All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 107
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NewsEmirates sets date to open daily Israeli services
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates has set a 23 June date to open daily services to the main Israeli hub at Tel Aviv. Emirates says it will operate Boeing 777-300ERs on the route from Dubai, configured in three classes. The 354-seat twinjets will feature eight suites in first class, 42 lie-flat ...
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NewsEl Al agrees $130m loan against frequent-flyer programme
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has reached a provisional agreement with insurance specialist Phoenix Group regarding a loan to the subsidiary which holds the airline’s frequent-flyer loyalty programme. Upon completion of the transaction, Phoenix will provide a loan of up to $130 million which will be repaid by 31 December 2027. ...
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NewsRussia’s Smartavia rejigs leadership to steer path through crisis
Russian carrier Smartavia has rejigged its leadership team, re-appointing a former chief executive to head the airline. Smartavia says the decision to put Anatoly Semenyuk in charge – succeeding Sergei Savostin – is intended to “strengthen” the airline’s operating structure during the transport crisis. Savostin, one of the airline’s shareholders, ...
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NewsITA reaches provisional agreements over ground-handling and maintenance
Italian carrier ITA Airways has reached provisional agreements for ground-handling and maintenance, although final deals will depend on predecessor Alitalia’s administrators. ITA says tenders to acquire the handling and maintenance businesses of Alitalia expire on 14 March. It has signed a preliminary agreement with Swissport International covering handling services. If ...
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NewsUtair claims sufficient aircraft on Russian register to serve its network
Russian carrier Utair insists it will be able to maintain services using domestically-registered aircraft, after restricting the operation of those on the Bermuda register. Bermuda’s civil aviation authority suspended airworthiness certification of the Russian fleet on its register from 13 March. Utair states that it has received a notification from ...
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NewsRussian fleets left in regulatory limbo as Bermuda suspends airworthiness approval
Bermuda’s civil aviation regulator has suspended all certificates of airworthiness of aircraft operating in Russia under the bilateral agreement between the two sides. The suspension entered effect just before 13 March. Large numbers of civil aircraft operating in Russia are held on the Bermuda registry, and the bilateral ICAO agreement ...
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NewsAirbus explores high-voltage battery potential for non-propulsive roles
Airbus is aiming to explore high-voltage battery behaviour during test flights of an electric light aircraft this year, with the aim of applying the technology to ‘micro-hybridisation’ – the use of battery power in a supportive, rather than propulsive, role for larger aircraft types. The low energy density of lithium-ion ...
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NewsCrucial UltraFan gearbox transferred to Rolls-Royce’s UK facilities
Rolls-Royce has transferred the power gearbox for its UltraFan engine to its UK site, where the future high-bypass engine demonstrator is undergoing assembly. The gearbox has been sent from the manufacturer’s facility at Dahlewitz in Germany. Rolls-Royce is aiming to commence testing with the UltraFan demonstrator in Derby this year, ...
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NewsRussian draft transport legislation could complicate return of leased fleet
Russia’s transport ministry has drafted new legislation outlining conditions for returning leased aircraft to foreign lessors, including approval from a government committee. The proposed legislation also states that payments between lessors and lessees will be carried out in Russian currency – the rouble, which has sunk in value against the ...
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NewsVietnam’s Sun Group to establish private air charter arm
Vietnamese leisure and infrastructure investment firm Sun Group is to establish a new luxury business aviation company, offering a range of aircraft types. The company will be known as Sun Air and will specialise in private jet charter and aircraft management. Sun Air will initially operate a pair of long-range ...
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NewsSmartLynx to take A330 converted freighters through ATSG agreement
Wet-lease specialist SmartLynx Airlines is to introduce converted Airbus A330-300 freighters, stepping up to the long-haul jets having already started bringing in A321 cargo aircraft. The company has agreed with Air Transport Services Group to acquire six modified A330s under a six-year lease. SmartLynx will take delivery of the first ...
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NewsAirbus long-haul activity weakens but A220 sales prove buoyant
Airbus’s long-haul orders sank further into negative territory during February, although strong single-aisle sales – particularly for the A220 – left the airframer with positive net orders for the first two months of the year. Twenty A330-900s assigned to unidentified customers have been removed, Airbus’s latest backlog figures reveal. Although ...
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NewsAir Mauritius sells A330 to MonoCoque and Aquila
Air Mauritius has sold one of its Airbus A330s to an entity identified as MonoCoque Diversified Interests. The twinjet is being assigned to the Irish arm of aerospace asset finance specialist Aquila Air Capital. MonoCoque, which will manage the aircraft for Aquila, has identified the jet as a -200 variant, ...
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NewsJetcraft picks up Hop CRJ1000 fleet
US-based asset management firm Jetcraft has acquired 14 Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets from Air France’s regional division Hop. The aircraft will be transferred to the commercial arm of the firm, Jetcraft Commercial, over the course of March to December this year. Three of the aircraft are ready to be placed, ...
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NewsAfter trial runs last year, EASA unveils conflict-zone information tool
European safety regulators have unveiled an information sharing and co-operation platform to improve access to conflict-zone information for aircraft operators. The initiative is intended to provide European Union Aviation Safety Agency members with the best data available for flight-planning purposes. Following a nine-month trial project last year, the bespoke platform ...
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NewsLarge 737 Max influx to reinforce profitable Flydubai’s capacity
Middle Eastern carrier Flydubai is preparing for a large influx of Boeing 737 Max jets, with 20 due to be delivered to the airline this year. The deliveries will begin in March, and help to raise Flydubai’s capacity as it recovers from the pandemic. Flydubai has a fleet of 60 ...
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NewsEthiopian signs for five 777-8 freighters
Ethiopian Airlines has signed a tentative agreement to order five Boeing 777-8 freighters, to expand its cargo network from Addis Ababa. The airline is already a 777 freighter operator. Its memorandum of understanding will, if firmed, add to the total of 34 orders for the twinjet since its launch in ...
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NewsFraport ponders future of share in St Petersburg airport
German airports operator Fraport is assessing the impact of economic sanctions on its 25% shareholding in St Petersburg Pulkovo airport’s operating company. It points out that the concession contract “excludes the sale” of its stake in Thalita Trading, which wholly-owns the airport operator Northern Capital Gateway, but adds that it ...
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NewsEl Al’s last 787 delivery put back until early 2023
Israeli flag-carrier El Al is pushing back delivery of its final Boeing 787 at least until March next year, three years beyond its original introduction date. The airline says the 787-8 – one of four of the variant – was supposed to be accepted in March 2020, just as pandemic-related ...
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NewsSole An-225 suffered irreparable damage during airfield assault
New images of the conflict damage at Kyiv’s Gostomel airfield confirm that the sole operational Antonov An-225 has been destroyed while parked in a hangar on the site. While the status of the iconic six-engined freighter had remained unclear for several days after conflict erupted in Ukraine, images had emerged ...