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Airbus on Tuesday announced what it called the biggest jet order in commercial aviation history with a $15.6 billion deal to sell 180 planes to Indian budget carrier IndiGo including the first orders for a revamped model.
The deal comes as the European planemaker tallies its plane orders for 2010, but will not enter the order book in time to decide whether Airbus will come from behind to win a fiercely contested annual battle for most sales against Chicago-based Boeing. Get the full story »
The were no airplanes stuck on the ground for more than three hours in November — the second straight month airlines avoided long delays, the government said Tuesday.
That’s little comfort to travelers stranded by huge snow storms that grounded thousands of flights in December. The Department of Transportation won’t report those statistics until next month. Get the full story »
U.S. government safety officials urged Tuesday that aircraft owners be required to retrofit small planes with shoulder-lap seat belts but stopped short of calling for the installation of air bags.
A three-year study of small plane accidents released by the National Transportation Safety Board found several cases in which air bags prevented serious injuries or fatalities. But investigators said that since only about 7,000 planes have air bags, there haven’t been enough accidents to judge whether they should be required on all planes. Get the full story »
By Jon Hilkevitch | A major credit rating firm delivered a stern warning Monday regarding the mounting risks that Chicago is taking by going deeper into debt in an attempt to build more runways at O’Hare International Airport without securing financial support from the airlines.
Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to a “negative” outlook from “stable” some of the revenue bonds that the Chicago Department of Aviation has issued to help pay for the $15 billion O’Hare Modernization Program and related projects.
Moody’s cited concern about the city’s latest gambit to postpone repayment of all interest on some construction bonds until at least 2018, resulting in much larger payments over the long run. The airlines and their customers would eventually be stuck paying for the increased borrowing costs through higher landing fees and higher airfares. Get the full story »
December snowstorms that crippled air travel in Europe and along the Atlantic seaboard in the U.S. cost the parent company of United Airlines $25 million in consolidated passenger revenue, and will reduce fourth-quarter earnings by $10 million, the carrier said Friday.
Continental Airlines, which along with United is a subsidiary of United Continental Holdings Inc., was hit hard by the Boxing Day blizzards that brought operations to a halt at its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and other greater New York area airports. More than 5,000 flights were canceled over a three-day stretch, stranding at least 750,000 travelers. Get the full story »
Boeing Co. notched 530 net commercial aircraft orders and delivered 462 airplanes during 2010 as the commercial aerospace market continued to rebound along with the global economy.
The Chicago-based aerospace company saw an improvement in its key commercial airplane business, which accounts for more than half of Boeing’s revenues, despite continued problems with its 787 and 747-8 aircraft programs.
Aircraft sales rebounded strongly from 2009, when Boeing gained just 142 net orders and scrambled to help airline customers obtain financing and to prevent them from canceling orders. Get the full story »
American Airlines says it’s talking to Orbitz and Expedia about resuming the listing of American flights on the travel websites. Get the full story »
Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS are ringing in the the new year with large aircraft order announcements for their popular narrow-body jets.
Finance company CIT Group Inc. ordered 38 next-generation Boeing 737s worth about $3.2 billion at list price. This is the largest order CIT has placed with Chicago-based Boeing and a sign the commercial lender intends to remain a player in the aircraft leasing business after emerging from bankruptcy last year. Get the full story »
Financial-services firm JPMorgan upgraded Boeing Co. on Monday to overweight from neutral, saying the manufacturer’s stock price likely reflects the risk in its military business and 787 Dreamliner development program. Get the full story »
American Airlines said on Wednesday that it has no plans to sell tickets only through its own website, as its dispute with Orbitz and Expedia entered a second week.
The airline said December ticket volumes before the dispute began were rising compared to the same time last year. It said the increase has continued since then. The improving economy has boosted ticket sales at most airlines.
Federal aviation regulators are proposing fixes to midair-collision warning devices on nearly 9,000 U.S airliners and business aircraft, after uncovering a safety problem in a test flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed directive, made public Monday, seeks to mandate software upgrades to widely used devices manufactured by a unit of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. Get the full story »
A blizzard blanketing the East Coast this weekend has left thousands of fliers stranded at various airports across the country, including some at O’Hare International and Midway airports this morning.
As of 7:35 a.m., 130 flights at O’Hare had been canceled due to the East Coast weather, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. At Midway, there were 20 flight cancellations.
Today’s cancellations came on top of the 150 flights grounded yesterday at the two airports.
Boeing will resume flight tests of its long-delayed 787 jet Thursday, six weeks after they were suspended because of an in-flight electrical fire in the plane’s power distribution system.
The company says it installed an updated, interim version of the software that controls the system in the first of six test flight aircraft. Get the full story »
Expedia is hiding pricing information for American Airlines flights on its Web sites in a display of solidarity with Chicago-based Orbitz Worldwide Inc., which is enmeshed in a contract dispute with the nation’s #3 carrier.
The online travel giants are warring with American over the airline’s attempts take greater control of the way it sells tickets and other services.
The new contract terms the Texas-based carrier seeks would drive down its costs and impose new technology on agencies like Orbitz and Expedia and the global clearinghouses that provide the ticket data they peddle over the Internet, analysts said. Get the full story »
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings next month into an Air Force document bungle roiling a transAtlantic rematch for a potential $50 billion aerial-refueling plane contract.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin said Wednesday he was prepared to launch an investigation into “the release of proprietary data” from rival tanker bidders Boeing and Europe’s EADS.
At issue is what the Air Force calls “a clerical error” that sent Boeing and EADS computerized records in November with sensitive data on each other’s bid for the contract. Get the full story »
