Air Transport

The airline has forged agreements with two lessors to lease 35 Airbus A321neos powered by CFM engines with deliveries expected in 2026 and 2027.

Boeing’s efforts to address widespread organizational safety problems were met with sharp criticism in two U.S. congressional hearings April 17.

French startup Aura Aero has invited suppliers to bid for the first large work packages for its planned ERA 19-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft.

LONDON HEATHROW handled 6.7m pax in March, up 8% vs March 2023.

AZORRA, FL completed novation of two A330-200s (leased to ITA AIRWAYS) and now has 100 aircraft in portfolio.

EASTERN AIRLINES was approved by US Bankruptcy Court to acquire assets of AERO TECH MIAMI and iAERO AIRWAYS, including 27 737CLs and two 737NGs, for $71.2 million. iAero has now filed for liquidation, converting to Chapter 7.

FRANKFURT AIRPORT handled 4.6m pax in March, up 7.8% vs March 2023.

CMA CGM AIR CARGO expects to take delivery of two 777Fs in 2Q/4Q24 (to be operated by ATLAS AIR) to launch transpacific services; it also expects another 777F in 2025 and eight A350Fs in 2026/27. It has two 777Fs/three A330Fs.

UNITED AIRLINES had $124m net loss on $12.5b revenues in 1Q24 vs $194 loss on $11.4b in 1Q23. It has converted several MAX 10s to MAX 9s for 2025-2027 and agreed to lease 35 LEAP-powered A321neos from two undisclosed lessors from 2026/27; it now expects to take delivery of 61 narrowbodies (and five widebodies) in 2024 vs original 183.

AIR CANADA is expected in June/July to wet-lease (ACMI) a 767-300ER from Omni Air International for Toronto-SFO.

Stewart Higginson to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of euroAtlantic Airways, Portugal.

AEGEAN, Greece is converting four A321neos on order to A321XLRs; it now has 22 A321neos on order for 2024-2028.

EUROATLANTIC AIRWAYS, Portugal secured capital injection from controlling stakeholder NJORD I-JET AVIATION to optimize performance improvements and expand fleet of five 767s/777s to meet demand for ACMI and charter services.

Besides corporate aviation customers, the deal includes four fuel providers and three airlines.

New drive systems combining hydrogen fuel cells and distributed electric propulsion can be costly to develop.

Will green hydrogen be produced in sufficient quantity to meet aviation’s future needs?

Air New Zealand has selected an over-water domestic short-haul route for its planned electric aircraft demonstration flights.

Aegean Airlines will acquire four Airbus A321neos with extended range to explore broadening its network as far as Central Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

GKN Aerospace is nearing critical milestones in its H2Gear hydrogen-electric powertrain research and technology project after overcoming supply chain issues.

British budget carrier easyJet has canceled its flights to and from Tel Aviv for the rest of the summer season, through Oct. 27.

Etihad Cargo is celebrating a 10-year strategic partnership with Envirotainer - providing safe and reliable transportation of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.

Honeywell has unveiled Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace, a cloud-based platform that utilises AI and machine learning (ML).

Boeing is buying 9.4 million gallons (35.6 million liters) of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to support its 2024 U.S. commercial operations.

The airports subsidiary of French infrastructure group Vinci is buying a majority stake in Edinburgh Airport.

Hong Kong International Airport retained its status as the world’s busiest cargo airport in 2023, handling 4.3 million metric tons, up 3.2% year-over-year.