Alitalia is to begin direct flights in November from Italy to Cuba. The first non-stop service, which will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, will take off on 29 November from Rome to Havana and be flown on the route with the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 aircraft. This is the fourth new long-haul destination started this year by Alitalia following successful launches to Santiag...
Leonardo-Finmeccanica announced that five corporate helicopters have recently been sold to three customers in South America. The sales include one AgustaWestland AW169 and two GrandNew helicopters to corporate customers in Argentina, and another two GrandNew helicopters to a corporate customer in Venezuela. All five aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2016. The newly-certified...
Less than one year after aircraft production was moved from the Genoa site, last Thursday the first Piaggio Aerospace airplane produced in the new Villanova d’Albenga plant took off from the adjacent runway of the international airport Clemente Panero. The aircraft, an Avanti EVO due to be delivered in September, is the most recent version of the famous P.180, a twin-engine turboprop sold in...
Carlo Logli is stepping down as chief executive of Piaggio Aerospace and will be replaced in the interim by the company’s chief operating officer Renato Vaghi. The announcement comes three weeks after the Italian airframer – wholly owned by Abu Dhabi investment house Mubadala – published its industrial plan. This involves a major reshaping of Piaggio’s portfolio to posit...
Piaggio Aerospace insisted last month that it will keep producing and supporting the Avanti Evo. In an August 16 statement, the Italian manufacturer sought to reassure operators who appear to have been discouraged by a July 28 press release indicating that a new “industrial plan” will see the company focus primarily on military programs. Annual deliveries of the civil version of the...
Ryanair announced a new route from Liverpool to Bari, with a twice weekly service beginning in March 2017, the first route of Ryanair’s Liverpool summer 2017 schedule, which will be launched in full soon. Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said: “Ryanair is pleased to announce a new route from Liverpool to Bari, which starts in March with a twice weekly service, the first of our su...
Ryanair, Italy’s No 1 airline, warmly welcomed the initiatives taken by the Government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to reverse the €2.50 municipal tax increase from 1 Sept 2016, and Minister Graziano Delrio’s revised airport guidelines, which will enable Italy’s regional airports to compete on a level playing field with airports in Rome and Milan as long as they compl...
Leonardo-Finmeccanica announced today that the first flying AW609 prototype has arrived in Philadelphia following a recent resumption of flight testing. Departing from Arlington, Texas, the aircraft’s flight plan included an overnight stop in Huntsville, Ala, before arriving in Philadelphia on Wednesday, August 10. With industrialization underway, Leonard...
A DHL cargo plane skidded off a runway at Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport early Friday, its nose busting through a perimeter fence and onto a provincial highway. Officials said no one was injured. The airport near Milan, a hub for low-cost airlines and cargo traffic, was closed for about 2 ½ hours, forcing the cancellation of 15 flights and creating delays during the busy summer...
This order will increase the Italian Coast Guard’s AW139 fleet to twelve, with options for a further two helicopters Aircraft to perform maritime patrol, search and rescue and emergency medical service mission Almost 240 customers from over 70 countries have ordered over 960 AW139 helicopters Leonardo-Finmeccanica announced an order for additional two AW139 intermediate twin he...
The Italian city of Pisa welcomed the first Qatar Airways flight to arrive at its international airport from Doha, Qatar. The Airbus A330 landed at 06:55 and was greeted by a celebratory water canon salute as well as a welcome ceremony with flags and drums from people in traditional costumes. The VIP delegation on board the flight, which included the airline’s Senior Vice President...
The future of Piaggio’s Avanti twin turboprop pusher is in question, after the Italian airframer’s statement this week about a new “industrial plan” that will see the company focus primarily on military programs going forward. Annual deliveries for the civil version of the aircraft have dropped into the low single digits for the past several years. An unmanned patrol/reconn...
