Airbus and Boeing yesterday confirmed Ethiopian Airlines' orders for 12 A350-900s and five 777-200LRs respectively. The airline announced the deals Tuesday (ATWOnline, July 29). The A350s are the first aircraft ET has ordered from Airbus, which has sold 493 of the next-generation widebodies.

Honeywell announced that AWAS has selected an avionics suite and APUs under a contract covering up to 110 new aircraft deliveries and worth $77 million.

Ethiopian Airlines yesterday said it placed an order for 12 A350-900s from Airbus and five 777-200LRs from Boeing, a move it called "unprecedented," while Turkish Airlines added eight more 777-300ERs to its order book.

Safi Airways Chairman Abdul Rahim Safi said the Afghan airline "has progressed so quickly in the past four months" that it will "undergo a major renewal of its fleet with either Boeing or Airbus aircraft," according to the airline. It currently flies two 737-300s and one 767-200ER. It plans to use new aircraft to serve Jeddah, Beijing and Moscow within the next six months.

Rolls-Royce yesterday announced a series of investments including construction of a new wide-chord fan blade factory in Singapore and several new UK facilities. The Singapore factory will be a part of Rolls' "Facility of the Future" at its Seletar Campus, construction of which will begin in the 2010 first quarter and which will require an investment greater than S$700 million ($486 million).

Third prototype Sukhoi Superjet 100 flew for the first time Saturday at Komsomolsk. Aircraft will undergo cabin and avionics testing and will be the first fitted with passenger equipment and the certification-ready avionics suite. It then will be sent to Italy for its noise level, ILS, precision navigation and high-intensity radiated field tests. The first Superjet flight took place in May 2008 with the certification campaign commencing in October. The first two aircraft have accumulated more than 700 flight hr. over some 270 flights, said Sukhoi, which has sold 122 so far.

Curtiss-Wright signed a data license with Boeing for the use of detail engineering design to obtain parts manufacturing authority for replacement flight control spare parts. License permits Curtiss-Wright Controls to manufacture licensed PMA parts under its FAA-approved system and distribute directly to operators.

Embraer President and CEO Frederico Curado told reporters in Washington last week that keeping E-Jet production levels stable in 2010 will be "challenging" owing to the global economic downturn. "The [economic] signals we're getting are too faint to be regarded as a recovery," he explained, adding, "There's the economic downturn that affects airline demand. And then there's the [tight] financing market. We are shooting for a flattish 2010. We do have a sales challenge right now to keep our production levels stable in 2010, and 2011 is still very foggy."