All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 92
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NewsBoeing’s Gatwick freighter conversion centre to open second 737 line
Boeing is to open a second surge line for 737-800 freighter conversions at its facility near London Gatwick airport. The company has already commenced work to modify aircraft on its initial line at the UK hub. “We’re opening a second surge line in Gatwick,” says Kate Schaefer, vice-president for the ...
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NewsSaudi Arabia opens airspace to all civil airlines including Israeli carriers
Saudi Arabian authorities have chosen to open the kingdom’s airspace to all civil carriers, including operators conducting services to and from Israel. The decision is a crucial step forward in the efforts to broaden Israeli-Arab links following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. This agreement resulted in normalisation ...
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NewsAustralia’s Rex to acquire fly-in, fly-out carrier National Jet Express
Australia’s Regional Express Holdings is to take over National Jet Express, the regional services arm of Cobham Aviation Services Australia. National Jet Express provides fly-in, fly-out services in the south and west of the country, and also operates domestic freight flights out of Sydney to various cities. The carrier uses ...
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NewsFirst A320 converted freighter delivered to lessor Vaayu Group
Conversion specialists ST Engineering and EFW have delivered the initial Airbus A320 passenger-to-freighter aircraft to the United Arab Emirates’ leasing and aerospace services firm Vaayu Group. The aircraft will be sub-leased to new Indian operator Pradhaan Air Express, which is aiming to commence cargo services this year. Pradhaan Air Express ...
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NewsFurious Emirates to defy ‘unacceptable’ Heathrow capacity cap
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is set to defy instructions by London Heathrow airport’s operator to impose a capacity cap, furiously rejecting the demand as “unacceptable”. It is accusing the airport of having “blatant disregard” for passengers by trying to enforce a daily capacity limit of 100,000 departing passengers. Emirates insists ...
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NewsBleak prognosis for UK’s Doncaster Sheffield airport after Wizz axes base
Operators of the UK’s regional Doncaster Sheffield airport have embarked on a strategic review to consider its future after admitting that the facility will struggle to achieve profitability. The airport made a full-year operating loss of £16.2 million ($19.2 million) loss in 2018-19, and a loss of £6.8 million in ...
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NewsEASA explores feasibility of screening for lithium batteries in baggage
Safety concerns over passenger transport of lithium batteries has propelled European regulators to explore whether they could reasonably be detected using airport security screening equipment. Lithium batteries have long been a concern owing to the potential for thermal runaway, and the generation of smoke and fire. “Given their ubiquitous application ...
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NewsStrike-hit SAS warns it could be forced into ‘radical’ downsizing
SAS is estimating the cost of the pilots’ strike at SKr1-1.3 billion ($94-123 million) over the first 10 days, and warns that it could be forced to resort to selling assets and cutting back its operations. The company – which has filed for US Chapter 11 protection – has been ...
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NewsAir France-KLM firms Apollo’s €500m investment through spare engine pool
Air France-KLM Group has signed a €500 million ($501 million) investment agreement with private equity company Apollo Global Management, after the two sides entered talks for a capital injection earlier this year. The agreement involves investment in an operating affiliate of Air France which will own a spare engine pool ...
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NewsCALC to take first 737-800 freighter as it explores cargo conversions
Hong Kong-based leasing firm CALC is to acquire its first converted Boeing 737-800 freighter, modified by US company Aeronautical Engineers. CALC had signalled last year that it was looking to capitalise on the increasing demand for freighter conversions, after it picked up three Airbus A330-300s in a sale-and-leaseback deal. The ...
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NewsA320 just 6ft from terrain collision after pressure-setting error
French investigators have disclosed that an Airbus A320 inbound to Paris narrowly escaped colliding with terrain short of the runway, after an incorrect pressure setting given to the pilots went undetected. Analysis of the serious incident – which took place in poor weather and low visibility – shows the A320 ...
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NewsPilots cautioned over terrain and weather effects during approach to new Hong Kong runway
Pilot representatives are urging crews to be particularly cautious when conducting approaches to Hong Kong’s new third runway, owing to potential weather effects and the proximity of terrain. The new runway 25R/07L is located to the north of the airport. Hong Kong’s previous northern runway has been redesignated as a ...
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NewsDeucalion Aviation investor SVPGlobal takes over entirety of company
Investment firm Strategic Value Partners has completely acquired the asset-management company Deucalion Aviation, having previously taken a 50% share. Deucalion manages over 180 aircraft – both single- and twin-aisle, with a core of mid-life models – which are leased to more than 80 operators. Strategic Value Partners has acquired full ...
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NewsSaudi waste-to-fuel plant developer seeks UK price-stabilisation mechanism
Saudi Arabian engineering firm Alfanar is seeking price-protection measures from the UK government as it commits to developing two more sustainable aviation fuel plants in the country. Alfanar is already advancing with an initial £1 billion project – the ‘Lighthouse Green Fuels’ scheme in Teesside, in the north-east – which ...
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NewsWizz Air cuts back summer capacity to contain operational disruption
Budget carrier Wizz Air is limiting summer capacity growth to around 35% compared with the pre-crisis level, in order to reduce risks of operational disruption over the peak period. The airline says it has “further improved the agility and resilience of our network”, measures which include adjusting schedules where a ...
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NewsAirbus fleet forecast simplifies aircraft classifications as single-aisle jets blur boundaries
Increasingly-blurred boundaries between traditional single-aisle and twin-aisle operations have spurred Airbus to simplify aircraft segmentation in its latest 20-year demand forecast. Its outlook to 2041 increases the overall new delivery demand to 39,490 passenger and freighter aircraft – from the previous figure of just over 39,000 – across the next ...
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NewsAirbus forecasts 50% rise in freighter fleet as e-commerce outpaces general cargo
Airbus expects the global freighter fleet to climb above 3,000 aircraft by 2041, with growth in the e-commerce sector outpacing that of general cargo over the next 20 years. The airframer expects deliveries of 2,440 freighters over the two-decade period while the retention of some 630 current aircraft, including those ...
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NewsEl Al resolves pilot dispute with new operations and salary pact
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has reached an agreement with its pilots aimed at settling a dispute over salaries which has caused disruption to the airline’s operations for several weeks. El Al says the agreement – signed by its pilot committee as well as the trade union centre Histadrut – will ...
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NewsMaintenance procedures revised after 737 shed vertical fin structures
Boeing has amended removal and installation maintenance instructions for Boeing 737 dorsal fins after an incident in which a 737-800 arrived at San Diego with several structural components of the vertical fin missing. The aircraft (N820TJ), operating a Swift Air flight, had departed Victorville in California on 19 May 2020. ...
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NewsQantas A350-1000s and undisclosed A350F customer lift Airbus’s widebody orders
Qantas Airways has firmed its order for a dozen Airbus A350-1000s while the airframer has also secured an agreement for another seven A350 freighters, from an undisclosed customer. Two A350 freighters recently identified for Silk Way Airlines, and a single A330-900 for Delta Air Lines, added to a lively end ...