Archive for June 2016
Doubts grow over Airbus A380 sale to Iran
As Western planemakers seek to finalize lucrative deals to sell some 200 jets to Iran, doubts are growing over the sale of a dozen Airbus A380 superjumbo jets to the country’s national flag carrier, several people familiar with deal said. Iran’s return to the international market for new aircraft after decades making do with an…
Read MoreChina’s first regional jet ARJ21 starts commercial operation
China’s first home-built passenger jet entered commercial service on Tuesday in a debut that is already a decade late and underscores problems in Beijing’s bid to become a global aviation player. Aviation officials, executives and journalists were among the first passengers aboard the ARJ21 regional jet on the Chengdu Airlines flight, which departed the central…
Read MoreEthiopian first African airline to receive an Airbus A350XWB
Ethiopian Airlines stands as 1st Airline in Africa to take delivery of Airbus A350XWB on 28 June, 2016, in Toulouse, France. “Ethiopian is proud to be the first airline from Africa to take delivery of the A350 and excel in offering its passengers the ultimate travel experience on-board this aircraft ahead of other carriers. Ethiopian is…
Read MoreBritain’s Bizav Community Faces Uncertainty Over EU Exit
Britain’s business aviation industry is bracing for negative fallout from last week’s so-called Brexit vote to leave the European Union (EU). With the exact timeline and terms for the country’s exit still highly uncertain, the first concern among aircraft charter operators seemed to be an immediate decline in demand caused mainly by extreme instability in…
Read MoreUS official: Investigators can’t download EgyptAir recorders
Initial attempts to download information from the flight data and voice recorders of an EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean last month have been unsuccessful, according to a U.S. official. The recorders are being flown to the offices of the French aviation accident investigation bureau near Paris, which has better equipment for extracting the…
Read MoreWidebody Orders Slow. Are Boeing and Airbus Doomed?
After a boom in orders as fuel prices skyrocketed a few years ago, demand for the twin-aisle aircraft that typically ply long-haul international routes has subsided recently. For Boeing and Airbus, many of these widebody models are key cash flow and profit drivers.Since the beginning of 2015, widebody aircraft orders haven’t kept pace with deliveries. This…
Read MoreSouthwest Postpones Delivery of 67 Boeing 737 Max Jetliners
Southwest Airlines Co. will postpone delivery of 67 Boeing Co. 737 Max 8 aircraft by as many as six years, pushing $1.9 billion of spending on planes into the next decade. The airline also plans to accelerate six 737-800 orders to next year from 2018 to help cover the already announced early retirement of its…
Read MoreBoeing Sees Commercial Aircraft Demand Up; Airbus Gets Order
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said that demand for passenger jets is rising, and it sees 38,000 needed over the next two decades. Muilenburg told the French newspaper Le Figaro that “in commercial aviation, demand is not dipping, on the contrary,” adding that Boeing will increase its annual delivery rate to 900 planes in five years, up…
Read MoreRussia-China Aviation Alliance Challenges General Electric, Rolls Royce And Boeing
Novosti reported on Russia’s new developing aircraft engine project with China and its continued effort to produce a Russian-made competitor to the popular Boeing Co 787. “We’ve informed the Chinese side about the beginning of work on Russia’s heavy-lift aircraft engine in the thrust segment of up to 35 tons. The decision was made by…
Read MoreWorld’s newest airliner A350 XWB to embark on first demonstration tour of China
Aircraft manufacturer giant Airbus announced Tuesday the world’s newest airliner, the Airbus A350XWB, would make its first demonstration tour of China between June 25 and July 2. During the trip, a test aircraft is to fly to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Haikou and Chengdu. According to Airbus, the tour follows the A350’s…
Read MoreBoeing, Russian Firm Said Near $4 Billion Deal to Save 747
Boeing Co. is nearing a $4 billion deal with Russia’s largest air-freight company that would help extend the life of the iconic, hump-nosed 747 jumbo jet amid waning demand for four-engine aircraft, people close to the transaction said. The U.S. planemaker is in advanced talks with AirBridgeCargo Airlines and its Moscow-based parent, Volga-Dnepr Group, to…
Read MoreBoeing’s Dreamliner 787-10: Late Bloomer or Complete Bust?
After an initial flurry of orders, Boeing has hardly sold any 787-10s in the past three years. Three years ago this week, Boeing officially launched the third and largest variant of its groundbreaking Dreamliner jet: the 787-10. At the time, Boeing had secured 102 orders from two leasing companies and three major global airlines, including…
Read MoreEU allows Iran’s state carrier to resume flights in bloc
Iran’s state airline, which has just reached an agreement with Boeing Co to purchase new jetliners, can resume flights in the EU, the European Commission said on Thursday. Iran is dangling the prospect of significant business for Western planemakers as it emerges from decades of sanctions. While the European Commission, the EU’s executive, said Iranair…
Read MoreFAA Seeks Improved Pilot Mental Health Evaluations
An Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) composed of both aviation and medical experts, working in conjunction with commercial airlines and pilots’ unions, will strive to create a holistic approach to improving pilot mental health evaluations, in part by encouraging voluntary reporting of pilot mental health issues. “While some conditions automatically disqualify someone from flying, many pilots…
Read MoreAirbus to Review Goal of 50 A350 Deliveries Amid Supplier Crunch
Airbus Group SE said it will struggle to meet a goal of handing over 50 wide-body A350 jets this year and plans to review the target by late summer once it’s clear whether suppliers of the model’s interior fittings have overcome delays. The European planemaker is still hoping to meet the delivery goal but is…
Read MoreBoeing Tallies Order for 6 Freighters, Brings Annual Total to 275
In its weekly report on orders and deliveries, Boeing Co. said that it has received six new orders for its 767 from an unidentified customer. That brings total orders for the 767 to seven for the year to date. The other one was ordered by FedEx Corp. in March and could indicate that FedEx is considering beefing up…
Read MoreAirbus A350s Delays Could Help Boeing 777, 787 Orders
Airbus is struggling to meet its A350 delivery goals, which could be good news for Boeing 777 and 787 orders. Airbus said it will be hard to meet its goal of delivering 50 A350s this year on supply issues, with interior fittings causing delays according to Bloomberg, citing the Financial Times and La Tribune in France.…
Read MoreAmerican Airlines to Complete Boeing 737, Airbus A319 Fleet Commonality
American Airlines is currently retrofitting the passenger cabins of its Airbus A319s and Boeing 737-800s, in order to standardize the features, amenities and company branding. According to the airline, the Tech Ops at Tulsa and Dallas DWH site, retrofitted 31 737-800s, reconfiguring the passenger cabin to add 10 additional seats for a total of 160.…
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