Aeroflot will defer delivery of two A320-200s from the 2010 first quarter to the first quarters of 2011 and 2012 and the delivery of three A321-200s from the 2010 third quarter to the first and third quarters of 2012, it said in a statement cited by Agence France Presse. "Given the current situation on the international air transport market, the board agreed to change the delivery schedule," SU said. Jat Airways announced plans to lease two 737-700s. It already has one 737-300 and one -400 on lease. No timetable for the -700s' arrival was announced.

787's structural design problem, centered on the upper wing join area, is more complex than originally outlined by Boeing and may result in first flight being delayed until next year, engineers told The Seattle Times. One engineer with knowledge of the problem claimed that it will take "at least 3-4 months just to get something installed on the 787," while a second, familiar with Boeing's construction methods, claimed that the fix first must be installed on the nonflying test aircraft in Everett and only will be applied to flight test aircraft if proven successful.

Thai Airways Chairman Ampon Kittiampon told reporters yesterday that the airline negotiated with Airbus to delay the start of its A380 deliveries to December 2012 from late next year, Reuters reported. "We want to postpone the delivery as far as possible to reflect the current market conditions," he said. Last month, two other Thai executives told reporters that the carrier was reconsidering its order for six A380s (ATWOnline, June 10).

Boeing reported a $998 million profit in the second quarter, up 17% from the $852 million earned in the year-ago period, and said it has identified a fix to the defect in the 787's upper wing join area that led to last month's first flight postponement and will release a new schedule for the flight test program before the end of September.

EASA issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring ATR 42 and ATR 72 operators to inspect or replace within 10 days cockpit forward side windows that have accumulated more than 2,000 flight cycles. The AD, which enters effect today, follows a recent incident during which the left forward side glass window on an ATR 72-212 "blew out" during a ground pressure test, EASA stated.