All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 266
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NewsCoronavirus ‘no excuse’ for state aid to failing carriers: Walsh
IAG chief Willie Walsh is firmly rejecting any notion that airlines which were struggling before the coronavirus outbreak should be granted state aid to help cope with its impact. He told the A4E aviation summit in Brussels on 3 March that the outbreak was “not an excuse” for such carriers ...
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NewsIncomplete single EU aviation market costing €37bn annually
Europe’s much-vaunted single aviation market remains an incomplete initiative, costing airlines €37 billion ($41 billion) per year in terms of disunity in legislation and application of regulations, according to an independent air transport research group. Half of this figure – some €17.4 billion – could be saved by implementing an ...
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NewsWizz Air applies for AOC for new Abu Dhabi carrier
Central European budget carrier Wizz Air has reached a firm agreement to establish a new operator in Abu Dhabi, which will commence services in autumn this year. The airline is tying up with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company to set up the Middle Eastern operation. It states that it has ...
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NewsEl Al predicts deeper financial impact from coronavirus
Israeli flag-carrier El Al is looking to take cost-saving measures after predicting a deepening financial impact on its operations from the coronavirus outbreak. El Al is forecasting a $50-70 million cut in its revenues for the first four months of this year, January-April. This includes a reduction of $40-50 million ...
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NewsRolls-Royce shrugs off defections from Trent 1000 to GEnx
Rolls-Royce insists the Trent 1000 remains a competitive powerplant despite the technical problems, and the defection of high-profile customers to the rival General Electric GEnx. Japan’s All Nippon Airways has opted for the GEnx, rather than the incumbent Trent, for its latest batch of Boeing 787s. Air New Zealand also ...
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NewsFly540 Dash 8 lands on rough ground after engine failure
One of Kenyan regional carrier Fly540’s Bombardier Dash 8-300 turboprops has made an emergency landing, apparently on open ground, after an engine failure. The aircraft (5Y-CGH) came down near Kapese, an airfield in north-western Kenya. Fly540 says the aircraft sustained a “suspected foreign-object strike” which resulted in an engine failure. ...
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NewsRolls-Royce could choose not to break-even on A350-1000 engine
While the Trent XWB-84 engine for the Airbus A350-900 is set to break even this year, Rolls-Royce is not guaranteeing a similar achievement on the higher-thrust XWB-97 for the A350-1000. Chief executive Warren East, speaking at a 28 February briefing, said the company would ship its first break-even XWB-84 in ...
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NewsSAA's 'complex' rescue plan pushed back to end-March
South African Airways’ restructuring plan has been pushed back to the end of March, as the airline’s business rescue practitioners seek further time to address the complexity of the effort. The practitioners have informed that the extension of the deadline to publish the plan – from 28 February to 31 ...
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NewsAirbus carries out first flight of 251t A330neo
Airbus has commenced test flights with the first A330-900 with the higher maximum take-off weight of 251t. The airframer confirms that aircraft MSN1967 – bearing the test registration F-WWCE – lifted off from Toulouse at 12:27 local time on 28 February (below). Source: Airbus Airbus has been ...
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NewsRolls-Royce nears break-even delivery for A350-900 powerplant
Airbus’s A350-900 helped Rolls-Royce to cut its average unit losses on its large engine programmes last year, and contributed to the powerplant manufacturer’s achieving a record 510 Trent engine deliveries. Average original equipment unit losses for its large engines fell by 14%, from £1.4 million to £1.2 million, last year ...
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NewsFinnair seeks savings as it rapidly rethinks coronavirus impact
Finnair is taking a more pessimistic view of the potential impact from the coronavirus outbreak, expecting it to result in significantly lower operating profits for the first half. It is looking to trim costs by €40-50 million ($44-55 million) to cope with the threat to its revenue streams, and is ...
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NewsRolls-Royce provisions for loss-making Trent 1000 TEN contracts
Rolls-Royce is taking a £459 million ($591 million) charge provision to recognise that some future Trent 1000 TEN contracts will become loss-making as a result of margins being affected by the blade issues affecting the engine. The engine manufacturer says the situation affects a “small number” of contracts, the result ...
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NewsSAS flags engine concerns as it looks to pick new regional fleet type
SAS is concerned about the powerplant reliability issues as it prepares to select an aircraft type on which to base a future regional operation. The Scandinavian carrier has indicated that the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 family are the candidates under consideration. But both are powered by versions of the ...
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NewsProposed US legislation aims to restore faith in aircraft certification
US senators have introduced a bill to Congress intended to reinforce safety and oversight, particularly with regards to certification, in the aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max grounding crisis. The proposed legislation, titled the Restoring Aviation Accountability act, has been submitted by Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal, Tom Udall and Edward ...
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NewsCFM to build 10 737 Max engines weekly for 2020
CFM International is expecting to produce an average of 10 Leap-1B engines – the powerplant for the Boeing 737 Max – per week over the course of 2020, out of a total annual Leap production of 1,400. The forecast has been disclosed by CFM partner Safran in its full-year financial ...
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NewsIran ATR followed wrong approach after Tabriz runway switch
Iranian investigators believe failure to switch an Iran Air ATR 72-600’s avionics to follow a new approach resulted in the aircraft’s landing on the wrong runway following a service to Tabriz. The aircraft, arriving from Baku as IR779 on 10 February, had been conducting an approach with clearance for runway ...
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NewsGovernment sets aside $1bn to cover SAA guaranteed debt
South Africa’s government has set aside R16.4 billion ($1.1 billion) over the medium term for South African Airways to repay guaranteed debt and to cover debt-service costs. The national treasury has disclosed the figure in its newly-released 2020 budget review. It states that the government also anticipates that additional funding ...
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NewsSAS edges towards regional fleet renewal with Danish crew deal
Scandinavia’s SAS has outlined the preconditions for placing an order to renew the mid-sized fleet of single-aisle jets serving its regional network. It says that some 20% of its network uses Airbus A319s and Boeing 737-700s and that using aircraft of the appropriate size is important for both financial and ...
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NewsFailed bearing suspected after A319 wheel loss
Canadian investigators have observed an apparent failed outer bearing on the main landing-gear assembly of the Air Canada Airbus A319 which lost a wheel before arrival at Toronto. Transportation Safety Board of Canada says images of the aircraft, which arrived from New York LaGuardia on 18 February, indicate that the ...
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NewsTerrain-mapping An-140 to commence test flights
Test flights are set to commence with an Antonov An-140 turboprop modified to carry out aerial terrain mapping by Russia’s Myasishchev experimental facility. The twin-engined aircraft has been adapted with specialised equipment for cartographic work, says United Aircraft. It states that the An-140 is to undergo a “comprehensive” series of ...