Air Transport World

As Qantas subsidiary Jetstar continues to build up its Boeing 787 fleet, it is focusing its latest deliveries on upgrading direct routes from Australia to Japan.

Airline Routes

Boeing announced Monday a new high-capacity version of the 737 MAX, taking the 189-seater to up to a 200-seater, with Irish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair the launch customer with a commitment for 100 aircraft plus options on 100 more.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft resumed flight testing of its CSeries aircraft Sunday with flight test vehicle two (FTV2) taking to the air at the manufacturer’s facility in Mirabel, Quebec.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a limited trial at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) of a program that allows passengers arriving on international flights to use a smartphone app in place of a paper customs form.

Finnair has reached an agreement with pilots on a series of cost-cutting measures that will generate savings of €17 million ($22 million) a year.

Southwest Airlines has unveiled a new logo and brand overhaul—named Heart—which it said puts the airline’s heart on display after a year of change for the Dallas-based carrier.

Virgin Atlantic is remaining tight-lipped on the performance of its Little Red short-haul venture, amid suggestions of possible closure.

Calgary-based Westjet is using its daily, seasonal flights from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Dublin, Ireland as a testing ground for future European expansion, airline CFO Vito Culmone told analysts at the Cowen and Co. Global Transportation & Aerospace/Defense Conference in Boston.

Alitalia has named Silvano Cassano as CEO of the “New Alitalia,” which will become effective after the Italian flag carrier closes a major investment deal with Etihad Airways to return the carrier to profitability.

Russia may restrict flights of Western carriers over its territory if new financial and energy sanctions are imposed, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Vedomosti newspaper.

Airline News

From the 2014 ATW World Airline Report, current world commercial aircraft orders organized by airline as of February 28, 2014.

Briefs from the September 8, 2014 issue of ATW's Skypaths

From the 2014 ATW World Airline Report, current world commercial turboprop orders as of February 28, 2014.

Irish low cost carrier Ryanair is expected to announce a large order for Boeing 737 MAX fuel-efficient narrowbodies Monday.

From the 2014 ATW World Airline Report, current world commercial jet orders as of February 28, 2014.

From ATW's 2014 World Airline Report, fleet totals for the world's commercial jet manufacturers, as of February 28, 2014 .

From ATW's 2015 World Airline Report, fleet totals for the world's commercial jet manufacturers, as of May 19, 2015 .

From ATW's 2014 World Airline Report, fleet totals for the world's commercial turboprop manufacturers, as of February 28, 2014 .

Bombardier will restart CSeries flight testing and remains confident the initial 110-seat CS100 will still enter service in the second half of 2015 despite a halt of more than three months after an engine failure during ground testing.

Indonesian authorities have approved an AirAsia X joint venture (JV)—Indonesia AirAsia Extra—although its first routes and launch date have not yet been announced.

Lufthansa on Friday canceled more than 200 flights, affecting 25,000 passengers, due to a six-hour strike called by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilot union over an early retirement scheme.

Air France-KLM Group will phase out five Martinair Boeing MD-11 freighters and internally reallocate up to 400 staff, as it strives to hit cargo breakeven by 2017.

German investor Intro Aviation—which has acquired Irish regional CityJet, its subsidiary Belgium-based VLM and Austria-based regional Intersky—wants to have exclusive rights on newly opened routes to protect it from competitors.