Air Transat : improving finances and discusses acquiring a 737 fleet

MONTREAL—Transat A.T. Inc. has reported a big improvement in first-quarter results but the vacation tour operator remains mired in red ink as its revenue declined on reduced capacity. The Montreal-based operator of Air Transat said its net loss for the three months ended Jan. 31 was $15.1 million or 39 cents per share on a diluted basis. That almost halved its net loss of $29.5 million or 77 cents per share in the same fiscal 2012 period. (www.thestar.com) المزيد...

Porter confirms Bombardier deal, and wants to expand Toronto Island Airport

Porter Airlines confirmed Wednesday that it plans to buy up to 30 CS100 jets from Montreal-based Bombardier, greatly expanding its reach with the potential to expand its service to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Florida and the Caribbean. The airline will seek permission to fly the longer-range jets out of the island airport, where the runway would need to be extended by 168 metres at each end. (www.cbc.ca) المزيد...

Calgary to get first Dreamliner flight this summer

CALGARY - The Boeing Dreamliner — the world’s most technologically advanced jet — will make its first appearance on a Calgary runway this summer, British Airways confirmed Tuesday. Starting July 5, the U.K. airline will be using one of its new 787s for its Calgary-London route, said British Airways executive vice-president Sean Doyle in a release. Austin, Texas and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were the other two North American cities included in the announcement. (www.calgaryherald.com) المزيد...

CSeries FTV1 flies again

Bombardier confirmed today that CSeries FTV1 took to the skies again from its home base of Mirabel, Quebec. Following the meticulous review of over 14,000 data points from the first flight and upon completion of aircraft’s re-configuration and software upgrades for the next set of flight tests, FTV1 once again reached an altitude of 12,000 feet, at speeds of 230 knots. “This follow up flight test was exceptionally clean as we performed a series of value-added tests that actually included a… (cseries.com) المزيد...

CSeries Awaits Fly-by-Wire ‘Upgrade’ Before Flying Again

More than five weeks since the Bombardier CSeries FTV1 flew for the first time, the airplane has flown only two more times, taking its flight hour total to eight. According to Bombardier, the apparently slow pace of flight testing in no way suggests a new delay, however, and the original goal to win certification and place the airplane into service within a year of first flight remains in place. In June Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Mike Arcamone told AIN the company planned to fly… (www.ainonline.com) المزيد...

Canada moves towards allowing fewer attendants on flights

The federal government wants to let Canada’s airlines fly with fewer flight attendants, a move that one union says is a threat to passenger safety. Transport Canada this week granted WestJet an exemption to the existing rules, allowing the airline to operate with one flight attendant for every 50 passengers, instead of one cabin staff for every 40 passengers. And the department quietly signalled this week it intends to change the rules so Canadian carriers can fly with fewer flight attendants… (www.thestar.com) المزيد...

Bombardier replaces Commercial Aircraft Sales VP

Bombardier Inc. is betting that a business-jet salesman with several billion-dollar orders under his belt can work some magic pitching the new C Series plane that is proving to be a hard sell. The Montreal-based aerospace manufacturer is promoting Raymond Jones, a certified commercial pilot and Royal Air Force veteran who has helped win some major orders over the past few years for Bombardier business planes, to the position of vice-president of sales for commercial aircraft, including the… (www.theglobeandmail.com) المزيد...

Air Canada's poor punctuality could cost customers, expert warns

Air Canada has the worst on-time arrival performance of any major international airline, a CBC Marketplace investigation has found. Numbers from travel information group FlightStats showed just 60.89 per cent of the Canadian carrier’s flights landed on time in 2012, the worst on-time performance record of 28 international airlines. Air Canada’s record worsens on the popular Vancouver-Toronto corridor where only 55 per cent of flights arrived on time in 2012. Air Canada competitor WestJet landed… (www.cbc.ca) المزيد...

Lion Air Considering CSeries Purchase

Indonesian based low cost carrier, Lion Air, the largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia has disclosed that it is in the process of finalising an order for the highly anticipated Bombardier C-Series aircraft. (www.philippineflightnetwork.com) المزيد...

Jump On Flyaways: Calgary-Based Airline Launches groupon-style cheap flights

Enerjet's planes often sit idle from Friday-Sunday. Monday-Thursday, they are busy shuttling workers to and from Fort McMurray. In a bid to put their planes to better use, they're trying something different. They offer a weekend escape style trip, from Calgary to somewhere, at a very cheap rate. People can then sign up to fly. The catch is that a certain number of people must commit to going, or the flight doesn't happen. Their first flight, on offer now, is Calgary to Las Vegas… (www.huffingtonpost.ca) المزيد...