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.

Qantas Airways CEO Geoff Dixon said he believes the airline industry is on the verge of a period of consolidation into a few very large carriers that will be able to cope better with higher fuel costs.

Continental Airlines and nine Star Alliance carriers asked the US Dept. of Transportation to allow CO to join the group already holding antitrust immunity. CO last month declared its intention to leave SkyTeam and join Star (ATWOnline, June 20).

Rockwell Collins reached a deal with ILFC to add its Digital Programmable Audio Video Entertainment System as an option included with its PAVES analog technology onboard 737NGs. System features a broadcast digital server with moving map hosting capabilities.

Copa Airlines placed a firm order for two additional 737-800s for delivery in 2010 and 2011, increasing the total number of 737NGs it has on order to nine. Its fleet currently is comprised of 27 737NGs and 13 E-190s. Its -800s seat 16 in business class and144 in economy.

A slowing economy and the ripple effects of the Sichuan earthquake helped produce a 23% year-over-year drop in Chinese airlines' combined net income in the first half of 2008 to CNY3.7 billion ($540.9 million) from CNY4.8 billion in the year-ago period. China Eastern Airlines reported a CNY368 million profit while Air China enjoyed a 5.5% increase in operating revenue to CNY24.21 billion in the first half. Passenger boardings totaled 16.6 million. CA did not release its profit figure in its mid-year work report.

Cargolux Airlines International took delivery of its 16th and final 747-400F powered by Rolls-Royce RB211-524H-Ts. New aircraft comes with a unique livery, with the traditional red-and-white stripes fading away instead of reaching to the tail. This hints at a revamped design to be introduced on the 747-8F, Cargolux noted. From 2009 on, it will receive 13 GEnx-powered 747-8Fs that gradually will replace the -400F fleet.