Shanghai's Pudong International Airport will build two more runways by 2015 to meet rising air transport demand, said Wu Nianzu, chairman of the Shanghai Airport Authority. The expansion will further increase the capacity of the city's largest airport to six million tonnes of freight. A second terminal and a third runway will open next year. … [Read more...] about Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport

Air China said it plans to order 40 Airbus aircraft in the next five years to support its European expansion. The airline launched a twice-weekly Beijing-Dubai- Athens service with a 767 last month and it will start serving Berlin, Istanbul and Warsaw from Beijing in March and will start operating daily from Beijing to Manchester, Zurich, Dusseldorf, Vienna and Milan and from Shanghai to Rome in 2009. … [Read more...] about Air China

Ethiopian Airlines has leased two GEpowered Boeing 747-200 freighter aircraft from South Air Inc based in the US. The carrier is seeking to tap the increasing airfreight demand for flower exports. The first B747 will be used for daily services to Ethiopian's Brussels cargo hub while the second launched its once-a- week freighter services to Hong Kong on 4 January, making the Ethiopian cargo operation a "pioneer" African Airline linking Asia with Africa in this sector, the airline … [Read more...] about AFRICA: Ethiopian leases B747s for flowers

Delta Air Lines has said its board has established a special committee to review the carrier's strategic options, including "potential consolidation transactions." This emerged after a key shareholder - Pardus Capital Management, which owns 1.25 per cent of Delta's shares, urged it to merge with United Airlines. Pardus said it was "imperative" for the carrier to merge with another carrier because of the rapid rise in fuel prices and the associated business risk of … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: Delta merger under consideration

During a visit to Washington recently, IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani urged US officials not to employ congestion pricing at crowded US airports such as New York JFK and described President George W. Bush's recent efforts to alleviate flight delays as "a political placebo for a serious long-term illness," according to an ATWOnline report. Bisignani met with US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters yesterday morning and, while telling reporters following a luncheon speech to the … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: IATA DG urges US against congestion policy

Chile's LAN Airlines announced it has ordered 32 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, marking the largest 787 acquisition to date for Latin America. The Santiago-based carrier has ordered 26 airplanes from Boeing, and will lease an additional six 787-9s from International Lease Finance Corp. In addition to the Dreamliner order, Boeing said LAN also has committed to acquiring four 777 Freighters - two from Boeing and two to be leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS). … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: Chile’s LAN places big plane order