Following lengthy deliberations, the Latvian government has agreed to sell a 20% stake in Air Baltic(BT,Riga) to German investor Ralf Dieter Montag-Girmes for EUR52 million (USD57.2 million). The official LETA news service says that alongside Montag-Girmes' investment, government will shore up the carrier's coffers with an EUR80 million (USD88 million) loan from the Latvian central bank...
It was all smiles for American Airlines’ John Dudley, as he became the first airline pilot certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Airbus’ all-new A350 XWB jetliner. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for eight years,” Dudley said at the Airbus training centre in Toulouse, France. “Being an A350 XWB captain is a dream come true, a...
Norwegian has launched the UK’s first direct flight to Puerto Rico in almost in a decade as the low-cost carrier continues its rapid growth in Britain. Norwegian, Europe’s third largest low-cost carrier, will operate flights to the United States’ territory of Puerto Rico, providing over 12,000 affordable seats to the Caribbean from £159 one way. The flights will ope...
Rolls-Royce and Liebherr-Aerospace have named their 50:50 joint venture to develop manufacturing capability and capacity for the power gearbox for Rolls-Royce’s new UltraFanTM engine design. The new company, to be known as Aerospace Transmission Technologies GmbH, officially started operations at the site of Liebherr-Aerospace in Friedrichshafen last month. The initial team consists of ne...
Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) has signed a partnership with Ramco Systems, which specializes in business software systems, especially in the MRO sector, to set up a joint innovation center in Singapore. A team of around ten people will work there on designing and developing innovative, rapid-deployment solutions for strategi...
Qatar Airways took delivery of its 24th and 25th Boeing 787 Dreamliners yesterday in a ceremony at Boeing's production facility in Everett, United States. Above: Celebrating the official handover to Qatar Airways of its 24th and 25th B787 Dreamliner in Seattle are, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker (second from right) and Boeing Commercial Presi...
Being a low-cost carrier does not mean getting low-cost maintenance, a group of executives with Singapore-based LCCs agreed. Speaking as panelists Thursday at the Aviation Week Network MRO Asia-Pacific conference in Singapore, executives from three airlines – Jetstar Asia, Scoot and Tigerair – named their top priorities in what they look for in an MRO provider. Jetstar Asia&...
China Southern Airlines Co. dropped to its lowest in two weeks after a Communist Party body said it's investigating the carrier's chairman for "serious" discipline violations. The carrier, Asia's largest by passengers and fleet size, fell Thursday by as much as 1.9 percent to HK$6.10 in Hong Kong trading, its lowest on an intraday basis since Oct. 22. Shares were down...
Spring Airlines Japan Co., Ltd. (IJ) announced Wednesday that it will start international operation in February 2016 after filling an application with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau to expand its business scoop. The low-cost carrier commenced domestic operations on Aug. 1, 2014 from its hub at Tokyo Narita Airport. It is now applying to expand its business scope to cover international ser...
Brisbane West Wellcamp has secured its first international flight with Cathay Pacific to operate a one-off Boeing 747-8F freighter service to Australia’s newest airport in late November. The freighter will touch down at the airport, which was built by private company Wagners and opened its doors for the first time almost a year ago, on November 23 and return to Hong Kong the same day...
Virgin Australia says it is on track for a full year profit in 2015/16 after improved yields and lower costs moved the airline back into the black during the first quarter of the current financial year. The company on Thursday reported statutory net profit after tax for the three months to September 30 2015 of $1.7 million, bouncing back into profitability following a $59.1 million statutory lo...
Air New Zealand will become the world’s third largest ATR operator after placing a fresh order for 15 additional ATR 72-600 aircraft for delivery from late 2016. Eleven aircraft are earmarked to replace the airline’s nine- to 15-year-old ATR 72-500 fleet, while the remaining four are to enable expansion within regional New Zealand, Air NZ said on Thursday. The...
