All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 255
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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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NewsAvianca voluntarily files for Chapter 11 protection
Latin American operator Avianca is voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a New York court, to give the company time to re-organise its business. Avianca Holdings says the filing request, with the Southern District of New York bankruptcy court, is “necessary” given the “unpredictable impact” of the coronavirus ...
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NewsQuarantine scenario draws contempt from UK airline and crew circles
Airline and cockpit crew representatives have condemned indications by UK prime minister Boris Johnson that he is prepared to introduce quarantine measures for inbound passengers to the UK. Johnson spoke on 10 May, outlining “conditional” steps towards easing the lockdown imposed on the country in March following the coronavirus outbreak. ...
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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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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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NewsBA and American offer London slots to ease transatlantic pact concerns
Oneworld alliance carriers British Airways and American Airlines have offered slots at London Heathrow or Gatwick to address competition concerns on transatlantic services arising from their joint business arrangement. The measures have been put forward ahead of the expiry, after 10 years, of a binding commitment made in 2010 when ...
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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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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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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 ...
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NewsRolls-Royce prepares to cut workforce as civil engine outlook slumps
Rolls-Royce is expecting to detail to its personnel, by the end of May, the impact on the size of its civil aerospace workforce as it adapts to the collapse in air transport demand. It expects to deliver just 250 widebody aircraft engines this year, compared with its previous estimate of ...
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NewsHeathrow trials aim to set common standard for bio-screening
London Heathrow airport’s operator is looking to assist with establishing a common international standard for health screening, by testing technology intended to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission. It is to explore such options as ultra-violet sanitation – which could be applied to security trays – plus contactless security procedures ...
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NewsA380 finally lands freighter role with LHT modification
German maintenance specialist Lufthansa Technik is working on a conversion for an Airbus A380 as part of its effort to offer temporary passenger-to-cargo modification services. Lufthansa Technik has not identified the customer but states that it has been awarded the technical and engineering task to support the “operational change” for ...
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NewsIrkut announces death of key Superjet and MC-21 certification figure
Russian airframer Irkut has announced the death of senior civil aircraft certification figure Igor Vinogradov. Vinogradov had been instrumental in advancing certification of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 which Irkut subsequently absorbed into its product line through the establishment of a regional aircraft division. He was also active in the work ...
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NewsSouth Africa’s Comair files for business rescue
South African carrier Comair has become the latest operator in the country to enter business rescue, as it aims to restructure to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Comair made a pre-tax loss of R645 million ($35 million) for the six months to 31 December. “While we had started making good ...
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NewsVirgin Atlantic to cut over 3,000 jobs and cull 747-400 fleet
UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic is to cut over 3,100 jobs and retire its Boeing 747-400s in an effort to address the financial pressure of the coronavirus crisis. The airline says it will “immediately suspend” the use of all seven of its 747-400s and is still intending to retire four ...