Airlines & Lessors

Airberlin, which is undergoing an extensive restructuring process, said capacity cuts toward the end of 2015 enabled it to increase capacity utilization by 0.9 percentage points to 79.9% year-over-year.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Estonian Air has been formally declared bankrupt, following a European Commission (EC) decision that it received illegal government aid.
Airlines & Lessors

Low-cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian UK has applied to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for exemption authority and a foreign air carrier permit (FACP) to allow services between Europe and the US, several media outlets have reported.
Airports & Networks

Turkish news agency Anadolu has reported that mortar rounds fired near Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Dec. 23 led to the explosion that killed one cleaning staff member and injured another on board a Pegasus Airlines aircraft.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Air China has ordered six Boeing 777-300ERs, worth $2.051 billion at list prices, according to a statement released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Denver-based ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) Frontier Airlines unveiled a nationwide expansion in which it will add 42 new routes in April.
Airports & Networks

By Polina Montag-Girmes
International traffic for Russian airlines was down 28.4% in November year-over-year (YOY) to 2.2 million passengers, according to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia.
Airlines & Lessors

WestJet, a few months after announcing the launch of new London flights in May 2015, now says it will serve this new market from Calgary and Toronto year-round.
Airports & Networks

Air France will end more than 40 years of Boeing 747 operations with a final commercial flight from Mexico City to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) on Jan. 10.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Victoria Moores
An easyJet Airbus A319 landed on a Pisa Airport runway Dec. 30 that had been closed for takeoffs and landings due to maintenance work.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Virgin America expects the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to approve its recent petition to remove the limit governing how many aircraft the carrier can fly.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Singapore-based leasing company BOC Aviation has placed an order for 18 Airbus A320neos and 12 A320ceos, valued at more than $3 billion at list prices.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Nensel
United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz underwent a heart transplant operation Jan. 6 and “is in recovery,” according to a company statement.
Airlines & Lessors

Air Transport World has announced the full list of winners for its 2016 Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards.

By Linda Blachly
Aircraft News-Jan. 6, 2016
Aircraft & Propulsion

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved Royal Air Maroc to start flying between Casablanca and Washington Dulles, according to a Dec. 17 regulatory filing.
Airports & Networks

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has reported the region’s airlines carried 22.5 million passengers in November, up 6.7% over the year-ago month.
Airlines & Lessors

By Alan Dron
Members of the Association of European Airlines (AEA)—22 carriers from throughout Europe—transported close to 307 million passengers on scheduled services in 2015.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Russia’s UTair Airline announced it completed the refinancing of its debt portfolio on Dec. 30, 2015.
Airlines & Lessors

202 firearms were discovered at US airports in December 2015, down 4.3% year-over-year, as detailed in Total TSA Gun Catches for December 2015 (loaded or unloaded firearms discovered at TSA checkpoints at airports across the US).
Airlines & Lessors

Spring Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary (LCC) Spring Japan will receive a capital injection of JPY18 billion ($151 million) from Japanese companies, according to Spring Japan CEO Wang Wei.
Airlines & Lessors

Thailand-based regional carrier Kannithi Aviation (Kan Air) is looking to expand its fleet with either Airbus A320 or Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft.
Airlines & Lessors

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline took delivery of its first of three Bombardier Q400 aircraft on Dec. 31, 2015.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Malaysia Airlines will resume normal baggage carrying on its flights to its European destinations of London, Paris and Amsterdam from its Kuala Lumpur base, Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) said in a Jan. 6 statement.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Victoria Moores
Andre Turcat, the first pilot to fly Concorde, has died at age 94.
Airlines & Lessors