Pegasus Airlines will double its 737-800 order to 24, it said in a Monday statement cited by Reuters. The Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen-based LCC ordered 12 aircraft in 2006 ( ATWOnline, March 10, 2006) and intends to operate 30 by 2013, CEO Ali Sabanci said.
EADS will invest €180 million ($263.5 million) to build a new plant in Augsburg that will manufacture fuselage parts for the A350, the Associated Press reported. The facility will open in 2011 adjacent to the current Airbus factory.
Emirates' second A380 will be delayed by a "few weeks," the airline said. EK started commercial service with its first A380 on Aug. 1 with a flight from Dubai to New York JFK ( ATWOnline, Aug. 4) and now is operating the aircraft on the route thrice-weekly. It planned to take its second A380 this month and upgrade the Dubai-JFK service to daily but that timeline will be pushed back. "We are negotiating with Airbus the delivery date of a second A380," EK said.
Boeing members of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are set to vote today on the manufacturer's final pay offer. The deal includes an 11% raise, a 14% increase in pensions, a lump sum bonus of at least $2,500 and continuation of free premium health plan options, while the company has yielded on plans to phase out retiree health care and traditional pensions.
Air New Zealand will launch a new cabin product on its A320 and 767 fleets used on Pacific and Australian services on Sept. 9. Rather than back away from capital expenditure, ANZ has embraced further product upgrades designed to snare premium customers ( ATWOnline, March 14). This year it is investing more than NZ$55 million ($38.3 million) installing IFE throughout the 767s and A320s used on short- and medium-haul routes and increasing seat pitch in economy ahead of the wing to 35 in.
Virgin Atlantic Airways is considering joining a consortium that may submit a bid for ownership of London Gatwick if airports operator BAA divests LGW, the carrier confirmed ( ATWOnline, Aug. 21). "Virgin Atlantic would be interested in possibly bidding to run it, as part of a consortium. We would be able to bring our expertise in customer service into any ownership group," it said.
Conviasa 737-200 crashed Saturday on a positioning flight, killing the three crewmembers onboard. The aircraft had been stored in Caracas and was being ferried to a new owner in Latacunga, Ecuador, when it flew into the side of the Iliniza volcano, Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network reported. The JT8D-9A-powered aircraft first flew in 1978.
Spanair continued to defend its decision not to move passengers from the MD-82 that crashed last month prior to a second takeoff attempt as reports surfaced that the pilot asked for two busses to be used to transfer passengers to another aircraft following the aborted first takeoff.
Mechtronix Systems said the International Flight Training Center in Istanbul received JAA Level D certification for its A320 FFS X featuring electric motion system, LCoS projectors and replication architecture. French DGAC performed the evaluation.
Virgin Blue will expand its Sydney training center and build a maintenance base in a move that is expected to create almost 1,000 jobs. It will add 737-800 and E-170 simulators to its recently opened V Australia training facility at Botany Bay, which already has a 777-300ER. Blue also announced that the first V Australia 777-300ER due for delivery in November will feature lie-flat beds and two bars.
Hainan Airlines reported a net profit of CNY311 million ($45.5 million) in the first half, up 63.9% over the CNY189.7 million earned in the year-ago semester, thanks largely to the appreciating yuan. Operating revenue rose 1.5% year-over-year to CNY6.34 billion but HNA did not disclose the amount of its currency gains. The yuan has been the only reliable contributor to Chinese carriers' bottom lines in 2008 owing to the combined burdens of falling demand, fierce competition and high fuel prices.
United Airlines reversed its decision to charge for meals in economy on certain transatlantic flights beginning in the fourth quarter owing to "direct, candid feedback" from customers ( ATWOnline, Aug. 21).
Porter Airlines exercised two Q400 options for delivery next year. Aircraft will be the 15th and 16th in the Toronto City Centre-based regional's fleet. It currently operates six.
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority wants Qantas to implement a range of improvements to the way it manages and delivers aircraft maintenance following a special review carried out last month. CASA called on the carrier to produce a plan to address deficiencies in meeting some of its own maintenance performance targets. It also wants QF to examine whether existing lines of authority and control over maintenance are delivering the best results ( ATWOnline, Aug. 19).
Finnair and Finncomm Airlines entered into a 50/50 joint venture to establish Finnish Aircraft Maintenance, which will specialize in ATR turboprops and E-145s. FAM will serve domestic and international customers at Helsinki Vantaa pending approval of competition authorities. A new maintenance hangar will open by next spring. Finncomm currently operates nine ATR 72-500s and will grow its fleet to 16 by 2011.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace said its ST Aviation Training Academy subsidiary Aviation Training Academy Australia acquired the Bruce Hartwig Flying School for a cash consideration of A$120,000 ($103,655) ( ATWOnline, Sept. 5, 2007).
Polynesian Blue, the joint venture between Virgin Blue and the Samoan government, reported a pre-tax profit of NZ$9.2 million ($6.5 million) in the fiscal year ended June 30, up 71% from the NZ$5.4 million earned the prior year, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported. On Sept. 12 DJ will add a 12th weekly Auckland-Apia frequency and on Dec. 1 it will launch weekly Brisbane-Apia service.
Alaska Airlines' last MD-80 was retired Friday, leaving the carrier with a fleet of 108 737s including 69 737NGs. It has eight more NGs scheduled for delivery this year. AS began a program in 2006 to retire its 26 MD-80s and replace them with 737NGs. It noted that the 737-800, of which it now has 37, burns 850 gal. of fuel per hr. compared to 1,100 by the MD-80. "A common fleet type also will result in lower costs for maintenance, training and flight crew scheduling," it said.
Spanish Public Works Minister Magdalena Alvarez revealed Friday that Spanair considered transferring passengers aboard the MD-82 that crashed Aug. 20 to another aircraft after its first takeoff was aborted before ultimately deciding to clear it for a second takeoff.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a preliminary report on its investigation of last month's Qantas 747-400 decompression and fuselage hole incident ( ATWOnline, July 31), saying it is "evident that one passenger oxygen cylinder had sustained a sudden failure and forceful discharge of its pressurized contents into the [forward] aircraft hold, rupturing the fuselage in the vicinity of the wing-fuselage leading edge fairing." It added, "The cylinder had been propelled upward by the force of the discharge, puncturing the cabin flo
