Beijing Capital Helicopter is appointed Airbus Helicopters’ service center in China

Beijing Capital Helicopter (BCH), a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines Group, has been appointed as Airbus Helicopters’ service center in China. It will carry out maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work on the H125 and H135 – two of the most popular light helicopters operating in the country.

Already a customer of Airbus Helicopters owning a fleet of 4 H125 and 3 H135, the appointment will see the two corporations cementing their long-term partnership.

“On behalf of Airbus Helicopters, we welcome BCH into our worldwide MRO network,” said Norbert Ducrot, President of Airbus Helicopters China. “Since its creation in 2011 by Hainan Airlines Group, BCH’s commitment and professionalism have led them to great achievements in the rotary wing business. Together, we will offer proximity maintenance services to our operators and raise the service level for our growing base of customers in the northern China region.”

The provision of MRO services by BCH expands Airbus Helicopters’ reach to customers in-country, with the ability to now answer to their needs quickly without compromising on the quality and safety standard. “It underlines Airbus Helicopters’ commitment to make customer satisfaction our top priority,” added Goldberg.

“We have obtained the CCAR Part 145 certification from the China Airworthiness Civil Authority for maintenance of the H125 and H135 helicopter types,” stated BCH President Yun Qiji. “We will continue to develop our capabilities and aim to expand our expertise to cover other helicopter types and provide a full suite of services for China’s rapidly-growing rotorcraft fleet.”

BCH’s service center will be located within the Beijing Badaling Airport and is slated to commence operations this month.

RwandAir firms-up order for two Airbus A330 Family aircraft

Airline will be East Africa’s first to benefit from the A330s proven efficiency

RwandAir, the national flag carrier of the Republic of Rwanda, has signed a firm contract with Airbus for an A330-200 and a larger A330-300, at a signature ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda. With this order RwandAir becomes a new Airbus customer and is the first East African customer for the long-haul airliner. This agreement firms up a commitment announced earlier this year.
Aircraft deliveries will begin in the second half of 2016, enabling the country’s carrier to deploy its new flagship aircraft on medium and long-haul routes serving destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The two aircraft will feature a three class cabin layouts. The A330-200 will have 244 seats (20 business class, 21 premium and 203 economy class) and the A330-300 will have 274 seats (30 business class, 21 premium and 223 economy class). The aircraft will be equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 772B engines.

“As we look to introduce wide body aircraft for the first time into our fleet, with its proven economics, reliability and passenger comfort, we have found the A330 to perfectly support our plans to expand into Europe and Asia, to enhance our regional presence, to open up new routes and to grow our market share. We are also delighted to have these aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce, as the Trent 700 engine delivers the most efficient and reliable power, and will maximize the revenue earning potential of our new aircraft’’ said John Mirenge, Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir.

“We are extremely pleased that RwandAir has confirmed its confidence in the A330, and are happy to welcome them as a new A330 customer,” said Christopher Buckley, Executive Vice President, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific. “Their Passengers will enjoy best-in-class passenger comfort that only Airbus offers as well as the newest state of the art in-flight entertainment system. Rwandair will be able to benefit with the A330s from the unique combination of unbeatable economics, versatility and fuel efficiency.”

To date the A330 Family, which spans 250 to 300 seats, has attracted more than 1,500 orders and around 1,200 A330s are flying worldwide with over 100 operators. Ever since the original A330-300 entered service, its hallmarks are its very efficient operating economics, innovative cabin features, while offering passengers much wider economy-class seats than any competing aircraft. Moreover, with numerous product improvements and with an operational reliability of 99.4 percent, the A330 is the most cost-efficient and capable aircraft in its class.

British Airways passengers, crew escape plane fire in Las Vegas

A British Airways jetliner engine caught fire in Las Vegas as the plane was about to leave for London on Tuesday, forcing the pilots to abort takeoff, but all 172 passengers and crew escaped the smoke and flames that quickly enveloped the aircraft.

Several passengers and crew suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital as a precaution, a spokeswoman for the airline said. She did not say how many people were injured.

Video and photographs from the scene showed Flight 2276, a Boeing Co (BA.N) 777 bound for Gatwick, engulfed in flames and thick black smoke at McCarran International Airport.

Passengers were evacuated from the twin-engine, wide-body jet to the runway using emergency slides, officials said.

"Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport," the British Airways spokeswoman said.

Aeroflot to buy Transaero in tie-up of Russia's biggest airlines

Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline by passenger traffic, agreed to take over its closest competitor Transaero Airlines as the country’s economic woes shake the industry.

A government commission backed the “consolidation” in a meeting led by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Transaero said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday. The board of state-controlled Aeroflot will vote to buy 75 percent plus 1 share of Transaero, according to a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The combined airline will probably fly more than half of all domestic passengers, according to Andrei Rozhkov, a transportation analyst at Moscow-based IFC Metropol.

“Weak airlines are leaving the market or reducing their business, on the one hand,” he said by phone. “Aeroflot is getting a boost from the Transaero deal, on the other hand.”

Transaero blamed a “sharp” devaluation of the ruble for reduced sales of international flights and increased payouts on foreign-exchange denominated loans, according to an Aug. 21 statement on its website. The company borrowed in 2010 to 2013 to expand its fleet, it said.

“In an economic situation that has been fairly described as a perfect storm, Transaero Airlines no doubt is experiencing difficulties,” the company said in the statement.

Transaero had debt of 64.8 billion rubles ($990 million) as of Dec. 31, Vedomosti reported. About 31 percent of it was foreign-exchange denominated at a time when the domestic currency plunged amid international sanctions over Ukraine and slumping oil prices, according to another Vedomosti report. Airbus Group SE last month announced it postponed the delivery of its A380 superjumbo to the Russian carrier.

Russian airline passenger traffic rebounded year on year in the January to July period, according to the Federal Agency of Air Transport. Transaero carried 2.7 percent more passengers during these seven months from a year earlier, the data showed.
Passenger numbers fell 2.3 percent to 17 million in the first quarter, the first decline since 2009, the air transport agency said.

Lufthansa Group says over 500 planned flights will operate despite the strike

1,000 Lufthansa flights cancelled; 140,000 travellers affected

The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union has called on its members to take strike action tomorrow (Wednesday 9 September) affecting Lufthansa short- and medium-haul services from Germany. Lufthansa deeply regrets the resulting inconvenience to its customers.

All in all, the Lufthansa Group had some 3,000 flights planned for tomorrow. Of these, 1,520 flights with 180,000 travellers booked on them were to have been operated by Lufthansa. And 1,350 of these are short- and medium-haul services. Despite the strike action, over 500 Lufthansa flights will be able to operate tomorrow. The services of Germanwings, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines are not affected, and will operate as scheduled.

Any customers whose flight is cancelled as a result of the strike will be able to rebook or to cancel their booking free of charge or penalty. All travellers holding a Lufthansa ticket for a flight from, to or via Frankfurt, Munich or Düsseldorf on 9 September will also be able to make one free rebooking online at LH.com under “My Bookings”. Travellers within Germany whose Lufthansa flight is cancelled as a result of the strike will be able to use the trains of Deutsche Bahn instead, by converting their air ticket into a rail ticket either online at LH.com (“My Bookings”) or at a Lufthansa check-in machine.

Lufthansa’s long-haul network will also see some cancellations tomorrow. Fifty-two of the 176 long-haul services planned for Wednesday 9 September will have to be cancelled as a result of the strike action, partly because – as a consequence of today’s strike – the aircraft concerned are not yet back where they need to be to operate tomorrow’s services as scheduled.