Air Transport World

Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group is preparing to apply to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to launch five new airlines as the regulator loosens its grip on approving new entrants.

The US and Saudi Arabia have signed an open skies accord, according to the US State Dept.

AirAsia reported a first-quarter pre-tax profit of MYR131.8 million ($43.3 million), down from MYR212.4 million in the year ago period.

Airbus parent EADS is now expecting to secure more than 800 gross orders in 2013, marking a sharp increase on its previous guidance.

Aegean Airlines has narrowed its first-quarter pre-tax losses to €8.2 million ($10.6 million), significantly improved from a loss of €31.2 million recorded during the year-ago period.

Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has approved Virgin Australia’s acquisition of a 60% stake in Tiger Airways Australia, Virgin Australia Holdings (VAH) has announced.

Lufthansa will change its takeoff procedure for all departures outside Germany to be more in line with worldwide standards to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.

Lufthansa is considering transferring the head offices of its regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine from Cologne to Munich as part of its €1.5 billion ($1.3 billion) cost-cutting program SCORE.

Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have equipped two Boeing 777-300s for an inflight connectivity trial through the end of 2013.

Airline Routes

Briefs from the May 29, 2013 issue of ATW's MRO Digest

HEICO’s net income increased 24% to $23.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2013, up from $19.0 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2012.

AJW Aviation has been selected by Russia’s JSC UTair Aviation to provide power-by-the-hour support for JSC’s fleet of 37 Boeing 737-500s and 737-400s.

Kellstrom Commercial Aerospace has acquired AirLiance Materials from Lufthansa Technik.

Locatory.com, which provides aviation supply-chain optimization, has signed a cooperation agreement with Engineering-the Aviation Maintenance Holding, the largest independent MRO service provider in Russia.

Reaching a global agreement on market-based measures (MBMs) to offset aviation emissions before the September ICAO assembly deadline is proving a

Governments must put more political will into sorting out air traffic management mega-projects and also addressing the political issue of finding a

Airbus, Air Canada and BioFuelNet Canada have formed a partnership to assess Canadian solutions for the production of sustainable jet fuels with a

Lufthansa Cargo is using containers made of lightweight composite materials to reduce fuel consumption. New LD3 standard containers with side panels

AviancaTaca Holdings, created by the 2009 combination of Colombia’s Avianca and El Salvador-based Grupo TACA, has formally rebranded itself Avianca Holdings and intends to integrate TACA and its other airline subsidiaries under a single “Avianca” brand.

The first test flight of a remotely piloted research aircraft in non-segregated civil airspace has taken place in the UK.

Several Ukrainian carriers—including Wizz Air Ukraine, UTair-Ukraine and Air Onix—have received permission to operate routes in Ukraine and Russia.

Ethiopian Airlines will begin its first Boeing 787 service to South America beginning July 1 to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Turkish Airlines is reporting normal operations two weeks after flight crews announced a strike beginning May 15, which was never really resolved.

International Airlines Group (IAG) is looking to acquire the remaining shares in Vueling for €9.25 ($11.96) per share and delist the carrier from the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges.