CAA raises Heathrow interim price cap
February 02, 2023
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced an interim price cap of £31.57 ($38.88) per passenger at London Heathrow airport, in line with its final proposals released in June 2022. The interim cap replaces a current cap of £30.19 that was put in place in 2022 and expired on 1 January. The CAA says the interim cap will safeguard the right of passengers ahead of the final decision and licence modifications for a five-year price control being published in March. "We are implementing these licence modifications to protect consumers and to give certainty to the airport and airlines on the level of the price cap for 2023," states Paul Smith, consumer and markets director at the regulator. In June 2022, the CAA stated that the average maximum price per passenger for airlines at Heathrow would fall to £26.31 by 2026. The CAA has also confirmed its decision to make a minor changes to Heathrow's licence, which will remove some obligations under the service quality framework that are deemed no longer necessary. These licence modifications will take effect in six weeks' time.
ANA to resume daily A380 services to Honolulu
February 02, 2023
Japan's ANA will resume daily Airbus A380 flights on its flagship Tokyo-Honolulu route since the pandemic began, as it plans to increase services on routes to Asia and North America. The airline will commence a daily return service between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu from 21 July, using A380s on three weekly roundtrips and Boeing 777s on the remaining four services. Also on the same Narita-Honolulu route, an existing five-times weekly return service will be increased to daily from March, with the A380 initially operating three and 777s the remaining four. From 20 April, the A380s will be exclusively operating on the daily route. The airline will maintain its existing daily return service between Haneda and Honolulu, although it did not specify the aircraft type serving this route. With these changes, this will bring the total number of services between Tokyo and Honolulu from 12 to 21 weekly return services by July. Schedules data shows that prior to the pandemic, ANA's A380s operated up to 10 out of the 21 weekly return services on the sector. The superjumbos were stored amid the pandemic, and only returned to service in July 2022. ANA has a trio of A380s, which are dedicated to operating its Tokyo-Honolulu routes, data shows. The first example entered service in May 2019, flying between Narita and Honolulu. Elsewhere on its North American network, ANA plans to ramp up services between Haneda and New York, from an initial 10 weekly services by end March to a total of 14 from September. On its Asian network, the airline will increase flights on its Haneda-Seoul Gimpo route to thrice daily from mid-March, which it says is "in response to strong demand". It will also add a weekly flight from Tokyo Narita to Beijing from 16 February.
Boeing plans new 737 Max production line for 2024
February 01, 2023
Boeing during the second half of 2024 plans to add a new assembly line for 737 Max aircraft at its facility in Everett, Washington, in a move, it could boost production of the narrowbody by 25% says the airframer. The new assembly line would complement three other Max production lines at its nearby Renton facility, Boeing says, while also adding capacity for Max shipments from its Everett delivery center. “Demand for the 737 Max, especially newer models like the 737-8-200 and 737-10, continues to rise, and adding production capacity will allow us to better meet the needs of our customer,” Boeing says. “Given the proximity to our 737 factory in Renton, Everett is a great fit with the availability of highly skilled workers and factory space.” Adding a new Max production line, Boeing says, “will help ensure we have stability in our production system as we ramp [up] our production rate”. The airframer is producing 31 Max aircraft per month, Boeing chief executive David Calhoun said on 25 January during an earnings call, and the company seeks to accelerate Max production to 50 aircraft per month by 2025-2026. The airframer ended 2022 with 250 Max aircraft and 100 787s in its inventory awaiting delivery. Monthly deliveries of Max aircraft “will slow slightly”, Boeing executive vice-president and chief financial officer Brian West said during the call, due in part to the pace of Max 7 and 10 build rates as aircraft from existing inventory are shipped. Verification work on 787 aircraft is also ongoing at Boeing’s Everett factory, which the airframer says will continue in Everett, including in former 747 production bays. Boeing on 31 January also delivered its final 747 widebody to Atlas Air.
The US Federal Aviation Administration has said that it will retain power to grant airworthiness certificates for new 787s prior to delivery until “Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards”.