Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has officially announced, for the first time, that the delivery of the new Sukhoi Superjet100, the most ambitious project in the Russian aviation industry in 15 years,has been delayed.The launch customer for the jet, Aeroflot, will only receive its first plane in the third quarter of next year, a year after the originally contracted delivery date. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft - which has completed the first stage of tests on the first flight model - faces penalties and even … [Read more...] about EUROPE: Sukhoi Superjet delayed by a year

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-300SF freighter to provide additional cargo capacity between Kiev and Vienna, three times a week. The 14.5 tonne and 127 cubic metres capacity aircraft entered commercial service in July and will be marketed on UIA's behalf by its worldwide GSA partner, GlobeAir Cargo, part of the European Cargo Services (ECS) group. … [Read more...] about EUROPE: First B737-300SF enters service with Ukraine

Russian airline group Volga-Dnepr continued its strong financial growth in the first half of 2008, with reported record revenue from its air charter and scheduled cargo operations, increasing by 91 per cent and nearly 180 per cent,respectively, towards a total group turnover of US$840 million. The group did not, however, report its net profit.Flights operated by the group's AN-124-100 freighters generated US$463million of total charter revenue -compared to US$250 million in the opening six … [Read more...] about EUROPE: Volga-Dnepr reports record revenue growth

British Midland Airways (bmi) willfly near-empty planes from Heathrow airport later in the year in order to keep their take-off and landing slots- valued at US$1.5 million, the Times has reported.The short-haul trips, known as "ghost flights", will carry only a handful of passengers but are necessary if the carrier wants to keep its slots. According to rules that govern slot allocation at Heathrow airport, airlines must use their scheduled slots 80 per cent, otherwise they will forfeit them.Bmi … [Read more...] about EUROPE: Bmi to fly empty to keep Heathrow slots