Aircraft & Propulsion

FAA has approved Boeing’s certification plan for a redesigned 787 battery system, a first step toward getting the Dreamliner back into the air.

Boeing’s proposed fix for the 787 is a permanent solution that will ensure the aircraft’s safe and reliable operation, Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP-marketing Randy Tinseth said Monday.

Lufthansa will unveil a new premium-economy class in 2014, board member Jens Bischof told journalists at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold both a public “forum” and “investigative hearing” next month to explore issues surrounding the Boeing 787’s lithium ion batteries.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided a detailed description of the Jan. 7 Boeing 787 fire in Boston, but offered no conclusion regarding the incident’s root cause.

UK-based aircraft components-to-energy conglomerate Meggitt has confirmed that the Boeing 787’s battery charger has passed a series of tests by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner said the 787 could be flying again “very fast” if FAA approves Boeing’s proposed fix for the grounded aircraft.

The share of United Aircraft Corp.’s (UAC) revenue generated from civil aircraft sales grew from 3.6% in 2011 to 10.5% in 2012. UAC’s civil aircraft revenue rose 10% to $5.87 billion in 2012, UAC said in a statement. Sales of played a big part in the rise. By 2015, UAC plans to increase civil aircraft revenue’s share to 20% of its total.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) has purchased up to 268 additional sets of Blended Winglets for its Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 NextGen aircraft from Aviation Partners Boeing (APB), its largest single order.

Airbus has delivered the first wing for the A350 XWB to the final assembly line in Toulouse, France, from its Broughton, UK, site.

Rockwell Collins, which announced a retrofit update to the Boeing 757/767 flight deck at the Farnborough Airshow in July, has revealed that it is planning to add synthetic vision capability by around 2016.

China Southern Airlines (CZ) will equip 40 Boeing 737-700 and -800 aircraft with blended winglets, with retrofit performed by Aviation Partners Boeing (APB).

Rolls-Royce confirmed that a component on Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787s “is being replaced in a number of engines,” affecting some All Nippon Airways (ANA) Dreamliners in service.

Rockwell Collins’ (RC) dispatch program has been selected by Air India (AI), Hainan Airlines (HU) and China Southern Airlines (CZ) to service and support their Boeing 787 fleets.

Silver Airways took delivery of its seventh Saab 340Bplus aircraft, part of a fleet upgrade under which it intends to integrate 12 of the aircraft type by September 2012. The aircraft will begin operating schedule passenger service in July on routes throughout Florida and the Bahamas.

Skyworld Aviation has been appointed to sell or lease an Embraer E-190-100LR currently operated by Air Caraibes.

Recaro Aircraft Seating reported a FY2011 sales revenue of €304.3 million, up 6% from €288 million year-over-year. During the period the company said it set a new record of number of units delivered and produced more than 85,500 seats at its three production sites, up over the 70,000 produced in FY2010.

Jet Midwest Group announced it has acquired 17 complete Boeing 767 aircraft from Air Canada. Boeing delivered the first new 737-800 NextGen to Air Lease Corp. (ALC) to be operated by Korean Air (KE) from an order placed during the 2010 Farnborough Airshow. The Los Angeles-based leasing company took delivery of a Next-Generation 737-800, which will be leased from ALC and operated by KE.

Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) has received FAA approval to install its blended winglets on the Boeing 767 converted freighter (767BCF).

TAP Portugal selected OnAir to provide its inflight Wi-Fi service onboard its Airbus A330 aircraft, targeting a launch date of early 2012. TAP will also deploy OnAir services on its planned fleet of A350s. Pitch Aircraft Seating has introduced its new lightweight economy seat, developed in co-operation with Intier Automotive, the PF2000. The seat is designed for the high-density, single-aisle retrofit market and weighs less than 25 kg. for a triple unit.

ICBC signing ceremony Rockwell Collins announced orders for its avionics from ICBC Leasing and BOC Aviation Tuesday at the Singapore Airshow.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has placed an order with Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) for blended winglets for its Boeing 767-300ERs—a fleet it has already begun to retire. The order includes three firm and seven options. Installation will take place at the ET Addis Ababa maintenance facility and begin with three aircraft in February.

BOC Aviation entered into a sale and leaseback transaction for four new Embraer 195s, the lessor's first such transaction involving Embraer aircraft. The aircraft are on long-term lease to Brazil's Azul. Two have been delivered and two are scheduled for delivery by the 2012 second quarter.

Boeing on Thursday opened its new Interiors Fabrication facility in North Charleston, S.C. The Interiors Responsibility Center South Carolina team will manufacture 787 interior parts including stowbins, closets, partitions, class dividers, floor-mounted stowbins used by flight attendants, overhead rests for flight-crews and flight attendants, video control stations and attendant modules for Boeing South Carolina.

International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) entered into a sale-leaseback arrangement with American Airlines (AA) to finance 15 previously ordered Boeing 737-800NextGen aircraft. Two aircraft have been delivered; the rest are scheduled for delivery in 2012.