EasyJet is continuing its expansion out of Berlin, which has become a focus city for the carrier, and is part of its strategy to hold dominant market shares in the large European cities where it has bases. EasyJet Europe CE Thomas Haagensen said that by 2019, the airline will have 25 aircraft and more than 1,000 employees based at Berlin-Tegel Airport. The airline is acquiring 25 Airbus A320s that previously belonged to Airberlin. The company is wet-leasing 10 aircraft until all the Airberlin A320s are delivered. “This year our focus is on Berlin and we will continue to undergo our capacity expansion...we expect our passenger numbers to rise from 5m to 15m passengers per year in the German capital,” Haagensen said. EasyJet’s market share in Germany is about 7%-8%, but will grow significantly, said Haagensen. <br/>
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JetBlue Airways put its first Airbus A320 to feature a major cabin interior overhaul into service last week at Boston Logan international, where the aircraft made its maiden scheduled flight to Bermuda’s LF Wade International May 2. The aircraft is the first of JetBlue’s 130 A320s to debut the new cabin interior design. JetBlue, in partnership with Airbus, will restyle approximately 12 of its A320 “classic” aircraft by the end of 2018, and is planning to boost the output to multiple aircraft each month by 2019. The entire A320 restyling project is set to take about 3 years, the airline said, which equates to about 4 aircraft cabin conversions per month from January 2019 through May 2021. The restyling project is the first for JetBlue’s original fleet since the airline launched in 2000. <br/>
TAM has grounded its complete fleet “at least until May 11” to carry out preventive maintenance on its fleet. TAM, which is operated by the air force but acts as a public service airline operating routes that are not commercially viable, offered few details about the cause of the decision. A TAM source says that the decision was taken "in compliance with TAM’s safety plan". A source says that the move was made after an aborted take-off in Cochabamba after an engine failure May 2. It is not clear which aircraft was involved in the incident. TAM operates 3 Boeing 737-300s, 1 737-300 and 2 BAe 146 jets. However, the TAM source says only 3 aircraft are in operation, without specifying the aircraft type. TAM is currently in the process of recertifying to become a civilian airline. <br/>
The FAA Monday was investigating a collision between a Southwest Airlines aircraft and a truck at Baltimore-Washington International as the airline faced scrutiny over a mid-air engine explosion last month that killed a passenger. The FAA said it is investigating after Southwest Airlines jet and a truck collided as the Boeing 737 pulled into a gate at about midnight. Passengers got off the plane using air stairs that are pulled to the aircraft, the agency said. There were no injuries reported to the 172 passengers aboard, the FAA said. "As with any event, we will conduct an internal investigation to learn what happened in the interest of safety. It would be irresponsible to provide details until we've had time to thoroughly review the facts," a Southwest spokeswoman said. <br/>