All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 195
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NewsAn-225 recruited for coronavirus support flights
Antonov Airlines has started deploying its An-225, the world’s largest operational aircraft, on services supporting the effort to combat coronavirus. The six-engined freighter had recently been restored to flight following a substantial upgrade programme. Antonov says the aircraft departed Kiev on 11 April on the first commercial service since the ...
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NewsBrussels shields its dormant fleet from nesting birds and fading seats
Brussels Airlines has given an insight into the complexity associated with the enforced long-term parking of its aircraft fleet during the coronavirus crisis. It has newly extended the grounding until at least 15 May, and over 50 aircraft in its all-Airbus fleet are being sealed and parked at the Belgian ...
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NewsPilots’ identical error shaved A319’s take-off distance margin
Investigators have determined that both pilots of an EasyJet Airbus A319 mistakenly selected the wrong intersection during take-off performance calculations at Nice, resulting in less runway distance being available than the crew had expected. The crew believed they had calculated take-off performance for runway 04R based on a departure from ...
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NewsFedEx MD-11F loses nose-wheel on take-off
Investigators are probing the loss of a nose-wheel from a FedEx Boeing MD-11F, apparently during departure from San Antonio. The aircraft (N619FE) had been operating the FX464 service to Memphis on 7 April. It landed on runway 18C at about 08:50 but the US FAA, in a preliminary notification, states ...
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NewsAirbus chief: Crisis likely to be ‘a long one’
Airbus is expecting to review its production rates every month after reducing its output by a third in response to the coronavirus impact. Chief executive Guillaume Faury, speaking on 8 April, was unable to estimate when rates would be restored but said he thought the crisis would “probably be a ...
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NewsAirbus records 15 A350 cancellations but reveals order for 10
Airbus has recorded cancellations of 15 A350s as well as four A330neos during March, although it secured a firm agreement for 10 A350s from an undisclosed customer. Six A350-1000s and four A350-900s from Latin America’s LATAM are part of the cancellation. Five A350-900s ordered by Kuwait Airways have also been ...
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NewsAirbus cuts aircraft production by a third as 60 jets stay undelivered
Airbus is cutting monthly production of single- and twin-aisle aircraft by about a third, slashing output of A320s to just 40 aircraft. It is taking monthly production of A350s down to six and A330s down to two. “With these new rates, Airbus preserves its ability to meet customer demand while ...
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NewsNorwegian shareholders to vote on crucial debt-to-equity scheme
Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian has called a shareholders’ meeting for 4 May to discuss plans to convert debt to equity, in order to meet criteria for the Norwegian government’s state guarantee scheme. The airline is trying to secure NKr3 billion in funding but, while it has met the requirements for ...
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NewsFastjet poised to renegotiate divestment of Zimbabwean division
Fastjet Group is to hold discussions on potential amendments to the terms of its planned disposal of its Zimbabwean operation, given the financial impact of measures taken to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Investors led by Solenta Aviation Holdings had been planning to acquire the operation before the crisis, and Fastjet ...
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NewsFastjet’s FedAir division slashes fleet as safari market dries up
Fastjet Group’s Federal Airlines division has entered a restructuring process and given up most of its aircraft after a severe downturn in its business conducting shuttle and charter services to safari reserves in southern Africa. FedAir primarily serves US and European tourists but the coronavirus situation has badly affected these ...
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NewsA330-800 obtains ETOPS clearance beyond 180min
Airbus’s A330-800 has secured European approval for extended twin-engined operations (ETOPS) running beyond 180min. The clearance was granted on 2 April according to a certificate revision from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. EASA certified the A330-800 – the smaller member of the A330neo family – in mid-February. The aircraft ...
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NewsOff-centre landing damaged Turkish A330 undercarriage
Nigerian investigators have disclosed that a Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300 suffered damage after travelling partially off the runway for a distance of some 400m following a landing at Port Harcourt. The aircraft (TC-LOL), arriving from Istanbul at night on 30 December last year, had been established on the localiser for ...
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NewsEuropean air navigation fee deferral aims to assist struggling airlines
Up to €1.1 billion in European air navigation charge payments is being deferred under an agreement intended to assist airlines struggling under the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Pan-European air navigation organisation Eurocontrol says its members have agreed the deferral as part of a financial package to provide “liquidity support”. ...
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NewsSweden’s BRA files for protection to buy time for restructuring
Swedish carrier Braathens Regional Airlines has filed for protection in order to undergo a restructuring exercise. It has suspended all services with effect from 6 April with the intention of gradually resuming flights “after the summer”, it says, when conditions are expected to have improved. BRA says the decision will ...
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NewsAirbus suspends A220 and A320 assembly at Mobile
Airbus is temporarily suspending aircraft production at its US assembly line in Mobile for about three weeks, and is adapting activity at its German facilities in Bremen and Stade. The airframer assembles A320 and A220 jets at the Mobile plant. Airbus says it will “pause” production this week and expects ...
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NewsEasyJet borrows from UK coronavirus fund as part of liquidity plan
Budget carrier EasyJet has taken steps to borrow funds from the UK government’s corporate financing facility, established to assist companies during the coronavirus crisis. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren says the airline’s “priority” is to “safeguard short-term liquidity”. He says the company has been successful in issuing £600 million of ...
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NewsIncorrectly-sized parts found after Icelandair 757 gear collapse
Investigators have found incorrectly-sized components on the landing-gear assembly of an Icelandair Boeing 757-200 which suffered a main landing-gear collapse at Reykjavik earlier this year. Icelandic investigation authority RNSA has recommended specific safety checks on four aircraft serviced by Landing Gear Technologies, to ensure that parts which have undergone undersizing ...
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NewsEasyJet founder refuses to inject new funds as he directs ire at CFO
EasyJet founder and shareholder Stelios Haji-Iaonnou has refused to inject any fresh capital into the UK budget airline while a contract to acquire further Airbus jets remains in place, and is turning his wrath on chief financial officer Andrew Findlay. Haji-Ioannou has named Findlay as the second director he aims ...
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NewsIcelandair Group studies options to avoid liquidity depletion
Icelandair Group has recruited advisors to look into options for reinforcing its capital structure, and explore possibilities for strengthening its competitiveness. It states that its liquidity position is still “well above” its minimum level of $200 million. But it adds that – given the assumption of “minimum revenue generation” in ...
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NewsTrent 1000 fix progressing despite coronavirus disruption
Rolls-Royce is aiming to bring the number of Boeing 787s on the ground for Trent engine modification reasons to fewer than 10 by the end of the second quarter. While the manufacturer is taking steps to deal with the impact from the coronavirus crisis, it is maintaining efforts to address ...