All articles by Alfred Chua – Page 126
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NewsTaiwan closes borders to foreigner arrivals
Taiwan has joined a growing list of governments around the world to close off its borders to foreign arrivals, in a bid to stem the tide of imported coronavirus cases. A notice from the ministry of foreign affairs states the travel ban kicks in on 19 March, though exceptions ...
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NewsLatest SpaceJet M90 test aircraft embarks on first flight
Mitsubishi Aircraft’s SpaceJet M90 flight-test vehicle 10 took off on its maiden sortie on 18 March. The aircraft, FTV10, registered JA26MJ, took off from Nagoya and conducted a series of performance tests over the Pacific Ocean. Two hours later, the aircraft returned to Nagoya. Source: Mitsubishi Aircraft Flight ...
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NewsTaiwan extends financial lifeline to its airlines
The Taiwanese government will offer financial aid to its carriers – in the form of subsidies and loans – to help cushion the financial blow from the coronavirus. Among the measures the MInistry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) rolled out was the offering of loans to help airlines with normal ...
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NewsAustralia rolls out aid package for aviation industry
The Australian government has unveiled a A$715 million ($430 million) relief package for its aviation industry, which has been hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Australian deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, who is also the minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, announced the measures on 18 March, as he acknowledged ...
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NewsVirgin Australia cuts entire international network, halves domestic capacity
Virgin Australia will suspend all international flights until June, and ground its entire widebody fleet, as it continues to reel from the impact of coronavirus outbreak. It will also cut domestic capacity by half until June, up from a previously announced cut of 5%. Virgin Australia states that it was ...
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NewsCoronavirus costs Cathay HK$2 billion in February
Cathay Pacific made an unaudited loss of more than HK$2 billion ($257 million) in February, as it takes a hit from the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines saw falling passenger numbers for the month, and warns of weakened travel demand in the near term.
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NewsQantas to ground nearly entire widebody fleet, cut capacity further
Australia’s Qantas Group will ground 150 aircraft — including “almost all” of its widebody fleet —amid deeper capacity cuts across both its international and domestic networks.
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NewsGAMECO clinches FAA approval for Daxing line maintenance
Chinese MRO GAMECO has received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide line maintenance at Beijing Daxing airport. The company received FAA’s approval of operations specifications D107 on 3 March, it states. It comes after it passed the FAA’s series of audits in January. “This approval will ...
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NewsHainan signs avionics MRO contract with Aviage Systems
Aviage Systems has inked a three-year contract to provide Hainan Airlines avionics MRO services for its fleet of Boeing 787s. The contract, a first between both parties, covers the inspection, repair and overhaul service of the 787’s integrated modular avionics components. It comes as Aviage Systems received certification from the ...
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NewsChina aviation sector takes CNY24.6 billion coronavirus hit
The Chinese civil aviation sector lost about CNY24.6 billion ($3.52 billion) in February because of the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese carriers took the lion’s share of the losses. making up about CNY 21 billion, according to a China Daily report, citing data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ...
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NewsFatigue cracking in turbine blade led to AS355 F1 engine failure
Rolls-Royce will release a newly designed third-stage turbine wheel for its M250-C20F turboshaft engine by the end of the year, which will have improved strength and tolerance to fatigue cracking.
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NewsComac opens second ARJ21 production line
Comac has ramped up production of its ARJ21 regional jet after opening a second production line at Shanghai’s Pudong International airport. The new production line is located at the Comac final assembly centre in Pudong, the same facility where C919 is assembled. Plans for the second production line ...
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NewsCathay Pacific in talks to defer aircraft deliveries
Cathay Pacific is in talks with Boeing and Airbus over possible deferral of aircraft deliveries this year, as the coronavirus outbreak leaves an impact on its fiscal performance. At a briefing after Cathay released its annual results for 2019, chief operations and services delivery officer Greg Hughes confirmed that discussions ...
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NewsCathay flags ‘substantial loss’ for first half of 2020
The ongoing coronavirus outbreak is taking its toll on the Cathay Pacific group’s financial performance, with the group warning that it expects to incur a “substantial loss” for the first-half of this year. Cathay adds in its full-year financial results that the outbreak, which first originated in China late 2019, ...
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News‘Turbulent’ 2019 squeezes Cathay profit
The Cathay Pacific Group saw operating profit for 2019 shrink, following a worse-than-expected second-half result that was affected by political turmoil in Hong Kong. For the year ended 31 December 2019, the group reported an operating profit of HK$3.4 billion ($437 million), a 4.3% decrease compared to 2018. ...
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NewsChina announces measures to give aviation industry fillip
China has rolled out a raft of measures – from financial support to infrastructure investments – for the country’s aviation industry, which has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak. In total, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced 16 measures, all of which are aimed at “promoting the stable ...
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NewsCathay mulls cargo-only service on passenger jets to Japan
Following cuts made to its Japan passenger network, Cathay Pacific is considering operating cargo-only services on its passenger aircraft. In a notice sent out to its clients, Cathay’s cargo arm says it only expects passenger belly cargo operations to be impacted by recently-announced cuts. However, it is looking at ways ...
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NewsEASA certifies CALC MRO arm for narrowbody line maintenance
China Aircraft Leasing (CALC)’s MRO unit has been certified by European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to provide line maintenance services for the Airbus A320 family as well as the Boeing 737NG. FL ARI’s EASA Part 145 certification comes about half a year after it received certification from Chinese aviation ...
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NewsIATA sees ‘partial success’ in call for easing slot rules
IATA has reiterated its call to governments and slot co-ordinators – including those in the European Commission – to ease slot rules, in light of the escalating coronavirus outbreak globally. Speaking at a briefing held after a two-day industry workshop in Singapore, IATA chief economist Brian Pearce says “the evidence ...
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NewsAir India Engineering to maintain PW1100G engines
Pratt & Whitney has authorised Air India Engineering Services (AIESL) to provide MRO services for the PW1100G geared turbofan. AIESL, which has received its first PW1100G engine, will provide support from its Mumbai facility, P&W states. It will see PW1100G MRO works “phased in”, the enginemaker adds, starting with engine ...