Airlines & Lessors

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has recommended that the Honeywell emergency locator transmitter (ELT) on all in-service Boeing 787s be temporarily made “inert” following a fire on board an Ethiopian Airlines 787-8 last week at London Heathrow Airport.

American Airlines parent AMR Corp. reported a second-quarter net profit of $220 million, reversed from a net loss of $241 million in the prior-year quarter, as revenue was flat year-over-year at $6.45 billion.

European antitrust regulators will rule on the merger between American Airlines and US Airways by Aug. 6.

Virgin Atlantic Airways CEO Craig Kreeger is cautious about the deferred delivery delays of its Airbus A380s, but more upbeat about the Boeing 787-9 and the introduction of regional Little Red.

Kazakhstan-based Air Astana reported a first-half net profit of $11.9 million, more than doubling a $5 million net profit in the year-ago period.

HNA Group, parent of Hainan Airlines, intends to wholly own Yangtze River Express after its Taiwanese shareholders sell back their stakes.

Russia’s UTair Aviation has taken delivery of its first of 20 Airbus A321s ordered at the Farnborough Airshow in 2012.

International premium traffic has contracted and air travel markets “showed signs of deterioration” in May, according to IATA’s latest Premium Traffic Monitor.

WestJet Encore has signed a long-term component maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik to support its fleet of Bombardier Q400s.

International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) has finalized an order with Embraer for 50 E-Jets E2 aircraft, comprising 25 E-190-E2s and 25 E-195-E2s.

Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines has selected CFM International’s LEAP-1A engine to power its new fleet of up to 100 Airbus A320neos and A321neos.

Indian low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet has denied it is signing a deal with Kuwait Airways to sell a 25% stake.

Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has blamed deicing procedures for a UTair ATR 72-200 crash in Tyumen in April 2012.

Slovenian national flag-carrier Adria Airways has put a series of assets on the market as it seeks to reorganize and ease its financial problems.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline has denied media reports that it is interested in taking a major stake in Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Air Berlin and Serbia-based JAT Airways will enter codeshare operations from Aug. 1, subject to government approvals.

Illinois-based AAR Corp. has a six-year extension of an agreement to provide supply-chain services for Mesa Air Group regional jets.

Sunrise Airways, a start-up based in Port-au-Prince, has opened a MRO facility at Cibao International Airport in Santiago, Dominican Republic, becoming the only Haitian airline with its own, in-house maintenance capabilities.

Honeywell has joined the investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 fire at London Heathrow Airport as the focus shifts to components including the emergency locator transmitter (ELT).

Chinese carriers reported a collective net income of CNY4 billion ($647 million) in the first half, down 23% compared to CNY5.2 billion year-over-year.

Etihad Airways’ plan to take a 24% stake in India’s Jet Airways may miss the completion deadline laid down in the shareholding agreement, according to Indian media reports.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to collect information from airlines on the number of seats sold at various price levels and make the information public.

Ukraine International Airlines, which is moving forward with its fleet renewal and expansion program, has taken delivery of three new leased 140-seat Embraer E-190s.

Lufthansa Group subsidiary Austrian Airlines is seeing a restructuring advantage after the 12-month mark compared to other airlines in Europe.

IATA reports May global passenger traffic expanded “at a healthy rate,” with overall demand rising 5.6% compared to May 2012 and capacity climbing 5.2% year-over-year.