It may seem a little pie in the sky, but in the not too distant future, commercial airliners could be flown without co-pilots under an EU-backed project designed to improve safety and cut the cost of flying. Aircraft manufacturers are working on a project that could eventually lead to the introduction of single-pilot operations on commercial jets. A consortium of 35 companies and research gr...
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which serves more passengers than any other airport in the world, has reached 100 million passengers since Jan. 1, marking a milestone no other airport has ever reached, officials said. When anointed passenger Larry Kendrick flew in from Gulfport, Mississippi, on Sunday - one of the busiest travel days of the year - he was greeted with sever...
The rapid expansion of seat capacity to and from India by Middle East carriers is impeding United Airlines’ plans to build market share in the country. Instead, United, which already has daily nonstop service from New York to both Delhi and Mumbai, is mainly focusing on expanding operations to China’s secondary cities. Acccording to Brian Znotins, United’s network vice president,...
Iranian authorities have failed to get a clearance from Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) for Iran Air and Iranian Mahan to fly their aircraft over Saudi airspace due to safety issues, sources have revealed. According to the sources, quoted by local media, Iranian authorities sent a detailed report to GACA on Dec. 23, confirming the validity of the aircraft flown by the two...
An iconic and towering structure rises along the San Francisco Bay area skyline --and it’s safe to say it’s unlike any other. The 231-foot air traffic control tower features a graceful flaring base with an offset cab of glass at the top, giving it a distinct look resembling that of a wine glass or Olympic torch. A ribbon of glass stretches up the base, reflecting the sparkling water...
Flyways Linhas Aéreas (FYW, Rio de Janeiro Int'l) commenced revenue service on Monday, December 28, eight days after it received its business licence from the Brazilian civil aviation authority (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil - ANAC). The start-up's maiden flight from its Rio de Janeiro Int'l hub was to Belo Horizonte Pampulha and will be followed by se...
EgyptAir (MS, Cairo Int'l) has been fined USD140,000 by the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for violating a US trade embargo against Sudan between 2010 and 2011. The BIS said in a statement that Egyptair had leased two B737-500s to Sudan Airways (SD, Khartoum) over the period August 2010 to February 2011 without having sought the required licences as required under Executive Orders...
As 2015 is coming to an end, 2016 is shaping up to be a year of big announcements and changes in the aviation and airline businesses. To predict just what these will be, our contributors, industry experts, analysts and staff have assembled their own educated guesses about the forthcoming year. Chris Sloan – President and Founder United Airlines, long an industry lagg...
The Civil Aviation Department (DCA) is getting a RM700 million upgrade to its air traffic management systems to keep up with increasing demands. A DCA official told theSun that the new system will be able to process significantly more data and information, which will allow Air Traffic Control (ATC) to perform its duties in a safer and more efficient manner. "The number of plan...
The aviation sector in 2015 was extremely busy internationally and domestically, not least with the €1.36bn acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG having been finalised during the year. There will be further major change too, with Dublin-based airline CityJet poised to come under new control in coming weeks, and UK transport group Stobart also eyeing up a possible sale of its regional air divisi...
Munich-based aviation finance arranger EMP structured assets GmbH (EMP), working in conjunction with senior and junior lenders in Germany and Dubai has arranged the purchase of an A380-800 operating lease to Emirates from Stellwagen Finance Company Limited, the holding company for Aviation Finance Company Limited (AFC). AFC initially arranged 100% of the financing for Stellwage...
China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited, the largest independent aircraft operating lessor in China, today announced that it has completed the delivery of the third and the fourth of six A320 aircraft to China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (“China Eastern Airlines” or “CEA”). These two aircraft were delivered on 23 and 24 December, at the facilities of Airbus i...
On December 26, 2016, the Latvian airline airBaltic launched two new routes Riga- Verona and Riga – Salzburg for winter holidaymakers. Wolfgang Reuss, SVP of Network Management of airBaltic: “Our customer was our focus, when Tez Tour and airBaltic teamed up for this winter season. We are delighted to offer Verona, Italy, and Salzburg, Austria, in cooperation with Tez Tour...
On December 27, 2015, Air China announced at a ceremony held at T3 of Beijing Capital International Airport that it would start China’s first route to Cuba. The inaugural flight will depart from Beijing for Havana, the capital of Cuba, with a stopover in Montreal. In attendance were distinguished guests from the Cuban Embassy in China, Beijing Capital International Airport and Air China....
Volga-Dnepr Gulf, a division of Volga-Dnepr Technics (an aircraft MRO branch of Volga-Dnepr Group in the Middle East region) completed the first C-check maintenance service for a B737-300 operated by Kyrgyzstan-based Avia Traffic Company, at its hangar facility in Sharjah, UAE. Avia Traffic aircraft was subjected to the full maintenance workscope including C2+C1, AD/SB + A1 + A2...
Hawaiian Airlines has announced the appointment of Jon Snook to the position of chief operations officer. Snook, who has served as Hawaiian’s interimCOO since October, oversees all flight operations, in-flight services, customer service, maintenance and engineering, and operations analytics. Hawaiian Airlines Appoints Jon Snook to Chief Operations Officer “In the short time Jo...
In the beginning there was a telephone by Alexander Bell, which was revolutionary, then phone became common and by the end of last century radiophones emerged, as well as ISDN system, advanced satellite units and a variety of mobile phones, followed by IP-phones and high speed internet. Throughout its whole history mankind is fighting to stay connected. In aviation, especially its business jets se...
Competition is heating up in aviation’s regional satellite connectivity market, with Abu Dhabi’s Yahsat gearing up to trial a Ka-band service on an Etihad Airbus A320. ViaSat is, of course, familiar with Yahsat after a 2011 deal fell through and the Emirati company teamed up with competitor Hughes. So is ViaSat worried about competitors emerging in regional pockets, given that it...
United Continental Holdings Inc. rose the most in two weeks after pilot leaders agreed to send a proposed contract extension to union members for approval. Ratification by rank-and-file aviators would help labor peace with a crucial work group at United Airlines. Executives are still seeking to unify employees more than five years after the carrier was created in a merger between former United...
Sherwin-Williams announced its new 2016 aerospace coatings training program schedule to further provide today’s aerospace coatings painting professionals with the continuous training required to stay current on the most up-to-date aviation coatings products and application methods available. Designed for both MRO and OEM instruction, this handson and classroom training includes applying new...
Mooney International Corp. has successfully completed the first flight of the M10T Proof of Concept (POC) aircraft. The first flight was performed by test pilot Len Fox on Wednesday, December 23rd in the vicinity of the Chino Airport in California. The flight lasted approximately 15 minutes, with Len Fox conducting basic flight maneuvers and verifying design data. At the conclusion of t...