Aircraft & Propulsion

Autonomous air taxi developer Volocopter will conduct its next set of urban flight tests in Singapore, in the second half of 2019.

Two surveys indicate how much has changed in passenger expectations for onboard Wi-Fi and receiving information digitally from airlines.

Pratt & Whitney’s Singapore facility will achieve maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities for the GTF engines by the end of 2018.

Malaysia Airlines Bhd. (MAB) is preparing to present its aircraft acquisition plan to its board, which could lead to a major widebody order being placed in 2019, airline CEO Izham Ismail said.

Korean Air is in the process of deciding whether to place more orders for widebody aircraft, according to the airline’s president Walter Cho.

Iridium Communications is targeting Dec. 30 for the eighth and final Iridium Next launch, which would complete the new constellation of satellites supporting space-based tracking of aircraft and flight deck broadband connectivity.

Boeing continues its cautious talk on whether it will launch a new mid-market aircraft (NMA), reiterating that it must still establish a business case.

On-demand electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air-taxi service Lilium is expecting to launch “much sooner” than its 2025 estimate and is scouting out possible downtown locations to start the service.

U.S. stance puts China’s ability to soak up the technology of commercial aircraft onboard systems in doubt.

Detail design of the MA700 is complete, and work has begun on most of the structure at Avic’s civil-aircraft factories.

Scottish regional carrier Loganair plans to increase the use of jets in coming years, as existing turboprop aircraft are retired.

Boeing has pushed back an announcement over pursuing the New Midsize Aircraft (NMA) until sometime in 2019, but increasingly, financial analysts are seeing the new aircraft as a fait accompli.

TAP Express CEO Valter Fernandes used the podium at MRO Europe in Amsterdam to call for action on long aviation lead times, saying the industry has lost its edge because innovation is too slow and expensive.

New Chinese regional carrier Genghis Khan Airlines has formally signed a contract with the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) for ARJ21 regional jets, confirming plans to begin flying early next year.

China’s Juneyao Airlines has taken delivery of the first of five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Aircraft Briefs-Oct. 15, 2018

Russia’s S7 Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX on lease from Air Lease Corp., becoming the first Russian airline to fly the type.

Kuwait Airways placed a preliminary order for eight Airbus A330-800s in a much needed deal for the struggling widebody program.

While engine delivery issues have been gradually easing up, the company has faced customization challenges that explain the lack of progress overall on the highest-capacity members of the A320neo family.

Lufthansa Group is making another shift to its regional airline portfolio by transferring its Airbus A319s from Lufthansa mainline to Lufthansa CityLine, starting in 2019.

New Canadian ultra-LCC Jetlines said delivery of its first two aircraft is on schedule for “early” second quarter 2019 following the second set of advance lease payments to Dublin-based lessor AerCap.

Boeing’s output continued to rebound from the summer as 86 commercial aircraft were delivered in September to 31 airlines and eight lessors—up from 60 deliveries in August and 40 in July—achieving an output pace of 2.9 aircraft per day.

GE’s oldest widebody engine family enjoys a comeback amid buoyant cargo market and reengining study.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft deliveries for 2018 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent delivery date.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft gross orders for 2018 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent date of order placement with manufacturer.