Saudia’s DG, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, has announced that the national carrier of Saudi Arabia will be launching a new low-cost carrier by the middle of 2017. The new carrier’s name is understood to be Flyadeal and based on the rendering of a sharklet-equipped Airbus A320 in a video used in conjunction with the announcement,
The American Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that tentative approval has been awarded to Norwegian Air International (NAI), the subsidiary airline of Norwegian Group (Norwegian). A more permanent decision will be made based on the results of opening up the decision to public comment. Should the DOT decision stand, NAI will be able to
Mystery still surrounds the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, believed to be somewhere over the southern Indian Ocean, with the presumed loss of all 239 passengers and crew on board in March 2014. The incident created considerable debate both over how an airplane could disappear without trace in this day and age, and also
The Hartford Steam Boiler and Inspection Company (HSB), part of Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers which acquired the company in 2009, has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to carry out aerial inspections of premises using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) where personal inspection would be either impractical or dangerous, with the
Lufthansa is currently making strategic moves in an attempt to enable its low-cost carrier, Eurowings, to compete more successfully with such other low-cost carriers as Ryanair and easyJet. Having acquired a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines in 2008 for €65 million (US$73.5 million), it has been revealed that Lufthansa is looking to exercise the three-year
Having accumulated losses in the region of US$3 billion, attempts by Pakistan’s ruling party, under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to offload the cash-strapped national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), have finally been shelved. In what has been described as a compromise to appease opposing parties and trade unions, the Pakistani parliament has adopted a law
Embraer and Horizon Air have signed a firm order for 30 E175 jets. The contract also includes options for another 33 aircraft of the same model. The value of the contract, which will be included in Embraer’s 2016 second-quarter backlog, is US$2.8bn, based on current list prices, if all the options are exercised. The deliveries
Having agreed to buy the international luggage and cargo handler Swissport International last July for US$2.8bn, the Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co., Ltd., headquartered in Haikou, China, has now agreed to buy a second Swiss company, Gategroup Holding AG, the world’s second-largest airline catering company, for US$1.5 billion. The deal reflects a 17% premium on
Senator Charles Schumer’s (Dem) amendment attached to an FAA authorization bill met with a watery grave on Thursday, failing by a vote of 42-54. The amendment would have seen the FAA forced to set a seat minimum size aboard commercial aircraft together with a minimum distance between rows. Diminishing personal space has been the top
Two years after Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) announced the investment of €60m (US$68.4m) on the main runway – called 10/28 – and additional airport infrastructure, news has been released today (Thursday) that a second runway is to be built at an expected cost of €320m (US$365m). Work will begin in 2017, with completion expected by
