All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 13
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NewsPortuguese MRO firm Mesa to service Global A380 ahead of commercial operations
Portuguese maintenance firm Mesa is to carry out the servicing of UK start-up Global Airlines’ first Airbus A380 following its ferry flight to Beja. The aircraft arrived from Dresden, where it had undergone heavy maintenance, on 17 January. Mesa, which has facilities at Lisbon as well as Beja, says it ...
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NewsAir Baltic supervisory council to be replaced as carrier prepares to receive strategic investor
Latvia’s transport ministry is to replace the council of Air Baltic, ahead of plans to bring in a strategic investor to develop the carrier. Chairman of the supervisory board Klavs Vasks, and supervisory board members Kaspars Ozolins and Andris Liepins have each signed an agreement to terminate authorisation, and a ...
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NewsEASA prepares for electronic licences with common standards proposal
European Union regulators are seeking to establish common electronic licensing standards for pilots and other aviation personnel, to avoid possible problems with future compatibility and verification. ICAO has introduced provisions allowing its contracting countries to introduce electronic-format licences, which can be presented on handheld personal devices. But while increasing digitalisation ...
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NewsLufthansa Group allocates 737 Max jets to replace Eurowings A319 fleet
German leisure operator Eurowings is to modernise its fleet with Boeing 737 Max 8 twinjets from 2027, through an allocation from Lufthansa Group. Eurowings will receive 40 of the type under the renewal plan. They will replace Airbus A319s as well as the airline’s older A320s. The carrier states that ...
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NewsSouth African Airways expands fleet with more A320s
South African Airways has expanded its fleet with the addition of a pair of Airbus A320s, taking its operation to 20 aircraft. The airline has been gradually rebuilding its services and network since emerging from business rescue and despite the failure of a privatisation effort. SAA says the extra pair ...
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NewsLufthansa shows off re-assembled L-1649A Starliner ahead of centenary display
Lufthansa Group’s specialist vintage aviation division has unveiled the Lockheed L-1649A airliner which has been undergoing assembly in Hamburg over the last 18 months. The aircraft was acquired originally with the intention of restoring it and returning it to flight in 2011, joining the company’s Junkers Ju 52. But the ...
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NewsChallenge Group to be first European operator of IAI-converted 777-300ER freighter
Cargo specialist Challenge Group is intending to be the first European operator of converted Boeing 777-300ER freighters, through the company’s Maltese operation. Challenge Group has disclosed that it will lease another pair of the twinjets – designated as the 777-300ERSF – through an agreement with Irish-based lessor AerCap. The 777-300ERSF ...
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NewsEl Al controlling shareholder raises stake after buoyant stock performance
Israeli flag-carrier El Al’s controlling shareholder, Eli Rozenberg, has exercised stock options, taking his interest in the airline to 49.46%. El Al’s share price has surged – more than doubling since mid-June last year – following a robust financial performance. The airline has benefited strongly from depleted competition as rival ...
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NewsUK court rejects Ryanair appeal over its ‘blacklisting’ of striking pilots
UK judges have dismissed an appeal by Ryanair of a 2021 employment tribunal ruling, after the carrier revoked concessionary travel benefits from pilots who participated in a 2019 strike. The UK cockpit union BALPA initiated a strike over pay and conditions across several days in August and September 2019. Ryanair ...
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NewsStart-up Global Airlines’ A380, with partial livery, departs EFW facility after maintenance
UK-based start-up Global Airlines’ first Airbus A380 has arrived in the Portuguese city of Beja, having departed Dresden where the aircraft has been undergoing heavy maintenance. The jet has been housed at the EFW facility since early October last year, following initial servicing at Prestwick in Scotland. Formerly delivered to ...
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NewsAvolon completes Castlelake acquisition as it foresees robust leasing market
Irish-based lessor Avolon has completed the acquisition of fellow lessor Castlelake Aviation, an agreement initially unveiled last year. Avolon will acquire 106 aircraft in the lease portfolio. It will also take over orders and commitments for 10 addition aircraft, which it describes as “new technology” models. Avolon’s fleet will expand ...
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NewsIcelandair expands Southwest connectivity tie-up to two more US airports
Icelandair’s co-operation pact with US budget operator Southwest Airlines is to expand to additional connecting points beyond the initial proposal of Baltimore. The airlines reached a provisional strategic tie-up deal last year, and the two sides have newly finalised the agreement. Icelandair states that the connections will be added at ...
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NewsEmirates expands SkyCargo 747 freighter fleet to six to address capacity demand
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates’ SkyCargo division has taken its Boeing 747 freighter fleet to six, as the company continues to weigh its future cargo aircraft options. Emirates says it has reached a “multi-year lease” agreement with Bulgarian-based Compass Air Cargo, which operates 747-400 freighters as well as 737 cargo jets. ...
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NewsSerbian A319 shed large engine panel during climb out of Belgrade
Serbian investigators have disclosed that an Airbus A319 shed a large engine panel while climbing out of Belgrade three weeks ago. Operated by Air Serbia, the aircraft (YU-APD) is fitted with International Aero Engines V2500 powerplants. Serbian traffic accident research centre CINS states that the aircraft had been conducting a ...
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NewsRefined wake-separation calculations set to speed Heathrow arrival traffic flow
UK air navigation service NATS has implemented a new arrival separation technique for London Heathrow aimed at squeezing out additional capacity while complying with wake-vortex requirements. The technique introduces a new method of deriving minimum separation between arriving aircraft pairs, refining the calculation by taking into account specific characteristics of ...
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NewsOperators of 757s advised to replace older landing-gear hydraulic hoses to avoid fatigue risk
Boeing 757 operators are being strongly advised to ensure flexible hydraulic hoses in the landing-gear are maintained and regularly replaced, after instances of hydraulic failure. The US FAA, in a newly-issued airworthiness bulletin, refers to “multiple events” in which the left-hand hydraulic system has been lost as a result of ...
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NewsPolish international hub airport project advances with crucial location decision
Polish authorities have formally made a location decision for the site of the country’s future central transport hub, which will feature a new international airport. Currently known as Centraly Port Komunikacyjny, the hub will include an airport – situated between Warsaw and Lodz – initially serving 34 million passengers per ...
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NewsIsrael’s Arkia chartering A330neo for New York flights
Israeli leisure carrier Arkia has indicated that it will use Airbus A330neo twinjets on new services between Tel Aviv and New York JFK. The airline has listed a batch of flights on the route which, it says, will be operated by a chartered aircraft. Arkia identifies the aircraft type as ...
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NewsFiji regional operation lifts capacity with ATR 72-600s
Fiji Airways has expanded its regional fleet with a pair of ATR 72-600s, which it will use to extend connectivity in the South Pacific. It received one of the turboprops on 29 December and a second on 5 January. The airline says the fleet development will support its bid to ...
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NewsJeju crash: Ministry’s safety initiatives include engine-shutdown and bird-strike training
Korean authorities have listed recurrent training for multiple engine shutdown, as well as bird-strike response procedures, among safety improvements planned in the aftermath of the fatal Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash. While the inquiry has yet to reach conclusion over the 29 December accident, the Korean transport ministry ordered a ...
