A Brazilian appeals court ruled on Monday that airline Avianca Brasil should be allowed to hold a bankruptcy auction in which it is expected to sell its most coveted airport landing and departure rights. The bankruptcy auction had been originally scheduled for early May, but was suspended at the last minute after an injunction was issued. Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy protection in December after falling behind on lease payments for its fleet and fell victim to high oil prices and a weak local currency. A spokesman for the airline had no immediate comment and it was not immediately known when a new auction would be scheduled. Avianca Brasil has been reducing its operations and lost nearly all of its Airbus planes by April. Brazil’s civil aviation regulator ANAC suspended all remaining activity in late May. The airline has not flown since.<br/>
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United has placed a firm order for 20 more Embraer 175s and taken options on a further 19, continuing its regional fleet replacement. The deal has a list-price value of $1.9b. Deliveries are scheduled for H2 2020. The E175s will be configured with 70 seats and replace older aircraft in United's feeder fleet, likely Bombardier CRJ700s, says the carrier's chief financial officer Gerry Laderman. Replacing older aircraft is a necessity for United, which can only have up to 255 with 70-76 seats in its regional fleet under its contract with pilots. It operated CRJ700s, Embraer 170s and E175s that, together, totalled that number at the end of March, its latest fleet plan shows. Laderman describes the E175 as a "terrific aircraft" for the United Express fleet, adding that some passengers view it as "nice or nicer than some mainline narrowbodies". United's regional partners ExpressJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines and SkyWest Airlines operate some 153 E175s for the mainline carrier. Laderman says United will at a later date determine which regional partner will operate the 20 newly ordered firm E175s.<br/>
TAP Air Portugal plans to add at least five new destinations in the USA in the next five years, as it continues to see potential in the US-Europe market. The Lisbon-based carrier began service to Chicago O'Hare and San Francisco earlier this month, and most recently added Washington Dulles on 16 June. TAP now serves seven US destinations, Cirium schedules data show. The Star Alliance carrier's US frequencies have grown from about 14 weekly flights three years ago to 56, chief executive Antonoaldo Neves told FlightGlobal at an event in Washington DC marking the launch of Dulles service. In addition to the seven US cities, TAP serves an eighth North American destination in Toronto. The carrier plans to decide by October on future US expansion, says Neves, noting that the carrier's business plan includes potential service to Houston, Los Angeles and Providence. Additional frequencies to existing destinations are also being considered, he adds. "We are sure that there are at least five new destinations that we can add in the US in the next five years," says Neves.<br/>