All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 197
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Lufthansa Group chief resists asset ‘fire-sale’
Lufthansa Group will not rush into a disposal of assets, but expects to focus more on its core operations as it progresses towards recovery from the air transport crisis. It is already in the process of selling the European operation of its catering division LSG and group chief Carsten Spohr ...
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Unnecessary A320 evacuation risked passengers’ being injured by engines
Passengers risked being sucked into the operating engine of a Lauda Airbus A320 after commencing an unnecessary evacuation of the aircraft at London Stansted, investigators have determined. The aircraft (OE-LOA) suffered a contained failure of its left-hand CFM International CFM56 powerplant during the take-off roll on 1 March last year. ...
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Lufthansa: Freight demand allows zero-passenger break-even on some routes
Lufthansa Cargo was among the few air transport operations to improve its performance over the course of the coronavirus crisis, as demand for freight capacity surged. First-half freight sales rose to €1.3 billion. The logistics division achieved a €299 million ($354 million) profit at adjusted EBIT level over the second ...
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Lufthansa Group takes fleet impairment of €300m in first half
Lufthansa Group took an impairment charge of nearly €570 million over the first half, including €300 million relating to withdrawal of aircraft. The company says the figure is connected to 65 aircraft which will be “permanently grounded”. These aircraft comprise six Airbus A380s and five Boeing 747s, plus 11 Airbus ...
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Lufthansa strives to restore long-haul network as it foresees 2024 recovery
Lufthansa Group is aiming to offer 50% of prior-year capacity on its long-haul network and 55% on short-haul in the fourth quarter of this year. But the German-based operator says it expects a “clearly negative” adjusted EBIT figure in the second half of the year, and therefore a “further significant ...
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Croatia Airlines rejigs leases to cut costs
Croatia Airlines has postponed a long-term Airbus A319 lease, cancelled a similar Bombardier Q400 lease and dropped a CRJ1000 seasonal lease as part of measures to rein in costs over the first half. Over the second quarter the company made a loss of Kn62.7 million ($10 million), it states, despite ...
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Embraer slows E175-E2 development and impairs commercial business
Embraer is pushing back entry into service of the E175-E2 until 2023, although it insists it still intends to continue development of the re-engined twinjet. The airframer says it has taken the decision based on current commercial aircraft market conditions. Embraer says it believes the aircraft, which first flew in ...
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Copenhagen airport operator proposes cutting a quarter of workforce
Copenhagen airport’s operator is considering cutting 25% of its staff in response to the air transport downturn. The Danish hub’s management company, Kobenhavns Lufthavne, has unveiled a DKr228 million ($36 million) pre-tax loss for the first half of this year, against its previous profit of DKr617 million. It is estimating ...
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Ju 52 probe yields enough evidence to explain fatal Alps crash
Swiss investigators believe they have sufficient evidence to explain the accident sequence which resulted in the fatal crash of a Junkers Ju 52 during a pleasure flight in the Alps two years ago. The aircraft had entered a valley basin near Piz Segnas, entering a left turn at the northern ...
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Trigana 737F captain dismissed go-around call before hard-landing accident
Indonesian investigators have determined that a Trigana Air Service Boeing 737-300F captain dismissed go-around suggestions during a visual approach in poor weather, before a hard landing that destroyed the aircraft’s undercarriage and caused it to veer off the runway. The twinjet (PK-YSY) was conducting a visual approach to Wamena airport’s ...
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Russian analysts study unmanned nose-loading twinjet freighter concept
Russian researchers have started investigating a new twinjet cargo aircraft design which would be capable of operating unmanned. The concept – designated the light high-speed transport aircraft – is being analysed by Moscow’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, as part of a Russian trade and industry ministry contract. Preliminary designs show the ...
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Upbeat EasyJet hikes summer capacity further than forecast
UK budget carrier EasyJet is expecting to increase its flight activity to 40% of originally-planned capacity in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from the previous estimate of 30%. EasyJet, whose fourth quarter runs to 30 September, says it also expects a smaller loss than the £325 million ($425 million) headline ...
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UN An-74 badly damaged in Mali landing accident
One of Utair Group’s freighter aircraft, an Antonov An-74 TK-100, has been substantially damaged in an accident at Gao in eastern Mali. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali – known as MINUSMA – says the aircraft was landing at Gao after arriving from the capital, Bamako, at ...
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Russian-powered MC-21 to fly before year-end and Il-114 sooner
United Aircraft is aiming to fly the first Russian-powered Irkut MC-21 before the end of this year, and the Ilyushin Il-114-300 as soon as September, the aerospace firm’s chief has informed President Vladimir Putin. The MC-21-310 variant will be fitted with Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines rather than the Pratt & Whitney ...
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IAG’s Walsh warns against obtaining liquidity without structural reform
Outgoing IAG chief Willie Walsh has warned that obtaining liquidity will offer a false sense of security to airlines unless they fundamentally adapt their business to reflect a different post-crisis market. Walsh points out that British Airways’ second-quarter operating loss of £711 million eclipses that of previous crises – including ...
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Air Europa acquisition remains justified: IAG’s Walsh
IAG is striving to close the acquisition of Air Europa by the end of this year, undeterred by the impact of the air transport crisis, although it is reviewing the structure of the €1 billion ($1.2 billion) deal in response to the downturn. While outgoing IAG chief Willie Walsh has ...
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TUI agreement further lifts BOC Aviation's 737 Max sale-and-leases
TUI Group has carried out a sale-and-leaseback of five Boeing 737 Max jets with the Singaporean-based lessor BOC Aviation. The European holiday company values the agreement – reached with UK subsidiary TUI Travel Aviation Finance – at $226 million. TUI Group is expecting the first of the Max 8s involved ...
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Air France-KLM aims to minimise fleet deferrals to keep competitiveness on track
Just six aircraft ordered by Air France-KLM have so far been pushed back to later delivery slots in the past six months, although KLM has yet to detail its full fleet plan. Air France-KLM states that its competitiveness and sustainability is closely tied to its fleet and network strategy. “Mid- ...
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Russian carriers begin resuming international services
Russian operators are restarting international services after the government started clearing restoration of links with countries including Turkey, the UK and Tanzania. Aeroflot is re-opening its links from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Istanbul and London Heathrow on 1 August, both routes being served by Boeing 777s. Aeroflot’s budget sister carrier Pobeda ...
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British Airways pilots strongly back cost-savings pact
British Airways pilots have voted convincingly in favour of accepting a pay deal recently negotiated between the airline and its cockpit union. The union, BALPA, says that 85% of its members backed the deal, based on a turnout of 87%. BALPA expects around 270 compulsory redundancies but says the agreement ...