Regional Express has been accused of taking and disassembling without permission four Saab 340s from Missouri-based leasing company Jet Midwest after failing to make full payment for the aircraft. The leasing company is seeking damages for the loss, citing a market value of $7.2 million for the four aircraft, according to an 18 July court document filed by Jet Midwest to the New South Wales Supreme Court. “Aircraft were taken without any payment to or the consent of the Plaintiff and after the removal of the engines, propellers and components, were subsequently disassembled and destroyed,” reads the court document. The ordeal began when Rex, through its Rex Investment subsidiary, allegedly agreed to purchase four Saab 340s (MSNs 298, 304, 307 and 320) on 15 October 2019 from Jet Midwest for a total purchase price of $2 million, with delivery scheduled for the end of the month. Thereafter, Rex paid a deposit of $200,000 but did not make full payment by the time of the scheduled delivery on 31 October 2019. Instead, it requested in April 2020 to delay the purchase due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Jet Midwest then gave a payment deadline of June 2020, failing which the purchase agreement would be terminated and deposit forfeited. Rex is accused of hiring in October 2020 aviation parts provider 340 Aviation Services to take possession and disassemble the aircraft that were stored at a facility in Kingman, Arizona. According to the court document, Rex asked 340 Aviation to “have the engines, propellers and other valuable parts from the Aircraft shipped to the Defendant in Australia” and “cut the wings off the airframes and to scrap the airframes or ship the airframes to 340 Aviation’s facility”. The company was also requested to sell other parts, with 75% of the profits due to Rex and 25% to 340 Aviation. The engines and propellers attached to the aircraft were later shipped to Rex in Australia in March and September 2021, respectively, based on shipment tracking information, the court document shows. It was only in February 2023 that Jet Midwest discovered the aircraft were no longer at the Kingman facility, but was released to 340 Aviation on behalf of Regional Express. Following the discovery, Jet Midwest had from March 2023 made multiple inquiries to Rex regarding the aircraft and its parts, state the court papers. However, it adds: “At no time to date had the defendant or Rex Investment conceded any involvement in the removal of the aircraft from the Kingman facility or the whereabouts of the aircraft, or the engines, propellers and other parts of the aircraft.” Fleets data shows Jet Midwest bought the four 1992-vintage aircraft from Envoy Air in 2015, with court papers showing that the four Saab 340s were then stored at Kingman airport in Arizona for a monthly fee until they were removed. The court document adds that the parties have not attempted mediation, but Jet Midwest will be willing to participate in one. The allegation adds to the woes of embattled carrier Rex which is currently undergoing voluntary administration, with administrators looking for a buyer for the carrier.

Fiji Airways Aviation Academy has added two new full flight simulators for the Airbus A350 and ATR-72 plus two new fixed training devices for the A330 and Boeing 737 Max 8, all from CAE. The academy now houses four full flight simulators covering all of Fiji Airways' and four fixed training devices covering all its fleet types, ready for training, the carrier says. The newly added simulators are certified by the EASA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji. Early in 2023, the airline's board approved a FJ$160 million ($72 million) investment in the four additional pilot training devices that will double the existing synthetic training device footprint.

American Airlines has recently hired more than 500 maintenance workers for its bases in Charlotte, North Carolina; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The US major says that more than 385 of those employees are licensed aviation maintenance technicians. American's vice-president of base maintenance and facilities Greg Emerson states: "It's an opportunity to grow our maintenance capacity and capabilities in the near term and preserve them over the long run by continuing to build our pipeline of future maintenance team members." This expansion builds on recent growth at the Tulsa base, supported by a $22 million grant issued under the state of Oklahoma's Business Expansion Incentive programme, the Fort Worth-based carrier says.