Bombardier Aerospace and Garuda Indonesia (GA) said Wednesday the carrier has committed to up to 36 Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGens to support its domestic and regional operations from its Makassar, Medan and Balikpapan hubs.
Troubled Kingfisher Airlines (IT) has not paid employees since December and was unable to make a planned salary disbursement last week. India's The Economic Times and Mint newspapers quoted a Feb. 11 email to airline employees from CEO Sanjay Aggarwal, stating, "Unfortunately, we got hit by a couple of large unanticipated payments which had to be addressed on an emergency basis." This necessitated another paycheck postponement, he explained.
Reacting to strong growth and forecasts for the Asia-Pacific region, Bombardier Aerospace has established a commercial aircraft regional sales and marketing office in Singapore.
Indonesian carrier Lion Air (JT) has firmed up its agreement with Boeing announced in November to buy 201 Boeing 737 MAXs and 29 737-900ERs in a $22.4 billion contract that is Boeing’s largest ever.
Hong Kong Airlines (HX) will launch all-premium class flights on the Hong Kong-London Gatwick route with Airbus A330-200s from March 7, becoming the first Chinese carrier to offer an all-premium service. HX assistant president Wang Yankun said the carrier will use three new A330-200s, with cabin configurations of 34 first- and 82 business-class seats, to operate the service.
Etihad Airways (EY) said it exceeded its target of breaking even in 2011 by posting a $14 million net profit for the full year, marking the first time the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, launched in 2003, was in the black on an annual basis.
Air traffic in the Asia/Pacific region will grow by almost 7% per year over the next 20 years and the low-cost carrier market share will triple, Boeing said Monday.
OpenSkies (EC), the transatlantic subsidiary of British Airways (BA), is adding a new Eco cabin class to its Boeing 757 aircraft on flights between Newark and Paris-Orly from June 19.
Air Berlin (AB) on Thursday completed its first successful satellite-based landing at Bremen Airport, following the accreditation of Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) as a primary landing system. According to AB, the new satellite-based landing system is much more precise than the instrument-based landing system (ILS) formerly used. GBAS landings reduce noise pollution on the ground because approach angles can be varied. It will eventually be possible to use the system in mountainous areas.
Turkish Technic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines (TK), will open the first phase of its new MRO center at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) in early summer.
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines (9C) is awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to launch an IPO via the Shanghai Stock Exchange that the carrier said is needed to fund its planned fleet expansion.
Copa Holdings, parent of Panama's Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia (formerly Aero Republica), reported 2011 net income of $310.4 million, up 28.8% over a $241.1 million net profit in 2010.
Russian airlines carried 64.1 million passengers in 2011, a 12.6% increase over 2010. International passengers rose 13.2% to 31.4 million; domestic passengers increased 12% to 32.7 million.
Kazakhstan-based Air Astana (KC) continues to expand its Central Asian network as it takes delivery of Embraer E-190 aircraft, enabling the carrier to offer new international services from Astana (TSE) to Ulan Bator, Mongolia and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and from Almaty to Kazan, Russia.
Air Canada (AC), in the midst of navigating challenging labor negotiations, reported a disappointing C$249 million ($250.2 million) 2011 net loss, widened from a C$24 million net deficit in 2010.
Etihad Airways (EY) launched its first aircraft with inflight connectivity—three Airbus A330-300s and one A320—in January. One additional connectivity-enabled A320 will be delivered in March ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 10). The service provider for these five aircraft is OnAir. The remainder of the widebody fleet will fall under its Panasonic agreement, according to an EY spokesperson.
Estonian Air (OV) will lease four Embraer E-170s from Finnair and is in talks with the manufacturer and leasing companies over the delivery schedule and conditions for eight more aircraft, a mix of E-175s and E-190s, which are scheduled to enter the fleet in 2013-2015.
Royal Jordanian (RJ) will review its fleet size and reduce its network as part of a series of measures to counter the sharp increase in fuel prices and falling demand due to unrest in the region and the euro zone crisis.
Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet (WS) reported a 2011 net profit of C$148.7 million ($149.3 million), up 64.9% from C$90.2 million in net income in 2010, and announced that it will launch a regional turboprop airline next year.
RAK Airways has partnered with foreign exchange and remittance house Al Ghurair Exchange to offer customers the option of paying for tickets booked through its call center at any Al Ghurair Exchange branch across the UAE.
