Air Transport

International Airlines Group (IAG) is reviewing the future fleet composition of its new long-haul LCC Level now that the airline has produced encouraging results in its first seven months of flying.

International travelers to Thailand increased by 9% in 2017 to 35.4 million, and the Thai government projects the total will rise to more than 37 million this year.

Qatar Airways is keeping a close eye on supersonic transport projects as a hoped-for next step in luxury air travel, CEO Akbar Al Baker said on the sidelines of the carrier’s first Airbus A350-1000 delivery here Feb. 20.

LATAM Airlines Group is more than one year into its new business model aimed at increasing competitiveness against ULCC competitors; the next step involves examining particular aspects of its maintenance strategy.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for the 2017 safety performance of the commercial airline industry showing continued strong improvements in safety.

Orders from China could prove to be a savior in depleted helicopter market. Photo: Anthony Pecchi/Airbus Helicopters

Voom on-demand helicopter service becomes a subsidiary of Airbus Helicopters as CityAirbus eVTOL urban air taxi takes shape.

New sensors and data processing could provide additional early warning of degradation in the moving elements of helicopter transmissions.

Kopter already has two years of production slots filled and holds 120 letters of intent.

As the first A350-1000 enters service, Airbus must use the timing advantage to gain market share ahead of the Boeing 777X’s entry into service.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders says the latest issue means “more work, stress and strain and more disruptions for our customers.”

The IATA is coordinating efforts to ensure airlines, airport operators, air traffic control (ATC) authorities and other key aviation stakeholders communicate critical information better when there is an incident that causes severe operational disruption at a major airport.

Greater New York airports currently handle over 130 million passengers annually, but this figure is expected to rise to 180 million yearly passengers over the next two decades.

The biometric facial-recognition trial at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) has proven so successful and popular that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is actively exploring how widely facial recognition can be used at airports, a senior CBP official said.

Traffic at Paris airports rose 4.5% in 2017, and the group predicted it would grow 2.5–3.5% in 2018.

Reflecting a 20% year-over-year (YOY) increase in volumes and a 17% rise in full-year revenue, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings posted a $223.5 million net profit for 2017—a fivefold increase over the Purchase, New York-based airfreight carrier’s $41.5 million net income for 2016.

Israeli startup Eviation Aviation has selected South Korea’s Kokam to supply lithium-polymer batteries for its initial Alice all-electric regional aircraft, and hopes to fly a full-scale prototype by early 2019.

Dubai-based hybrid carrier flydubai reported a full-year profit of AED37.3 million ($10.1 million) for 2017, up on the 2016 figure of AED31.6 million.

Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines will offer nonstop service between Detroit and Leon, Mexico, starting April 30, connecting two major automotive-industry regions and taking another step in leveraging their joint venture (JV).

Mexico City-based ultra LCC Volaris, faced with an extremely competitive low cost market combined with fluctuating currency exchange rates, posted a MXP595 million ($30.2 million) full-year net loss for 2017, a reversal of the airline’s MXP3.5 billion net profit in 2016.

The Qantas Group has confirmed it will take delivery of 18 Airbus A321neo long-range (A321LR) aircraft beginning in mid-2020, which will be used by its Jetstar LCC subsidiary for fleet replacement and growth.

These dates indicate program slippage of more than a year from the 2016 schedule and three years from the targets that Avic set when it launched development of the aircraft at the end of 2013.

Air New Zealand plans to launch a nonstop flight from Auckland to Taipei, Taiwan, as the latest step in its strategy of growing its Pacific Rim destinations.

A solid fourth quarter performance in passenger revenue and cost containment pushed Panama City-based Copa Holdings toward a $370 million net profit for 2017, a 10.6% increase from the company’s $335 million net income in 2016.

Embraer CEO Paulo Cesar Silva expects his company and Boeing to find a set-up for the planned combination of the businesses “in the next weeks.”