Aircraft & Propulsion

Airbus looks set to block any rescue deal by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and investment banks to bail out bankrupt Japanese low-cost carrier (LCC) Skymark Airlines.

Delta Air Lines and Alitalia remain committed to their transatlantic joint venture and do not expect to see changes in the relationship despite the apparent split between the Italian carrier and its SkyTeam partner Air France.

Vietnam Airlines confirmed the first of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners

The head of Airbus sales is seeking to jump the production rate of the A320 to over 60 per month.

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) Airbus A330-300, en route from Singapore to Shanghai, lost power in both its Rolls-Royce engines and descended 13,000 feet before the aircrew managed to regain powered flight.

Airbus seems confident of a launch customer for a short-haul, regional A330 variant in the next few weeks, but is still not committed to building a re-engined A380.

Delta Air Lines has received its first Airbus 242-tonne maximum take-off weight (MTOW) variant of the A330-300.

Nonetheless, Brégier points out that he has “no reason to believe it will be a poor air show” for Airbus in terms of orders.

Ever careful with its stewardship of the cash-generating 777 program, Boeing is planning a series of upgrades to ensure the aircraft remains competitive in the long-range market well after the 777X derivative enters service.

From the June 2015 issue of ATW

Lufthansa Group’s passenger airlines operated more efficiently in 2014, using an average of 3.84 liters of kerosene in 2014, to carry a passenger 100 km, a 1.6% improvement over the previous year (2013: 3.91 l/100pkm).

Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MLIT) is urging all Korean aircraft operators to replace or mothball all aircraft that are more than two decades old.

Airbus has launched a long-term partnership programme designed to help airlines reduce their environmental footprint.

Azul Brazilian Airlines has finalized an order with Embraer for 30 firm orders for the E-195 E2 jet, previously announced at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow where Azul was announced as the launch customer for the type.

FAA has lifted expansion restrictions on Allegiant Air after the Las Vegas-based carrier won a victory in federal court against its pilots union.

Central European budget carrier Wizz Air plans to locate its 22nd base in Debrecen, Hungary, opening with a single Airbus A320 and three new routes on Dec. 16.

GE Aviation and Woodward Inc. have formed a 50/50 joint venture (JV) to design, develop, source, supply and service fuel systems for GE90, GEnx, GE9X and future GE large commercial engines.

Mexican low-cost carrier (LCC) Volaris has received its first two Airbus A321 aircraft, which will be its first A321s to operate in Mexico.

Airline News-May 21, 2015

Ruili Airlines has ordered 60 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in conjunction with AVIC International Leasing Co. and Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., as part of its domestic expansion plans.

Airbus has begun final assembly of the first A350-900 for Singapore Airlines at its facilities in Toulouse, France.

The CFM International (CFMI) LEAP-1A-powered Airbus A320neo achieved first flight in France.

China’s HNA Group subsidiary China’s Tianjin Airlines has signed a final agreement with Embraer for 22 aircraft, comprising 20 E-195s and two E-190 E2s.

Guernsey-based lessor DP Aircraft I has confirmed plans to acquire a pair of Boeing 787-8s that are currently owned by AerCap and leased to Thai Airways.

African low-cost carrier Fastjet will to add “a number” of aircraft to its fleet this year, starting with an initial Airbus A319 on lease from ICBC International Leasing Co.