All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 159
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NewsAirbus cancellations include remaining A330Fs and AirAsia’s A350s
Airbus’s cancellations for the final month of last year included 26 long-haul aircraft, among them 15 A350s and the last three A330 freighters in the airframer’s backlog. The cancellation of three outstanding A330-200Fs – ordered by Turkey’s MNG Airlines – means there is no current backlog for the type, the ...
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NewsAirbus full-year deliveries fall by a third to 566 aircraft
Airbus managed to deliver 566 aircraft last year, with a surge of 89 deliveries in the final month of 2020. The figure was nevertheless 34% down on the 863 it managed to hand over in the previous year, as the airframer’s activity suffered from the impact of the air transport ...
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NewsSaudi airspace access simplifies passage for Qatar Airways flights
Qatar Airways has begun redirecting flightpaths through Saudi Arabian airspace, after the lifting of a blockade imposed more than three years ago. The airline’s service to Johannesburg – flight QR1365, operated by an Airbus A350-900 – crossed into eastern Saudi airspace shortly after its departure during the evening of 7 ...
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NewsIsrair pilot-training pact with Etihad deepens UAE-Israeli ties
Israeli leisure carrier Israir has signed with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group for Airbus A320 simulator training, further tightening Israeli-United Arab Emirates ties following a recent political normalisation agreement. Etihad Aviation Training will offer cockpit crew training for Israir, under a pact through which the airline will dry-lease full-flight simulators ...
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NewsUK’s Titan receives first of three converted A321 freighters
UK operator Titan Airways’ is to introduce three Airbus A321 converted freighters to its fleet, with the first one newly redelivered from modification specialists ST Engineering and EFW. Powered by CFM International CFM56 engines, the aircraft, MSN1238, was originally delivered to MyTravel Airways in 2000, and subsequently operated by Thomas ...
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NewsRyanair cuts passenger forecast as it condemns latest travel restrictions
Ryanair has cut its full-year activity forecast after tighter travel restrictions in the UK threatened to limit its passenger numbers over its fiscal fourth quarter. The airline expects to have transported 26-30 million passengers by the end of the year, compared with its previous forecast of up to 35 million. ...
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NewsGovernment deposits initial funding for Montenegro Airlines successor
Montenegro’s government has acted swiftly to start establishing a successor to the country’s defunct flag-carrier Montenegro Airlines. The carrier ceased operations on 26 December after the government refused to continue supporting the heavily-indebted company. But the government has formally registered a new company, depositing €4 million ($4.9 million) in founding ...
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NewsEl Al names former Avgol executive as new finance chief
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has named Yitzhak Eliav as its new chief financial officer, following the departure of Dganit Palti last year. He took up the post on 4 January, the airline states. Eliav was formerly the head of finance and vice-president of operations at Avgol Industries, a specialist manufacturer ...
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NewsAirbus UK's Bennett to head technology initiative HVM Catapult
Airbus senior vice-president Katherine Bennett is to step down from heading the airframer’s UK division, to lead HVM Catapult, a specialist organisation developed to provide a manufacturing gateway for promising technologies. Bennett, who will succeed retiring chief executive Dick Elsy later this year, says the organisation will contribute to the ...
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NewsEasyJet restricts voting power of shares held by non-EU interests
Budget carrier EasyJet has started suspending voting rights for certain shares which are still held by non-European Union interests, in order to comply with EU ownership regulations. EasyJet holds an EU operating licence and, as a result, needs to be majority-owned by EU and associated nationals. But EasyJet’s shareholder structure ...
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NewsGulf blockade on Qatar could ease as Saudi Arabia opens airspace
There are signs that a long-running multinational blockade by Arab states against Qatar might be easing, after an agreement was reached to open airspace and other borders between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The agreement has been disclosed by Kuwaiti foreign affairs minister Ahmed Nasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah, on the eve of ...
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NewsGovernment reinforces Air Serbia as turbulence rocks Balkan carriers
Serbia’s government has reinforced its position in flag-carrier Air Serbia, as the air transport system of the former Yugoslavia continues to suffer with the collapse of Montenegro Airlines. Air Serbia emerged in 2013 as the former Jat Airways – a successor to Yugoslav operator JAT – underwent a revamp through ...
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NewsCourt approves BGI’s planned acquisition of Israir
Israeli carrier Israir’s sale trustee has received court approval for BGI Investments’ planned acquisition of the airline, following a drawn-out bidding contest. The Tel Aviv district court has granted approval after Israir bondholders backed the BGI bid and rejected those of two competing suitors. All three had been ordered, in ...
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NewsAvianca A319 arrives at Bogota entangled in ‘balloon’ debris
Colombian investigators are probing an incident in which an Avianca Airbus A319 arrived at Bogota trailing a large quantity of entangled ribbon-like debris from its wings, stabiliser and fin. The airline says flight AV29 from Orlando to Bogota on 31 December was “hit by a hot-air balloon” during its landing ...
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NewsIAG welcomes UK-EU liberalisation clause as it adapts ownership structure
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG has welcomed the recognition of airline ownership liberalisation contained within the text of the new UK-European Union trade agreement. Ownership has been an issue for IAG during the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, because IAG controls both UK and EU carriers. IAG has been ...
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NewsSwedish debt authority grants guarantee to regional carrier BRA
Sweden’s national debt office has given a guarantee for a SKr200 million ($24 million) loan intended for Braathens Regional Airways. The guarantee covers 90% of the principal for the loan, which will run for five years. Sweden’s government has mandated the debt office to provide the guarantees to mitigate the ...
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NewsIsrair trustee seeks court approval for BGI acquisition
Israeli carrier Israir’s sale trustee has sought formal approval from a Tel Aviv court for the acquisition offer put forward by bidder BGI Investments. BGI Investments is a division of the company Shai Odem, controlled by retail entrepreneur Rami Levy and business partner Shalom Haim. After a drawn-out contest for ...
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NewsIsrair poised to be acquired by retail entrepreneur through BGI bid
Retail entrepreneur Rami Levy appears set to take over Israeli leisure carrier Israir, following a convincing backing of BGI Investments’ offer for the airline in a three-way run-off. BGI had been competing in a final bidding round for Israir against rivals YH Dimri and Dor Alon Energy. Bondholders voted on ...
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NewsGovernment urged to direct SAA rescue funds to vaccine resource
South Africa’s political opposition is urging the country’s finance minister, Tito Mboweni, to abandon the R10 billion ($680 million) funding plan to restructure South African Airways and plough the capital into a vaccination programme. The Democratic Alliance has written to Mboweni claiming that the government should “divert” the SAA allocation ...