The Airbus A380 program got a major boost after Doric Lease Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding for 20 aircraft on the first day of the Paris air ahow. Airbus has had no orders for the aircraft in 2013. Once firmed up, this order will be the largest for the A380 since Emirates Airline ordered 32 units in 2010. Doric plans to take delivery between 2016 and 2021 and will choose engines before the end of the year.
Once three CSeries test aircraft are flying and consistently meeting their performance specifications, Bombardier expects to be able to overcome the “787 tax”—that is, customer skepticism engendered by Boeing’s development delays that the Canadian manufacturer blames for airlines’ reluctance to place orders for the new narrowbody.
Bombardier is looking at upgrades to both the Q400 turboprop and CRJ regional jet as it looks to extend the sales future of both aircraft. The company expects the Q400 to continue selling in markets that value the aircraft’s larger size, higher speed and greater range compared with the cheaper ATR 72. “We are looking at larger seat variants, through configuration or minor aircraft changes to widen the gap” between the Q400 and ATR, says Chet Fuller, senior vice president, commercial for Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
Pratt & Whitney’ s (P&W's) PW1100G-JM geared turbofan for the Airbus A320NEO began flight-testing on May 15 on the engine maker’s Boeing 747SP testbed in Mirabel, Canada. “We’ll operate it for about 100 hr. to get a good baseline,” says Bob Saia, vice president for the next generation products family. Some 365 hr. of ground tests were earlier conducted at P&W’s West Palm Beach, Florida, site and the engine “performed well,” he says.
Newly disclosed Bombardier CSeries customer Odyssey Airlines could have plans to operate 110-seat CS100s from small airports beyond London City. One of a line-up of CSeries customers gathered by Bombardier yesterday to talk up the aircraft, Odyssey CEO Adam Scott cites as key to the airline’s business plan the CS100’s ability to operate from “difficult and constrained” airports in Europe and elsewhere. “We will open up new markets from these airports,” he says.
Two years after Honeywell and Safran announced plans to develop an electric-drive system, the team is preparing to demonstrate a proof-of-concept system on an Airbus A320 at this year’s Paris air show.
United Airlines plans to use at least some of its Boeing 787 aircraft as a low-season, long-haul market replacement for Boeing 777s, which in turn will be shifted to long-haul markets entering their peak season, President and CEO Jeff Smisek says. United’s 787s, so far, have been used to launch new routes. But in a presentation last week at the Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Basic Materials Conference,
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The future of China’s Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprop in commercial service in Southeast Asia appears to be in doubt, given a spate of recent mishaps involving the aircraft.
Delta Air Lines decided to increase its MD-90 fleet from 16 aircraft to its current strength of 65 because it could acquire them at 20% of the cost of a new Boeing 737-800, with engines that are just as fuel-efficient, the airline’s president Ed Bastian says. “It clearly was a no-brainer,” says Bastian, who defended the carrier’s reliance on used jets during a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Basic Materials Conference.
The first Airbus A350 is undergoing three to four days of inspections before the aircraft’s flight-test program continues. “We will be flying some time [this] week,” Airbus’s chief test pilot Peter Chandler told Aviation Week after the landing of the first flight in Toulouse June 14. Airbus indicates that the second flight is planned for June 18, if no major flaws are found.
European Union competition authorities have extended the deadline for their review of the proposed acquisition of Avio by General Electric (GE) to July 2 from June 18, after the U.S. manufacturer offered additional concessions to win regulatory approval for the deal. The European Commission (EC) confirmed the new deadline on its website, but gave no details about the remedies offered by GE to address the EC’s concerns that the acquisition will harm competition. Concessions could include the sale of assets or changes in business practices.
“This is a full-steam ahead transition, not a course correction. There is no change in direction,” says Kelly Ortberg, president of Rockwell Collins and the successor to CEO Clay Jones when he retires at the end of next month after 34 years. Jones was named president in 1999, and became CEO in 2001 after leading Rockwell through its initial public offering.
Pilatus Aircraft is venturing into a new market segment by launching the PC-24, a single-pilot, midsize twin-turbofan aircraft that will be able to operate from short, unpaved fields yet cruise at 425 kt. The Swiss manufacturer says the model creates a “Super Versatile Jet” segment; its closest conventional competitor is the Embraer Phenom 300. Similar to the Brazilian jet, the PC-24 will use aluminum alloys for the primary airframe, limiting composites to secondary structures.
India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has sought more clarity on the terms and conditions in the sale of Jet Airways stock to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. In the first transaction since the Indian government relaxed ownership rules to allow foreign operators to buy up to 49% of local airlines in 2012, Etihad in April decided to acquire a 24% stake in the Indian carrier.
U.K.-based low-cost carrier EasyJet has concluded an agreement with London Stansted Airport’s new owner, the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), to more than double its operations at Stansted.
India Jet Airways has announced a change in the airline’s leadership, with the appointment of Gary Toomey as its new CEO. The appointment follows the resignation of Nikos Kardassis, who left the airline after serving two terms as the CEO, initially between 1993 and 1999, and again from October 2009 through May 2013.
