All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 37
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NewsLufthansa shifts A350 hub capacity to counter aircraft delivery delays
Lufthansa is addressing delays in aircraft deliveries by shifting Airbus A350-900 capacity to its Frankfurt hub. The German carrier says four A350s have been transferred ahead of the summer season. Another pair will join them in May and July. Source: Lufthansa Lufthansa is transferring six A350-900s ...
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NewsAeroflot Superjet accident probe asks United Aircraft to consider design modifications
United Aircraft has emphasised that the inquiry into a bounced landing, leading to a fatal fire which destroyed an Aeroflot Superjet 100, has found no faults with the aircraft design.
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NewsProfitability re-emerges as Virgin Atlantic turns in record revenues
UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic is claiming to have delivered on a plan to return to profitability – counting this as profit before tax and exceptionals – for the first time since 2016. It achieved a fully-year operating profit of £230 million ($298 million) and pre-tax profit of £19.7 million, ...
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NewsAeroflot Superjet fatal fire inquiry highlights aisle jam as passengers retrieved luggage
Russian investigators believe passengers’ attempts to retrieve luggage during a fatal Aeroflot Superjet 100 fire probably slowed evacuation, and was a contributor to the severity of the outcome. Forty passengers and one flight attendant did not survive the fire, which ignited as fuel spilled from ruptured fuel tanks during a ...
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NewsPlay starts transferring Airbus fleet after securing Maltese AOC
Icelandic budget carrier Play has secured a Maltese air operator’s certificate from the country’s civil aviation regulator.
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NewsChina Airlines firms A350-1000 order
Taiwanese carrier China Airlines has firmed its preliminary agreement for 10 Airbus A350-1000s, which it will use for long-haul services to Europe and North America. The airline unveiled the initial agreement in December last year, part of a split order with Boeing. It has not given many details about the ...
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NewsAeroflot and regulator dispute inquiry findings over Superjet's fatal bounced landing
Both Aeroflot and Russian civil air transport regulator Rosaviatsia have dissented over investigators’ conclusions regarding the fatal hard landing and fire which destroyed a Superjet 100 nearly six years ago. Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee says the Aeroflot crew had “insufficient knowledge and skills” to control the jet in direct law, ...
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NewsInvestment firm Blackstone takes minority share in UK airports manager
US-based investment firm and asset manager Blackstone is taking a 22% shareholding in AGS Airports, the parent of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports in the UK. Blackstone is acquiring the shareholding from AviAlliance – which took over AGS Airports towards the end of last year – for a sum of ...
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NewsPassengers suffered fractures during 757’s ‘abrupt’ response to conflict alert
US investigators have determined that two passengers on board a United Boeing 757-200 suffered bone fractures after the crew responded to a conflict alert with an ”abrupt” pitch input. Two cabin crew also received minor injuries during the incident, says the National Transportation Safety Board. The aircraft had been operating ...
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NewsRussia’s Sky Gates introduces a second Il-96-400T freighter
Russian carrier Red Wings has introduced a second Ilyushin Il-96-400T freighter to the fleet of its subsidiary operator Sky Gates. The aircraft – RA-96101 – joins another of the type (RA-96103) which Sky Gates took in late 2023, just after Red Wings acquired the freight airline. Sky Gates also uses ...
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NewsLondon Gatwick implementing time-based separation on single mixed-mode runway
UK air navigation service NATS has applied its intelligent arrival separation system to a mixed-mode single runway for the first time, with implementation at London Gatwick. The system uses dynamic time-based – rather than distance-based – approach spacing in order to maintain sufficient arrival rates in strong headwind conditions. Headwinds ...
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NewsLithuania’s GetJet to set up own MRO facility in Vilnius
Lithuanian wet-lease specialist GetJet Airlines is planning to establish a maintenance facility at Vilnius airport to support its in-house technical operations. The company intends the first aircraft at the new €10 million ($10.8 million) facility to enter maintenance by 2028. GetJet operates a fleet of single-aisle types including Airbus A320-family ...
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NewsCasablanca airport expansion to feature hub terminal before end of decade
Morocco’s Casablanca Mohammed V airport is to undergo expansion with a new terminal building which is expected to open in 2029. The expansion is part of the country’s ‘Airports 2030’ strategic programme, and will include a parallel 3,700m runway and a new 42m control tower. National airport operator ONDA says ...
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NewsTunisian president demands action plan to ‘rescue’ Tunisair from poor condition
Tunisian president Kais Saied has told the head of flag-carrier Tunisair that urgent measures are required to address the poor state of the airline. Saied held a meeting on 24 March with chief executive Halima Ibrahim Khouaja – who was appointed to the post in early November last year – ...
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NewsPortugal’s TAP manages to stay profitable as it enters final restructuring year
Portuguese carrier TAP’s revenues rose 1% last year, sufficient for it to claim an all-time high figure of €4.2 billion ($4.5 billion), although its net profit fell by 70% – a decline it attributes partly to revenue adjustments and labour provisions. The airline’s full-year performance includes the effect of its ...
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NewsSwiftair 737 crash: Prosecutor seeks to question pilot as inquiry points to hydraulic issue
Lithuanian prosecutors are seeking to question the pilot of a Boeing 737-400 freighter which crashed on approach to Vilnius last year, after preliminary findings indicated that a hydraulic issue preceded the fatal accident. The Swiftair aircraft came down short of runway 19 while inbound from Leipzig on 25 November. Lithuania’s ...
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NewsHelvetic E195-E2 becomes largest aircraft operating at London City
Swiss wet-lease carrier Helvetic Airways has become the first to operate an Embraer 195-E2 into London City airport, following a service from Zurich. The airline – operating the flight on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines – flew the jet (HB-AZI) into the UK capital’s downtown airport on 26 March. ...
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NewsCharter tour Mi-8 fatally collided with mountain ridge as crew descended in poor visibility
Russian investigators have found that a Mil Mi-8T helicopter captain’s decision to descend in limited visibility, while operating in mountainous terrain, led to a fatal collision with a ridge, with no survivors from among the 22 occupants. The Vityaz Aero helicopter (RA-25656) had lifted off from the vicinity of the ...
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NewsSouth African transport minister under fire over looming air navigation ‘crisis’
South Africa’s second-largest political party is urging a stronger response from the country’s transport ministry over weaknesses in air traffic control operations, and demanding the release of a report detailing safety and reliability concerns. Transport minister Barbara Creecy recently ordered the “precautionary suspension” of Air Traffic and Navigation Services chief ...
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NewsKenya Airways aims to attract strategic partner as it turns in profitable full year
Kenya Airways is focusing on completing a capital restructuring, to reduce leverage, and increasing liquidity after it turned in a full-year net profit of KShs5.4 billion ($41.7 million). Chief executive Allan Kilavuka says the company is still seeking a strategic investor in order to ensure long-term sustainability. “Our turnaround strategy ...