software will be installed before the first flight.
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(2) Freighter Joint Venture Ends
Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Antonov Airlines have announced that their An-124 freighter joint venture, Ruslan International, will end on December 31.
The two companies created the offshoot in 2006 to jointly market their combined An-124-100 fleets, with the aim of improving availability of the unique ramp loading cargo aircraft for customers across the globe.
Vice President commented 'Our joint venture with Antonov Airlines has enjoyed ten fruitful years and during this time we have been able to ensure our global customers have benefited from the unique operating capabilities of the An-124 whenever and wherever they have needed them. With the world's largest fleet of the type, Volga-Dnepr is committed to maintaining this capability for our customers with our own services, supported by our worldwide offices'.
Volga-Dnepr's Vice President Development and Special projects added 'We have the advantage of the experience we gained from the end of our An-124 joint venture with HeavyLift Cargo Airlines in 2001, and the subsequent growth of our outside and heavyweight cargo business in the international market. We now have an even more diverse and capable product offering for customers under our 'Cargo Supermarket' concept.'
Volga-Dnepr's business collaboration with Antonov will continue for the technical aspects of airworthiness and flight safety support of its An-124 fleet.
The aim of collaboration was to guarantee a wide range of cargo services.
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The collaboration had entered the turbulence zone and this caused its stoppage.
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(3) IAG Gets Connected
International Airlines Group will introduce high speed inflight Wi-Fi across its airlines' short-haul fleets after reaching an agreement with Inmarsat.
The consortium, which owns Aer Lingus, British Airways (BA), Iberia and Vueling, will become launch customer of Inmarsat's next-generation 4G broadband network, which combines satellite and ground-based networks to deliver inflight connectivity. IAG said the technology will be rolled out across 90% of its combined fleet of 341 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, starting with a BA A321 this summer. «We're giving our customers the fastest connectivity you can get on any aircraft», IAG CEO remarked. «Having announced Wi-Fi for long-haul flights earlier this year, we are now equipping our airlines' short-haul fleets with inflight broadband access. Connectivity is essential because it’s what our customers demand and IAG will be the first European airline group to offer high-quality air-to-ground Wi-Fi on short-haul flights.»
The news item focuses on the introduction of Wi-Fi onboard for long-haul flights.
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Wi-Fi connection is required according to new established standards for customer service.
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(4) Auf Wiedersehen 737
Lufthansa has ended its 4-year association with the Boeing 737 after retiring its last examples from service. The final flights, operated by 737-33 D-ABEC took place on October 31 when the aircraft flew from Frankfurt to Hamburg where the German carrier and its maintenance division Lufthanse Technik officially bid farewell to the type. After the ceremony, Captain and fleet commander, Ulrich Pade, and his crew carried a group of journalists and employees back to Frankfurt, making the final airline's rotation with the 737.
Commenting on the retirement, Head of Hub Management Harry Hohmeister said: «We have always taken innovative approaches to cater for the customers' needs and to take advantage of market opportunities, which is why we played a key role in the 737's creation and development. We will continue to pursue this innovative approach with the latest generation of aircraft».
The German flag carrier was the first airline to purchase Boeing's ubiquitous narrowbody with an order for 22 series – 100 examples in February 1965.
Lufthansa has subsequently operated 14 737s including the -200, -300, -400 and -500 models.
The airline's last six aircraft were phased out of regular service with the end of the summer season on October 9 and will be ferried to Florida for onward sale.
The news item highlights the farewell of the German flag carrier with the legendary narrowbody airliners produced by Boeing.
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The process of purchasing the latest generations of aircraft is dictated by customer's needs.
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(5) Flexible Cabins
Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation (Ameco), has completed cabin modifications on ten Airbus A330-200s for Air China. The work, started last September, was carried out during scheduled C-check maintenance layovers, reducing the overall downtime for each aircraft. Following the alterations, the cabins can now be quickly reconfigured to cater for different Business and Economy Class layouts depending on the type of service the aircraft is scheduled to fly. Ameco also upgraded the in-flight entertainment, seat power and passenger services systems while the jets were in the hangar. The company says by optimizing its working processes, the modifications for each aircraft were carried out in just seven days.
Thanks to regular C-check maintenance sessions Ameco achieved incredible reduction of downtime.
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Upgrading of ten aircraft cabins was achieved due to reconfiguration of the cabins to meet the type of service.
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(6) Austrian Expansion on Hold
VIENNA ARPORT has appeared against a court ruling banning the construction of a third runway at the Austrian hub. The facility has been lobbying for an additional runway, to be built to the southeast of the airfield, for several years amid claims its existing infrastructure was close to maximum capacity.
However, its plans were dealt a blow on February 18 when Austria’s Federal Administrative Court blocked the proposal, claiming the positive aspects of the new runway did not justify its environmental impact and extra carbon dioxide emissions.
Launching its challenge on March 23, the airport said: “An extraordinary appeal has been filed with the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court on grounds of unlawfulness of content, serious procedural violations, inconsistency in the reasoning underlying the court decision and inconceivable interpretation of the law.”
Julian Jäger, a management
