Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines is expecting a challenging year related to LCC competition at its Vienna Airport hub, but CEO Wolgang Jani is vowing to invest against its competitors “as long as it is necessary.”
Lufthansa Apr. 30 decided to stop any planned growth of its low-fare brand Eurowings as that unit’s financial performance continued to deteriorate in the first quarter.
Virgin Australia has decided to delay its Boeing 737 MAX orders for two years, the first major move by the carrier’s new CEO as he seeks to improve the carrier’s near-term financial health.
A trade group representing the global aviation maintenance and manufacturing sector is defending Boeing’s inclusion on FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) amid ongoing investigations into the Boeing 737 MAX.
“An A320 is an A320 and a MAX is a MAX”, said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, adding that the current situation “is not changing the mid- to long-term picture.”
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg insists the MAX 8 was designed and certified to the company’s standards, and suggested too much faith may have been put on pilots’ ability to recognize failure modes tied to the aircraft’s MCAS system that is the focus of two fatal 737 MAX 8 accidents.
Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg appears likely to keep both of his positions—and sounds determined to stay in his job—after company shareholders on Apr. 29 opted not to force a move to split the chair and chief-executive officeholders.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is facing a fifth day of pilot strikes across its operations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden with another 546 flight cancellations anticipated for Apr. 30.
U.S. Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) is temporarily reassigning a block of officers to the Mexican border from major U.S. international airports, raising concerns about immigration delays at those airports this summer.
GE Aviation and Zurich-based Auterion have partnered to provide a hardware- and software-based platform for commercial drone operations, the companies announced Apr. 29.
The head of the largest independent association of U.S. flight attendants called on FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell to implement a host of safety initiatives from last year’s FAA Reauthorization Act, saying the agency “has already missed several deadlines” related to rest hours, seat size and toxic fumes.
Saudi Air Navigation Services (SANS) has chosen Frequentis to provide a deployable mobile air traffic control (ATC) tower to support its ATC modernization program, the company announced Apr. 29.
Japan Airlines (JAL) achieved healthy growth in net profits for its fiscal year through Mar. 31, although it is projected to decline in the current fiscal year.
On April 19 an eight-rotor custom drone transported a kidney from St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore to the University of Maryland Medical Center, 2.7 mi. away.
Singapore LCC Scoot has announced that it will be suspending its services to Kalibo (Philippines), Lucknow (India), Male (Maldives) and Quanzhou (China) due to ‘weak demand’ and shortage of aircraft resources.
Three flights were diverted from London Gatwick Airport Apr. 28 following unconfirmed reports of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) activity outside the airport perimeter.
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The Boeing 737 MAX grounding will cost American Airlines about $350 million in full-year income, assuming its current plan to have the aircraft back in revenue service by Aug. 19 holds, the carrier reports.
Winter storm-related disruptions and a drop in close-in bookings held Alaska Air Group’s net income flat at $4 million in the 2019 first quarter, the same as the year-ago period.
