All air transport news – Page 441
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NewsATR offers freight solution to aid fleet reactivation
ATR has become the latest manufacturer to develop a solution that enables operators to adapt passenger aircraft for cargo flights, in an effort to help airlines return assets to service. The airframer – jointly owned by Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo – says 60% of the global ATR fleet ...
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OpinionFor SMEs, the crisis is only beginning
The situation could hardly be worse for Airbus, Boeing and first-tier suppliers. But for companies further down the supply chain it is. Highly geared and often dependent on a single customer, small- and medium-sized enterprises face a fight for survival as demand dries up. Their only hope is some sort of airline revival before it is too late
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NewsEl Al in line for conditional support from government
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has received a preliminary indication that the government is prepared to provide support to the airline but with conditions attached. El Al had been in talks over a commercial loan with state-backed guarantee, after being turned down for an assistance package from the ministry of finance. ...
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NewsAvianca to cut back fleet and close Peru division
Latin American carrier Avianca is to shut down its Peruvian division, and cut back the fleet of other carriers, as part of the reshaping of the company being undertaken following its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Avianca Holdings sought protection on 10 May in a joint filing covering several ...
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NewsBOC Aviation signs 737 Max 8 leaseback with Southwest Airlines
Singapore-based lessor BOC Aviation has signed a purchase-and-leaseback agreement with US low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines for 10 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. All 10 aircraft are powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines. Robert Martin, chief executive of BOC Aviation, says: “We are delighted to be working with Southwest Airlines once ...
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NewsGulfstream beefs up G700 test fleet
Gulfstream has commenced flights with its second and third G700 test aircraft. The second aircraft (msn 87007, N703GD) conducted a 2h 58min maiden sortie on 20 March, says the company. On 8 May, the third G700 (msn 87008, N708GA) test aircraft operated a 3h 2min sortie. Source: Gulfstream ...
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Airline BusinessAsia-Pacific April deliveries collapse amid travel restrictions
Asia-Pacific airlines received just two new aircraft during April 2020, as travel restrictions stemming from the coronavirus epidemic played havoc with delivery schedules. Only two Chinese carriers received new jets, according to Cirium fleets data. Loong Air took an Airbus A320neo and Chengdu Airlines took a Comac ARJ21. ...
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NewsEmirates Group expects at least 18-month crisis recovery
Middle Eastern operator Emirates Group is expecting that recovery from the coronavirus crisis will take at least 18 months, as it braces for a “huge impact” on its 2020-21 performance. The Dubai-based company’s passenger operations were suspended a few days before the close of its financial year on 31 March, ...
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NewsFuture alliance among considerations for revived Alitalia: minister
Alitalia will need to evaluate carefully future transatlantic alliances as part of its strategy when the restructured company emerges from the air transport crisis, Italy’s economic development minister states. Minister Stefano Patuanelli says the reshaped carrier’s business plan needs to “focus strongly” on long-haul transport, with “new” transatlantic alliances among ...
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NewsLufthansa Group to double active fleet as it starts to re-open network
Lufthansa Group is to double the number of aircraft in service to 160 from the beginning of June as it starts to re-open its network. The company says that passengers will be able to access over 100 destinations. It states that the repatriation schedule, which has involved 80 aircraft, is ...
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NewsSAA defies shutdown as unions claim labour court victory
South African Airways is to continue conducting services for the time being, defying the 8 May date for cessation of operations given by the airline’s business rescue practitioners Unions are claiming a Labour Court victory after they brought a case to halt a retrenchment process for the carrier’s personnel. SAA ...
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NewsRaytheon furloughs aerospace staff and slashes costs, warns of fallout in Q2
Raytheon Technologies has furloughed staff in its commercial aviation divisions and warns the coronavirus fallout will likely hammer those businesses’ results in the second quarter.
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NewsCircumstances of fatal Austin runway incident remain obscure
Circumstances of the fatal runway incident at Austin-Bergstrom airport which involved an arriving Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 have yet to become clear, with air-ground communications providing little further detail on the sequence of events. The airport’s operator has described the area in which the 7 May incident took place as ...
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NewsLeonardo finances hit by airline crisis after strong start to year
Italian group suspends 2020 guidance as commercial market collapse throws outlook into uncertainty
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NewsFirst German government A350 arrives for outfitting in Hamburg
Airbus has transferred the first of three A350-900s for the federal German government to Hamburg for outfitting at the Lufthansa Technik facility. The aircraft flew from the airframer’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant to the city’s main international airport on 7 May. It bears the civil registration D-AGAF but will be re-registered ...
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NewsBombardier Aviation eyes production cuts as virus hammers demand
The coronavirus pandemic has eroded demand for business jets, accelerated Bombardier’s cash burn and will lead the company to slow aircraft production.
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NewsAirbus delivered nearly 100 fewer aircraft over first four months
Airbus delivered just 14 aircraft during April as the full effects of the coronavirus crisis on its production operation became evident, a total down by 80% on the 70 deliveries achieved in the same month last year. The airframer registered only a single order – for nine A320neo-family jets from ...
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OpinionYears after cancellation, A380 freighter’s time may have come
FedEx’s crystal ball was clearly having an off-day when it churned out predictions for the Airbus A380 freighter 15 years ago. The US express cargo giant, once the launch operator of the A380F, expected to take delivery of the aircraft in 2008, enthused about a -900 stretched cargo variant, and forecast that passenger-to-freighter A380s would arrive by 2020.
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NewsSAA on brink as government scrambles to defer ‘drop dead’ date
South Africa’s government is urgently trying to extend the period of operations for South African Airways after the carrier’s business rescue practitioners warned that 8 May would amount to a “drop dead” day when all flights would cease. The country’s public enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan, outlined to a parliamentary committee ...
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NewsMango 737 ground-collision crew opted against safer taxi route
South African investigators have stated that Johannesburg airport ground control should have instructed pilots of a Mango Boeing 737-800 to deviate from a taxiway, rather than give them the option, before the aircraft struck a taxiing Comair jet. But the inquiry into the incident, on 19 April last year, makes ...