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ExecuJet Set for Expansion in Dubai and Jeddah

ExecuJet Middle East this month marks its 16th anniversary with plans to further expand its presence here in Dubai. The company, which is part of the Swiss-based ExecuJet Aviation group, also is announcing plans to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia with a new FBO in Jeddah. With a main base at Dubai International Airport, for the past two years ExecuJet has also operated a temporary base at...

UK – Sharm el-Sheikh Flights Halted

The British Government has suspended flights between the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh amid fears that the Russian-owned Airbus A321 which crashed on October 31 may have been brought down by an explosive device. The Metrojet aircraft, bound for St Petersburg, came down in the Sinai desert shortly after take-off killing all 224 on board. In a statement on the evening of November 4, the Britis...

Weston Aviation opens Cork FBO

Weston Aviation has opened up a new FBO in Cork, Ireland. It is the fifth FBO to be added to the company’s European network. The new Business Aviation Centre features hangar and office space capable of accommodating aircraft up to super mid-size jets. In charge of the operation as managing director Ireland is Helene Wall-Horan. Heading up the FBO team as station manager is Paul Daly, w...

Latvia sells 20% stake in Air Baltic to German investor

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...

American Airlines captain becomes the first FAA-certified A350 XWB pilot

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...

Atlanta's Hartsfield–Jackson rolls out new Raytheon ATC system

The Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility in Atlanta's Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is now operating exclusively with automation technology from Raytheon Company. Raytheon is providing the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) as part of the FAA's Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement contract. "The STARS implement...

Egypt replaces Sharm el-Sheikh airport chief

The head of Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh airport has been replaced amid growing international concern that the Russian plane which crashed soon after leaving the Red Sea resort the airport was downed by a bomb. But Adel Mahgoub, chairman of the state company that runs Egypt's civilian airports, said Abdel-Wahab Ali had been "promoted" to become his assistant and the move late last...

Heathrow CEO pledges guarantee on air quality limits with expansion

Giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee, Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye confirmed that Heathrow expansion can be delivered within EU air quality limits and without increasing the amount of airport-related vehicles on the roads. Mr Holland-Kaye explained that a “triple lock” guarantee would address the air quality surrounding the airport, should Heathrow be allowed to...

Norwegian launches UK’s only direct flights to Puerto Rico

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 announce name of power gearbox joint venture

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 And Ramco Systems Create The MRO Lab in Singapore

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 receives its latest Dreamliners

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...

For Asia-Pacific LCCs, MRO is not low cost

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 Air Falls After Chairman Si Probed for Violations

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 to Start International Operation Next Feb.

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...

Cathay to operate one-off freighter service to Wellcamp

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 back into profit in first quarter of 2015/16

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 NZ buys 15 ATR 72-600s, shows strategic regional hand

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...

Solar Storm Shuts Down Swedish Air Space

Swedish aviation officials say a solar storm has knocked out their air traffic control systems, prompting them to shut down the country's airspace for more than an hour. The civil aviation authority said the solar storm Wednesday created disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field, which affected radar installations in southern Sweden. It wasn't immediately clear whether other countr...

Iranian Airline Violates Terms of Nuclear Deal by Purchasing Planes to Use in Syrian War

One of Iran's commercial airlines last week bought a UK-manufactured jet with the aim of using it to deliver Iranian soldiers and weapons to Syria in support of the embattled regime of President Bashar Assad, International Business Times has learned. The purchase of the aircraft by an Iranian concern represents a clear violation of the deal brokered by the administration of U.S. President...

JAL Achieves the Highest Ranking in the 2015 JCSI Survey

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced yesterday that it was ranked number one for "Loyalty" and "Customer Satisfaction" in the International Airlines category, according to results of the fourth JCSIiJapan Customer Satisfaction Indexjsurvey for 2015, conducted by Service Productivity and Innovation for Growth (SPRING). In the Travel category, JALPAK, a JAL subsidiary company, a...