AVIC International has signed an agreement with COMAC to purchase 100 ARJ21s at the Zhuhai Air Show. Both companies said they will work together to market to international customers.

Bernstein Research believes that Airbus may have cooled on the re-engine of its A320 aircraft, becoming “increasingly hesitant based on challenges associated with resource availability,” a situation flagged by the group in October (ATW Daily News, Oct. 6).

Amsterdam-based AerCap Holdings announced Thursday it signed a Letter of Intent with Boeing for the purchase of “up to 15 737-800 aircraft, consisting of 10 firm aircraft and five purchase rights.”

Aircelle and Xi'an Aircraft International Corp. formally signed a contract to produce and assemble nacelle components in Xi'an for the C919 and potentially other aircraft. XAIC is a subsidiary of AVIC. The nacelle for the C919 is being developed by Nexcelle, which is jointly owned by Aircelle, a Safran Company and GE Aviation's Middle River Aircraft Systems. Signing the contract at the Zhuhai were Aircelle Chairman and CEO Vincent Mascre, and XAIC Chairman of the Board Wang Xiangyang.

Boeing continues to evaluate the possible timeline for launching a successor to the 737, VP and GM-737 program Beverly Wyse told ATW at the Zhuhai Air Show Nov. 17. “We haven’t made a firm decision yet but we are considering it,” said Wyse. “Right now, we are in the phase of communicating with our customers and gathering information from them on this issue.” Boeing is seeking a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency over existing types a new aircraft would replace in the 100-200 seat size range.

Bombardier Aerospace delivered the 1,000th Dash 8/Q-Series aircraft, a Q400 NextGen, delivered to Pinnacle Airlines. The Dash 8-100 aircraft was launched in 1980 and entered revenue service in 1984. Skytech-AIC secured an agreement from TUI Aviation GmbH to market three 1993 Corsair-operated 747-400s for sale/leaseback.

Boeing said Monday that it has not made a decision on when 787 flight testing will resume as it continues to investigate the electrical malfunction that led to a fire onboard aircraft ZA002 last week (ATW Daily News, Dec. 15).

COMAC announced at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai Tuesday that four Chinese airlines and two leasing companies have placed orders and commitments for up to 100 C919s.