All air transport news – Page 303
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OpinionFinance availability may hold key to shape of delivery recovery
The year 2020 is set to be a catastrophe for the commercial aerospace sector, as airliner shipments collapse to the lowest levels since the mid-2000s. And right now the prospects for 2021 are not looking a whole lot rosier.
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Airline BusinessMainline deliveries could exceed 700 in 2020 and rise next year
With a little over three months left of 2020, it is remains far from clear what the industry’s mainline jet delivery total will be for the year, amid uncertainty over the pace of the recovery and the availability of finance. Adding to the confusing picture is the likely timing of the Boeing 737 Max’s return and, if it does get a green light in 2020, how many aircraft will be handed over.
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NewsFrench Bee eyes arrival of A350-1000s, as pandemic fails to dent optimism
Paris Orly-based long-haul, low-cost carrier French Bee remains in upbeat mood despite the coronavirus crisis and will next year significantly expand its fleet with the addition of two leased Airbus A350-1000s.
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NewsEl Al prepares to embark on crucial funding exercise
El Al has outlined its operational position to potential investors ahead of publishing a formal offer to acquire shares in the Israeli airline as part of a 505 million shekel ($145 million) issue. The airline is planning to commence the offering on 16 September, part of a recapitalisation which will ...
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NewsEASA completes 737 Max test flights
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has completed its test flights of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft ahead of its possible recertification and return to service later this year.
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NewsCrew’s late escape from icing preceded serious ATR 72 upset
Norwegian investigators have disclosed that an ATR 72-600 suffered a serious loss of control, with excessive wing bank, as its crew belatedly attempted to escape from icing conditions during a domestic Bergen-Alesund service. The inquiry into the incident – involving a Jet Time flight for SAS on 14 November 2016 ...
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NewsRAM 737 carried out long, high-speed take-off after call-out hitch
UK investigators have found that a Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 lifted off from London Gatwick at nearly 200kt, and close to the end of the runway, after the crew did not receive automatic speed call-outs during the take-off roll. The crew of the aircraft (CN-RGJ), bound for Casablanca on ...
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NewsGardner commits to steer clear of Impcross acquisition after national security concerns
Chinese-owned Gardner Aerospace has promised not to renew its interest in the acquisition of Gloucestershire, southwest England-based engineering firm Impcross after the UK government raised objections to the deal on national security grounds.
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NewsLanding A320 hit edge lights after drifting from Kozhikode centreline
Several runway lights were damaged by an Etihad Airways Airbus A320 after it drifted from the centreline during an approach in darkness and poor weather to Kozhikode airport in India. The United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority says the crew had already executed a go-around during the initial approach ...
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NewsIAG dials back capacity outlook as recovery falters
IAG has pulled back its capacity planning for this year and next, after the initial encouraging signs of booking recovery in the air transport crisis started to level off. It is expecting third-quarter capacity to be 78%, rather than 74%, down on last year’s figure, while the fourth quarter will ...
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AnalysisBoeing appoints new chief communications officer
Boeing has appointed an insurance executive to be its new chief communications officer, the fourth person to hold the post in less than a year.
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AnalysisSAS and French Bee line up behind Airbus for fello’fly fuel-saving tests
Airbus has revealed that it has signed up A350 operators SAS and French Bee, alongside three European air navigation service providers (ANSPs), to help advance its fello’fly vortex-harnessing fuel-saving initiative.
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NewsProposed A380neo would have offered double-digit fuel reduction: Clark
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark laments Airbus’s decision to abandon the “A380neo”, believing that the proposed re-egngining would have created an “absolutely brilliant” aircraft offering a double-digit fuel-burn reduction.
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NewsAirbus delivers 39 aircraft but records just a single order in August
Airbus recorded a single order during August, for one corporate A320neo which was received from a private customer. It took the airframer’s overall net order total this year to 303 aircraft. Total deliveries over the first eight months of the year reached 284, the manufacturer’s latest backlog figures show. This ...
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NewsBoeing delivers 13 jets in August, books eight new orders
Boeing says it delivered 13 jets in August, bringing it to a total of 87 deliveries in 2020.
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NewsExperienced crew struggled with instrument flight after 737 lost autopilots
Spanish investigators have detailed an unusual incident in which a Boeing 737-500 crew struggled to control the aircraft after the autopilots failed, even though all the instruments needed to operate the flight remained fully functional. Operated by Lithuanian carrier Klasjet, the aircraft had departed Madrid Barajas for Kaunas on 5 ...
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NewsA220 operators told to protect avionics against rainfall
Airbus A220 operators are being instructed to modify drain tubing after an incident in which rainwater dripped into the avionics bay and tripped a circuit breaker during taxi, causing an engine to shut down. Rain had entered the aircraft through the main cabin entry door while it was open, according ...
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OpinionHow career ‘flightplan’ will help crews navigate downturn
Modern airliner design is based on redundancy of safety-critical components like hydraulic or electrical systems. For now, you will also find two pilots in the cockpit for much the same reason. Highly trained, constantly checked and equipped with a myriad of skills, pilots are having a hard time of it at present. But it is worth remembering that some of these skills – leadership, complex problem solving, communication – are entirely transferable and highly sought-after.
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Airline BusinessThailand tourism collapse poses existential crisis for airlines
The Thai airline industry has had a dramatic past few months amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen two carriers file for business rehabilitation, and a third going under. How did one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing markets end up in this state, and is there a way out?
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NewsSupersonic passenger aircraft research in line for Russian federal grant
Creation of a Russian supersonic passenger aircraft research centre has been selected for funding by the federal government. The aim of the scientific centre is to establish a world-class technological knowledge base for conceptual design and aerodynamic analysis of an aircraft with low sonic boom. This work on key technological ...