COVID-19

By Sean Broderick
Aftermarket services specialist AAR Corp. is bracing for a drop in demand for maintenance as airlines scale back to cope with reduced flying amid the coronavirus pandemic, but is already seeing a rebound in markets that are now in recovery mode.
MRO

EMBRAER is teaming with companies/research centers to develop technologies to supply replacement parts/filtration systems for medical equipment
Aerospace

FLYBONDI, Argentina is suspending operations through end of April due to COVID-19 crisis; it has five 737-800s.
Air Transport

QATAR AIRWAYS has added 10,000 extra seats to its network with extra flights to Paris, Perth and Dublin; it is now operating to 75 destinations
Air Transport

By Steve Trimble
Brazil’s Embraer is analyzing how to start manufacturing ventilators and respirators, replacing components in imported ventilators, and developing
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

With so much going on within the aviation sector we want to know your views on the key topics and stories.
Z

By Jen DiMascio
A portion of a $2 trillion spending bill to provide relief to a nation reeling from the novel coronavirus pandemic would provide $10.5 billion in additional funding for the U.S. military.
Budget, Policy & Operations

ASD

ASD is calling on EU Institutions and worldwide Governments to provide specific support for the entire civil aviation sector with specific emergency
Aerospace

EUROCONTROL reports that year-over-year air traffic in Europe was down 77% (21,254 less flights) on March 24.
Air Transport

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES has suspended all service due to COVID-19 crisis; current plans call for restarting on April 15.
Air Transport

AEROMEXICO is cutting domestic capacity by 35% and international capacity by 50%, and has parked 40 aircraft, which it says will probably increase. It
Air Transport

ERA

ERA is urging EASA to freeze non-urgent consultation/rulemaking activities and provide extension for maintenance tasks to complement other measures on
MRO

By Bradley Perrett
China will strengthen its air cargo industry under a new policy that includes encouraging mergers with logistics companies and expanding aircraft fleets.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The Orion spacecraft slated to fly aboard NASA’s first Space Launch System flight test next year arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 25, as six more NASA facilities were shut down to help stem the spread of COVID-19.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Austrian aerospace parts and services provider FACC said March 25 that “a large part” of its staff is expected to apply for “short-term work” starting April 6, and that it will revise plans to ramp up a new Croatian factory, as well as suspend its dividend payment to shareholders for 2019.
Supply Chain

By Lee Hudson
Although F-35 Joint Strike Fighter test operations had to cease March 25 because of the novel coronavirus, the U.S. military has not seen “anything major” that would delay full-rate production, the Navy acquisition executive says.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Victoria Moores
South Africa announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19, triggering the suspension of operations by the country’s airlines.
Airlines & Lessors

By Sean Broderick
Air Canada and its pilots have agreed to cost-cutting moves that include reduced pay, modified retirement terms and up to 600 layoffs, the Air Canada Pilots Association said.
Airlines & Lessors

By Kirby Harrison
Global aircraft services provider Lufthansa Technik recorded continued growth in 2019, with record revenue and earnings.
Marketplace

By Ben Goldstein, Aaron Karp
U.S. Senators and the Trump Administration reached a preliminary accord that would send U.S. carriers $61 billion in grants and loans to survive an extended period of anemic air travel demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Guy Norris
Amid signs that Boeing is hoping to resume production of the 737 MAX in May the company says flight tests of the three current versions of the model, the -7, -8 and -9, are continuing despite the general shutdown of its Puget Sound facilities because of the coronavirus.
Aircraft & Propulsion

QANTAS GROUP secured A$1.05b loan against part of its unencumbered aircraft fleet (seven 787-9s), increasing its available cash to A$2.95b (with
Air Transport

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES expanded its flight schedule reduction to 37.5% (1,500 of about 4,000 daily flights), including all international service, through
Air Transport

AIR CANADA began using 787-8 pax aircraft for cargo-only flights (can carry >77,000 lb) to Europe and (later) South America.
Air Transport

By Tony Osborne
London City Airport is ceasing operations until the end of April after seeing flight schedules slashed in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Airports & Networks