The Swiss civil aviation authority has denied there is a problem over approving Etihad Airways’ new link with Darwin Airline—now Etihad Regional—but said it is still investigating the degree of control Etihad will have over the Swiss airline.
Japan Airlines (JAL)—which is revamping inflight products and services in all classes across all domestic and international operations as part of its New Sky project—will launch its first domestic service featuring the JAL SKY NEXT configuration in late May.
Etihad Airways and Philippine Airlines (PAL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to increase cooperation between the two national carriers.
Aerial searches for wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 will be suspended while the undersea search area will be widened as part of a new phase of the hunt for flight MH370.
AirAsia X has selected GE Aviation’s CF6-80E1 engines to power its order of 25 Airbus A330-300s, plus three options, in a deal worth $1.5 billion at list prices.
Airberlin—which reported a 2013 net loss of €315.5 million ($437 million)—is planning a “substantial” recapitalization program to return to profitability.
Frontier Airlines has fully embraced the “ultra” low-cost carrier (ULCC) business model, unveiling a simplified fare structure and adding fees for most services.
The number of Russian commercial carriers fell from 159 to 118, down 26%, in the 2010-2013 period, according to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia.
Europe’s smallest flag carrier has become one of the region’s most successful in growth and financial terms. Aegean Airlines’ achievements are all the more surprising given that its home base is Greece, a country that was one of the hardest hit by the European economic crisis.
With growing talk of a looming pilot shortage in the US—particularly at the regional airline level—flight deck crew at regional carriers feel they have leverage, leading them to reject new labor deals negotiated by union leadership. But the pilots are taking a big gamble. Instead of forcing management to offer better deals, the pilots’ rejection of new contracts may just lead executives at US regional airlines to conclude they have no choice but to downsize.
Where the new Bombardier CSeries and Embraer E2 jets fit in the air transportation business is an open question. Is this new breed of next-generation small airliners considered to be at the top end of the regional jet market or the low end of the mainline narrowbody market, nudging into Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 territory?
IATA is calling on governments to ratify important changes to the Tokyo Convention that were agreed upon at a diplomatic conference in Montreal in April. The Tokyo Convention provides the legal framework for dealing with passengers whose unruly or disruptive behavior leads to physical assault or poses a threat to the safety of a flight.
Twitter may be a social revolution or it may be a fad, but there are real dangers when this form of communication is not taken as seriously as any other customer/company interface.
