Airlines & Lessors

Christine Boynton
Royal Jordanian (RJ) president and CEO Hussein Dabbas has announced he will step down June 1, according to multiple media sources. Dabbas was promoted from VP-marketing, sales and services in August 2009, replacing president and CEO Samer Majali.

Christine Boynton
Brazil’s GOL has received an $84.8 million loan guarantee from the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) to support the export of its engine maintenance services to Delta TechOps in Atlanta.

By Linda Blachly
The latest Boeing 787 to be received by All Nippon Airways (ANA) was partially powered on its delivery flight Tuesday by biofuel, marking the first time a Dreamliner has used alternative fuel.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Michael Mackey
Garuda Indonesia (GA) and Auckland International (AKL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the reopening of direct service from Indonesia to AKL.
Airports & Networks

By Linda Blachly
Porter Airlines (PD) on Tuesday conducted Canada’s first biofuel-powered revenue flight, operating a Bombardier Q400 between Toronto City Centre and Ottawa using a 50:50 blend of biofuel and Jet A1fuel in one of its engines.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Linda Blachly
Qantas (QF) and SkyNRG operated Australia’s first commercial biofuel flight April 13 between Sydney and Adelaide. The flight, using an Airbus A330, used a 50:50 blend of biofuel derived from used cooking oil and conventional jet fuel, QF said in a statement. The fuel, supplied by SkyNRG, has been fully certified for use in commercial aviation. Its life cycle carbon footprint is around 60% smaller than that of conventional jet fuel.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Edvaldo Pereira Lima
Panama-based Copa Airlines (CM) will introduce Iquitos (IQT) into its route network July 14, with two nonstop weekly services out of its Panama City (PTY) hub.
Airports & Networks

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Russian cargo group Volga-Dnepr (VI) has completed the acquisition of Frankfurt Hahn-based carrier Air Cargo Germany (6U) for a 49% stake.

Kurt Hofmann
Finnair (AY) said last week it will cut 280 maintenance jobs as it outsources engine and component services to Swiss SR Technics in a further move to cut costs.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Katie Cantle
Chengdu-based Sichuan Airlines (3U) is accelerating the pace of its international expansion as Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU) moves forward with plans to become China’s fourth busiest international hub.
Airports & Networks

Michael Mackey
Qantas (QF) launched Australia’s first commercial biofuel flight Friday, operating an Airbus A330 between Sydney and Adelaide using a 50:50 blend derived from used cooking oil and conventional jet fuel.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Alan Dron
Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS) will appeal the European Commission’s (EC) decision to allow British Airways’ (BA) parent International Airlines Group (IAG) to take over debt-racked British Midland International (bmi).
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Transaero Airlines (UN) signed an agreement with the Russian Development Bank’s VEB-leasing to finance four Airbus A380s from an October 2011 memorandum of understanding.

Katie Cantle
China Southern Airlines (CZ) expects its first-quarter net profit to drop by more than half compared to the CNY1.24 billion ($190 million) reported in the year-ago quarter.

Kurt Hofmann
EgyptAir (MS) has reported a 2011 decrease in profit to $12 million, down 75% year-over-year. The carrier, which had been in the middle of an expansion year, cited the civil unrest in Cairo and other parts of Egypt as reasons for the results.

Aaron Karp
The Indian government said Thursday it will invest INR300 billion ($5.76 billion) through 2020 to restructure struggling Air India (AI), including an immediate INR67.5 billion ($1.3 billion) injection.

AFI KLM E&M has promoted Ron de Bos head of sales in North America. De Bos joined KLM E&M in 1995 as a purchasing unit manager, and from 2008-2012 served as director-integrated services. AirVault named former TIMCO chairman, president, and co-CEO Ronald Utecht to the AirVault Advisory Board. It also named former Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services VP and CEO James Brunke to the advisory board.

Kurt Hofmann
The Lufthansa (LH) Group reported its airlines carried 21.9 million passengers in the first quarter, up 4.8% compared to the same period last year.

Edvaldo Pereira Lima
Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes said its maintenance center at Tancredo Neves International in Belo Horizonte has been approved by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Aaron Karp
The International Air Cargo Assn. (TIACA) said a German court’s decision earlier this month to uphold a night-flight ban at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) will likely result in “economic and environmental damage” and reduced investment in FRA by cargo airlines.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Katie Cantle
Chinese carriers reported a net loss of almost CNY200 million ($31.6 million) in March, reversed from a collective net profit of CNY1.71 billion in the year-ago month, due to high fuel prices and a decline in cargo traffic.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Alan Dron
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair (FR) has scrapped a further batch of flights from Edinburgh airport (EDI) in Scotland, in an ongoing dispute over costs with airport owner BAA.
Airports & Networks

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Volga-Dnepr Group said it intends to order 20 Antonov An-124s, plus options for 20 more, from United Aircraft Corp. (UAC), according to group executive president Valery Gabriel.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Alan Dron
British Airways (BA) has announced it will cut up to 1,200 jobs as it absorbs the mainline operations of British Midland International (bmi).

By Linda Blachly
Silver Airways has taken delivery of its fourth Saab 340Bplus. The Fort Lauderdale., Fla.-based carrier, which received FAA approval to operate the Saab 340Bplus aircraft type last month, has agreed to purchase 12 of the turboprops from Saab Aircraft Leasing, according to a company statement.
Aircraft & Propulsion