House is projecting that the balance of the user-funded Airport and Airway Trust Fund will grow steadily over the next decade even as the Obama administration pushes to have it pay for nearly all of FAA’s activities.
Although Airbus remains publicly ambivalent about its willingness to develop a reengined A330, a growing sector of the market is voicing support for the move.
The British government is planning to propose new tax legislation that would increase fees on passengers who fly aboard large business aircraft that operate from U.K. airports. In a March 19 speech, Chancellor George Osborne notes, “private jets were not taxed at all under the previous government. Today they are, and I’m increasing the charge so they pay more.”
Two weeks after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared, aviation safety experts continue to toil over plausible causes. But even if debris from the aircraft is recovered soon, it may be months before a clearer picture emerges about what happened onboard the Boeing 777.
Emirates has seen significant double-digit growth each year since it started in 1985, but this year promises to be more muted due to infrastructure work at its main hub.
FAA took another look at options to buffer the $82.6 million cost of a proposed airworthiness directive (AD) covering Engine Components Inc. (ECi) and Airmotive Engineering “Titan” cylinders found on 6,000 Continental 520 and 550 model reciprocating engines, but in a recent analysis says that it still finds the actions required in the proposed AD necessary to address its safety concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's move to annex the Crimean Peninsula is a “wake-up call,” says NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who urged Europe to increase defense spending—particularly in the missile defense, cyber and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance arenas. “Developments in Ukraine are a stark reminder that security in Europe cannot be taken for granted,” he said last week. Russia's actions must have consequences, he warned.
When presenting Brussels Airlines' results for 2013 and outlook for this year, CEO Bernard Gustin compared the carrier's efforts to become profitable to the grueling bicycle ride to the top of 1,912-meter-high (6,273-ft.) Mont Ventoux in the French Alps. “We covered 40 to 50 percent of the slope; we still have challenges but we will get to the top,” vows Gustin, an avid cyclist.
A new European rule covering instrument ratings is receiving strong support from general aviation leaders, who call it an important first step to simplifying regulations for general aviation pilot licensing in Europe. The European Commission on March 14 published the update to its instrument rating requirements, providing a risked-based approach and easier path for general aviation pilots. The changes to the requirements take effect April 3.
The U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) team broke a barrier in 2013, proving that a stealthy, unmanned aircraft can operate on and around the aircraft carrier deck and clinching the Laureate for Aeronautics and Propulsion.
Jetstar Airways’ decision to end its service between Singapore and Auckland appears to be influenced at least partly by a proposed Air New Zealand-Singapore Airlines (SIA) partnership on this busy route.
A joint safety effort between Boeing and Embraer launched in late 2012 is yielding its first fruits to help with runway excursions, events where an aircraft veers off or overruns the runway. Products of the collaboration include new training aids and updated operating procedures for both manufacturers' aircraft and, coming in late 2015, new flight-display safety tools for the Boeing 737NG.
Landmark Aviation is entering the Atlantic City, N.J., market with the acquisition of Midlantic Jet Aviation. The agreement, the latest in a string of acquisitions, includes both the Midlantic Jet Aviation fixed-base operation and the Midlantic Jet Charters, based at Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) in New Jersey.
Italy's long-struggling aerospace and defense giant, Finmeccanica, is changing shape as it works to overcome debt and the effects of reduced government spending.
An industry-led working group collecting best practices for helping pilots improve their situational awareness has narrowed its focus to monitoring the flight path, two group members tell Aviation Week. “We realized that that’s where the action is,” says NTSB Member Robert Sumwalt, whose challenge to industry at a 2012 human factors meeting led to the working group’s formation (Aviation DAILY, July 19, 2013).
