Aircraft & Propulsion

The weight range for tariffs Beijing plans to impose on US aircraft appear designed to give protection to Chinese airliner types—even if the real aim is to reply to proposed US import taxes.

Safran’s success in ground-testing a counter-rotating open rotor engine is not enough for Airbus, which sees the concept as one option among others.

Aircraft Briefs-April 4, 2018

Swedish cargo specialist West Atlantic has sold two British Aerospace Advanced Turboprop (ATP) freighters to Kenyan company EnComm.

Lufthansa Cargo will market the cargo capacities of Lufthansa Group subsidiary Brussels Airlines from Sept. 1, joining Lufthansa (mainline), Austrian Airlines, Eurowings and Sun Express.

Jet Airways has ordered 75 Boeing 737 MAXs as the Indian carrier looks to the new aircraft to power its future growth.

Boeing could fall victim to the escalating trade dispute between the US and China after Beijing announced a potential 25% tariff on US-made aircraft that would affect the 737NG narrowbody.

NASA has selected Lockheed Martin to build an X-plane to demonstrate that sonic boom noise can be reduced to a level low enough to lift bans on commercial supersonic flight over US land.

Air Lease Corp. (ALC) has finalized an order for eight more Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, valued at $936.8 million at list prices.

Kenya Airways LCC subsidiary Jambojet plans to add a sixth Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 to its fleet, which should quickly rise to 10 of the type as it takes over more regional routes from the mainline carrier.

Aircraft Briefs-April 2, 2018

Kazakhstan-based SCAT Airlines took delivery of the first of six Boeing 737-8s it has on order, becoming the first airline in Central Asia to receive a MAX family aircraft.

Industrial giant Siemens is aiming for a leading position as a supplier of electric propulsion systems to aircraft OEMs.

Portuguese wet lease operator Hi Fly will add the first of 10 Airbus A330-900neos to its fleet in June 2019.

Indonesia’s Lion Group and engine maker CFM International have finalized an order for 380 LEAP-1A engines to power the Asian group’s Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft.

Airbus’ prototype A321neo long-range (A321LR) flew 4,109 nautical miles from Seychelles to Toulouse on March 30, its longest-distance flight in the certification program.

After delays, Erickson’s S-64 composite blade retrofit flight-test program is picking up pace and getting closer to certification.

Boeing expects to see few changes on its 787 production lines as it increases the rate from 12 to 14 aircraft per month next year, but continues to tweak processes as part of a general effort to increase efficiency.

London Heathrow Airport air traffic controllers have begun using an enhanced time-based separation (TBS) system to reduce wake separation between landing airliners.

Finnair is speeding up the arrival of two of its remaining Airbus A350s to support its continued growth push toward Asia.

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines has signed an MOU to acquire 20 Airbus A320neos and 10 A321neos, plus 12 options.

Advanced low-emissions combustion-system testing in Canada will be key to Rolls-Royce’s adoption of lean-burning technology in its next-generation commercial engines.

Fiji Airways plans to begin replacing its Boeing 737s with newer versions later this year, and is also evaluating widebody replacements.

LOT Polish Airline’s first Boeing 787-9 will be used both to service the carrier’s flagship transatlantic routes and to open new sectors, the airline’s CEO Rafał Milczarski said as the first 787-9 arrived in Warsaw March 23.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Doha-based Qatar Airways both introduced Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) over the March 24-25 weekend.