American Airlines said its first of its 42 787-9s, originally scheduled to arrive in 2012, now likely will be delivered in the second half of 2013 owing to last year's Boeing machinists strike. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, AA said the new schedule was "based on preliminary information received from Boeing." It also holds 58 787 options.

Gulf Air officially turned its eight 787 options into firm orders, lifting its commitment to the next-generation widebody to 24 and giving Boeing its first 787 orders this year. The manufacturer recorded the deal on its Orders and Deliveries website this week even though the Bahraini carrier had committed to the extra eight aircraft last summer (ATWOnline, Sept. 5, 2008).

Sunwing Airlines of Canada took delivery of a 189-seat 737-800.

AmSafe Bridport was awarded a contract to provide cargo hold nets for the A350. Deal will run through the life of the program.

Vietnam Airlines received government permission to move forward with the purchase of 10 A321-200s for delivery in the 2011-14 period and to join the SkyTeam alliance, according to press reports from Vietnam.

Embraer delivered 32 commercial aircraft (compared to 38 in the year-ago period) and 40 overall in the first quarter. Commercial deliveries comprised one ERJ-145, five E-170s, three E-175s, 17 E-190s and six E-195s. Its commercial backlog totals 393 aircraft.

Following its announcement that it plans to sell 10 aircraft and defer delivery of at least 16 more (including four A380s), Qantas yesterday would not be drawn into commenting on the fate of its first 15 787s as speculation mounted that they also may be deferred.

FedEx revealed in a regulatory filing this week that it will "permanently remove" 10 A310-200Fs and four MD-10Fs from service by May 31. "This decision reflects management's ongoing efforts to optimize the company's express network in light of continued excess aircraft capacity due to weak economic conditions and the expected delivery of newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft in fiscal year [2009-10]," it informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission.