Boeing took delivery of the final section of the first 787 Wednesday in Everett, Wash. The piece, the center fuselage including the center wing box, was assembled and delivered by Global Aeronautica in South Carolina via the Dreamlifter freighter. The forward and rear fuselage sections were delivered earlier in the week (ATWOnline, May 14), along with the aircraft's wings, which were manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagoya.

Rockwell Collins announced that Air China selected its MultiScan Hazard Detection System along with a "broad range of avionics" including the GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver, for 25 737NGs and 24 A320s/A321s. Deliveries are expected to begin in the fall.

Southwest Airlines, following up on its announcement that it will configure its entire fleet for RNP (ATWOnline, May 9), announced this week an agreement with Naverus to "develop and implement [RNP] tailored approach and departure procedures at each of the airports Southwest serves." Executive VP and Chief of Operations Mike Van de Ven said, "We recently commissioned Naverus to illustrate the benefits of RNP for Southwest Airlines.

Air Astana, the Kazakhstan flag carrier, celebrated its fifth anniversary with the delivery of its second 767-300ER. Its fleet also includes four 757s, two A321s, five A320s and five F50s. The 767s are operated on routes to Amsterdam, Beijing, Bangkok, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hannover and Seoul as well as on domestic trunk routes from Almaty to Astana and Atyrau.

US Airways "hopes" to make its long-awaited long-haul fleet decision "in the next few weeks," Senior VP-Planning Andrew Nocella told ATWOnline at this week's Star Alliance event in Copenhagen, which would allow the carrier to announce its order for around 20 aircraft at next month's Paris Air Show.

World Airways will operate three MD-11 freighters on New York JFK-Europe routes for Lufthansa Cargo over an 18-month period from July 1 under terms of an expanded contract between the carriers announced yesterday. World currently operates two MD-11Fs for LHC as part of a contract set to expire in October. The new accord supersedes that pact.

Airbus confirmed yesterday that it will ramp up A320 family aircraft production to 40 per month by the end of 2009, as previously reported by this website (ATWOnline, April 30).

HNA Group, parent of Hainan Airlines, revealed that it is preparing to launch an aircraft leasing company with AVIC II, with which it reached a strategic partnership agreement (ATWOnline, May 4). HNA noted that leasing is a "promising business" in China as few domestic companies have a foothold in the field.