Air New Zealand (NZ) has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Australia-based Licella Pty Ltd to examine developing and marketing a process to convert woody biomass into sustainable aviation biofuel in New Zealand.
CAE doubled the size of its LAN Airlines training center for pilots and cabin crew. The six-bay, $40 million facility has two simulators for the Airbus A320, two for the Boeing 767-300ER, as well as a 3D flat-panel integrated procedures trainer for training on the Airbus A320 and A340. With this expansion, the center is able to train 4,500 pilots and 3,000 cabin crew per year.
Emirates Airline (EK) has begun to outfit its Airbus A380 aircraft with OnAir Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. The new Wi-Fi service will initially launch on 11 of its 19 A380s in service, though the system is scheduled to be installed across its entire fleet of 71 A380s on order. The airline began trialing the service on certain A380 flights last year ( ATW Daily News, July 21, 2010).
Boeing has received type-design approval from the FAA for up to 330-min. extended operations (ETOPS) for its 777 fleet. The new FAA approval allows airlines that operate routes in the south Pacific, over the North Pole, and from Australia to South America and southern Africa to fly the most direct routes. The first airline to purchase the new longer ETOPS option is Air New Zealand (ANZ), which completed the world’s first commercial 240 min. ETOPS flight between Los Angeles, Calif., to Auckland, New Zealand using a 777-300ER.
Governments may target the aviation industry to support the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was set in motion at the17th Conference of the Parties ( COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ( ATW Daily News, Dec. 13).
Virgin Australia ATR 72-600. Courtesy, ATR Singapore-based leasing company Avation PLC has inked a contract for five ATR 72-600s plus eight options in a deal worth over $295 million (including the options). The aircraft, to be delivered in 2013 and 2014, will be operated by Perth-based Skywest Airlines (XR) on a range of routes on behalf of Virgin Australia (VA).
Boeing said Southwest Airlines' (SWA) commitment announced Tuesday for 208 737s, including 150 of the Max variant re-engined with CFM International Leap-1B powerplants, represented its largest-ever firm order (both in terms of units and value) and provided a major boost to the Max program, for which SWA will serve as the launch customer.
Delta to invest $100 million in GOL Agilaire to incorporate AirCore modules Expedia shareholders approve TripAdvisor spin-off Uruguay carrier drops out of Sabre Rearden tool refines choices, enables easier collaboration Ornagh Hoban of Datalex talks about product personalization World news briefing
Travelport executives have been saying for some time that the GDS model is evolving: Agency incentives will still be a part of it, but the technology that Travelport provides will become more important to agencies’ success. Travelport made a move toward that model with a new package of solutions called Agility, available on Jan. 1. The bundle, called Travelport Agility, combines existing stand-alone solutions and services, some of which have been free and some that have incurred fees, with new solutions.
If you’re looking to have your company seen by all of ATW’s readers and be known in the industry as an eco-expert, then consider becoming a sponsor for ATW’s 5 th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference and Awards Ceremony on June 20-21, 2012. This conference will again be held at the eco-friendly Renaissance Arlington Capital Hotel, across the street from Reagan National Airport.
In an interview with National Public Radio, Richard Branson has cited the fact that there are only 1,700 aviation jet fuel pumps in the world as a positive for converting airlines to new biofuels. “The exciting thing about the breakthrough with clean fuels for the airline industry is there are only 1,700 pumps in the world that fill up the airlines. So, unlike having to convert all the cars’ or all the lorries’ petrol stations, once you've actually got the clean fuels, it's relatively easy to get it to the airplanes.”
The UK could become the first country to require airlines to publish data that would let passengers choose between carriers based on carbon emissions and other environmental factors, according to the Financial Times.
As the rhetoric continues to build over the EU’s ETS, IATA DG Tony Tyler has warned that airlines can't ignore EU regulations. Addressing a roundtable discussion of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) Airline Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Tyler said that "if nothing changes [by January], airlines will have to comply.” He added that it "would be crazy" for US carriers to scrap transatlantic flying over the ETS.
As the deadline for the start of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme looms, the chorus of criticism is reaching a crescendo. Last month there were calls for the EU to withdraw plans to impose a unilateral ETS on non-EU airlines from the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) at its annual meeting in Abu Dhabi.
Singapore-based leasing company Avation PLC has inked a contract for five ATR 72-600s plus eight options in a deal worth over $295 million (including the options).
Bmibaby will operate weekly East Midlands-Catania service May 27-Sept. 30, and 2X-weekly Belfast-Mahon service June 15-Sept. 24. Lufthansa will begin 3X-weekly Frankfurt-Shenyang-Qingdao Airbus A340 service March 26. KLM will launch 3X-weekly Amsterdam-Lusaka Airbus A330-200 service May 15. JetBlue Airways will start 2X-daily Fort Lauderdale-Kingston service April 30.
Germany's state-owned air traffic service Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is preparing to make a bid for a stake in its British counterpart National Air Traffic Services (NATS), according to the UK’s The Sunday Times.
Inmarsat, which is still on track to launch the first Inmarsat-5 satellite in mid-2013 for its Ka-band Global Xpress service, told ATW it intends to initially deploy service over the Indian Ocean covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
UTair (UT) subsidiary UTair Express (UR) will reduce its Tupolev Tu-134 and Antonov An-24 fleet significantly by 2012, when new federal aviation regulations take effect requiring all Russian aircraft to be equipped with a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) and an enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). The regional carrier, formerly known as KomiInterAvia, will reduce its fleet to from 28 Tu-134s to 6-8, and from 25 An-24s to 15 of the type. UR’s fleet also includes two passenger-version An-26 aircraft.
