Short Takes
September 25th 2015
ENVIRONMENT: ACI (Airports Council International) and CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation), led by director general, Jeff Poole, have collaborated to launch a new initiative to help reduce noise from aviation. As such, they have published Managing the Impacts of Aviation Noise, a best practice guide for reducing aviation noise, especially for communities near airports. Read More » The initiative is to be rolled out to airports and air traffic management organisations across the globe.
AVIONICS: Honeywell Aerospace has announced the acquisition of aviation software firm Aviaso, saying the deal would strengthen its service offerings and provide customers with a full suite of services to improve aircraft performance and safety.
MRO: StandardAero has signed a contract with Air KBZ to provide MRO services through to December 2018 for the Pratt & Whitney PW127M turboprop engines powering the Myanmar carrier’s three ATR72-600s.
REGULATION: The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have completed certification for all three engine types on offer for Airbus’ new A330-300 MTOW, including the Pratt & Whitney PW4000, Rolls-Royce Trent 700 and CFM International’s CF6-80E. Airbus also confirmed that the A330-200 MTOW, recently certified by EASA, will be ratified by the FAA in the near future.
ROUTES: Air China will launch a thrice-weekly Chengdu-Osaka A320 service from October 25. Asiana Airlines will add a second daily Incheon-Saipan service commencing October 25; the new A321 flight complements Asiana’s existing A330 rotations. China Southern Airlines will add a daily Changsha-Kuala Lumpur A320 service from October 25, followed by a twice-weekly Changsha-Narita A320 service starting the next day. Moreover, it has confirmed it would operate its thrice-weekly Guangzhou-Christchurch B787-8 route year-round beyond March 27. China Eastern Airlines has applied to up frequency on the Pudong-JFK B777-300ER route from daily to double daily from December 12 (it originally planned ten weekly services). Emirates Airline will further increase capacity to Phuket as it increases B777-300ER frequency from daily to double daily beginning December 1 (initially it planned eleven weekly services). Starting October 25, Hainan Airlines will swap operational aircraft on the Pudong-Seattle and Beijing-Seattle routes, meaning the B787-8 will operate the Pudong service, while the A330-200 will take over the Beijing flight. Hong Kong Airlines will launch a daily Hong Kong-Krabi A320, and a twice-weekly Hong Kong-Kumamoto A320 service from October 25 and December 14, respectively. Korean Air will replace the A330-300 with the B747-400 on the daily Incheon-Phuket service starting December 25, and it will replace the B737-800 with the A330-300 on one of its twice daily Incheon-Taipei flights. KLM has delayed its B787-9 inaugural Bahrain-Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam service from October 25 to November 16. South Korea’s T’Way Air has commenced daily Incheon-Guam B737-800 operations. Vietnam Airlines will expand capacity on the Ho Chi Minh-Pudong route from October 25 as it replaces the A321 with the B777-200ER on both daily services.
