Etihad Airways is deeply disappointed by the German court’s decision handed down today. We are reviewing the judgement and will file an appeal against the decision early next week. Etihad Airways owns 29.2 per cent of airberlin, Germany’s second largest airline. The social and economic damage to Germany by this decision is significant. The withdrawal of approval for codeshare...
LMI Aerospace Inc. has announced that its President of Corporate Development & Strategy Lawrence E. “Ed” Dickinson III, plans to retire by the end of the second quarter of 2016. “Ed has been an instrumental leader in the company’s financial health and growth over the past two decades,” said Chief Executive Officer Dan Korte. “He put in plac...
Ordering a beverage from the seatback isn’t novel, but ordering a case of wine to be delivered to your home is the new normal for passengers flying with Air New Zealand’s latest entertainment systems. Alongside the more usual TV, movie and audio options on offer on the IFE is the chance to purchase bottles — or, indeed, cases — of wine for home delivery. It’s intui...
Airline marketing and ancillary revenue consultancy Ideaworks has announced its list of the top five airline marketing innovators for 2015, and listed Delta as the industry’s best at building revenue through ancillary sales, including its “branded fares” and Comfort+ product. “Delta continues to be an industry leader in product development and providing premium choices f...
An Estonian court has formally declared the Baltic nation’s state-owned airline bankrupt after it ceased operations last month following a European Union order to repay millions in state aid. The Harju County Court said Tuesday that the bankruptcy proceedings for Estonian Air are to be carried out immediately, with the first meeting of creditors scheduled on Jan. 15. The EU’s exe...
Russia’s Mi-8AMTSh “Terminator” armored assault helicopters are being fitted with radio-electronic warfare technology, making them immune to enemy missiles, an Eastern Military District spokesman told reporters on Monday. “The Vitebsk onboard electronic jammer ensures protection against enemy missiles and radar by generating optical and radio-electronic interference. It...
The Bulgarian air force on 18 December held a ceremony to mark the retirement of its last Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters. Involving the nation's last three serviceable examples – two single-seat MiG-21bis's and a two-seat MiG-21UM1 trainer – the event marked the end of regular flight operations, although the former pair will remain available to conduct quick reaction alert sorties...
Mitsubishi Aircraft will strengthen the MRJ regional jet’s airframe and upgrade its software, following an announcement last week about a year-long delay to the aircraft’s delivery schedule. The Japanese manufacturer tells Flightglobal that it has scheduled two months to strengthen the aircraft’s airframe, as well as upgrade the software for its avionics, flight control system...
Pilots of a Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737-500 had not realised the autopilot had disengaged as they attempted a go-around at Kazan, during which the aircraft entered a steep dive and disintegrated upon striking the ground. Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee says that two “weak” pilots, with poor training, had been paired on the flight from Moscow – a s...
A major portfolio investor is holding talks on purchasing a share in Russian Helicopters, Russian Minister of Industry Denis Manturov told TASS on Tuesday in an interview. "As far as my position is concerned, I never was a supporter of an endless expansion of government-owned assets. The government may offer support in consolidation of assets at a certain stage, so that to approach the fin...
Russian airline UTair has fully restructured its 160 billion ruble debt, a representative for the restructuring consultant Raiffaisenbank told PRIME Tuesday. “Yes, we confirm that the deal is over,” the representative said. In November, the airline signed a deal with a syndicate of 11 banks to restructure a 43 billion ruble debt.
From waiting in the wings to finally taking wing, 2015 was a year that changed the skies of the Indian aviation sector. To begin with, the sector, which lacked a clear policy framework, received a shot in the arm when the Civil Aviation Ministry unveiled its much-awaited draft civil aviation policy on the 30th of October. The policy touched upon 16 critical areas to make travel affordable for t...
Heriot-Watt University is to lead a £2 million ($2.98 million) project to develop low carbon aviation fuels from captured CO2 and waste biomass. The multi-disciplinary project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will be led by Heriot-Watt engineers and scientists in conjunction with teams from Aston and Oxford Universities and the University of Edinburgh....
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Addis Ababa-based Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise announced that they have signed a firm purchase agreement for two additional Q400 turboprop airliners that will bring Ethiopian Airlines’ Q400 aircraft fleet to a total of 19 aircraft, the largest total fleet in Africa. Based on the list price of the Q400 aircraft, the transaction is valued at approximately...
Ryanair released its 2015 Irish traffic numbers which show it has delivered 70% of all traffic growth at Cork, Dublin, Knock and Shannon airports in 2015, a year of record growth for Irish tourism. Following the decision of Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, to scrap air travel tax in April 2014, Ryanair has continued to roll out new routes and more frequencies on existing routes, including...
Following the strategic plan to increase and modernize the fleet and expanding the flight route network, Mahan air, is going to establish new direct international routes, particularly to the European countries. In this regard, Mahan Air is going to commence direct flights from Tehran to Moscow in January 2016 & Tehran to Kiev in February 2016. In addition, Mahan air is going to pr...
Virgin America and China Southern Airlines announce a codeshare agreement to offer seamless booking and travel between China, Southeast Asia and multiple Virgin America destinations across the United States. Under the new agreement, China Southern will place its two-digit airline code (CZ) and flight numbers on a range of Virgin America routes operating from Los Angeles and San Francisco &nda...
Aviation Capital Group (“ACG”) announced that it has increased its senior unsecured revolving credit facility with DBS Bank Ltd. as administrative agent by $60 million to $220 million and extended the maturity to December 28, 2019. Together with its other senior unsecured revolving credit facility, ACG has $1.165 billion of revolving commitments from 21 banks...
The President of Fiji, His Excellency Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konousi Konrote, brought home Fiji Airways’ newest A330 to Fiji. Rapturous applause and excitement greeted the aircraft as it touched down at Nadi International Airport and taxied up to the airline’s Hangar facilities. Fijian Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and other Government Ministers joined Fiji Airway...
In a continuing effort to strengthen its operations, PEMCO Aviation Maintenance (PEMCO) has named Douglas (Doug) Ragsdale, Director of Quality. He will be based out of the company’s corporate headquarters at Tampa International Airport and report to Ernie Kiss, PEMCO’s Vice President Quality and Engineering. Ragsdale is a proven aviation professional bringing more than 30...
Southwest Airlines Co. announced a new tentative agreement with Transport Workers Union Local 555, the union that represents more than 12,000 Southwest Ground Operations, Provisioning, and Cargo Agents. The Union’s Executive Board reviewed an Agreement in Principle that negotiators reached December 23rd and decided to conduct a ratification vote that could end more than four years of negotia...
