AVIONEWS - World Aeronautical Press Agency
101,325 news found
MiscellaneousAVIONEWS wishes a Happy Immaculate Conception's long week-end to everybody
Rome, Italy - The agency, after a three-day week-end, will regularly open next Tuesday, December 9
AVIONEWS communicates to its subscribers, readers, reporters and social network fans, that it will be closed next Monday, December 8, in the occasion of the Immaculate Conception festivity. The Agency... more
HelicoptersAirbus Helicopters delivers three TH-135 training aircraft to JMSDF
Tokyo, Japan - It is a variant of the EC-135T2+
Airbus Helicopters Japan has successfully handed over three TH-135 training helicopters to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). The three aircraft delivered between October and December are the... more
HelicoptersFrench Defence Minister: we might not deliver Mistral ships to Russia
Paris, France - Paris will check if ceasefire and the inviolability of Ukrainian borders are respected
After the suspension of Mistral helicopter carrier ships delivery to Russia decreed by French president François Hollande (for details see AVIONEWS) the Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declared today... more
HelicoptersSikorsky to provide 16 Seahawk helicopters to Indian Navy
New Delhi, India - A company participated by AgustaWestland was excluded because of the alleged Finmeccanica’s bribe to Indian officials
The Indian Navy selected Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk for its shipboard multi-role helicopter (MRH) requirement yesterday. New Delhi launched a tender for 16 helicopters with an option for another eight in 2008.... more
AerospaceOrion: first launch cancelled yesterday, the capsule took off today around 7:00
Cape Canaveral, USA - The mission had been postponed four times and then deferred 24 hours
Orion space capsule launch, postponed four times yesterday and finally cancelled yesterday December 4, was eventually successfully done today, few minutes after 7:00 local time from Cape Canaveral NASA... more
DefenseAircraft and defense: Italy is member of the EATC
Rome, Italy - The Country will transfer the authority to the EATC of all KC-767A, seven Alenia C-27J Spartan as well as the whole Lockheed C-130J Hercules fleet
Yesterday, on December 4th, the leading Italian General in his function of the Italian Air Force, General Pasquale Preziosa signed the respective Note of Participation (NoP), making Italy immediately a... more
AirlinesAlitalia gets second instalment of “Bridge-loan”
Rome, Italy - Poste italiane and CAI investors have contributed with 180 million Euros so far
Alitalia-CAI partners paid these days the second instalment of the “Bridge-loan” meant to ensure the carrier’s current assets until the final agreement with Etihad is signed, which is expected to happe... more
ReportAir India urges a decision on VVIP aircraft
New Delhi, India - New Delhi has to replace its Boeing 747 fleet
An inter-ministerial workgroup in New Delhi is evaluating which airplane to adopt as a replacement for Boeing 747 (also called Jumbo Jet), a four-engine aircraft used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to fly... more
IndustryAnsaldoBreda sale: the Chinese to present offer within days
Rome, Italy - Reopening of the tender for the purchase of Finmeccanica’s rail companies seems to be sure
Rumours on the reopening of the tender for the purchase of AnsaldoBreda and Ansaldo Sts, Finmeccanica’s rail sector subsidiaries, are getting more concrete every day. New reports from sources close to t... more
PeopleAirplanes and airlines. Alitalia appoints new management team, effective from next January 1st
Rome, Italy - Under the leadership of its recently appointed CEO Silvano Cassano
Alitalia, Italy’s leading airline, today announced a new management team, who will implement a major turnaround strategy to develop the carrier into a competitive, sustainably profitable business, under t... more
Weather forecastsAirplanes and forecast. Bad weather in Italy: thunderstorm alert on the South and strong winds in Sardinia
Rome, Italy - An orange criticality on Sardinia, Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, Campania and eastern Po valley
The Italian Civil Defence Department, on the basis of the available forecasts, issued a further bulletin for adverse weather conditions. It integrates and extends those already diffused in the last days. Gale... more
PeopleIBAR: Umberto Solimeno unanimously elected as President again
Rome, Italy - Great satisfaction for him, after a first two year period marked by successes at the leadership
The General assembly of IBAR ((Italian Board Airline Representatives) voted and unanimously elected the outgoing President, Umberto Solimeno (Air Canada). Great satisfaction for him, after a first two... more
Civil aviationAirplanes and transport. IATA: passenger traffic maintains strong growth in October
Geneva, Switzerland - Capacity increased by 5.5%, causing load factor to rise 0.1 percentage points to 79.1%
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for October showing a strengthening in demand growth compared to September 2014 and to the year-ago period.... more
HelicoptersMistral helicopter carrier. Rogozin: we will no longer buy military technology abroad
Moscow, Russia - The Russian Deputy Prime Minister says France was not able to make “Sovereign decisions”
“We will no longer buy ready-made military equipment abroad and the Mistrals serve as a good example confirming that we are right” said today Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to the press com... more
HelicoptersRobinson: FAA certifies floats for R-66 helicopter
Torrance, Usa - The option adds approximately 65 pounts to the aircraft's empty weight
Robinson Helicopter Company’s float option for its 5-place R-66 was FAA approved on November 15, 2014. Designated the Turbine Marine, the R-66 pop-out float option is similar to the R-44 Clipper pop-out f... more
IndustryFinmeccanica-AnsaldoBreda: contract for the maintenance of the new "Frecciarossa 1000" trains
Rome, Italy - The agreeement, EUR 250 million, will last ten years
Finmeccanica-AnsaldoBreda signed a 250 million euro contract with Trenitalia (FS Italiane Group) for the global maintenance service of the new "Frecciarossa 1000" fleet, the super trains manufactured in... more
Civil aviationAirplanes and rules. Single European Sky: Spain says no to Gibraltar
Brussels, Belgium - The new regulation was approved thanks to the mediation of Italian presidency between Madrid and London
Spain has obtained the exclusion of Gibraltar from the new rules for the “Single European Sky” called SES, voted yesterday by the European Council of transport ministers. The Spanish minister of Public Wor... more
Civil aviationCALC will realize a 2 billion dollars aircraft disassembly operation
Beijing, China - The Chinese leasing firm has also closed a deal with Airbus announced in November
China Aircraft Leasing Group (CALC) has been working on two important deals between Tuesday and today. The first provides for the purchase of 100 aircraft from Airbus Group, the second is a vast airplane... more
AirlinesAirplane pilots call another strike as Lufthansa goes ahead with low-cost flights
Berlin, Germany - The Eurowings development project, approved yesterday by the airline, aims at reducing costs by circumventing the collective labour agreement
Luthansa’s supervisory board approved yesterday its subsidiary Eurowings development plan on short and long haul routes, with which it intends to face low-cost and Middle East carriers competition (for d... more
AirlinesLufthansa: supervisory board approved key focuses and action for the Group's continued success
Milan, Italy - Fleet renewals and the completion of a number of major refurbishment projects
2015 should bring increasingly good news for customers and passengers of the Lufthansa Group, according to the plans of the Deutsche Lufthansa AG Executive Board. For the Group’s member airlines, fleet r... more
AerospaceFirst test launch for Orion, the space capsule that will take man to Mars
Cape Canaveral, USA - Today’s mission will test atmospheric entry systems
Today at 1:05 pm Italian time (7:05 am local time) NASA will perform the first test flight of Orion space capsule, that one day might take men on Mars. The launch will depart from Cape Canaveral base in... more
IndustryAirbus: CIT firms up order for 15 and five aircraft
Toulouse, France - For A-330/900neo and A-321ceo, respectively
CIT Group Inc., a global company in transportation finance, has firmed up its order for 15 A-330/900neo and five A-321ceo aircraft. It became one of the launch customers of the A-330neo after signing its... more
Weather forecastsAirplanes and forecast. Bad weather in Italy: still storms on the central regions and rains on Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Rome, Italy - An orange criticality on Lazio, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna
The Italian Civil Defense Department, on the basis of the available forecasts, issued an additional bulletin for adverse weather conditions. It integrates and extends those diffused in the last days. Sparse... more
CargoAircraft and transport. IATA: air freight strong performance continues
Geneva, Switzerland - The good results reflect the improvements in world trade and business activity which have been evident since the summer
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released October data for global air freight markets showing that the strong performance of air cargo in recent months is continuing. Demand, measured... more
PeopleAirbus Helicopters appoints Yves Barillé as VP of Corporate Communications
Marignane, France - He succeeds Cécile Vion-Lanctuit, who is pursuing another professional opportunity
Yves Barillé has been appointed as Airbus Helicopters' Vice-President of Corporate Communications. As of March 2015, he will report to CEO Guillaume Faury and manage all internal and external communication... more
Industry200th Airbus aircraft assembled in Tianjin
Tianjin, China - Important milestone highlights successful partnership between the industry and China
A ceremony was held today at the Airbus (Tianjin) site to celebrate the 200th A-320 Family aircraft assembled by its Tianjin Final Assembly Line (FALC). Daniel Baubil, Airbus Executive Vice-President and... more
Press release"Single European Sky": Council agrees its position
Brussels, Belgium - The adoption of the two regulations requires the approval of both the Council and the European Parliament.
The Council reached a general approach on two proposals to make the European air transport system more efficient and to update the Single European Sky (SES) initiative. Both draft regulations are part... more
AirlinesAirplanes and airlines. Air France: pilots say yes to Transavia agreement
Paris, France - The French carrier can now begin the development plan of its low-cost subsidiary
The agreement between Air France and unions on Transavia’s development plan has been approved with 53% of the votes in the pilots’ referendum. 81% of potential voters participated at the poll. Until a f... more
AerospaceAirbus and Safran officially launch their aerospace joint-venture
Paris, France - The announcement arrived one day after the European conference on the development of a new generation of launchers
In the wake of Ministers of European Space Agency Member States council that agreed on the development of a family of new launchers -Ariane 6 e Vega C-, Airbus Group and Safran gave official announcement... more
IndustryAirbus: Finnair orders eight additional A-350XWB airplanes
Toulouse, France - The airline has signed an agreement
Finnair, a launch customer for the A-350 XWB, has signed an agreement, firming up the order for eight additional A-350/900s. Finnair was the first airline to select the A-350 XWB and will be the first... more
Civil aviationAirplanes and international treaties. Contrasts between USA and EU over the open-skies deal
Brussels, Belgium - Europe accuses the United States to thwart the opening of transoceanic routes by Norwegian Air
The European Union accuses the United States to violate the open skies treaty signed by the two counterparts in 2007. The debate is focused on a European airline’s application to establish new transoceanic r... more
ReportAirplanes and conflicts. A car exploded at the entrance of Mogadishu airport
Mogadishu, Somalia - At least four dead in a terrorist attack probably made by al-Shabaab, an organization affiliated with al-Qaeda
A United Nations armoured vehicle convoy was hit by a terrorist attack close to the entrance of Mogadishu airport today December 3. The suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives against the cars.... more
AirportsAutogrill grows in Germany and signs a new contract at the Frankfurt hub
Milan, Italy - Total revenues estimated at about 150 million euros over the ten-year contract term
Autogrill Group has signed a new contract with Frankfurt Airport to open three new points of sale and renew seven others in which it already operates. The contract will run for ten years, from 2015 to... more
Military aviationIranian airplanes attack Isis in Iraq
Washington, USA - Even though it is not part of the international coalition, Shia-ruled Iran sees Sunni caliphate militias as an enemy
The Pentagon announced that Iran conducted its first airplane strikes against Isis in Iraq in the past days. Although there is no formal partnership between Washington and Tehran, both governments see... more
AerospaceESA Council approves new generation of space launchers (VIDEO)
Luxembourg, Luxembourg - The decision marks a historical phase
ESA (European Space Agency) yesterday concluded a productive one-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Luxembourg. Ministers of ESA Member States agreed the further development of a family of... more
AerospaceJapan launches space probe to look for the origins of life (VIDEO)
Tokyo, Japan - Hayabusa 2 will bring samples of the asteroid 1999 JU3 back to Earth in 2020
Less than a month after the European lander Philae’s touch down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (for details see AVIONEWS), on December 3 at 1:22 pm local time Japan launched the probe Hayabusa 2, o... more
UAS-DronesMoscow forms drone base in the Arctic
Moscow, Russia - It will be equipped with Orlan-10 UAVs
Russia completed the formation of a military unit for the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at the Ugolny base in the Čukotka region, in the north-eastern extremity oif the country. The news... more
Weather forecastsAirplanes and forecast (2). Bad weather in Italy: alert for thunderstorms on Lazio and Campania
Rome, Italy - An orange criticality on Sardinia and part of Lazio
The Italian Civil Defense Department, on the basis of the available forecast, issued an additional bulletin for unfavourable weather conditions. It integrates and extends those diffused in the last days... more
Finance and economyAirplanes and finance. TCI founders divorce: shareholders’ core in danger
Madrid, Spain - The judge ordered one of the fund’s owners to pay 425 million Euros to his wife; shall he sell part of its shares?
Can a divorce be a danger for a giant company managing around sixty airports all over the world? It looks likely in the case of Aena. After the presentation to institutional investors was postponed, personal... more
AirlinesAirplanes and airlines. Redundant workers denounce Meridiana’s management at the European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium - The EU institution is the last stage of a long protest that started two weeks ago in Olbia
Meridiana redundancies have done today the last leg of a long travelling protest: it started on November 14 from Olbia and crossed all Sardinia; it reached Aiglemont, a small town near Paris where the... more
SecurityICAO evaluates new measures for commercial airplanes security
Montreal, Canada - The Malaysian airplane shot down in Ukraine caused a great debate on flights over war zones
Today and tomorrow a task-force named by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, an autonomous UN agency) will discuss measures to safeguard commercial aircraft from dangers coming from flying... more
Military aviationAirspace defence (2). Near collision between Norwegian F-16 and Russian fighter airplane (VIDEO)
Oslo, Norway - Oslo armed forces published a video of the incident
Norwegian armed forces add a new chapter in the story of the near accident with Russian warplanes. On Sunday, November 30 they published a video showing a close encounter between a Norway F-16 and a Mig-31... more
HelicoptersAgustaWestland completed GrandNew helicopter deliveries to Intermountain Life Flight
Cascina Costa, Italy - Fifth and final delivery in current order to western US EMS operator
Finmeccanica–AgustaWestland announced yesterday that Intermountain Life Flight (ILF) of Utah has taken delivery of its fifth GrandNew helicopter for EMS and SAR missions as they expand service to patients t... more
IndustryFinmeccanica: the Chinese get access to AnsaldoBreda documents
Rome, Italy - The joint-venture Insigma-Xhinzu could present a binding offer within the next two weeks
While the Japanese Hitachi waits for clarification on AnsaldoBreda contracts, news about the comeback of a Chinese joint-venture have been denied and then confirmed again between yesterday and today. The... more
Military aviationParis and New Delhi do not get over block on Rafale airplanes agreement
New Delhi, India - But Defence Ministers committed to give priority to the solution of the matter
The supply of 126 French Rafale fighter airplanes to India is still stuck. Paris and New Delhi Defence Ministers could not conclude the negotiations during their meeting yesterday, but resolved to sort... more
DefenseAirspace defence among the themes in discussion in the Baltic countries annual meeting
Tallinn, Estonia - The Baltic States invited Poland, which is considered a strategic ally inside NATO
The defence of airspace will be on of the theme under discussion during the Baltic countries annual meeting that will be held today in Tallinn. Presidents of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Lithuania Dalia... more
HelicoptersAirbus Helicopters Training Services reaffirms its commitment to safety
Marignane, France - 50,000 trainees in 50 years
Airbus Helicopters Training Services (AHTS) has completed the instruction of its 50,000th trainee, marking a new achievement for this wholly-owned subsidiary of the industry. This milestone was achieved... more
Weather forecastsAircraft and forecast. Bad weather in Italy: alert for strong winds and storms on Sardinia
Rome, Italy - An orange criticality on the isle and Lombardia
The Italian Civil Defense Department, on the basis of the available forecasts, issued an additional bulletin for adverse weather conditions. It integrates and extends those already diffused in the last... more
IndustryBoeing: finalized order for 100 B-737 MAX 200 airplanes
Dublin, Ireland - Ryanair is launch customer for the model
Boeing and Ryanair have finalized an order for 100 B-737 MAX 200 airplanes, valued at $11 billion at current list prices. The order, originally announced as a commitment in September, includes options... more
Military aviationBeijing towards first “Made in China” aircraft carrier?
Beijing, China - China might plan to expand its fleet to spread its influence over Asian seas
China might be planning to build new aircraft carriers to affirm its presence on Asian seas, says the State owned newspaper “Global Times”. Beijing actually owns one ship of this kind, the "Liaoning”, bough... more