Republic Airways reached agreement with Delta Air Lines for the removal of its final 11 37-seat ERJ-135s from service effective Sept. 30. Aircraft originally were scheduled to be removed at a rate of two per month between November 2008 and April 2009. Revised agreement provides for three aircraft to be removed tomorrow and four on both Aug. 31 and Sept. 30. Republic will operate two additional E-170s for DL during the spring and summer of 2009. The 11 ERJ-135s will be sold by October 2009, the regional said.

Lufthansa Group yesterday reported a €402 million ($632.1 million) first-half net profit, implying a robust €345 million second-quarter return that represented a 21.2% decline from the €438 million earned in the year-ago quarter. The company earned €992 million in the first half of 2007, a figure that was fueled by large nonoperating gains related to the sale of its Thomas Cook stake.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau pointed to an exploding oxygen cylinder as the likely culprit in last week's Qantas 747-400 decompression and fuselage hole incident (ATWOnline, July 28). ATSB Senior Investigator Neville Blyth told media in Manila, where the aircraft made an emergency landing, that parts of the valve of a missing oxygen cylinder and its handle were found near the 1.5-m. breach in the aircraft's hull. However, the full cylinder itself was missing.

Emirates took delivery of its first A380 in Hamburg yesterday and during the handover ceremony signed a letter of intent to firm options on 30 A350 XWBs and order 30 A330-300s.

Emirates will take delivery of the first of 58 GP7200-powered A380s today in Hamburg before flying it to Dubai Tuesday. The interior design has been a closely guarded secret, but insiders in Dubai have told ATWOnline that there is some "clever use of space" on the upper deck, where first and business classes are located. There is a lounge at the rear of the deck, along with two showers. First commercial flight is scheduled for Aug. 1 to New York JFK.

Boeing announced the multiyear lease of three MD-11 BCFs to Aeroflot Cargo, which already operates four DC-10s, through its Boeing Capital Corp. financing subsidiary. The airline has committed to acquire three more MD-11s for conversion, with redelivery scheduled for next year.

Aviation Partners Boeing said the first blended winglet-equipped 767-300ER flew on July 20. Aircraft belongs to American Airlines and operated a ferry flight from Kansas City to San Bernardino, where it will undergo two months of certification and performance testing. Winglets measure 3.4 m. and were manufactured by GKN Aerospace. US FAA and EASA certification is expected in November with revenue service beginning the following month. APB said it has 130 767-300ER shipset orders from 10 airlines.

Boeing reported a 19% drop in second-quarter net income to $852 million from $1.05 billion last year and its Commercial Airplanes unit posted a 19% decrease in operating earnings to $777 million from $960 million in the year-ago period. But Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney predicted that the company will fare better in the year's second half and produce a solid performance that will allow it to match its reaffirmed earnings guidance of $5.70-$5.85 per share for full-year 2008.