Philippine Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States to pursue a lender-backed restructuring plan that aims to help the loss-making company get back on its feet following a pandemic-induced crash. The flag carrier's proposed restructuring, which is subject to approval by a court in the southern district of New York, includes an agreement with majority of aircraft lessors and lenders to reduce debt payments by over $2 billion and slash its fleet size by 25%, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The Chapter 11 filing, which allows a company to continue operations while it restructures its finances, was a product of discussions with key shareholders, PAL said in a statement adding the plan will not affect passengers and employees. The company will also complete a parallel filing for recognition in the Philippines under the Financial Insolvency and Rehabilitation (FRIA) Act of 2010.    “We welcome this major breakthrough, an overall agreement...

  Gulfstream Aerospace first production G700 set the ultra-long-range model inaugural city-pair speed records when it flew from its home base in Savannah Georgia, to Doha Qatar, and then on to Paris Le Bourget.  The aircraft performed “flawlessly” on both legs, in a statement by Gulfstream senior VP of worldwide sales Scott Neal. The fully outfitted G700 production test aircraft with registration number N706GD flew from Savannah Georgia to Doha, covering a distance of 6,711 nm at an average speed of Mach 0.88 in 13 hours and 16 minutes.  The aircraft then set another city-pair record from Doha to Paris, flying 2,953 nm in six hours and 15 minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.90. In keeping with the manufacturer's sustainability commitment, the G700 burned a blend of sustainable aviation fuel on the Savannah to Doha flight, while Gulfstream also purchased carbon offsets for both flights. The aircraft is being used to test the G700’s new luxurious cabin. Gulfstream decided...

  Embraer have finalized plans to roll out Electric air taxis which could take flight in Manila Philippines in as early as five years time following a partnership between Embraer and Singapore based start-up Ascent Flights Global Ltd. In a statement, Eve said it would provide Ascent with up to 100,000 hours of flight time per year on its electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, also known in the market as EVA or electrical vertical aircraft, beginning in 2026.Eve plans to deploy up to 100 aircraft to be marketed by Ascent on its current and future routes. Ascent, which acts as an independent on-demand platform, will pay for flight time utilized on Eve’s aircraft while operating in combination with partners in Asia Pacific and other markets.The new agreement is part of Eve´s comprehensive urban air mobility strategy to position the company as a leader in the industry. The deployment of Eve aircraft across the Ascent network is subject to the parties entering into de...

  RwandAir has become the first - and only - Sub-Saharan African airline to launch a loyalty partnership with Qatar Airways. The two carriers have joined forces to offer RwandAir Dream Miles and Qatar Airways Privilege Club loyalty members access to each other’s destinations with the opportunity to ‘earn and burn’ points across their reciprocal route networks.Under the new deal, RwandAir Dream Miles members will be able to fly to more than 140 Qatar Airways destinations using miles earned by flights bought through RwandAir. Qatar Airways Privilege Club members will have the ability to earn miles on RwandAir’s flights, both within Africa and on long-haul routes, to destinations such as New York and London. In a statement, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, CEO of RwandAir, said: “RwandAir is incredibly proud to be the first Sub-Saharan African airline to enter into partnership with Qatar Airways Privilege Club.“Customer loyalty is of huge importance to both RwandAir and Qatar Airways. We both str...

Qatar airways on 2nd June, 2021 marked both the fifth anniversary of the airline's flying to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and also the restart of nonstop service from ATL to Doha. The national carrier of Qatar is flying an Airbus A350-900 featuring 36 seats in the award-winning Qsuite Business class and 247 seats in Economy Class. The aircraft was received with lots of excitement and funfair. Invited guests were allowed to tour the cabin of the aircraft after it landed. An opportunity for QR's team to showcase the impressive Q suite and other products onboard the aircraft. To mark the occasion, Mr Eric Odone, vice president, sales, Americas, Qatar Airways made a remark about the need to reconnect the city of Atlanta. “Atlanta, Georgia is a massive Business Center. We’ve started reintroducing flights gradually since June 2020. And we’ve realized that there was actually a lot of pent-up demand. Qatar flies four weekly nonstops from ATL to DOH. This incre...

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) plans to launch its IATA Travel Pass in March 2021, as announced by Muhammad Albakri, IATA's Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. He added that the association is currently testing the mobile app in cooperation with Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways, indicating that after the launch of the first version, another one including more updates will be introduced in April. The move will support the re-opening of borders and safe resumption of the aviation sector's operations, especially as the app is based on information security, ease of use and verification of information, Albakri said. The app includes documented health information about passengers, such aschecks and vaccinations, which supports and accelerates the resumption of operations at the aviation sector. The Middle East airlines recorded the biggest decline of 72.9% in travel demand, due to reliance on long-term international routes wh...

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation announced that its deal with Aerolease Aviation for the Spacejet has been cancelled and the two sides agreed to “revisit” a possible contract when Mitsubishi restarts development of the regional jet. Aerolease Aviation has been a customer since 2016 when it signed for 10 firm orders and 10 options for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), the predecessor of the Spacejet that Mitsubishi has been developing for years.  Aerolease’s cancellation, the total number of firm orders for the SpaceJet now stands at 153, the majority of them to Japanese carriers. Mitsubishi Aircraft also has 114 options for the type. This is a major setback for Mitsubushi Aircraft. Aerolease has been a strong advocate of Mitsubishi Aircraft’s efforts to produce a latest generation regional jet with the SpaceJet. It has been a pleasure working with the Mitsubishi Aircraft team over the past five years,” said Jep Thornton, managing partner of Aerolease Aviation. “It is clear to us th...