Boeing yesterday launched the Boeing 787-10 at the Paris air show. The manufacturer is going ahead with the development of the aircraft on the back of firm commitments for 102 from five different customers. The first 787-10 is to be delivered in 2018. Among the customers launching the program are Air Lease Corp. (ALC) and Singapore Airlines (SIA), with commitments for 30 aircraft each, United Airlines, with 20 commitments, British Airways (BA), with 12, and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), with 10.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that the Obama administration and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) contend could have a chilling effect on airlines’ reporting of suspicious activity that may threaten the safety of a flight.
Air New Zealand has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320 fitted with wing-tip devices known as Sharklets, as it moves forward with its plan to renew its domestic narrowbody fleet. The carrier has nine more Sharklet-equipped A320s on order, which are scheduled to be delivered through September 2015. They will replace Air New Zealand’s Boeing 737-300 fleet, which is currently used on domestic routes.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) says its low-cost carrier, Peach, is faring better than its other low-cost operation, AirAsia Japan, because Peach understands the Japanese market better than Malaysia’s AirAsia. “We can only assume it’s because Peach did a lot of studies into the Japanese market through market surveys. Peach offers a good service, and management at Peach understands the Japanese market,” ANA President and CEO Osamu Shinobe told Aviation Week on the sidelines of an event in Taipei to mark EVA Air’s entry into Star Alliance.
South African Airways (SAA) will soon order widebody aircraft to expand its long-haul international network. “We have a fleet-planning program going on right now. We’ve not placed orders yet . . . but I don’t think it will drag out for a long period of time,” SAA’s Executive Vice President-North America and Alliances Marc Cavaliere tells Aviation Week on the sidelines of a Star Alliance event in Taipei to mark EVA Air’s formal entry into the alliance. SAA’s long-haul fleet comprises 18 Airbus A340s, mostly the -300 and -600 models.
EasyJet has entered a preliminary agreement with Airbus to acquire up to 200 A320NEOs and 35 A320CEOs. The deal is still subject to shareholder approval and is likely to hit some opposition from founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has opposed further expansion of the airline. The agreement is a major blow for Bombardier, which had been pitching a 160-seat version of its CS300 against Boeing and Airbus narrowbodies.
With 5,000 hr. and 13,000 cycles on PW1000G test engines, 10% them in flight, Pratt & Whitney (P&W) is dismissing claims by rival CFM that its engine can beat the geared turbofan (GTF) on fuel burn and maintenance costs. Pointing out that CFM’s Leap-1A engine for the Airbus A320NEO will not run until the fall, P&W President David Hess says “our NEO engine is flying and, in the most recent configuration, the fuel-burn numbers are half a percent better than predictions.”
ITT Exelis has been awarded a contract to provide a crucial link in the Aireon space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) network that is being developed to allow surveillance coverage of remote airspace.
Etihad Airways is considering an equity stake in Serbian carrier JatAirways that would add to the Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s already extensive portfolio of investments in Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia and, potentially, Jet Airways. The deal, which is subject to due diligence, was unveiled at a ceremony marking a code-share between the two airlines and the June 15 launch of Etihad’s service to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.
SkyWest Inc.’s order for 100 next-generation Embraer 175-E2s, which comes on top of its May deal for 100 current-generation E-175s, does not impact the airline’s existing order for 100 Mitsubishi MRJ90s, finalized in December. “We want to keep two manufacturers in the market,” says Chairman and CEO Jerry Atkins, speaking at the formal launch of the new E-Jet family at the Paris air show. “Competition helps keep prices down and gives our airline partners a choice.”
Qatar Airways is interested in becoming a launch customer for the Boeing 777-9X. Qatar’s CEO Akbar al Baker on the sidelines of the Paris air show said that he would sign a deal “if we can iron out all the requirements” and define performance specifications. Al Baker did not say how many aircraft he would like to order. The airline is only interested in the -9X and not the -8X, “because the [Airbus] A350-1000 will do most of the missions the -8X does,” he says.
AirAsia India has appointed S Ramadorai, a former chief executive officer of Tata Consultancy Services, as its chairman. The appointment came one day after Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata was named chief adviser and a month after Mittu Chandilya, a Singapore-based management consultant, as the appointed CEO
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.
