American Airlines placed a firm order for 42 787-9s valued at more than $8 billion with first delivery scheduled for September 2012, a move it said signals its continued focus on the future even as it navigates current economic difficulties. AA also has options for 58 more Dreamliners. The order is contingent upon reaching an agreement with its pilots that would allow the carrier to operate 787s. A provision in the purchase agreement with Boeing forces AA to "reconfirm" its order 18 months before each scheduled delivery.

EMS Technologies said Panasonic Avionics Corp. selected its eXConnect antennas for inflight broadband under a multiyear deal. EMS Technologies' Defense & Space Systems Division will provide the AURA-LE Ku-band antenna, a core system component developed by Panasonic and EMS.

Volaris received the first of 14 IAE V2500-powered A320s on order from Airbus. The Mexican LCC currently operates 18 A319s.

Aeroflot's first-half 2008 profit calculated under IFRS dropped 55% year-over-year to $72.2 million, according to an SU statement cited by press reports from Moscow. Last month it said profit under Russian accounting standards fell 29.7% to RUB2.25 billion ($85.9 million) on a 39.4% rise in revenue. Deputy DG-Finance and Planning Mikhail Poluboyarinov said full-year earnings may plunge nearly 67% to $80-$85 million, according to RIA Novosti. "We forecast that [traffic] will shrink.

Airbus issued an Operators Information Telex to all operators of its aircraft in the wake of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation into the Qantas A330-300 incident on Oct. 7. The instruction advises crews to shut down the entire Air Data Inertial Reference Unit No. 1 in case of partial failure, which would isolate both IR and ADR to prevent the ADR from continuing to provide erroneous data. The A330 has three ADIRUs.

Turkish Airlines moved forward with its fleet renewal, announcing yesterday its intention to place an order for 25 widebody and 50 single-aisle aircraft plus 10 widebody and 10 narrowbody options.

Airbus yesterday operated its first test flight powered by a PurePower PW1000G engine using an A340-600 in Toulouse. The engine features Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan technology. P&W Commercial Engines President Todd Kallman said, "Demonstrating the Geared Turbofan technology throughout its entire operating envelope using the Airbus A340 flight test aircraft. . .will provide us with valuable installation and operating data." The Airbus/P&W flight test program follows 43 flight hr. on Pratt's 747SP flying testbed.

Malaysia Airlines is postponing its decision on its long-haul fleet renewal owing to current market conditions, CEO and MD Idris Jala told ATWOnline at the World Route Development Forum in Kuala Lumpur. "It is clear that we will delay the process to look at a widebody aircraft order. We are not in a hurry," he said. MAS had anticipated analyzing future widebody requirements in the current quarter to complement its spring commitment for 35 737-800s plus 20 options (ATWOnline, April 1).