A “core group” of 15 airlines have agreed to buy alternative aviation fuel from two producers, the Air Transport Association of America announced Tuesday.

One of the companies, Seattle-based AltAir Fuels, announced it had entered into a memorandum of understanding to negotiate the purchase of up to 750 million gallons of renewable jet fuel and diesel derived from camelina with Air Canada, American Airlines, (continue reading…)

Brazilian low-cost, low-fare airline Azul Linhas Aereas SA will transport 50% more passengers in 2010 than in the current year, continuing its swift expansion, Chief Executive David Neeleman said Thursday.

Since beginning operations in late 2008, the airline grew to take 4.4% of Brazil’s $6.5 billion civil aviation market in October.
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China is expected to lead the global aviation recovery thanks to its dynamic domestic air travel, senior executives from Boeing said yesterday.
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Though everyone’s crying gloom and doom about U.S. aviation, there are several positive recent developments to report.

Pro-tection for airline passengers: First, in a unanimous vote, the Senate Com-merce Commit-tee approved legislation last month — the so-called Airline Passenger Bill of Rights — giving passengers the option of leaving a plane that has been stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours. (continue reading…)

As Airbus steps up its evaluation of new technologies to refresh the A320 family with new winglet flight trials, speculation is growing that Boeing is secretly working on a mid-life update for the 737.
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German businessman Hans Rudolf Woehrl is interested in buying a majority in TUI AG’s German budget airline unit TUIfly, the Financial Times Deutschland reported today, citing an interview with Woehrl.
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Seven U.S. airlines have sued the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, claiming the agency broke its own rules and may have compromised flight safety when it set new standards for pilot rest times last year without input from the carriers. (continue reading…)

ATA Airlines last night filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and this morning discontinued all of its operations. ATA said an “unexpected cancellation” of a military charter contract, provided through an agreement with FedEx, dried up its capital and necessitated the stop in service.
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