|
|
|
|
Monday, June 18th, 2018
|
|
LATEST NEWS
|
|
|
|
|
|
American Airlines Group (American), one of four U.S. carriers subject to an antitrust lawsuit over collusion to limit plane capacity and in so doing, driving up domestic airfares, has agreed to pay US$45 million to draw matters to a close.
|
The carrier has admitted no wrongdoing and American’s spokesman Matt Miller advised that the carrier had “dramatically increased” domestic capacity over the investigated period. He made it clear that while capacity had grown, fares had fallen to a near all-time low, stating that: “Despite our firm conviction in the appropriateness of our actions, costs to defend against antitrust litigation often run into the tens of millions of dollars. So, while it is difficult to agree to a settlement when we believe we were right on the law and the facts, settling this case is a prudent decision for American.”
The other three airlines include Southwest Airlines Co. which has won preliminary court approval over a US$15 million settlement, while United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines are still in litigation.
|
|
The lawsuit was first brought against the four airlines in 2015, claiming that in the period in question prices rose while capacity remained unchanged and fuel costs fell, and accusing the companies’ executives of adhering to “capacity discipline” and pursuing the scheme by limiting passengers’ ability to compare prices.
|
|
Southwest has settled to avoid “considerable distraction and expense” of prolonged litigation despite being confident it could win and vehemently denying it had entered into any unlawful agreements with other carriers.
|
A United Airlines spokesperson said in an email: “We will continue to defend ourselves against these claims which we have always maintained are without merit,"
In a statement on Friday, Delta advised that it had not engaged in any illegal behavior.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) has committed to lease four new Embraer E190’s to LOT Polish Airlines. The placement of the new aircraft are from NAC’s existing Embraer order book.
|
|
As of January 2019, LOT will operate the E190’s on new routes direct to London (LCY). This will bring their network connection to 100 destinations worldwide.
|
“We are extremely happy to announce this prestigious destination as our 100th connection in our network. LOT has a long lasting history of operations to London Heathrow, where we are flying three times a day. Now we are opening the new chapter by putting two daily flights to London City into our offer. London City is the most convenient airport for those passengers willing to get to the City of London in the shortest and most comfortable way. I am the most certain that this new connection will be appreciated by our passengers particularly from CEE region and is going to be one of the most successful routes in our constantly growing network” – says Adrian Kubicki, director corporate communications of LOT Polish Airlines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the first time, RUAG Aviation has overhauled a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206 engine. The maintenance of the engine that is used in the Airbus H135 and H135M helicopters was carried out in the engine maintenance shop in Stans. The fact that the PW206 engines can now be maintained in-house at RUAG Aviation will help to increase the availability of the Swiss Air Force’s helicopter fleet.
|
|
The Swiss Air Force has more than 20 of these helicopters, which are still listed under their former name “EC635”. Each of these helicopters is provided with two Pratt & Whitney PW206 turboshafts. In the coming years, all of the engines of the Swiss Air Force’s EC635 are to be maintained by RUAG Aviation in Stans.
|
Experts from Pratt & Whitney, the engine’s manufacturer, provided the RUAG Aviation employees with an intensive 3-week training to prepare them for the PW206 maintenance work. In the past, the EC635’s engine had to be sent to Germany or Spain if major maintenance work had to be carried out. Now, all maintenance and servicing tasks applicable to the PW206 engine can be accomplished by RUAG Aviation in Stans.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Airbus and the government of Côte d’Ivoire have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework of collaboration to support the development of the country’s aerospace industry, which has been identified as strategic for its economic development.
|
|
Under the terms of the MoU, Airbus and the government of Côte d'Ivoire will explore channels of cooperation in developing the aerospace sector in Côte d'Ivoire in various areas.
|
“Collaboration between the public and private sector is essential to facilitate economic and industrial growth,” said Guillaume Faury, President Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “Through this MoU, we will work closely with Côte d'Ivoire’s government, share expertise, discuss opportunities and support efforts in building a robust and sustainable aerospace sector. At Airbus, we are committed to supporting the sustainable socioeconomic development of Africa through partnerships such as this.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Latvian airline airBaltic has welcomed the ninth Bombardier CS300 jet in Riga on June 16. By the end of 2018, airBaltic plans to have a total of 14 CS300 aircraft in its fleet.
|
|
Thus far, airBaltic has carried over 1.160.000 passengers on the brand new Bombardier CS300 aircraft with every fourth airBaltic passenger flying on the aircraft. CS300 have completed more than 11.319 flights and flown over 29.977 block hours.
|
|
On May 28, 2018, airBaltic announced a firm purchase agreement for the sale and purchase of 30 Bombardier CS300 aircraft with options for an additional 30 aircraft of the same type.
|
The order complements the existing order of 20 CS300 aircraft and forms the backbone of the new airBaltic’s business plan Destination 2025 that builds on the successful progress of the current airline’s business plan Horizon 2021, which has laid the groundwork for future expansion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Emirates has launched a new daily service from Dubai to Auckland via Bali, reflecting increased interest in the attractive Indonesian island destination and improving connectivity to New Zealand.
|
|
The new service offers global travellers a total of three daily services to New Zealand, complementing Emirates’ existing non-stop daily A380 service between Dubai and Auckland and its current daily A380 service between Dubai and Christchurch via Sydney.
|
Travellers will now also enjoy a choice of three daily services between Dubai to Bali in the summer (northern hemisphere), as the new flight adds to Emirates’ two existing daily services which are currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER in a two-class configuration.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines have filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) seeking immunity from antitrust laws to create a joint venture (JV) that promises significant advantages for consumers.
|
|
If approved, this will be Hawaiian’s first JV, and the first JV in the United States that does not involve one of the three largest U.S. carriers.
|
|
The antitrust immunized joint venture (ATI-JV) will build upon the codeshare partnership that the two carriers initiated in March, allowing them to coordinate marketing and sales efforts and share costs and revenue on their joint venture routes. In their application, Hawaiian and JAL demonstrate that the resulting efficiency will create a cascade of consumer benefits including lower fares, increased capacity and enhanced consumer choice.
|
Hawaiian and JAL estimate that the JV will bring an additional 162,000 to 350,000 passengers to Hawai’i and contribute between US$184.5 million and US$402.3 million to the U.S. economy annually, while generating between 1,855 to 4,049 U.S. jobs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Donaldson Aerospace & Defense, a division of Donaldson Company, has signed an agreement with Leonardo to develop two new Inlet Barrier Filters (IBF) for the AW169 helicopter.
|
|
After development and testing, the dry and oiled media IBFs will be approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as an addition to the Type Certificate. Once certified, the IBFs will be available as a factory option for new Leonardo helicopters as well as retrofitted to in-service European AW169s as a customer option.
|
|
The IBFs will keep contamination, including dirt, dust, salt, and foreign objects, from degrading the performance of the AW169’s twin 1,000 shaft horsepower Pratt & Whitney PW210A engines.
|
|
“Providing world-class engine protection to our customers is an ongoing priority for Leonardo Helicopters,” said Fabio Nannoni, SVP Engineering of Leonardo Helicopters. “Donaldson is the right choice to provide a superior filtration solution for our new generation family of helicopters.”
|
Donaldson IBFs are already EASA certified for installation on AW139 and, soon, on AW189 helicopters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Qantas is making adjustments to parts of its Asia-Pacific network.
|
|
From December 2018, Qantas will operate additional Airbus A330 services on the Sydney-Singapore and Sydney-Jakarta routes to meet the increase in demand.
|
From 14 December, a third Sydney-Singapore service will be added on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. This brings the total Sydney-Singapore services to 17 per week, up from 14 previously.
From 13 December, the Sydney-Jakarta services will increase from five to six weekly, with the additional service operating on Thursdays.
|
In addition, Qantas will increase its Sydney-Noumea service from three to four times weekly from 12 December 2018, using its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As part of its restructuring, Rolls-Royce has confirmed that 4,600 jobs are to go worldwide, including 3,000 positions based in the UK, the majority being managerial and administrative roles. The company has not ruled out the need for compulsory redundancies.
|
|
It has also been confirmed that some engineers will also be leaving, predominantly those in early-stage design as they are not presently needed. This is the biggest round of redundancies since 2001 and by the end of this year 1,500 of the 4,600 jobs will have been axed.
|
|
The cost of these redundancies, along with other restructuring, may well reach £500m, but should save £400m annually by 2020. Rolls-Royce has said that it would stand by a deal made with the unions last year which would safeguard 7,000 engineering jobs.
|
Warren East, the aircraft engine maker’s chief executive, said: “It’s a horrible decision”, but pointed out that the 33,000 non-manufacturing staff were “too many for a business of our size.” The company employs 55,000 people worldwide and, including contractors, has a workforce of 26,000 in the UK.
Rolls-Royce made it clear that restructuring would reduce management layers and complexity. However, it is still aiming to ramp up production and anticipates making 600 engines for wide-body aircraft a year by 2020, twice as many as five years ago.
|
It has been a difficult week for Rolls-Royce, having also discovered further problems with its problematic Trent 1000 engines which power Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Over 30 aircraft have been grounded, with analysts estimating the cost of fixing the problems and paying compensation to airlines may well reach £1bn. (£1.00 = US$1.34 at time of publication.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
click here to download the latest PDF edition
|
|
click here to download the latest PDF edition
|
click here to subscribe to our other free publications
|
|
AIRCRAFT & ENGINE MARKETPLACE
|
click here to view in PDF aircraft and engines available for sale and lease
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
