Wataniya Airways took delivery of its seventh A320. The 122-seat aircraft is the third new A320 the Kuwaiti airline has added to its fleet this year. Airstream International arranged the delivery of one (of two) ex-BA Connect and Flybe ERJ-145 to Semeyavia in Kazakhstan. It is the first western-manufactured aircraft for the carrier, who operates a fleet of Yak 40s. The new aircraft will operate domestic scheduled services predominantly between Almaty and Semipalatinsk.

Cargolux told ATW it "will not suffer any capacity shortages," as the result of the latest delay to the 747-8F program (ATW Daily News, Oct. 1). The carrier said that Boeing's previous announcement of a possible delay to the program enabled it to make preparations to cope.

Rolls-Royce named John Rishton CEO to replace John Rose, who will retire at the end of March 2011. Rishton has been a non-executive director of Rolls-Royce since 2007 and chairs the board's audit committee. He was CFO of British Airways for four years until 2005 and was appointed CEO of the Dutch retail group Royal Ahold in 2006. Rose has been Rolls's chief executive since 1996, having joined the company in 1984.

Vietnam Airlines confirmed to ATW it has converted its 16 787-8 orders to the 787-9 "due to unexpected performance limitations on the original model," it said, though on its Orders and Deliveries website Boeing still lists the carrier's order as eight 787-8s.

Luxair Luxembourg Airlines ordered a 737-800 for delivery in January 2015 to support the growth of LuxairGroup's tour operator LuxairTours. It previously ordered a 737-800 in June for delivery in December 2012. Both aircraft will be equipped with Blended Winglets.

AWAS delivered one 737-400 to Bangkok-based Nok Air for operation on domestic routes in Thailand. Messier-Bugatti reached an agreement with Turkish Airlines to equip new, yet-to-be-delivered 737-800s (10) and 737-900ERs (10) with carbon brakes. FLY Leasing Limited reached a sale/leaseback agreement with flydubai covering three new 737-800NGs. Aircraft are scheduled to be delivered from Boeing in October, December and February.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on Thursday began cutting aluminum material for the horizontal stabilizer frame on Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.'s MRJ, marking the commencement of manufacturing on the regional jet slated to achieve first flight in 2012 (ATW Daily News, Sept. 28).

China Southern Airlines announced Thursday that its subsidiary Xiamen Airlines agreed to buy 10 Boeing aircraft valued at $699 million. The information was contained in a statement by CZ to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The aircraft are believed to be 737NGs.