Airbus is unimpressed—at least officially—by Boeing’s soon-to-be launched 777X, with Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy dismissing the proposed widebody as a “very heavy paper aircraft.” Leahy, speaking at the Paris air show, argued that Boeing “will discover that a derivative will not compete with a clean-sheet design (the A350),” and that he saw no need for Airbus to react with a counterproposal to the 777-9X.
ATR seems to be gaining more support from its shareholders to launch a 90-seat turboprop. “Airbus is, together with its partners, studying the developments in the regional market,” says ATR Chairman and Airbus Executive Vice President Strategy and Marketing Kiran Rao, adding, “The most likely outcome will be a new generation of turboprops with increased size, greater comfort and significant improvement in efficiency.”
The delivery of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 to Mexican airline Interjet marks the aircraft’s entry into service in the West. And that, says Nazario Cauceglia, CEO of Superjet International, is extremely significant. “Everybody is watching its entry into service,” Cauceglia says. “This gives us a unique chance and we cannot lose it. This could open the door to the Western market.”
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While International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) is interested in Boeing’s 787-10, the lessor is signaling that no order is imminent. ILFC is “obviously following every development” with the -10 version, says CEO Henri Courpron at the Paris air show. But he notes that ILFC is already the largest customer for the 787, “and I don’t think it’s a priority for us to take more 787s.”
Just days after being unveiled as a launch customer for Boeing’s 787-10 widebody, United Airlines has placed an order for Airbus’s A350-1000. As with its Boeing deal, United has converted some current orders to the larger airframe while adding 10 more firm orders for a total of 35 aircraft, with deliveries starting 2018. The 787-10 deal totaled 20 aircraft.
Austrian Airlines plans to phase out its Fokker fleet within the next six years. CEO Jaan Albrecht says the carrier has nine Fokker 70s and 14 Fokker 100s, and plans to replace the aircraft over a three-year period beginning in 2017. At an event this week in Taipei to mark EVA Air’s formal membership in Star Alliance, Albrecht told Aviation Week the aircraft will be phased out when they come due for heavy maintenance checks. The phase-out will not hurt Austrian’s balance sheet, because the airline has already fully depreciated the fleet’s value.
Boeing and Korean Air have unveiled an agreement for five 747-8s and six 777-300ERs. The agreement is not a firm order and Korean Air and Boeing will now work to finalize the order, valued at approximately $3.6 billion at current list prices. Korean Air Executive Vice President Corporate Strategy and Planning Walter Cho says the “airplanes’ economics and reliability together with passenger experience” played a big part the airline’s decision to buy the aircraft.
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The European Union’s competition authority has approved the proposed equity investment of Delta Air Lines in U.K. operator Virgin Atlantic Airways and a transatlantic joint venture between the two carriers. The regulatory approval, which was expected, does not imposed any conditions, leaving the airlines with all their slots at London Heathrow Airport.
SkyWest Inc. which placed a firm order for 100 Embraer E-175-E2 aircraft and options for 100 more, will not be able to operate them for most U.S. mainline carriers unless Embraer substantially reduces their certificated maximum takeoff weight or pilots’ unions agree to relax restrictions in their collective bargaining agreements.
Piloting errors and inadequate drainage on Ottawa’s Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Runway 07 were major contributors to a June 16, 2010 overrun that damaged a Trans States Airlines Embraer ERJ-145LR, according to a final report on the accident by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board.
Although not a new concept, the idea of rebranding Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G geared turbofan for the Airbus A320NEO as an International Aero Engine (IAE) product is gaining momentum. The possible move was discussed at a meeting of the joint venture’s board at the Paris air show, although no decision was taken, says IAE President Jon Beatty.
Pratt & Whitney will add another 1,000 engines to its geared-turbofan backlog this week at the Paris air show—adding to its existing orderbook of more than 4,000. “That’s a certainty,” says President David Hess as the company begins looking towards a next-generation “Geared Turbofan Advanced.” PW1500G and PW1700G engines for the 365 orders and other commitments announced yesterday by Embraer at the launch of its E-Jet E2 family will make up a large part of the show total, he says.
Rolls-Royce is testing a second performance-enhancement package (EP2) for the Trent 900 turbofan powering the Airbus A380, as it continues its strategy of rolling technology from its new engines back into the fleet. The EP2 upgrade, which entered testing about a month ago and is scheduled to enter service with Singapore Airlines in mid-2014, is expected to reduce fuel burn by up to 0.8%.
General Electric is emphasizing the maturity of the advanced technology to be introduced in the GE9X engine for Boeing’s 777X, designed to provide a 10% lower fuel burn than the GE90 powering today’s 777-300ER. “We will run the high-pressure compressor five years before certification,” says Bill Fitzgerald, GE Aviation vice president and general manager of the commercial engines operation.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary hopes to finalize a deal for more than 200 Boeing 737 MAX before the end of the year, he said on the sidelines of the Paris air show. While he would not specify the size of the order, he said that “if it is not 200-plus, then it is not worth doing.” Ryanair expects talks on specifics of a potential deal to stretch out until the end of September before final negotiations are started.
Diversification into business aviation and defense will let Embraer grow without forcing the company into direct competition with Airbus and Boeing, says President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado. “The fact that defense can grow to be a solid business . . . and business aviation to be another important pillar is embedded in our decision not to try to engage in larger commercial aircraft,” he told Aviation Week in an interview after the company launched its next-generation E-Jet E2.
CIT Aerospace is “seriously looking” at placing an order for the Boeing 787-10, Jeff Knittel, President of CIT Transportation Finance, said on the sidelines of the Paris air show. He considers the aircraft to be a “natural extension of the family.” Boeing launched the aircraft with orders for 102 from five customers on Tuesday. All of these except one—GE Capital Aviation Services—have also ordered the Airbus A350. “That is a comment about that market segment,” Knittel argued. “It is growing faster than short-haul.”
