Hawaiian Airlines trimmed its summer flying schedule because of engine trouble that has dogged one of Airbus’s most popular jets. The carrier removed an extra summer flight between San Francisco and Honolulu and a seasonal flight between Oakland, California, and Kona, Hawaii, citing later-than-expected deliveries of Airbus A321neo planes. The delays are due to fixes on the Pratt & Whitney engines powering the single-aisle jetliners, Alex Da Silva, a spokesman for Hawaiian, said Friday. The airline also pushed back the start of a new flight between Oakland and Lihue, Hawaii, to July from April. Regulators grounded some of Airbus’s A320neo family jets earlier this month after discovering a new problem with a newly introduced engine seal on Pratt’s geared turbofan. Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp., has since found a temporary fix that will keep the planes flying until it finds a permanent solution for the fault, which caused vibrations. Hawaiian has taken two A321neo jetliners from Airbus, one of which was affected by the Pratt problem, Da Silva said. While that aircraft is expected back shortly, the engine fixes potentially will delay some deliveries of new planes, Da Silva said. The carrier expects to take an additional nine of the A321neo jets by the end of the year, according to a regulatory filing by the company earlier this month.<br/>
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Emirates Airline will resume its flagship Airbus A380 service between Houston, Texas, and Dubai from June 1, after the rise in oil prices improved the route’s viability. The move is one part of a raft of recent adjustments by the Dubai-based carrier to its US services. The airline is launching a nonstop Dubai-New York Newark service from June 1 and plans to resume daily services to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, from March 25. Houston has been part of Emirates’ route network since December 2007, but the A380 that was brought onto the service in December 2014 was replaced with a Boeing 777-300ER in July 2016, when the global oil price was slumping. International services to Houston, one of the world’s centres for the oil industry, are susceptible to lower oil prices, which tend to produce lower activity in the hydrocarbon sector. This is reflected in less international travel between the Texan city and oil-producing areas such as the Middle East and nations surrounding the North Sea. With the energy sector recovering, Emirates has decided to reinstate the A380, in line with commercial demand. The Emirates A380 on the Houston route will offer 516 seats: 14 private suites in first class, 76 flatbed seats in business class and 426 in economy. This gives more than 160 extra seats compared to the Boeing 777-300ER.<br/>
Tianjin Cargo Airlines has secured approval for three Boeing 737 family freighters from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), paving the way for a May 2 launch. The first Tianjin-based cargo carrier received formal CAAC approval in October 2017. The three 737Fs will fly on routes from Tianjin to Zhengzhou, Xi’an, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Urumqi, Shanghai (Pudong) and Guangzhou. In addition, the company plans to introduce staff from three HNA Group subsidiaries, including Suparna Airlines (formerly Yangtze River Express), Tianjin Airlines and HNA Technic Co. Tianjin Cargo, which expects to transport 15,000 tonnes of cargo this year, plans to expand its fleet to 50-100 aircraft over the next five years on domestic and international routes to Northeast Asian countries, Europe and the US. The airline has a registered capital of CNY700m ($110m). HNA Group subsidiary Tianjin Airlines holds a 44% stake with a CNY310m investment; Tianjin Aviation Logistics holds a 43% share with a CNY300m investment; and Yang Hang Investment Holding Co. owns 13% with a CNY90m investment.<br/>