Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, June 6, 2024 – Today marks a memorable day for Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Xetra: LHAG) as the airline begins non-stop service between Raleigh-Durham, NC and Frankfurt, Germany. This inaugural flight not only offers a convenient connection to Germany, but also marks Lufthansa’s initial service to North Carolina from its Frankfurt hub. Furthermore, the route is also the first-ever non-stop connection from Raleigh-Durham International airport to Germany.

Lufthansa’s expansion in North Carolina not only strengthens its presence in the region but provides Carolinians with even more options for direct travel to Europe. The new Raleigh-Durham to Frankfurt route, coupled with the existing Charlotte to Munich flight, creates a robust network for seamless connections across Europe and beyond. North Carolina residents now have a world of possibilities at their fingertips, including a direct link to the main business hubs, hi-tech companies and R&D centers of Europe, as well as to high-in-demand places for business travel, such as the Middle East and India. The airline has been flying to Charlotte for nearly 20 years, and together with the RDU flight, Lufthansa now serves North Carolina with 12 weekly frequencies to both of its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

Flight LH408 departs Frankfurt (FRA) at 10:20am and lands at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) at 1:50pm. The return flight LH409 departs Raleigh-Durham at 3:40pm and arrives back in Frankfurt at 6:05am the following day. All times are local. The new Raleigh-Durham service will operate five times weekly on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with an Airbus A330-300 in a three-class configuration. The aircraft includes 42 Business Class, 28 Premium Economy and 185 Economy Class seats to accommodate 255 passengers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image from Boeing

Cape Canaveral, Florida, June 5, 2024, PRNewswire – NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams became the first people to launch to orbit inside a Boeing (NYSE: BA) Starliner, lifting off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:52am ET and embarking on a 25-hour flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch marks the beginning of the NASA-Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT).

Wilmore and Williams are also the first to launch on an Atlas V rocket and are currently experiencing microgravity on their way to the space station. They will conduct a series of flight test objectives, including manually flying Starliner.

Along with the two crew members, Starliner is carrying about 760 pounds (345 kilograms) of cargo.  Once docked to the ISS, Wilmore and Williams will spend about a week on station before returning to Earth. Following a successful CFT, Boeing and NASA will continue working to certify Starliner for long-duration operational missions to the ISS.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image from Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (London: RR) Deutschland and ITP Aero today jointly announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore a partnership to design, develop, manufacture and support a Wingman Engine, a state-of-the-art, powerful solution for large remote carriers.

As part of the MoU signature ceremony, a mock-up of a Wingman Engine concept was unveiled with the power and propulsion solution being presented to a wide audience at ILA Berlin Airshow. The MoU between Rolls-Royce Deutschland and ITP Aero will foster a German-Spanish approach, leveraging a long-lasting relationship between both companies that has spanned more than a decade.

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Rolls-Royce Deutschland and ITP Aero

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image from Joby Aviation

Santa Cruz, CA, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, May 21, 2024 — Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mukamalah, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco (SR: 2223), the operator of the world’s largest fleet of corporate aircraft, to introduce Joby’s aircraft to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The MoU, signed today between Joby and Mukamalah, contemplates the parties working together to engage with key aviation stakeholders, including The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), to expedite Joby’s entry into the Saudi Arabia market, leading to the direct purchase of Joby aircraft to be used in Mukamalah’s operations.

The direct sale of aircraft to business customers such as Mukamalah and government partners like the U.S. Department of Defense forms one pillar of Joby’s commercialization strategy, alongside the direct operation of Joby aircraft in core markets such as the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates, and partnered operations in other markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

LAM Communication Coordinator, May 20, 2024 – Alstom, a world leader in smart and sustainable mobility announced that it has signed a new contract with the Office for the Reorganization of Transport (OPRET) to carry out the comprehensive maintenance service for the entire train fleet of the Santo Domingo Metro. The contract term is for three years. The services that will be provided include the performance of preventive and corrective maintenance of the trains, assistance with incidents and failures in service among others.

Alstom realizes the maintenance of the Santo Domingo metro fleet 24 hours a day and on weekends, to minimize disruptions to passengers and increase system reliability.

Santo Domingo Metro

The Santo Domingo Metro is the metropolitan railway network of the city of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. Since the inauguration of the second line in 2016, it is the most extensive metropolitan railway system in the Caribbean. Daily, the two Metro lines, operated by the Office for Transportation Reordering (OPRET) with a fleet of 52 Alstom Metropolis trains, carry around 400,000 passengers. OPRET is currently executing the construction of a 7.5Km extension of Line 2.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 20, 2024 – Saudia Group announced the largest aircraft deal in Saudi aviation history during the first day of the Future Aviation Forum 2024 held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This landmark agreement encompasses 105 confirmed aircraft and marks a significant moment not only for the Saudi aviation industry but also for the wider MENA region. The ceremony, in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and Chairman of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, Engr. Saleh Al-Jasser, was attended by dignitaries, country ambassadors, and key figures from the global aviation sector, as well as a multitude of media representatives and industry experts specializing in travel, aviation, and transportation.

The deal, signed by H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al Omar, the Director General of Saudia Group, and Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Executive Vice President Sales of the Commercial Aircraft Business, includes A320neo and A321neo models. These aircraft will be distributed between Saudia and flyadeal, the group’s low-cost carrier. Saudia will acquire 54 A321neo aircraft, while flyadeal will receive 12 A320neo and 39 A321neo aircraft.

The new aircraft directly support Saudia Group’s objectives to connect the world with the Kingdom, aligning with several key pillars of Saudi Vision 2030. These include the transportation and logistics objective to increase guests’ capacity to 330 million and expand destinations to 250 by 2030, and the tourism objective to attract 150 million visits by 2030. This is in addition to the Hajj and Umrah objective to contribute to the increase of Umrah pilgrim capacity to 30 million by 2030.

Image from Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines Company, Ltd. (Tokyo: 9201) announces the introduction of a special livery on its international flight aircraft, the Boeing 787-8, to commemorate the 2025 World Exposition held in Yumeshima, Osaka, from April 13 to October 13, 2025. This special design, featuring the Expo’s official character ‘MYAKU-MYAKU’ among other original elements of the EXPO 2025, is scheduled to begin operations on June 3. This initiative follows the introduction of a special livery on the Embraer 190 aircraft operated by J-AIR, based at Osaka International (Itami) Airport, marking it as the second phase in this series.

The deployment of the second aircraft is aimed to introduce both domestic and international passengers to EXPO 2025, encouraging visits not only to the exposition but also to various destinations throughout Japan. Details regarding the launch date and flight schedules will be provided on the JAL website.
Furthermore, plans are in place to introduce a third special livery aircraft (for domestic flights) in the future. Please look forward to further updates.
With the operation of the ‘JAL MYAKU-MYAKU JET,’ Japan Airlines is committed to contributing to the success of the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

About EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan:
https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

From aa.com

Fort Worth, Texas, May 16, 2024 — While summer kicks off, customers can get a head start on planning to get away this winter with more options to visit the Caribbean and Latin America with American Airlines. In winter 2024, American will enhance its industry-leading short-haul international network with eight new routes and increased service, offering flights to more destinations than any other U.S. carrier in the region.

American’s winter schedule will offer 11% more departures and 10% more seats compared to its record-setting winter schedule in 2023. Tickets on all routes will be available for sale at aa.com or American’s mobile app starting May 20.

New routes for new beach adventures

American will offer service to one new destination and add seven new routes to its network this winter, allowing travelers to visit familiar and unexplored destinations. American is the only major U.S. airline serving St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD) and will be the only U.S. airline flying to La Romana, Dominican Republic (LRM). These two destinations join more than 20 others in the region where American provides the only nonstop service from the U.S. among major carriers.

More service on popular routes

To give customers more choices to plan their winter travels when they want to go, American will offer extended seasons on many routes to the Caribbean and Latin America. More than 98% of the airline’s peak schedule to the region will operate for the full winter season. American will also grow service on 16 popular routes starting this December.

Image from Alstom

May 16, 2024 – Alstom, member of the HN – Light Rail Line Ltd. consortium and its partners Electra Ltd. & Minrav Ltd., signed a contract, awarded on February 2024, for the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of the light rail system between Haifa and Nazareth issued by Trans Israel company. The NofiT project is valued at 1 billion euro and Alstom’s share is valued at more than 700 million euro [1], including the maintenance contract worth approximately 140 million euro. 

Alstom’s responsibility includes the design, engineering, supply, integration, testing and commissioning of the light rail system including tracks, electrification, energy saving power supply, signalling, communication system, depot equipment and the supply and maintenance of 54 Citadis trams. Electra and Minrav will manage the design and construction of the civil works. The operation and maintenance will be performed by a joint venture composed of Electra Afikim, Minrav and Alstom.

This project is groundbreaking for the promotion of public transportation in northern Israel. The Line, extending from Haifa to Nazareth over 41km with 20 stations, will have state of the art trams and is expected to move 120,000 passengers per day with approximately 21 years of operation and maintenance.

[1] booking expected at financial close, expected in H1 2025/26

Image from Hitachi Rail

Washington, D.C., May 14, – Over half of Americans back reducing or eliminating short-haul flights where high speed rail alternatives exist according to a global survey commissioned by Hitachi Rail. The findings, unveiled as Hitachi Rail participates in America’s annual High Speed Rail conference in Washington, D.C. underlines a growing appetite to travel by long-distance rail as opposed to flying or driving.

The research, carried out by SavantaComres, collected data from 12,000 people in 12 different cities around the world, including Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, London, Milan, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, Warsaw and, Washington D.C. The results from 1,000 Washingtonians and 1,000 San Franciscans provides a statistically accurate picture of how citizens view long distance travel.

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high-speed rail alternative