Jetstar’s New Zealand turboprop operations have taken off with the first regional services getting underway on Tuesday morning. The Qantas-owned low-cost carrier is taking the fight up to Air New Zealand on regional services with five 50-seat Q300s. The first two routes – Auckland-Napier and Auckland-Nelson – commenced on Tuesday, with Palmerston North-Auckland, N...
Air New Zealand has appointed a former Google executive and the founder of an organisation that supports start-ups in the Silicon Valley as its first chief digital officer. Avi Golan will start in the new role in early 2016 and is expected to “play a leading role in the strategy to engage digitally with customers across multiple international markets in a way that is relevant to them thro...
Airports are responding to changing passenger expectations with greater investment in IT systems such as back-end improvements to speed up checkin and border processing, beacon technology to provide real-time notifications and greater accessibility to wifi. A survey of airport executives from technology provider SITA and Airports Council International (ACI) found airports around the world spent...
An Air France Boeing 777-200, registration F-GSPZ performing flight AF-128 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Beijing (China) with 269 people on board, was enroute at FL330 about 220 nm east of St. Petersburg (Russia) when the crew needed to shut an engine (GE90) down. Th e aircraft turned around to divert to St. Petersburg, drifted down and landed safely on St. Petersburg's 10R about...
Japan Airlines resumes flying Monday from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Tokyo's Narita International Airport for the first time in more than 14 years. The Japanese carrier initially will operate four flights a week but has said it might expand to daily service in the spring. It will fly a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet -- which has 161 seats and first-class, premium econ...
Global air travel demand is expected to soften as a result of negative developments in the world economy. IATA is now forecasting demand to reach seven billion by 2034, instead of stronger figure of 7.4 billion it forecasted earlier. The updated count is based on a 3.8 percent average annual growth rate using 2014 baseline numbers (3.3 billion), a lowered outlook from the 4.1 percent previou...
An American Airlines flight attendant who described herself as "crazy" and a "train wreck" attacked fellow crew members and U.S. marshals during a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Frankfurt, Germany, last week, according to documents filed in federal court. The complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, says Joanne Snow is charged with inte...
A Turkish Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany today after an "unclaimed mobile phone" was found on board. Flight TK1617 from Istanbul to Frankfurt was diverted to the German airport of Nuremberg after declaring an "emergency" on board. Media outlets in Turkey reported that the pilots hit the panic alarm after a derelict mobile phone was...
The Swiss solar-powered plane whose record-setting, round-the-world flight was put on hold in July by weather and battery trouble has raised the EUR$20 million it needs to finish the trip, co-founder and pilot Andre Borschberg said on Monday. Borschberg, at the United Nations' Paris climate summit with co-pilot Bertrand Piccard, said backers that include chemical maker Solvay, Swiss lift ma...
Portland, Maine-based Mac Air Group plans to launch a new regional fractional ownership program using a fleet of six refurbished Hawker 1000s early next year. Under its QJet Shares program, ownership of each aircraft will be limited to six individuals, or corporations, who demonstrate similar travel profiles. The hourly rate will be $2,850, the company said. Maine Aviation Aircraft Ma...
The first satcom call has been made using Cobham Satcom’s Aviator 200S system over Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband satcom service. It reduces the number of LRUs on the aircraft from four to two, employing an antenna that combines the enhanced low-gain antenna, RF power amplifier and diplexer into a single compact unit, according to Cobham. The 200S is designed as the f...
Safran’s Aircelle division made a big impression on Paris Air Show visitors in June when it demonstrated its super-thin electroluminescent variable display lighting on an Airbus A380. For NBAA 2015 Aircelle (Booth N5317) has integrated the display onto a 370-microns-thin magnetically backed film that can be easily positioned on a business jet, turning it into an infinitel...
By analyzing travel data, engine maker Cummins fine-tunes its flight operation. Cummins uses three Gulfstreams and one Embraer regional jet to meet its wide-ranging air travel needs. Chris Raskob has landed on airstrips in Northern Canada where there are few roads. As the Director of Corporate Aviation for Cummins Inc says, “We fly to a lot of places you can’t get to any other wa...
Emirates Flight Catering plans to open a facility to supply private and business flights operating out of Dubai South. The area’s aviation district said the Emirates unit would build a facility spread across 4,800 square metres, providing in-flight catering and support services. The aviation district is part of Dubai South, a 145-square kilometre, purpose-built aerotropolis created aro...
Countries in the Middle East must expand cooperation on air traffic management and improve safety and security standards to take advantage of surging passenger demand, as the region is expected to lead aviation growth, the International Air Transport Association chief said. “As a region, the Middle East is leading the world with passenger demand expected to expand 4.6 per cent annually fo...
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank unit tasked by the Croatian government to find a suitable partner for Croatia Airlines (OU, Zagreb), has located three firms willing to invest in the airline. According to EX-YU Aviation News, sources close to the privatization process told the Večernji list newspaper that the firms include Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l), Turkish...
Aeroflot Group («the Group», Moscow Exchange ticker: AFLT) today published its consolidated interim financial statements for the nine months ended 30 September 2015, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. 9M 2015 Operating and Financial Highlights for Aeroflot Group: • Group passenger traffic increased by 13.3% year-on-year,...
The Russian defence ministry’s Arctic division has accepted the first polar-optimised Mil Mi-8AMTSh-VA rotorcraft from Russian Helicopters. The type is derived from the Mi-8AMTSh-V that the Russian military already uses, but can operate in temperatures down to -40˚C and fly out to 700nm (1,300km) using auxiliary fuel tanks. It contains equipment that allows it to operate in low temperatur...
BGS, an international provider of ground handling and aircraft fueling services, is delighted to announce having freshly signed a new agreement with airBaltic, the largest carrier in the Baltic States. The contract concerns BGS activity in Riga, the largest airport in the region, as well as its services in airports located in Warsaw and Palanga. Under the new year-long agreement, BGS shall supp...
Cathay Pacific Airways yesterday said it would pay C$6 million ($4.48 million) to settle an antitrust case in Canada involving its cargo operations. According to media reports in Hong Kong, the carrier made the announcement in a filing to the local stock exchange, and the settlement agreement is pending approval by the Canadian courts. The filing reportedly also said that Cathay Pacific...
Siauliu International Airport is now able to receive cargo aircraft loaded with animal and vegetable shipments and can also offer services at a veterinary post. The station is complete with refrigeration equipment and provides opportunities for animal and vegetable exports of goods through the Lithuanian gateway. The airport says it is negotiating with European Union flower-growing companies...
