Airlines & Lessors

Guernsey-based regional carrier Aurigny has signed a firm contract for one Embraer E-195.

Scandinavian carrier SAS has finalized a long-haul aircraft order for four Airbus A330-300s and eight A350-900s, plus six options.

Luxembourg-based Luxair has placed an order for a single Bombardier Q400, plus a single option, which will be delivered in 2014.

A Nigerian-based Associated Airlines Embraer EMB-120 crashed shortly after takeoff from Lagos Airport Oct. 3.

Japan Airlines (JAL) said it will “formally seek … a rational explanation and … correction” of slot allocations at Tokyo Haneda Airport announced by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

Royal Brunei Airlines has taken delivery of the first of five Boeing 787 scheduled for the carrier’s long-haul fleet expansion plan.

Airberlin announced Oct. 3 that Lothar Steinebach and Andries van Luijk are new non-executive directors on its board.

IATA is reporting strong expansion of global passenger traffic in August, with overall RPKs rising 6.8% and capacity increasing 5.6% year-over-year, delivering a total market load factor of 83.4%—equaling the record high load factor set in July 2011.

Compilation is of selected active aircraft type in the Africa Region Source: AerData

South African low-cost carrier (LCC) FlySafair is planning to launch Boeing 737-400 operations between Johannesburg and Cape Town Oct. 17.

Bombardier collected the first noise data on its CSeries airliner during its Oct. 1 second flight from Mirabel, near Montreal.

Italian national carrier Alitalia will have to agree on a sustainable, long-term recovery plan, rather than a “quick fix” injection of funds to attract support from major shareholder Air France-KLM, ATW understands.

UK regional carrier Flybe has lashed out at the spiraling cost of removing problem components from aircraft, only to later discover they were actually serviceable.

Icelandair will decide on whether to nearly double the size of its in-house maintenance facilities or to outsource more work to third-party providers by year end.

Air New Zealand (ANZ) will conduct a proving flight Oct. 5 from Auckland to McMurdo Sound in the Antarctic, using a Boeing 767-300 aircraft, with the aim of establishing charter operations on behalf of Antarctica New Zealand.

IATA’s global air freight report for August conveys “continued modest improvements,” with air cargo growth up 3.6% year-over-year, an improvement on July’s 1.1% year-over-year growth.

Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways will start serving Dubai World Central (DWC) with 2X-weekly flights starting Oct. 31.

[CORRECTED STORY FROM OCT. 1] Garuda Indonesia and regional aircraft lessor Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) have been revealed as the previously undisclosed customers for 25 ATR 72-600s, plus 10 options.

An article posted Oct. 1 on ATWonline.com and in the ATW Daily News incorrectly stated that regional aircraft lessor Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) has placed a new, firm order for 25 ATR 72-600s, plus 10 options.

People

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Source: AerData

American Airlines and US Airways won two victories Tuesday in their battle against the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over the carriers’ proposed merger: another attempt by DOJ to delay the trial was rejected and the Texas attorney general withdrew from DOJ’s lawsuit.

Regional aircraft lessor Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) has placed a firm order for 25 ATR 72-600s, plus 10 options, valued at more than $840 million at current list prices.

Republic Airways Holdings has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Denver-based Frontier Airlines to Indigo Partners, which is led by former Spirit Airlines chairman Bill Franke.