FedEx Express to acquire 50 additional Boeing 767-300F freighters

FedEx Express (Memphis), a wholly owned subsidiary of FedEx Corporation (Memphis), has agreed to purchase 50 additional 767-300F aircraft from The Boeing Company. In addition to the 50 confirmed orders, FedEx also has options to purchase a total of 50 767F aircraft.

The 50 firm-order aircraft will be delivered from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2023. Total capital spending for fiscal 2016 remains at $4.6 billion. The impact to capital spending in fiscal 2017 from this new order is immaterial. With this order, FedEx Express now holds a total of 106 firm orders for 767Fs from The Boeing Company through fiscal 2023.

The newer 767Fs will help the company retire its older aircraft. From this fleet plan as of May 31, 2015, the company was planning to retire the Airbus A310s in 2016 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10s and MD-10-30s in 2021. This may now be expedited with this order.

The order will also help Boeing keep the 767 line going.

Copyright Photo: James Helbock/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-3S2F ER N102FE (msn 42707) approaches the runway at San Diego.

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Allegiant announces further expansion in Memphis

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) has announced further expansion in Memphis with the addition of twice weekly nonstop service to Austin, Texas and St. Petersburg/Clearwater beginning on October 1, 2015.

Allegiant began service to Memphis last May with flights to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Las Vegas and Sanford (near Orlando).

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) N881GA (msn 49708) approaches the runway at Las Vegas.

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Hawaiian to acquire three ATR 72 freighters to operate under the ‘Ohana by Hawaiian brand

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., parent of Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu), today announced plans to acquire three ATR 72 turboprop aircraft in an all-cargo configuration to expand its interisland shipping services. The new operation will launch in the first half of 2016, starting with flights between Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and Kona International Airport (KOA), Kahului Airport (OGG), Līhuʻe Airport (LIH) and Hilo International Airport (ITO), with well-timed connections from Hawaiian Airlines’ mainland and international network.

The ATR 72 fleet can carry up to 18,000 pounds of cargo and will be able to handle five 88-by-108-feet aircraft pallets or up to seven LD3 containers, skidded cargo and oversized shipments. Express services for smaller shipments will also be available on its 160 daily B717 flights throughout the day.

The flights will be branded ‘Ohana by Hawaiian and operated by Empire Airlines, which also operates the 48-passenger ATR 42 turboprop service (above). The livery of the aircraft will feature the same kapa tail patterns created by Hilo-based artist Sig Zane and his son Kūha’o (below).

“Since launching the ‘Ohana by Hawaiian passenger operation in March 2014, we have established a track record of providing a reliable and efficient service for travel within the islands with an on-time arrival rate of 94 percent,” said Hadden Watt, managing director of ‘Ohana by Hawaiian. “We expect to deliver the same reliability and high-quality of service to our cargo customers for their interisland shipments.”

The new cargo operation will create more than 100 new Hawai’i-based jobs in various areas of air transportation including pilots, mechanics, ground handlers, sales, customer service and management positions.

Hawaiian Airlines was the first U.S. airline certified to ship cargo in 1942, and has provided high-quality overseas shipping and customer service to international customers, freight forwarders, carriers and many others in the industry for more than 70 years as the flagship carrier of the Pacific.

Top Copyright Photo: Ivan K. Nishimura/AirlinersGallery.com. Operated by Empire Airlines, ‘Ohana by Hawaiian-branded ATR 42-500 N804HC (msn 623) taxies at the Honolulu base.

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Austrian Airlines is dropping the Vienna – Dubai route

Austrian Airlines (Vienna) will drop the nonstop Vienna – Dubai route due to “over capacity” and the route is “unsustainable” for the carrier.

The airline issued this statement:

Austrian Airlines will no longer offer direct flights to Dubai. Passengers of the Lufthansa Group will still be able to reach this city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the future by flying via Frankfurt, Zurich or Munich. The over capacity, built up in recent years, resulted in fierce price competition as up to 800 seats per day were on offer. This ultimately made the Vienna-Dubai route unsustainable for Austrian Airlines.

Austrian Airlines has been offering flight service to the largest city in the UAE since 1996. The last Austrian Airlines flight will take place on September 13, 2015 from Vienna to Dubai, and from Dubai to Vienna on September 14, 2015.

“Unfortunately, the Vienna-Dubai route has become unsustainable for us. The capacities which will become available will be deployed for attractive, new destinations, such as Miami, Mauritius and Colombo in Sri Lanka starting in October“, says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto.

As of October 16, 2015, Austrian Airlines will operate flights to Miami in the USA five times per week. Starting October 27, 2015, the national carrier will fly every Tuesday to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. And from October 29, 2015 onwards, Austrian Airlines will offer nonstop flight service twice a week to Mauritius.

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TAM to reduce its domestic operations in Brazil

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and TAM S.A. (TAM Linhas Aereas) (Sao Paulo), announced that TAM will adjust its domestic network in Brazil. The group issued this statement:

In order to allow TAM Airlines to remain committed with its long term sustainable development and growth plans for Brazil, the Company has decided to implement an adjustment to its domestic network at this time.

Given the impact of the challenging economic scenario in the country, caused by an increase in inflation and an appreciation of the U.S. dollar versus the Brazilian real, resulting in a slowdown in the airline industry, TAM is now implementing a gradual reduction of its domestic operations in Brazil of approximately 8% to 10%. As a result, the company has revised its capacity growth (ASK) guidance for this year for the domestic market in Brazil from 0% growth to a contraction of 2 to 4% as compared to 2014.

TAM has been working to adopt several measures to limit the impact of this adjustment on its employees. Nonetheless, the Company estimates it will reduce its staff by less than 2%, considering its normal turnover. Given the Company’s mid-term growth plans, this adjustment will not impact flight crew personnel. TAM will provide support to the affected employees with an outplacement program.

In order to guarantee the best service to its passengers, TAM will continue to serve all domestic destinations that it currently operates.

The Brazilian airline industry has suffered from declining demand, according to National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) data. Furthermore, data from the Market Readout of the Brazilian Central Bank released on July 10 indicates that the market projects a further decline of the Brazilian GDP, in 2015, with estimates revised down from a contraction of 1.3% to a 1.5% decline. They also estimate that inflation should end the year at over 9%, while the U.S. dollar is expected to continue to strengthen against the Brazilian real.

“TAM is taking this measure to face the difficult economic scenario of the country. It is necessary to make adjustments to our network while maintaining the connectivity we offer our passengers, and strengthening even further the Company’s competiveness in Brazil ”, said Claudia Sender, CEO of TAM S.A.

“We continue to believe in the country’s recovery and this adjustment in no way affects the Company’s long-term strategy, which include the renewal of the fleet, the feasibility study for the Northeastern hub and the continuous strengthening of our hubs in Brasília and São Paulo/Guarulhos”, she added.

Copyright Photo: Rodrigo Cozzato/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A321-231 PT-MXM (msn 5987) with Sharklets departs from the Sao Paulo (Guarulhos) hub.

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Airbus’ Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) certified by EASA for A330 Family aircraft, Korean Air to be the first customer

Airbus (Toulouse) has issued this statement:

Airbus has achieved EASA certification of its innovative Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) technology on A330 Family aircraft. This on-board cockpit technology, which Airbus has pioneered over several years, is now certified and available on all Airbus Families. ROPS is an alerting system which reduces exposure to runway overrun risk, and if necessary, provides active protection.

Korean Air will become the first A330 operator to implement ROPS on its A330s in service in the coming months.

This EASA certification of ROPS on the A330 marks a key milestone in making ROPS available for line-fit and retrofit to all Airbus models. ROPS was first approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on the A380 in October 2009 and to date is currently in service or ordered on most of the A380 fleet. ROPS is also part of the A350 XWB’s basic configuration, and in August 2013 was also certified for the A320 Family.

“Already in service on the A380, A350 and A320 Families, ROPS is the result of years of continuing research by Airbus,” said Didier Lux, Airbus’ SVP Head of Customer Services. He adds: “This EASA certification for ROPS on the A330 Family is an example where innovative technology and services meet for the benefit of operators and aviation safety, and is thus an important step to offering the enhanced operational benefits across all our aircraft.”

Runway excursion – meaning either an aircraft veering off the side of the runway, or overrunning at the very end – remains the primary cause of civil airliner hull losses, particularly as other formerly prevalent categories of aircraft accidents have now largely been eliminated. Furthermore, various industry bodies including the EASA, NTSB, Eurocontrol and FAA recognize this and are fully behind the introduction of effective measures by commercial aviation stakeholders to eliminate the risk of runway excursions.

Top Copyright Photo: Eurospot/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-223F F-WWYE (msn 1004) banks over Toulouse.

EVA Air finalizes its order for five Boeing 777F freighters

EVA Air (Taipei) and Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) have finalized an order for five 777F Freighters. The order, valued at more than $1.5 billion at list prices, will represent the first 777F Freighters to join EVA Air’s fleet, and the first to be delivered to a Taiwanese airline.

Boeing first announced EVA Air’s intent to order the five 777 Freighters at the 2015 Paris Air Show last month.

The Taiwanese airline plans to use the new freighters to bolster its fleet on trans-Pacific and Asian routes in an effort to meet growing demand in the air cargo market.

EVA Air currently operates more than 35 Boeing airplanes, including 20 777-300 ERs. With 13 additional 777-300 ERs on order – both direct purchased and leased – EVA will become one of the largest 777 operators in the world. The carrier plans to grow its operational twin-aisle fleet to more than 60 airplanes by the end of 2025.

The 777 Freighter is the world’s largest and longest range twin-engine freighter, capable of flying 4,900 nautical miles (9,070 kilometers) with a full payload at general cargo market densities.

Image: Boeing.

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Boeing forecasts rising demand for commercial airline pilots and technicians

Pilots in Simulator; Pilots on flight deck; Female Co-Pilot; Male African-American Pilot; K66420-03

Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) has released a new forecast showing continued strong demand for commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians as the world’s airlines add 38,000 airplanes to the global fleet over the next 20 years.

Boeing’s 2015 Pilot and Technician Outlook projects that between 2015 and 2034, the world will require 558,000 new commercial airline pilots and 609,000 new commercial airline maintenance technicians.

“To help address this need, Boeing trained last year a record number of pilots and technicians at 17 training campuses around the globe and has invested in a comprehensive Pilot Development Program to train early stage pilots to become qualified commercial airline pilots,” said Sherry Carbary, vice president, Boeing Flight Services. “We will continue to increase the amount of training we provide, enabling our customers to satisfy the world’s growing appetite for air travel.”

“The challenge of meeting the global demand for airline professionals will not be solved by one company alone,” Carbary added. “Aircraft manufacturers, airlines, training equipment manufacturers, training delivery organizations, regulatory agencies and educational institutions are all stepping up to meet the increasing need to train and certify pilots and technicians.”

Boeing’s 2015 Outlook projects continued increases in pilot demand, up more than 4 percent compared to the 2014 Outlook. For maintenance technicians, demand increased approximately 5 percent.

Overall global demand for these skilled resources will be driven by continued economic expansion, resulting in an average requirement for about 28,000 new pilots and more than 30,000 new technicians every year.

The 20-year projected demand for new pilots and technicians by region is:

Asia Pacific – 226,000 pilots and 238,000 technicians
Europe – 95,000 pilots and 101,000 technicians
North America – 95,000 pilots and 113,000 technicians
Latin America – 47,000 pilots and 47,000 technicians
Middle East – 60,000 pilots and 66,000 technicians
Africa – 18,000 pilots and 22,000 technicians
Russia / CIS – 17,000 pilots and 22,000 technicians

The Pilot and Technician Outlook is Boeing’s long-term forecast of the demand for pilots and technicians and its estimate of personnel needed to fly and maintain the tens of thousands of new commercial jetliners expected to be produced over the next 20 years. The forecast is published annually to factor in changing market forces affecting the industry. Boeing shares the outlook with the public to inform airlines, suppliers and the financial community of trends in the industry.

Photo: Boeing.

airBaltic to operate winter weekly flights to Salzburg, will start two new routes from Tallinn

airBaltic (Riga) will operate weekly winter seasonal Boeing 737 service from Riga to Salzburg from December 26, 2015 through March 19, 2016.

Additionally, next summer, the carrier will launch two new routes from Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn – Amsterdam service will be launched on March 27, 2016 and Tallinn – Stockholm (Bromma) will commence on the same day per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-36Q YL-BBJ YL-BBJ (msn 30333) approaches the runway at Zurich.

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British Airways to operate the Airbus A380 daily to Singapore, Miami to start on October 25

British Airways (London) will go to a daily Airbus A380 operation the London (Heathrow) – Singapore route on February 24, 2016 instead of early March, 2016. As previously reported, the Super Jumbo will also be introduced on the London (Heathrow) – Miami route on October 25.