Engine Alliance GP7200 had a "flawless" entry into service on Emirates' first A380, according to EA President Jim Moravecek. EK was the launch customer for the new powerplant developed jointly by GE and Pratt & Whitney and derived from the GE90 and PW4000 engine families (ATWOnline, July 17). "Since entering revenue service on the first Emirates A380 on Aug. 1, we've experienced no engine related issues that could have caused a disruption for Emirates," EA Product Support Director Ed Bendernagel said.

Boeing and the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers will resume negotiations and are "working out the details of the return to the table" with a US federal mediator, the union said. The IAM strike that began Sept. 6 now has cost Boeing an estimated $3.36 billion in sales and profit, the union claimed (ATWOnline, Sept. 22).

S7 Airlines took delivery of its first of three 767-300ERs and its fourth 737-800. The 767 was leased from AWAS and will begin flying this month from Moscow Domodedovo to Novosibirsk and Yerevan, the carrier said. Subsequent 767s will replace A310s on flights to Bangkok and Vladivostok. Aircraft will seat 222 in economy and 18 in business class. The 737 was leased from ILFC.

The ARJ21 is in final preparations for its inaugural test flight, which is expected to take place by the end of next month at the latest, according to Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Chairman Zhang Qingwei. The 90-seat ARJ21-700 rolled out last December, but owing to "key suppliers' failure to specify conditions for system tests," its maiden flight, originally scheduled for March, was delayed (ATWOnline, April 1).

Airbus booked 31 new orders in September and delivered 34 aircraft. Its 2008 gross order total now stands at 785. The manufacturer said deliveries during the month were mostly A320 family aircraft that went to Afriqiyah Airways, Air China, AirAsia, Avianca, British Airways, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, CIT Leasing (for Juneyao Airlines and Qatar Airways), CSA Czech Airlines, easyJet, GECAS (for Aeroflot, East Star Airlines and Juneyao), GoAir, ILFC (for Shenzhen Airlines), IndiGo, JetBlue Airways, LAN Airlines, TAM, Turkish Airlines and US Airways.

Qantas A330-300 turbulence incident that injured 71 of 313 passengers and crew Tuesday likely was caused by a computer malfunction, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said (ATWOnline, Oct. 7). The aircraft, on its way to Perth from Singapore before diverting to Learmonth, suffered "some irregularity" with its elevator control system that caused the dramatic altitude change, according to ATSB Director-Aviation Safety Investigation Julian Walsh. The A330 climbed some 300 ft. and then nosedived.

Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China yesterday launched the Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Co., which will be the first domestic enterprise of its kind for civil aircraft and marks an important part of China's large commercial aircraft manufacturing strategy.

CTT Systems yesterday said it will supply Nord-Micro with its Cair System cabin humidifiers and Zonal Drying System designed for the A350 XWB. Nord-Micro will deliver the systems to Honeywell to offer as an option to Airbus and airlines.