Airbus will struggle to meet a delivery goal of 50 widebody A350s in 2016 and plans to review the target by late summer once it sees whether cabin suppliers have eased delays, its CE said. The planemaker is still targeting the 50 figure, though finds it tough going given both delays and deliveries of sub-par equipment, Airbus CE Fabrice Bregier said Wednesday. Bregier has said for months that poor performance by suppliers including Zodiac Aerospace in providing furnishings including seats and toilets have put the company’s goals at risk. His comment on reviewing the situation again in late summer goes further than earlier ones in suggesting the goal may merit revision. He provided no estimate of how many widebody jets might be turned over if equipment suppliers don’t pick up the pace. <br/>
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Bombardier won regulatory approval from US and European aviation authorities for the smaller of its two C Series planes as it prepares to deliver the aircraft for its first commercial flight next month. The plane and train maker received certification from the FAA as well as EASA attesting that its CS100 model meets the safety requirements set by the US and EU, a spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday. Bombardier CE Alain Bellemare is focused on a smooth entry-into-service for the C Series, the biggest aircraft the company has ever built, which will carry its first paying passengers July 15 with Swiss. Swiss will fly the CS100 in a 125-seat configuration as a replacement for its existing Avro RJ100 planes. <br/>
Eurocontrol and the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority have begun exchanging real-time flight data, as part of a cooperation agreement signed in October last year. The agreement was signed with the aim of addressing a lack of predictability of traffic between Europe and the Middle East. It covers not only the exchange of real-time flight data, but also updated flight plan and airport departure planning information. About 400 flights a day operate between the two regions with a further 150-200 overflights, and traffic is growing 3.6% a year. Eurocontrol’s director-network manager Joe Sultana said: “The full implementation of this cooperation agreement will bring substantial benefits to the predictability of these traffic flows as all ATM actors will have much more accurate information on these flights." <br/>
It’s the news foreign carriers had been waiting to hear for years. After more than a decade of deliberations, India unveiled an aviation policy to open up the world’s fastest growing major air-travel market. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s govt decided Wednesday to permit domestic airlines to fly overseas provided they deploy 20 planes or 20% of capacity, whichever is higher, on local routes. Earlier, carriers needed to have a minimum of 20 aircraft in their fleet and 5 years of domestic services. The move benefits operators such as SIA and AirAsia and has the potential to attract new investments from Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates airline and Etihad Airways, which are aiming to provide a western hub for India. More may enter the market, leading to potential consolidation among local carriers. <br/>
The govt is seeking an experienced airline operator as a strategic partner to establish a new national airline for the country. The Ministry of Transport, in an Expression of Interest, said: “The feasibility studies [for the establishment of a new national carrier] also demonstrated the new national airline will require partnership with an experienced strategic airline partner that has a global distribution network to adequately take advantage of opportunities in the market place”. The partner, the EOI notes, ought to have good financial strength; technical strength in areas of IT systems and flight operations; maintenance yield and capacity management; good distribution network; and be a member of a global alliance. These requirements effectively eliminate indigenous airlines. <br/>