Air Transport

By Sean Broderick
Southwest Airlines has received FAA approvals needed to conduct Hawaii services and plans to announce specific routes, fares and a launch date “in the coming days,” the airline said Feb. 27, setting the stage for a major battle in the popular market.
Air Transport

By Thierry Dubois
CFM International LEAP-1A engine deliveries for Airbus A320neos are now on time after being delayed, but production of LEAP-1Bs for Boeing 737 MAX aircraft has fallen further behind.
Air Transport

North Carolina-based Eastern Air Lines, LLC is seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to operate roundtrip services from New York to Jinan, China, with a technical stop in Anchorage, Alaska. Eastern submitted its request to DOT Feb. 26.
Air Transport

Dutch Caribbean carrier InselAir ceased operations Feb. 16, but announced its closure via social media Feb. 25.
Air Transport

By Bill Carey
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Feb. 27 issued an interim final rule that prohibits passenger airlines from carrying rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells or batteries as cargo, noting their potential of causing uncontrollable fire in cargo holds.
Air Transport

By Adrian Schofield
AirAsia’s financial results for the December 2018 quarter were under pressure partly because of the carrier’s aggressive capacity growth, although the airline said the expansion will make it stronger in the long term.
Air Transport

By Kerry Reals
International Airlines Group (IAG) will be removed from all of global index provider MSCI’s indices that include Spain, as a result of IAG’s decision to place a limit on the number of its shares that can be held by non-European Union (EU) citizens.
Air Transport

By Kerry Reals
The Dutch state has more than doubled its stake in Air France-KLM and announced its intention to match the French Government’s shareholding, a move that raises questions about whether greater public ownership will help or hinder plans for closer integration of the two national carriers.
Air Transport

By Tony Osborne
Airspace over Pakistan and a large swath of northwestern India has been closed to commercial flights after a series of air strikes ratcheted up tensions between the two countries.
Air Transport

By Adrian Schofield
New Zealand’s largest privately-owned airline, Air Chathams, is preparing to make important fleet decisions as it considers which aircraft will replace the long-serving models it plans to phase out.
Air Transport

Chen Chuanren
Vietnam LCC VietJet Air and start-up Bamboo Airways have confirmed the purchase of a combined 110 Boeing aircraft worth $15.7 billion at list price.
Air Transport

By Steve Trimble
Boeing nominated former Trump Administration diplomat and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley on Feb. 26 to join the company’s board of directors.
Air Transport

Elix Aviation Capital (ELIX) has confirmed that it has delivered one Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 on lease to Safarilink of Kenya.
Air Transport

Media reports of sharp contractions in Africa’s air cargo market are not all they seem, reports Alan Dron.
Air Transport

By Kerry Reals
Benjamin Smith took control of Air France-KLM in September with three clear mandates.
Air Transport

By Bill Carey
Searchers on Feb. 26 recovered human remains from the scene of the Atlas Air Flight 3591 crash, but flight-data recorders still had not been found three days after the Boeing 767-300 dived steeply into a marsh in Trinity Bay, Texas.
Air Transport

By Sean Broderick
The simmering battle between Southwest Airlines and its mechanics saw a new group join the fight, as the airline’s pilots’ union blasted management for “tribalizing and scapegoating” technicians to cover for an “ineffective” operation.
Air Transport

By Jens Flottau
Markus Wahl has been named as the new president of Germany’s pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) after previous president Martin Locher resigned in a surprise move.
Air Transport

A senior official with Airlines for America (A4A) defended the airline industry’s record on emissions reduction before the U.S. Congress, saying the proposed Green New Deal (GND) call to replace air travel with high-speed rail ignores progress carriers have made toward increasing fuel efficiency and developing new technology.
Air Transport

By Bill Carey
Wing—the drone delivery subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet—was selected by FAA to participate in the agency’s unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) pilot program, the company announced Feb. 25.
Air Transport

TAP Air Portugal is planning to expand operations from Portugal’s second main airport, Porto Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport, to São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) Airport; New York/Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and several European destinations.
Air Transport

By Henry Canaday
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), which flies a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and its sister carrier Edelweiss Air, which flies 15 Airbus aircraft, recently signed a five-year contract with aviation data and records management solution provider FLYdocs.
Air Transport

By Thierry Dubois
As the industry is assigning an increasing importance to manual piloting skills, regional turboprop manufacturer ATR has received a certification for the use of a full flight simulator in stall recovery training.
Air Transport

By Michael Bruno
Boeing and Embraer expect to close their deal-making over commercial and defense aircraft JVs by year’s end, they said after Embraer shareholders OK'd the deals.
Air Transport

By Kerry Reals
International Airlines Group (IAG) and other carriers negotiated their own agreement with London Heathrow on how excess airport charges in 2020 and 2021 should be repaid, after British Airways’ parent company said it “couldn’t stomach” the proposal put forward by UK regulators.
Air Transport