Short Takes
November 27th 2020
Canadian-headquartered pilot training and flight simulator manufacturer, CAE, will acquire TRU Simulation + Training Canada Inc. for US$40 million. Read More » “This acquisition demonstrates our ability to bolster our position and expand our addressable market and global customer base during this unprecedented period of disruption, CAE CEO, Marc Parent, said. Earlier this year, CAE bought Amsterdam-based Flight Simulator Company for US$84 million.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) said this week it would resume nonstop flights from Tokyo Narita to Phnom Penh, Dusseldorf and Shenzhen and increase frequency to Singapore, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon next month. There was also a "tentative" schedule for nonstop flights from Nagoya to Houston and San Francisco "in anticipation of increased demand for travel from North America to Nagoya". ANA said it planned to operate 19% of its international schedule in December and 17% in January, compared with pre-COVID-19 levels.
Cathay Pacific Airways this week started once a week flights between Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, a route previously served by now dissolved Cathay Dragon. Kuala Lumpur is one of several Cathay Dragon destinations transferred to Cathay Pacific Airways this month, including Kaohsiung and Osaka Kansai. The airline also has said it would resume Brisbane-Hong Kong nonstop one time a week in January.
Embraer said this week it had released a service bulletin to allow operators of the 50-seat ERJ145 regional jet to install high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. The Brazil-based manufacturer said kits for the first 70 aircraft were being assembled and would be delivered by mid-December. "Given the moment we are living, developing a HEPA filter service bulletin for the ERJ 145 is a must-have solution Embraer developed for making cabin conditions even safer for passengers,” Embraer services and support CEO, Johann Bordais, said. The company said it took about five and half months to develop the solution and that work is ongoing for ERJ135 and ERJ140 aircraft.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) unveiled a carbon offset trading platform at its annual general meeting (AGM) this week. The Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE), developed in conjunction with Xpansiv CBL Holding, provides airlines, airports and other stakeholders with the "opportunity to offset their carbon footprint by purchasing credits in certified projects that reduce carbon emissions", IATA said in a statement. U.S.-based JetBlue completed the first trade on the platform.
The airline lobby group has called on governments to support the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). IATA said the existence of a large-scale, competitive SAF market would create jobs and fight climate change while connecting the world in a sustainable way. "Government stimulus packages could help promote SAF through direct investment, loan guarantees and incentives for the private sector, as well as regulations that channel feedstock towards hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation rather than to other low-carbon transport industries," IATA said.
