Rockwell Collins reached agreement with Xiamen Airlines to provide a suite of avionics for 12 737NGs with an option for 25 more. Technology includes WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection System aimed at reducing pilot workload and enhancing safety. Deliveries are scheduled to begin next year and continue through 2013.

Helvetic Airways, based in Zurich, will stop operating all scheduled flights at the end of October owing to high fuel prices and instead will use its four F100s on ACMI and charter flights. Three of its aircraft already are on wet-lease with Swiss International Air Lines. Helvetic's scheduled routes to Brindisi, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Palermo and Jerez de la Frontera will be closed this fall. It said all 125 employees will remain on staff. It launched operations in 2002.

General Electric appointed David Joyce, 51, as president and CEO of GE Aviation yesterday succeeding Scott Donnelly, who was named COO of Textron. Joyce has been VP-commercial engines since 2003 and is a 21-year veteran of GE's engine business. He is the first insider chosen to run the unit since the late Brian Rowe, who retired in 1993.

Airbus yesterday said it has selected Kuehne+Nagel as its "lead logistics provider" and DHL as its "lead transport provider." Both become "Tier 1 partners" and will play a big role in "integration of Airbus and will allow a further harmonization and optimization of Airbus' logistics and related transport processes in Europe," the manufacturer said. "The integration will lead to substantial savings in the range of. . .high double-digit million euros."

Singapore Airlines took delivery of its fifth A380 and 18th 777-300ER Saturday. The A380 will allow SIA to upgrade more Singapore-London Heathrow flights from 747-400 service beginning July 16. The fifth aircraft will be used Aug. 2-8 on flights to Beijing to meet Olympics demand.

AerCap Holdings said it closed a $100 million engine acquisition facility with a syndicate of US and German banks led by Citibank as global arranger. The facility, which has an availability period of 24 months expandable to an additional 36 months, provides AerCap with committed funding to acquire a broad range of spare engines.

Malaysia Airlines is prepared to "take the lead" in increasing fuel surcharges and perhaps raising fares by as much as 50% in order to negotiate a "frightening" economic environment, MD and CEO Idris Jala wrote in an open letter last week. "Change, and I mean drastic change, is absolutely vital for our survival. That, and a willingness to reinvent the way we operate, including through mergers and acquisitions," Jala said.

BAE Systems Regional Aircraft announced that the first "relaunched" BAe 146QT (Quiet Trader) freighter was completed at Aerostar's Bacau facility in Romania and the -200 variant made a successful first flight on June 25. BAE Systems gave the go-ahead to relaunch the freighter conversion program for the 10/12-tonne quadjet in January 2007 and announced the following April that it had chosen Aerostar as its conversion partner.