Emirates took delivery of the first of 10 777-200LRs. The 266-seat, three-class aircraft will operate on the Dubai-Sao Paulo Guarulhos service scheduled to launch Oct. 1. Emirates' fleet now numbers 108 aircraft.

Boeing pushed back the 787's first flight from this month to between mid-November and mid-December, citing incomplete work by some suppliers, manufacturing documentation issues, a global fastener shortage and delays in completing flight control system software.

Aeroflot yesterday said it finalized an order for 22 787-8s valued at $3.6 billion following shareholder approval of the transaction. "The 787 will open new market opportunities as we further modernize our fleet and expand our international reach," GD Valery Okulov said. The airline announced neither an engine selection nor a delivery schedule. Previous reports pegged deliveries as starting in 2014 (ATWOnline, June 12). Boeing has logged orders for 706 787s from 48 customers, including 258 orders this year.

Aviation Capital Group placed an order for 15 additional 737NGs valued at $934 million, bringing its total firm commitments for the type to 59. The lessor also has firm orders for five 787s. Boeing said the order previously was posted on its Orders and Deliveries website as unidentified.

Xiamen Airlines is the customer for 25 737-800s listed as unidentified on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website in early August. The order is worth $1.9 billion at 2007 average list prices. "This order of 25 737-800s plus 10 purchase rights allows us to simplify our fleet with the most cost-efficient and superior-performance airplane in its class," said Xiamen Airlines President Yang Guanghua in a statement.

COMPANY CULTURE IS EVERYTHING, and at Southwest Airlines, especially in flight ops, that culture is consummately conservative. The carrier "has always prided itself on the way our guys [hand-fly] the airplane," says Senior Director-Flight Operations Jeff Martin.

Norwegian ordered 42 new 189-seat 737-800s with blended winglets worth $3.1 billion at list prices, it announced yesterday, adding that it secured purchase rights for an additional 42 of the type. The new airplanes will supplement the 11 -800s Norwegian ordered in May and will be delivered in the 2009-14 period at a rate of about 10 per year. The airline said it secured US Export-Import Bank financing of 85% of the purchase price and has entered into hedging agreements to cover "a large part" of the dollar/kronor exposure related to the acquisition.

Airbus has filed for 380 patents for design features on the A380. The manufacturer said that since the program was launched in December 2000, new technologies have been tested rigorously and "significant breakthrough innovations have been achieved in aerodynamics, cabin design, engine integration, flight controls, aircraft systems, manufacturing techniques and the extensive use of advanced lightweight composite materials." Among innovations for which Airbus has filed applications is the Zero Splice Inlet integrated into the engine nacelles. The ZSI consists of a single 360-deg.