Bombardier CSeries 300 takes off on first test flight
The first test aircraft for the stretched, 135-seat CS300 variant flew for about five hours on its maiden flight from Mirabel, near Montreal, Feb. 27. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Bombardier
Airbus A350 XWB lands in Munich
The A350 MSN2, one of Airbus’ five A350 XWB test aircraft, landed the evening of Feb. 26 at Munich International airport for the first time. Munich is one of the biggest Lufthansa and Star Alliance hubs worldwide. Lufthansa has 25 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft on order. Courtesy, Airbus
Airbus A350 XWB makes premiere debut in Paris
The first A350 XWB landing at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, which took place Feb. 26, was performed by one of Airbus’ five A350 XWB test aircraft.
Bag tag modernization passes key milestone
Iberia has launched a new service enabling departing passengers to obtain boarding passes and luggage tags and to put their luggage directly onto the conveyor belt without assistance, using a machine next to check-in counters 818-819 in Iberia’s hub at Madrid airport Terminal 4. The new comprehensive self-check-in system is a pilot project developed in collaboration with the AENA airport authority and Siemens. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Iberia
Bombardier secures flight permit for first CS300 FTV
Transport Canada has issued a flight permit for the first Bombardier CS300 flight test vehicle (FTV) to join the CSeries flight test program. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Bombardier
Air France-KLM narrows full-year net loss
Air France-KLM results conference. ATW Photo: By Victoria Moores
Air France-KLM results conference
Air France-KLM Group chairman and CEO Alexandre de Juniac speaks with the media at the results conference. ATW Photo: By Victoria Moores
Irish lessor acquires three Bombardier Q400 NextGens
Lessor Elix Aviation Capital has acquired three Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft. ATW Photo: Rendering of Q400 in Elix Aviation Capital livery. Courtesy, Bombardier
New Eurowings’ first base outside Germany will be Vienna
Lufthansa, which is transforming its Eurowings subsidiary into a pan-European platform to operate low-cost flights from several bases outside Germany, will launch its first foreign base in Vienna, Austria. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Lufthansa. Rendering of A320 in new Eurowings' livery.
Iberia’s Airbus A350 debuts at Madrid
The A350 MSN2, one of Airbus’ five A350 XWB test aircraft, landed at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport for first time to demonstrate its all new features to Iberia, the Madrid airport authorities and the media.
Iberia has eight A350-900s on order as part of its fleet renewal plan. The Iberia A350s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, supported with a TotalCare maintenance package. As of the end of January, Airbus said it has received 780 orders from 40 customers for the A350 XWB. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Airbus
Arkia Israeli Airlines commits to A330-900s
Arkia Israeli Airlines has signed a MOU with Airbus for up to four A330-900neo aircraft. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Airbus
Alaska Airlines orders six more 737-900ERs
Alaska Airlines will buy six more Boeing 737-900ERs, in an order valued at $594 million at current list prices. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Boeing
Vietnam Airlines to receive first 787-9 in May; A350-900 in June
Vietnam Airlines will take delivery of the first of 19 Boeing 787-9s in May, and the first of 14 Airbus A350-900s in June. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Airbus
American Airlines 787-8 business class
American Airlines new Boeing 787-8 business class features 28 fully lie-flat business class seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The custom-designed forward-and rear-facing seats provide direct-aisle access for every business class customer for more mobility throughout the cabin. The aircraft is equipped with satellite Wi-Fi capability to keep customers connected while traveling internationally. The premium cabin also features inflight entertainment selections on a 15.4-inch HD Panasonic touchscreen monitor positioned in each seat. Each seat is equipped with universal AC power outlets and a USB jack. ATW Photo: Courtesy, American Airlines
American Boeing 787-8 main cabin
American Airlines new Boeing 787-8 main cabin will be outfitted with 48 main cabin extra seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, offering customers up to six inches of additional legroom, and 150 main cabin seats also arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration. Every seat offers a 9-inch HD Panasonic touchscreen monitor with an assortment of movies, TV programs, games and audio selections. Each main cabin seat is also equipped with universal AC power outlets and a USB jack. ATW Photo: Courtesy, American Airlines
British Airways wins CAA approval to use Boeing’s ELB on 787s
British Airways has become the first airline to get the go-ahead to use Boeing’s Electronic Logbook (ELB) to eliminate paper technical logs on its 787 Dreamliner fleet. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Boeing
Luxair agrees to purchase three Q400s
Luxembourg-based Luxair has signed a firm purchase agreement for three Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft with two options. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Bombardier
Transavia orders 17 Boeing 737-800s
Transavia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Air France KLM Group, has ordered 17 Next-Generation 737-800s, with three options. ATW Photo: By Rob Finlayson
China's Spring Airlines takes delivery of new A320
Spring Airlines has taken delivery of a new A320 on lease from ICBC Financial Leasing, a leasing company owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The newly received aircraft brings the carrier’s total Airbus A320 fleet to 50.
American Airlines takes delivery of first Embraer E-175
American Airlines took delivery of the first of 60 Embraer E-175s it has on order during a Wednesday delivery ceremony at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. ATW Photo: Executives from American Airlines, Compass Airlines and Embraer clink champagne glasses in São José dos Campos to celebrate the delivery of the first American-owned E-175. By Aaron Karp
American takes delivery of first E-175
American Airlines took delivery of the first of 60 Embraer E-175s it has on order during a Wednesday delivery ceremony at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Embraer
Asiana Airlines commits to 25 A321neos
South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Airbus for the purchase of 25 A321neo single aisle aircraft as part of its ongoing fleet modernization program. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Airbus
American Airlines is customer for 24 unidentified CRJ900s
Bombardier has confirmed that American Airlines is the customer for 24 previously unidentified CRJ900 NextGen regional jets. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Bombardier
Nepal Airlines takes delivery of first A320
Nepal Airlines has taken delivery of the first of two Airbus A320 aircraft. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Airbus/Christian Brinkmann
Avianca commits to 100 Airbus A320neos
Avianca Holdings has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus to order 100 A320neo family aircraft. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Rendering of Airbus A320neo and A321neo in Avianca livery.
Tokyo’s Narita airport to open low-cost carrier terminal in April
Avianca Cargo took delivery of its fifth A330 freighter from Airbus. The aircraft performed its first flight on the Medellin-Miami route. Avianca is strengthening its cargo network and will replace its Boeing 767-300 model, leaving the fleet this month. Photo courtesy Avianca
Flydubai 44th Boeing 737-800
Flydubai took delivery of its 44th Boeing 737-800 of an order for 50 placed at the Farnborough Air Show in 2008. The remaining 737s from the order will arrive at the airline this year. The average age of the flydubai fleet is 3.1 years. Flydubai also has on order 75 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 11 more Boeing 737-800s, placed at the Dubai Airshow 2013. Photo courtesy Flydubai
Rescuers lift the wreckage of the TransAsia ATR 72-600
Rescuers lift the wreckage of the TransAsia ATR 72-600 out of the Keelung River at New Taipei City on Feb. 4, 2015. At least 23 people were killed when a passenger plane operated by TransAsia Airways clipped an overpass soon after take-off and plunged into a river in Taiwan, the airline's second crash in seven months. ATW Photo: Ashley Pon/Getty Images
TransAsia aircraft crashes after takeoff in Taipei; several dead
Rescue crew pulls out a passenger from a TransAsia Airways ATR 72-600 turboprop airplane that crashed into the Keelung River shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport on Feb. 4. ATW
By Ashley Pon/Getty Images
Air Astana economy sleeper class onboard a Boeing 757
Kazakhstan-based Air Astana has introduced an economy sleeper class on Boeing 757 services from Astana to London and Frankfurt from Feb. 3; Paris will be added March 29. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Air Astana
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Chorus Aviation orders 13 Bombardier Q400s
Chorus Aviation, parent of Jazz Aviation, has finalized its amended capacity purchase agreement (CPA) with Air Canada and placed an order for 13 firm Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft valued at $424 million plus 10 options. ATW
Courtesy, Bombardier
Inmarsat launches second Global Express satellite
Xpress (GX) satellite—Inmarsat-5 F2—on Feb. 1. It is expected to provide broadband GX services covering the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean. ATW
Courtesy, Inmarsat
China’s Okay Airways takes delivery of first 737-900ER
Tianjin-based Okay Airways has taken delivery of its first of eight Boeing 737-900ERs. The delivery marks the first 737-900ER to be delivered to a Chinese customer. ATW Photo: Courtesy, Boeing
Linda Blachly is Senior Associate Editor for Air Transport World and Aviation Week. She joined the company in July 2010 and is responsible for producing features for Air Transport World’s monthly magazine and engaging content for the aviationweek.com. She is based in the Washington DC office.
