Comac has decided or is close to deciding to use large amounts of aluminum-lithium alloy in the structure of its C919 narrowbody airliner, maintaining a quota of advanced materials despite the decision not to use carbon fiber for the center wing box.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Paris Orly - Toulouse, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Paris Orly - Toulouse, December 15-21, 2013, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats /Dep
Jazz Aviation parent Chorus Aviation, looking to diversify a revenue stream almost entirely dependent on Air Canada, has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with GA Telesis to launch a regional aircraft component and spares support venture. The deal, announced Dec. 13, would combine Jazz’s experience supporting its own fleet with GA Telesis’s expertise in providing components and spare parts to maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies. The venture would start out focusing on Q400s but has eyes on backing legacy Bombardier Dash 8s as well as CRJs.
Global demand for agricultural aircraft is boosting sales, with Embraer forecasting an increase in Ipanema deliveries this year as it hands over its 1,300th aircraft to Rio Verde, Brazil-based Fort Aviacao Agricola. The Brazilian manufacturer expects to deliver 70 Ipanemas this year, up from 66 in 2012 and 58 a year earlier. The single-engine aircraft has been in production for more than 40 years.
Australian regional carrier Brindabella Airlines has gone into receivership and suspended flights indefinitely, a collapse prompted by safety authorities grounding most of its fleet last week for inspections. KordaMentha, the company appointed receiver on Dec. 15, says it is “calling for immediate expressions of interest in the sale of the business,” although it stresses that the carrier will not operate while the sale is conducted. Based in the Australian capital Canberra, Brindabella operates a fleet of 12 turboprops.
London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been identified as possible sites for new runways to boost airport capacity around London. In an interim report, published Dec. 17, the Airports Commission put on ice options for a new-build airport in the Thames Estuary due to the high cost — beginning at £112 billion ($182 billion) — and because it presented “many challenges and uncertainties.”
Finnair has signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) on the sale and leaseback of two Airbus 330s and two Airbus 350s, valued at €320 million (US$440 million).
A commission set up to examine U.K. airports’ capacity limitations is set to report its preliminary findings tomorrow. The Airports Commission, headed by Sir Howard Davies, is expected to report on short-term changes to Britain’s airports in order to deliver improvements in airport capacity as well as reducing noise and pollution.
India’s low-cost airline SpiceJet Ltd. and Singapore’s largest budget carrier Tigerair have signed a three-year connectivity agreement, in a major boost for business travel and tourism between the two countries. As part of the inter-line agreement, in which each carrier will issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the other partner, SpiceJet travelers across 14 Indian cities will have uninterrupted connection to Singapore-bound flights of Tigerair via Hyderabad airport in south India.
AerCap’s deal to buy International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) was motivated in large part by the chance to acquire an enticing order book at a great price, creating an efficient aircraft management “platform” that dovetails well with its own strategy, AerCap CEO Aengus Kelly says.
Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia Group will initially import 10 aircraft for its India-based operations, which are likely to begin in March. AirAsia, which has already won approval for its joint venture airline in India, was initially planning to begin operations in the country in December with three Airbus A320 aircraft, and then add 10 Airbus aircraft each year to expand its operations in the country.
A major development project is underway at Honolulu International Airport that will add capacity and allow Hawaiian Airlines to dramatically improve the efficiency of its main hub. The multi-phase project involves the construction of new cargo and heavy maintenance facilities for Hawaiian Airlines, with their relocation allowing for taxiways to be widened. This in turn will improve access for larger aircraft to a new passenger terminal that will be built when the other facilities are finished.
French Caribbean carrier Air Caraibes has firmed plans to take six Airbus A350s— three direct from Airbus and three from lessor ILFC—for its long-haul fleet renewal. Air Caraibes inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus for three A350-1000s in September 2008. On Friday, an Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the status of the deal, but Aviation Week affiliate Air Transport World understands it has now been converted into a firm order.
As the world’s air carriers battle over which will dominate the international marketplace, we must reject business models premised on scouring the globe for cheap labor no matter the consequences, and not pretend this is somehow acceptable competitive behavior. (Image: Boeing)
The low-cost carrier market in Thailand continues to grow more crowded, with local airline Nok Air and Singapore’s Scoot revealing plans to launch a new Bangkok-based LCC. The airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture called NokScoot, which they say will operate widebody aircraft on medium and long-haul international routes. Nok will control a 51% stake, and Scoot will have 49%. The initial investment will be THB 2 billion ($62.3 million).
LONDON — Bond Air Services has grounded its U.K. fleet of Eurocopter EC135 twin-engine light helicopters for precautionary testing. The company, which is part of the Avincis Group, grounded 22 aircraft in the U.K., affecting air ambulance and law enforcement operations around the country. According to Bond, the tests involved work on the function and accuracy of the fuel indicator system on the helicopter. The operator said it had identified a number of aircraft with a fuel indication anomaly.
Boeing is vigorously defending an automation design that appears to be at the center of the accident investigation of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-200ER. On July 6, the aircraft crashed on approach to San Francisco International Airport.
While the closing of their merger agreement caps off a tough regulatory battle, American Airlines and US Airways face an even more daunting challenge in integrating the two carriers and their workforces. Dec. 9 was a significant milestone for the new American Airlines. On that day the merger was officially consummated, American exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the new parent company's stock was listed. One more court sign-off is needed, but this is regarded as a formality.
Honeywell is in hot pursuit of a new family of cockpit aids to help airline pilots better manage the takeoff and landing phases of their flights. The avionics maker is close to rolling out a takeoff-roll acceleration-monitor software upgrade as part of its enhanced ground proximity warning system (Egpws), and is in the midst of researching a more comprehensive landing-and-takeoff performance monitor upgrade that will include a dedicated display area on the primary-flight or navigation displays.
The FAA finalized a new pilot training rule on Nov. 5 giving the airlines five years to begin exposing pilots to full stalls in flight simulators. But how much exposure should they get? The rule came primarily as the result of the 2009 Colgan Air Q400 crash near Buffalo, N.Y., the product of an improper control input that put the aircraft into a deep stall. To support the rule, hundreds of full-motion simulators will have to be upgraded with expanded envelopes that include performance in a stalled state for more than 50 aircraft models and configurations.
Beechcraft is nearing completion of the sale of its shuttered Hawker 4000 and Premier aircraft lines along with tooling and associated facilities. The company has long maintained that it had hoped to close on the sale of those programs by year’s end, and confirms that it is still on track this month.
The idea of recycling regional-jet winglets into bookshelves may raise a skeptical eyebrow, but manufacturers are talking seriously about how to manage the end-of-life for their aircraft and engines—however distant that may seem today.
