All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 135
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NewsCroatia Airlines remains loss-making despite progress in recovery
Croatia Airlines has turned in a full-year net loss of Kn137 million ($19 million) as its performance, while recovering, still lagged pre-crisis levels. The carrier transported 1.45 million passengers but this figure remained one-third down on that achieved in 2019. Croatia Airlines says passenger load factor reached an average of ...
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NewsIsrair completes sale of ATR 72-500s
Israeli leisure operator Israir Group has completed the sale of a pair of ATR 72-500 turboprops whose phase-out was part of the company’s fleet-simplification plans. The company had previously disclosed, at the end of last year, that it had reached a binding agreement with a buyer for the aircraft. It ...
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NewsIrish specialist to dismantle two early-build 787s for spares
Two Boeing 787-8s, both just 10 years of age, are shortly to undergo disassembly, overseen by the Irish-based asset-management company EirTrade Aviation. EirTrade says the identity of the airframes to be dismantled is currently confidential. But the aircraft will simultaneously be disassembled off-site and EirTrade expects parts to start becoming ...
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NewsEgyptAir claims Africa’s first A321neo introduction
EgyptAir is has received the first Airbus A321neo for the African continent, following delivery of its latest twinjet at the airframer’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant. The airline is introducing the variant with a two-class configuration comprising 16 business-class and 166 economy-class seats. Airbus has identified the airframe as SU-GFR, with MSN11164, ...
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NewsViva Air dismayed as merger hold-up forces it to suspend operations
Colombian budget carrier Viva Air has suspended operations, citing regulatory hold-ups regarding its efforts to form a tie-up with Avianca.
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NewsMadrid reconfigures airspace to simplify arrivals and departures
Spanish air navigation service Enaire has started implementing an air traffic optimisation project at Madrid Barajas airport, including independent approaches to its parallel runways. The project aims to modernise instrument arrival and departure procedures by adapting them to area navigation and performance-based navigation requirements. Enaire says the scheme – known ...
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NewsEl Al 787 cuts flight time to Thailand with Saudi-Omani transit
El Al has conducted its first flight through Saudi Arabian and Omani airspace since recent agreements lifted restrictions on transit by Israeli carriers. The airline operated its LY083 service from Tel Aviv to Bangkok on 26 February, using a Boeing 787-9 – a flight which took about 7h 30min. Its ...
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NewsPratt-powered A321XLR undergoes cold-weather testing in Canada
Airbus has carried out several days of cold-weather testing of the A321XLR, having flown one of the prototype twinjets to northern Canada. The test aircraft – MSN11058, also known as FTV2 – departed Toulouse on 20 February for the airport at Iqaluit. It undertook a number of flights, conducting circuits ...
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NewsSmartLynx lands Australian approval for A330 operations
Latvian wet-lease specialist SmartLynx has secured authorisation to conduct operations from Australia, where is intends initially to use Airbus A330s. The company says it has received an Australian foreign air transport operator certificate. SmartLynx says operating flights to Australia has been “integral” to its strategic effort to extend its network ...
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NewsRolls-Royce presents opportunity for cost-cutting through synergies: new chief
Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic argues that the company can still afford to undertake further cost-reduction measures despite the extensive restructuring carried out during the pandemic. Speaking during the company’s full-year briefing on 23 February, Erginbilgic said the previous cost-cutting efforts had focused primarily on civil aerospace and had been ...
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NewsBluebird 737 freighter destabilised by ballast shift during Paris approach
Investigators are probing an apparent ballast shift on board a Bluebird Nordic Boeing 737-400SF during its descent towards Paris Charles de Gaulle. The incident involving the Icelandic-registered freighter occurred on 10 February, according to French investigation authority BEA, which is citing preliminary information from its Icelandic counterpart. BEA says the ...
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NewsOptimistic SAS lifts long-term financial forecast over strong demand
Scandinavian carrier SAS is reviewing long-term financial projections for 2024-26, with preliminary indications that stronger-than-expected demand will generate higher revenues and earnings towards the end of this period. SAS had previously estimated revenues of SKr49 billion ($4.7 billion) for 2026 but believes this figure will be greater, while it is ...
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NewsNew Rolls-Royce chief tears into underperformance and strategic weakness
New Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic has given a withering assessment of the company’s strategic and financial performance as it unveiled its full-year results. Rolls-Royce has been “underperforming for an extended period”, he said during a presentation on 23 February. “Cash generation is unsatisfactory. Our debt is still too high. ...
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NewsOmani government to permit Israeli overflights: ministry
Oman has become the latest Middle Eastern state to allow transit of Israeli aircraft, a decision which will enable a reduction in flight times for carriers operating Asian routes to and from Tel Aviv. The opening of Omani airspace follows several months of discussions between the two sides, and comes ...
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NewsRolls-Royce civil aerospace profits up but company 'capable of much more': CEO
Large engine flying hours for Rolls-Royce increased further last year, but remain 35% below the pre-crisis level of 2019, the manufacturer has disclosed. But it expects this gap to reduce to 10-20% this year following the easing of travel restrictions in China. Rolls-Royce large civil engine deliveries reached 190 – ...
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NewsConsortium to explore conversion of manure into sustainable jet fuel
Ten consortium partners are to investigate the conversion of agricultural residue, including manure and straw, into sustainable aviation fuel. The partners are participating in a four-year European Union-funded project called Circulair, formally launched at the beginning of January. It will develop innovative conversion technologies to turn plentiful residues into fuel ...
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NewsFlyr administrator pessimistic over creditors’ claims
Collapsed Norwegian carrier Flyr’s administrator believes there will be no funds available for non-priority creditor claims, once it has addressed those with greater precedence such as wage arrears. Flyr was placed in bankruptcy by an Oslo court on 1 February. Law firm Kvale held an initial creditor meeting on 16 ...
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NewsTajikistan’s Somon Air considers possible L-410 acquisition
Tajik carrier Somon Air appears to be considering potential acquisition of Let Aircraft Industries L-410s for regional operations. Somon Air says a delegation from the airline has conducted a familiarisation visit to the Czech plant of the company. It says representatives aimed to become acquainted with the production process of ...
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NewsPitch-up after tailwind shift led to SAS A320neo tail-strike at Split
Croatian investigators believe a late shift in tailwind preceded an SAS Airbus A320neo’s loss of lift just before touchdown in Split, leading to a tail-strike. The aircraft, arriving from Bergen, had been stabilised during an ILS approach to runway 05. But winds were varying from 170-245°, and a 10kt change ...
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NewsAtlanta firm acquires ex-WestJet 737-600s for teardown
Seven WestJet Boeing 737-600s have been divested to a US-based firm which will tear down the aircraft for parts. Aventure Aviation is picking up the twinjets which are in storage at a facility located in Marana, Arizona. The aircraft were all manufactured in 2005 and 2006. “We are constantly seeing ...