German carrier Lufthansa is the first large European airline in two decades to offer flights to Baghdad. Lufthansa said that a combination of eased security issues within the country combined with high demand has prompted it to offer passenger service from Frankfurt and Munich to the Iraqi capital, as well as the northern city of Erbil this summer. It’s not the first time flying to Iraq for Lufthansa, which first began flights to Baghdad in 1956, but stopped operating these in … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Lufthansa returns to Iraq with Baghdad and Erbil

Airbus recently announced a full-year 2009 delivery record of 498 aircraft, an increase of 15 aircraft from 2008 and included just over 400 aircraft from the A320 family along with 86 A330s/A340s and 10 A380s (compared to the 18 it expected to deliver). The airframer also reported a gross order intake for the year of 310 aircraft, worth a total of US$34.9 billion but cancellations reduced the net to 271 planes valued at $30.3 billion, compared to 777 in 2008. Airbus also said it’s … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Airbus posts record aircraft deliveries for 2009

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) emphasised the importance of engaging the industry on security issues in a meeting with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January. IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani hosted a summit at IATA’s headquarters in Geneva which included DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, the secretary general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), top executives from 25 airlines, as well as participants from the US … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: IATA, US hold summit on aviation security coop

Global airline capacity for January 2010 shows positive growth compared to January 2009, according to global aviation data company, OAG, with its monthly capacity report. This growth marks the fifth consecutive month in which airline capacity has shown growth, with 294.6 million available seats this month, an increase of 3 per cent over January 2009. Global frequencies are up 2 per cent compared to January 2009, with a total of 2.37 million flights scheduled for January 2010. Worldwide, … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Global airline capacity continues growth track

Bulgaria-based Cargo Air has chosen Miami-based Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) to provide a B737-300SF passengerto- freighter conversion. The aircraft is scheduled for redelivery to Cargo Air in April 2010. This is the second nine palate B737-300SF Cargo Air has converted with AEI. … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Cargo Air goes with AEI for B737 conversion