- Budapest Airport (pictured above) is set to welcome new airlines and further increase its route network during 2014. In the beginning of summer, Norwegian will add a fifth route to its Budapest network, launching a thrice-weekly service to London Gatwick. Connections to the UK will be boosted further by the inauguration of services by Jet2.com from Leeds Bradford. Wizz Air continues to be an active airline at Budapest, basing its eighth aircraft at the airport this summer and starting its 30th service on June 4 with a weekly flight to Alicante, Spain. The airport will also welcome its first flight from Wizz Air’s subsidiary airline, Wizz Air Ukraine, inaugurating a twice-weekly service to Donetsk, Ukraine, on April 30. Two more new airlines, Vueling and Air Serbia, will begin services in 2014, with routes to Barcelona and Belgrade, Serbia, respectively.
- Cargo traffic for LATAM Airlines Group decreased 6.7 percent in December 2013 year over year. Capacity decreased 7.9 percent. As a consequence, the cargo load factor increased 0.8 points to 62.1 percent. The decrease in cargo capacity is a result of a reduced freighter operation in addition to decreased availability in the bellies of passenger aircraft. The decrease in cargo traffic was driven by continued weakness in imports into Latin America.
- Coyne Airways adjusted its schedules for Afghanistan, Iraq and Russia in order to increase connectivity for cargo. The airline also appointed Exp-Air Cargo as its general sales agent in Canada. Headquartered in Montreal, Exp-Air has additional sales offices in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.
- Boeing and Alaska Airlines completed Boeing’s first firm plane order of 2014 for two additional 737-900ER airplanes. The agreement is worth $192 million (140.3 million euros).
- airberlin and Etihad Airways unveiled an Airbus A320 aircraft in specially designed joint livery, marking the launch of a new Moving Forward media campaign, which will be launched in January and run until March and will see the new partnership logo of the two airlines featured in advertising and marketing across Germany.
- Volga-Dnepr Technics in Germany entered into a contract with Swiss air carrier Darwin Airline for aircraft technical assistance and maintenance support at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The contract provides for the use of Volga-Dnepr Technics’ hangar facilities and equipment by Darwin Airline MRO to carry out maintenance checks on the SAAB 2000s aircraft operated by the airline.
- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2, the new air hub designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Located in Mumbai, the new hub adds 4.4 million square feet (408,773 square meters) of space.
- Estes Express Lines opened a 34-door terminal in North Chicago to support the continuing market growth in the Midwest U.S.
- Boeing identified “green diesel,” a renewable fuel used in ground transportation, as a significant new source of sustainable aviation biofuel that emits at least 50 percent less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel over its lifecycle. The company is working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and other parties to gain approval for aircraft to fly on green diesel. Boeing researchers performed analysis that found green diesel, which is made from oils and fats, to be chemically similar to aviation biofuel. If approved, the fuel could be blended directly with traditional jet fuel.
- The first group of employees who will support the production processes for Airbus’ U.S.-based A320 family assembly line in Mobile, Ala., reported for on-the-job-training in Hamburg. Over the next months, the manufacturing engineers, station managers and a quality manager will work alongside their counterparts in Germany to become familiar with production tools and processes.
- hansa-express logistics in Oyten, Germany, added airfreight to its business activities. The company offers services for dangerous goods, weapons, ammunition and military and time-critical goods.