There may be no alternative to using carbon-based fuels to power aircraft, but Air New Zealand is switching to electric vehicles on the ground. The airline is buying 36 fully-electric cars from BMW and 12 plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi SUVs for its sales staff. It is also directly importing 28 fully-electric vans from Renault for use at airports. Air New Zealand said in a statement that i...
The government has approved the acquisition of a second batch of four P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. Acquisition of eight Boeing P-8As was approved in 2014 (and the first aircraft are now under assembly), but the recently released Defence White Paper’s accompanying Integrated Investment Program (IIP) revealed that, “Eight Poseidon aircraft will be introduced in the ea...
The rising demand for surplus parts that is re-shaping airline aftermarket strategies presents component manufacturers with clear opportunities to follow their engine-producing colleagues by grabbing larger slices of the growing used-parts pie. The used serviceable material ( USM ) market was $3.5 billion in 2013, according to consultancy ICF SH&E, including about $2.2 billion in engine par...
Meridian, the award-winning private aviation company based at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, NJ, is pleased to announce the addition of a Falcon 7X (N221HJ) to its growing charter fleet of private business jets. This ultra-long range aircraft was completed in 2008, and seats up to fourteen passengers. It also has the capacity to sleep up to seven for long haul trips. It is based at Teterboro Airp...
Troubled French group Zodiac Aerospace said on Tuesday that its operating profit in the current year ending in August was likely to be unchanged from last year, as a result of its problems with meeting orders for airliner seats. The company, which supplies both Airbus and Boeing, said last month that it would not now hit its goal this year of raising its operating margin to around 10...
Airlines are also in poor health, having lost more than $10 billion since FY09 with Air India being the biggest culprit, making up approximately 60% of this loss. To the casual observer, it would seem that the aviation sector in India is doing well. Air traffic has grown at 14% over the last 10 years and India is expected to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2020. Howe...
Boeing delivered Nok Air's 21st Next-Generation 737-800 during a ceremony at the Seattle Delivery Center. The celebration marked the third direct-purchased 737-800 to be delivered to Nok Air. "We are extremely pleased to welcome another new 737-800 to our growing all-Boeing fleet," said Patee Sarasin, CEO of Nok Air. "The 737 provides us with the efficiency and reliabili...
The long list of assets owned by Vijay Mallya, who has been in news constantly since the past few days for fleeing away from the country even though he owes state-run banks some 9000 crore rupees, has not been able to avoid the Indian government's hawk eyes. Apparently, the government is all set to auction off Vijay Mallya's assets, which include his personal Airbus ACJ 319, so that his...
UK airports had their busiest ever summer last year, collectively handling 78m passengers, and the indicators are that 2015 as a whole was the busiest year on record. London City Airport certainly had a record-breaking year, with 18 per cent growth in passengers to 4.3m. More people than ever are taking to the skies and generating wealth for the UK economy in doing so – passengers travell...
FlightSafety International announces that its simulator for the Sikorsky S-76C+™ and S-76C++™ located in Singapore has been qualified to Level D by the United States Federal Aviation Administration. The facility has also been approved to provide FAA PART 142 training under FlightSafety’s single certificate. “We are pleased to announce that training for the Sikorsky S-76C...
Reaction to the new Lufthansa A320neo layout, including two more rows of seats and the Space-Flex v2 galley/lav combo, has been impressively loud and negative. While the forward half of the plane offers a smidgen more space for business class passengers, the back of the fuselage – where the SpaceFlex kit makes its mark – sees the opposite effect. Reduced pitch, limited overhead bin spa...
Major assembly of the first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner is underway, the latest major milestone in the development of the newest member of the super-efficient 787 family. Boeing partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. began installing the circular frames into the midforward section of the fuselage on March 14, a full two weeks ahead of schedule. "Beginning major assembly early under...
In a meeting held on March 13, 2016, Royal Jordanian’s Board of Directors, presided by Chairman Suleiman Hafez, endorsed the company’s audited financial results. The figures show that Royal Jordanian registered a net profit before tax of JD21 million in 2015, while in 2014 it had registered JD49.5 million net losses before tax. The net profit after tax reached JD16 million, while in...
French investigators have revealed the first officer of a Dassault Falcon 7X used an escape technique picked up from bombing exercises to regain control of the jet during a trim runaway event on 24 May 2011, which later resulted in the temporary, worldwide grounding of the long-range trijet fleet. The aircraft’s trimmable horizontal stabiliser moved from its neutral position to 12° do...
Bombardier Business Aircraft has teamed with SmartSky to offer the SmartSky 4G LTE-based network on in-service Learjets, Challengers and Globals. Bombardier’s service center network will sell and install the equipment for SmartSky 4G, a new network that is set to become operational later this year. SmartSky uses 4G beamforming technology and 60MHz of spectrum on an air-to-ground platform to...
Boeing, Air Europa and SMBC Aviation Capital are celebrating the delivery of the carrier's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner today. Air Europa leased its first 787 through an agreement with SMBC Aviation Capital. The delivery is also the first Dreamliner to SMBC Aviation Capital. The newest addition to Air Europa's fleet will touch down in Madrid on March 16th followin...
This year’s Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) should provide important insight into the extent business aviation can pin its aspirations on emerging markets such as China. As it has in the past, the Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Service Centre at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport will host the show, which takes place from April 12 to 14. The slowdown i...
Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris plans to launch a subsidiary airline in Costa Rica to allow it to expand its route network into South America. “We are trying to obtain an AOC [air operator’s certificate] in Costa Rica,”Volaris chief executive Enrique Beltranena tells Flightglobal. “That process is moving well ahead.” The airline embarked on the p...
Leading Austrian operator Tyrolean Jet Services (TJS) received San Marino AOC and has created a new subsidiary TJS San Marino, which is 100% owned by Tyrolean Jet Services Group. The operator's certificate and the new company introduced the first business jet - Gulfstream G650 (T7-AZG). Aeronautical authorities of San Marino have introduced a new aircraft register in partnership with Am...
MC Aviation Partners ("MCAP") announced today that it has commenced the lease of one used Trent-powered Boeing B777-200ER to Russian operator VIM Airlines. VIM Airlines was founded in 2002 and is based in Moscow Domodedovo Airport. It operates a fleet of ten Airbus A319-111 and Boeing B757-200 on regular and charter flights to domestic and international destinations.
Sikorsky's first CH-53K King Stallion has achieved speeds of 120kts as the heavy-lift helicopter development project presses forward with flight envelope expansion and adds a second test aircraft to the mix. The Lockheed Martin-owned rotorcraft manufacturer says its second triple-engine giant achieved flight on 22 January, and the two developmental aircraft have logged 35 flight hours since...
