All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 177
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NewsInvestigators probe Ryanair 737 dip below Malaga approach path
Spanish investigators are probing an incident in which a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 dipped below minimum height thresholds during a second approach to Malaga. The aircraft (EI-EVR) had been inbound to the Spanish resort on 6 March. According to investigation authority CIAIAC, the 737 was approaching runway 12 when its crew ...
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NewsComair starts restoring services after regulator lifts AOC suspension
South African authorities have lifted the suspension of carrier Comair, satisfied that the airline has addressed safety concerns which forced its grounding for five days. Comair was grounded after an audit following an audit which commenced on 7 March. The audit had been initiated after a “spate of occurrences”, says ...
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NewsMoscow airports take steps to cope with sanction pressure
Moscow Zhukovsky airport’s operator, Ramport Aero, has named a new general director to oversee its crisis response, after the resignation of its previous chief. Evgeny Solodilin, a deputy director and head of the airport’s cargo service, will take up the post after Tomas Vaisvila chose to step down in early ...
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NewsRussia suspends Bermuda bilateral to aid re-registration of aircraft fleet
Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin has suspended the bilateral agreement with Bermuda covering supervision of aircraft registered with the island territory, to enable transfer to the Russian register. Under the bilateral, which has been in place since 1999, the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority has had responsibility for overseeing airworthiness of ...
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NewsEl Al seals Moroccan codeshare after RAM opens Tel Aviv link
Moroccan flag-carrier Royal Air Maroc has reached a codeshare agreement with Israeli counterpart El Al, tightening the newly-formed ties between the two sides. RAM inaugurated a service between its Casablanca hub and Tel Aviv on 13 March. It operated a Boeing 787 on the route, as flight AT228, carrying a ...
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NewsEmirates sets date to open daily Israeli services
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates has set a 23 June date to open daily services to the main Israeli hub at Tel Aviv. Emirates says it will operate Boeing 777-300ERs on the route from Dubai, configured in three classes. The 354-seat twinjets will feature eight suites in first class, 42 lie-flat ...
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NewsEl Al agrees $130m loan against frequent-flyer programme
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has reached a provisional agreement with insurance specialist Phoenix Group regarding a loan to the subsidiary which holds the airline’s frequent-flyer loyalty programme. Upon completion of the transaction, Phoenix will provide a loan of up to $130 million which will be repaid by 31 December 2027. ...
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NewsRussia’s Smartavia rejigs leadership to steer path through crisis
Russian carrier Smartavia has rejigged its leadership team, re-appointing a former chief executive to head the airline. Smartavia says the decision to put Anatoly Semenyuk in charge – succeeding Sergei Savostin – is intended to “strengthen” the airline’s operating structure during the transport crisis. Savostin, one of the airline’s shareholders, ...
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NewsITA reaches provisional agreements over ground-handling and maintenance
Italian carrier ITA Airways has reached provisional agreements for ground-handling and maintenance, although final deals will depend on predecessor Alitalia’s administrators. ITA says tenders to acquire the handling and maintenance businesses of Alitalia expire on 14 March. It has signed a preliminary agreement with Swissport International covering handling services. If ...
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NewsUtair claims sufficient aircraft on Russian register to serve its network
Russian carrier Utair insists it will be able to maintain services using domestically-registered aircraft, after restricting the operation of those on the Bermuda register. Bermuda’s civil aviation authority suspended airworthiness certification of the Russian fleet on its register from 13 March. Utair states that it has received a notification from ...
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NewsRussian fleets left in regulatory limbo as Bermuda suspends airworthiness approval
Bermuda’s civil aviation regulator has suspended all certificates of airworthiness of aircraft operating in Russia under the bilateral agreement between the two sides. The suspension entered effect just before 13 March. Large numbers of civil aircraft operating in Russia are held on the Bermuda registry, and the bilateral ICAO agreement ...
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NewsAirbus explores high-voltage battery potential for non-propulsive roles
Airbus is aiming to explore high-voltage battery behaviour during test flights of an electric light aircraft this year, with the aim of applying the technology to ‘micro-hybridisation’ – the use of battery power in a supportive, rather than propulsive, role for larger aircraft types. The low energy density of lithium-ion ...
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NewsCrucial UltraFan gearbox transferred to Rolls-Royce’s UK facilities
Rolls-Royce has transferred the power gearbox for its UltraFan engine to its UK site, where the future high-bypass engine demonstrator is undergoing assembly. The gearbox has been sent from the manufacturer’s facility at Dahlewitz in Germany. Rolls-Royce is aiming to commence testing with the UltraFan demonstrator in Derby this year, ...
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NewsRussian draft transport legislation could complicate return of leased fleet
Russia’s transport ministry has drafted new legislation outlining conditions for returning leased aircraft to foreign lessors, including approval from a government committee. The proposed legislation also states that payments between lessors and lessees will be carried out in Russian currency – the rouble, which has sunk in value against the ...
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NewsVietnam’s Sun Group to establish private air charter arm
Vietnamese leisure and infrastructure investment firm Sun Group is to establish a new luxury business aviation company, offering a range of aircraft types. The company will be known as Sun Air and will specialise in private jet charter and aircraft management. Sun Air will initially operate a pair of long-range ...
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NewsSmartLynx to take A330 converted freighters through ATSG agreement
Wet-lease specialist SmartLynx Airlines is to introduce converted Airbus A330-300 freighters, stepping up to the long-haul jets having already started bringing in A321 cargo aircraft. The company has agreed with Air Transport Services Group to acquire six modified A330s under a six-year lease. SmartLynx will take delivery of the first ...
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NewsAirbus long-haul activity weakens but A220 sales prove buoyant
Airbus’s long-haul orders sank further into negative territory during February, although strong single-aisle sales – particularly for the A220 – left the airframer with positive net orders for the first two months of the year. Twenty A330-900s assigned to unidentified customers have been removed, Airbus’s latest backlog figures reveal. Although ...
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NewsAir Mauritius sells A330 to MonoCoque and Aquila
Air Mauritius has sold one of its Airbus A330s to an entity identified as MonoCoque Diversified Interests. The twinjet is being assigned to the Irish arm of aerospace asset finance specialist Aquila Air Capital. MonoCoque, which will manage the aircraft for Aquila, has identified the jet as a -200 variant, ...
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NewsJetcraft picks up Hop CRJ1000 fleet
US-based asset management firm Jetcraft has acquired 14 Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets from Air France’s regional division Hop. The aircraft will be transferred to the commercial arm of the firm, Jetcraft Commercial, over the course of March to December this year. Three of the aircraft are ready to be placed, ...
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NewsAfter trial runs last year, EASA unveils conflict-zone information tool
European safety regulators have unveiled an information sharing and co-operation platform to improve access to conflict-zone information for aircraft operators. The initiative is intended to provide European Union Aviation Safety Agency members with the best data available for flight-planning purposes. Following a nine-month trial project last year, the bespoke platform ...