Farnborough Airshow Review, Day 3

A quick summary of orders at the Farnborough Airshow on July 16:BoeingMalaysia Airlines ordered 35 737-800s.Aviation Capital Group ordered 15 more 737-700s.AirbusNetherlands-based lessor AerCap launched the A320/A321 freighter, with an order for 30.Asiana Airlines ordered 30 A350 XWBs, with 10 optio...

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American to retire A300

photo by Vidiot American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey said earlier today that the airline's fleet of Airbus A300s, which were due to be retired by the end of 2012, will instead be phased out by the end of 2009. Right now, the type is based at either JFK or Miami (there still is a significant AA A300 presence in San Juan, but this has declined as AA has started to downsize operations there...

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Farnborough Airshow Review, Days 1 and 2

The Farnborough 2008 Airshow, which runs from July 14 to 20, is the first major airshow to be held since the Paris Air Show last June. Boeing VP Randy Tinseth pointed out on his journal a few ways that the aviation world has changed since the Paris show:There have been 2,678 commercial airplane orders (Boeing and Airbus)Oil has gone from $67/bbl to $134/bbl Jet fuel has gone from $2.12/gal to $3.92/gal The U.S. dollar has gone from 0.75 euros/dollar to 0.64 euros/dollar, and from 123 yen/dollar to 107 yen/dollar The market has continued to liberalize...

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Northwest to cut 2500 jobs, add fees

photo by caribbNorthwest Airlines announced yesterday that it would be laying off 2,500 employees in all groups of positions (pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, and other employees), but that it would first be looking for volunteers to leave the company. A variety of "voluntary programs including early-out programs, voluntary leaves, work rule modifications and attrition" will be offered, with the airline moving to furloughs as a last resort.“Our...

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Vladivostok Avia starts US service

For those of you in the US who have been wanting to fly on a Russian-built aircraft, here's a new opportunity: Vladivostok Avia has started seasonal twice-weekly service from Anchorage to Vladivostok, via Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky. The first flight, which arrived in Anchorage on Monday morning, was flown by a Tupolev TU-154, although the airline has said that the route will be flown with newer Tupolev TU-204 airplanes. The flights will be carried out...

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BA's OpenSkies to merge with L'Avion

British Airways has announced that it will purchase Paris-based premium carrier L'Avion to add to its OpenSkies premium transatlantic subsidiary. The deal, which only set back BA $52 million in cash, will be completed this month, and OpenSkies will formally combine with L'Avion shortly thereafter.In a statement, British Airways head Willie Walsh noted that "L'Avion is a successful airline that has built up a premium business in a relatively short...

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