CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit goes hybrid: The CAPA – Centre for Aviation (CAPA) announced its CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit will be a “hybrid event” consisting of a live session as well as virtual components that will take place on 5-6 August in Adelaide. This will be the region’s first aviation event since the onset of COVID-19. The hybrid summit will encompass a main live component taking place at the Adelaide Convention Centre and a new virtual component beaming in local and high-level speakers in addition to on-site speakers. Delegates can optionally participate in person in Adelaide or virtually. Speakers confirmed so far include: Virgin Australia CEO & MD Paul Scurrah, Tourism Australia MD Phillipa Harrison and Australian Chamber – Tourism Executive Chair John Hart to present live in Adelaide, accompanied by international guests Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson and Japan Airlines Vice Chairman Tadashi Fujita.
Emirates adapts pax plane to cargo carrier: Emirates has introduced additional cargo capacity by using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with seats removed from the Economy Class cabin. The measure has been introduced in response to the strong air cargo market demand for the rapid transportation of essential commodities such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food, machinery and other supplies around the world. Emirates SkyCargo will be operating 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with Economy Class seats removed allowing for up to 17 tonnes or 132 cubic metres of additional cargo capacity per flight on top of the 40-50 tonne cargo capacity in the belly hold of the widebody passenger aircraft. The modified Boeing 777-300ER aircraft are being deployed on routes to key production and consumer markets where Emirates SkyCargo sees maximum demand for movement of urgently required goods.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo completes second flight: Virgin Galactic announced the successful completion of the second SpaceShipTwo test flight from Spaceport America. This flight follows the completion of the first test flight from the company’s commercial headquarters in New Mexico on 1 May and marks another important milestone as the team progresses toward the launch of Virgin Galactic’s commercial service. This glide flight, flown at higher speeds, allowed the team to continue to evaluate systems and vehicle performance in advance of future rocket-powered space flights from the company’s new operating base in New Mexico. Flying VSS Unity in glide configuration at higher speeds enables certain vehicle systems to operate close to the environment seen during phases of rocket boost on a spaceflight. The spaceship achieved a glide speed of Mach 0.85 after being released from the mothership VMS Eve at an altitude of 51,000 ft. Unity completed multiple test-points before touching back down smoothly for a runway landing at Spaceport America.
Seven airlines choose Hahn Air to increase GDS sales: Ticketing and distribution specialist Hahn Air signed contracts with seven new airlines this year. Air Century (Y2), Cambodia Airways (KR), Divi Divi Air (3R), Eastern Airlines (2D), Eastern Airways (T3), Emetebe Airlines (ET) and Thai Smile Airways (WE) joined the Hahn Air partner portfolio which includes more than 350 airlines. By using one or more of Hahn Air’s solutions, the seven new partners generate incremental revenue in additional markets. With its ticketing and distribution solutions, the German airline Hahn Air facilitates global business between travel agencies and airlines. Hahn Air holds contracts with all major GDSs and is a member of the IATA Clearing House, almost all IATA BSPs as well as the settlement systems ARC and TCH.
SunExpress to focus on Turkish tourism market: SunExpress is restructuring its business to focus more on the Turkish tourism market. A joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, SunExpress has decided to concentrate its operations on leisure flights to and from Turkey, as well as on domestic Turkish air traffic. Having made a significant contribution to Turkish tourism and economy by creating an air bridge between Turkey and Europe since its founding in 1989 in Antalya, SunExpress has decided to close down the flight operations of its subsidiary SunExpress Deutschland in Germany and bundle its fleet under SunExpress Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to strengthen its position in its Turkey-based operations.
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