American Airlines and Qantas receive final approval to form joint business

The U.S. Department of Transportation has given final approval to a joint business agreement between American Airlines and Qantas. American and Qantas now have the opportunity to jointly offer more products that will better serve customers flying between the United States and Australia and New Zealand. This has been a longstanding business objective of the partnership. “We look forward to working closely with our valued partner, Qantas, on this new joint business,” said American’s Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “We now have the opportunity to launch new routes and provide enhanced service with better schedules, additional frequent flyer benefits and Read more

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Lion Air becomes first A330neo operator in the Asia-Pacific region

Lion Air A330-900 take off ©Airbus

Indonesian carrier Lion Air has received its first A330-900, becoming the first airline from the Asia-Pacific region to fly the A330neo. The aircraft is on lease from BOC Aviation and is the first of 10 A330neos set to join the airline’s fleet. The A330neo will be used by Lion Air for non-stop long-haul services from Indonesia. These include pilgrimage flights from cities such as Makassar, Balikpapan and Surabaya to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The flight time for such routes can be up to 12 hours. Lion Air’s A330-900 is configured for 436 passengers in a single-class configuration.

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Alaska Airlines and aircraft technicians ratify final Transition Agreement in Virgin America merger

Alaska Airlines’ 900 Airbus and Boeing aircraft technicians, who are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), have ratified a Transition Agreement and an Integrated Seniority List.   This ratification vote will combine the Boeing and Airbus technicians into a single group, a crucial step in the Alaska Airlines-Virgin America merger. The agreement includes wage increases, retirement enhancements, and job protections, among other improvements.

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Airbus secures first ACH160 order in Southeast Asia

©Airbus Helicopters, Anthony-Pecchi

Airbus Helicopters has secured an ACH160 order from an undisclosed new customer in the Philippines, launching this new model in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region. It will be used for private and business flights within the Philippines archipelago. This aircraft will feature the ACH160 Exclusive version highlighting two wide hinged doors and electrical footsteps combined with a bespoke cabin, welcoming up to eight passengers in an elegant and refined handcrafted interior for a truly business-jet like experience. Equipped with Blue Edge blades and a new canted Fenestron rotor, the ACH160 sets a new benchmark in corporate transportation with a Read more

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BA and Lufthansa cancel flights to Cairo, Egypt

©British Airways

British Airways announced on Saturday that it was canceling all flights to Cairo with immediate effect for a period of seven days “as a precaution to allow for further assessment.” The U.K.’s Foreign Office has warned travelers to Egypt that “There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the U.K.” Though no further and more specific reasons were given for the flight cancelations, Lufthansa, which operates flights from Cairo to Munich and Frankfurt, said it was also suspending flights until Sunday, citing “an unclear security situation”. On Friday, Read more

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Héroux-Devtek and Longueuil facility employees ratify new three-year collective agreement

Landing gear manufacturer Héroux-Devtek has released that the unionized employees at its Longueuil, Québec, facility have voted in favour of the early renewal of a three-year collective agreement, which now extends through April 30, 2023. The renewal concerns approximately 210 employees who are members of Unifor, Local Section 1956. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with our employees that will allow our teams to fully dedicate time and resources to delivering the record backlog of our Longueuil facility. This also demonstrates the dedication of our personnel to meeting customers’ expectations.  Our employees are the main force of our Read more

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Boeing forced to write off billions because of 737 MAX debacle

The Boeing Company has to accept billions in special costs in its balance sheet owing to the 737 MAX crisis. In the second quarter, an additional burden of US$4.9 billion after taxes will be incurred, the company announced on Thursday after the close of the U.S. stock market. The 737 MAX series has been grounded since March, worldwide, after two fatal crashes. According to Boeing, the money will be used for potential compensation payable to airlines affected by operational disruptions and delivery delays due to the suspension of the 737 MAX. Although the group intends to book all of the Read more

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easyJet Q2 2019 results in line with expectations

©easyJet

easyJet has released its financial results for the first financial half to 31 March 2019.  Passenger numbers increased by 4.9 million while capacity increased by 14.5% principally due to annualizing of new operations in Berlin. Load factor decreased by 1.0 percentage points to 90.1% mainly as a result of building loads in Berlin in the first quarter. Total revenue increased by 7.3% to £2,343 million (H1 2018: £2,183 million). Total revenue per seat decreased by 6.3% to £50.71 (H1 2018: £54.10), with a decrease of 7.4% at constant currency. Headline cost per seat increased by 3.9% to £56.66 (H1 2018: Read more

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Wizz Air expands Chisinau operations with addition of new A320

Wizz Air will add a new Airbus A320 to Chisinau ©AirTeamImages

Wizz Air has allocated a third aircraft to Chisinau. The new Airbus A320 will join the fleet in December, enabling the increase of frequencies of the airline’s existing 8 routes and the start of four new routes from Chisinau. WIZZ started operations from Chisinau International Airport in 2013 and established a based there in March 2017. After 6 years of successful operations, the airline announced further great expansion at its Moldovan base by allocating a third Airbus A320 aircraft in December 2019. The new aircraft represents another US$101 million investment into the Moldovan aviation market and will contribute to the Read more

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Kellstrom Aerospace purchases CFM56-5B3/P engine

Kellstrom Aerospace has purchased a serviceable CFM56-5B3/P engine, bearing s/n 779656. This engine will be added to its engine Lease pool, reinforcing its commitment to  supporting its airline customers around the world. This engine is currently located in Europe.

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