Having made impressive strides with its turnaround plan, Air Nambia is itching to get back into growth mode before a new breed of low-cost competitors swoops on the country. Martin Rivers reports. We know the low-cost carriers will come. It’s just a matter of when. So said Rene Gsponer, Air Namibia’s outgoing managing director, in a stone-faced interview at the International Air Tra...
Delta Cargo is looking to develop its network into Latin America (LATAM) while in North America it is focusing on US West coast growth. The carrier’s director of sales for the Americas, Andy Kirschner, tells Air Cargo Week, despite the industry facing some challenges like excess capacity, and foreign exchange yield pressure, it is seeing strong numbers domesticall...
Air Charter Service (ACS) has transported two Mil Mi-8 MTV helicopters from Africa to Europe using an Ilyushin IL-76 for refurbishment work. ACS says the operations took a number of weeks to plan, and the rotors, tails and landing gears all had to be removed before the helicopters were loaded onto the aircraft. The helicopters can carry up to 24 people or four tonnes of cargo. The ref...
Korean Air has finalised its order for 30 Boeing 737 MAXs and two Boeing 777-300 Extended Ranges in a deal worth about $4 billion. The airline announced its intention to purchase the aircraft at the Paris Air Show on 15 June. Korean Air also has the option for an additional 20 737 MAXs, which if exercised, would bring its total order to 52 aircraft. Boeing Comm...
International Airlines Group (IAG) is converting two Airbus 330-300 and two A330-200 longhaul aircraft options into firm orders for Aer Lingus and Iberia, respectively. Aer Lingus will receive its aircraft in 2016 while Iberia’s aircraft will be delivered between 2017 and 2018. They will enable the airlines to expand their existing longhaul fleets. The modern, fuel efficient aircraft w...
The Latvian Cabinet of Ministers has approved plans to sell 20% of airBaltic to German investor Ralf Dieter Montag-Girmes for EUR 52 million and agreed to invest a further EUR 80 million in the airline. The total of EUR 132 million of fresh capital for the Latvian carrier will spur its Horizon 2021 business plan and fleet modernisation. Ralf Dieter Montag Girmes, G...
During 50skyshades recent visit to Baku, in order to get to know the aviation industry of Azerbaijan republic, we had a chance to meet SW Business Aviation company (a part of Silk Way Group), to see by ourselves the infrastructure, discuss with the management their results of 2015 and future plans. Talking to General Director Boyukagha Guliyev, we found out that company is ready to say&n...
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for September showing solid demand growth compared to September 2014 for domestic and international traffic. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 7.3% compared to the year-ago period, slightly above the 7.1% growth achieved in August. September capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) inc...
American Airlines will offer new access to Cancun, Mexico – one of Mexico’s most popular destinations – when it adds new service from four U.S. cities in 2016. The new seasonal service to Cancun International Airport (CUN) will operate on Saturdays from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), Nashville International Airport (BNA) and Ka...
Iberia has confirmed an order for two long-haul Airbus A330-200s, to be delivered in 2017-2018. The twin-engine A330/200s modern and highly fuel-efficient and will reduce CO2 emissions. They have a range of up to 11,500 kilometres. The new aircraft will raise to 29 the number of long-haul aircraft ordered by Iberia since August 2014, of which deliveries will begin next month. Thirteen new Ai...
The airlines of the Lufthansa Group have suspended their commercial flight operations to and from the Sinai Peninsula until further notice. The precautionary action has been taken in view of the current Sinai situation. The Lufthansa Group will coordinate all its further actions in this regard in close consultation with the authorities. The action affects two planned weekly flights to and from Sha...
Last month, Athens-based VIP charter operator GainJet Aviation increased its flexibility with a quick change auxiliary fuel tank system from Swiss company Long Range. GainJet (Stand 800) will install the system in its VIP Boeing 737-400, increasing its flight endurance by as much as three-and-a-half hours to a total of nine hours aloft. That brings city pairs such as Dubai-London and New York-Pari...
Honeywell Aerospace is in the final stages of developing a native Apple Watch app that can control cabin systems in aircraft equipped with the company’s Ovation Select cabin management system. The watch software is expected to be available in the iTunes App Store next month and will be similar to the Ovation Select apps already available for Android and iOS devices, which can control cabin l...
Airport investment is in overdrive at aviation’s busiest global crossroads, as the hubs of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways vie to keep pace with the growth of their flag-carriers, and with eachother to attract international air traffic. While Doha’s new Hamad International is about to embark on an expansion that will take throughput to almost 70 million pass...
Airbus expects strong demand for widebody aircraft in China, as Chinese carriers work on their fleet plans for the next five years. Speaking to Flightglobal in Beijing, Airbus China president Eric Chen says the boom in outbound traffic, coupled with the relatively small widebody fleet in the country, will drive airlines to look at larger jets. The continued bottlenecks at the country’s ai...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
