Today, 3-D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) is rapidly passing from the “gee-whiz” stage to an accepted, if still novel, aspect of the aerospace industry.
The larger version of Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft, the CS300, reached an altitude of 41,000 ft. (12,500 m.) and a speed of 255 knots (470 km/h) during its first flight.
In a sign of the increasing maturity of Bombardier’s CSeries airliner, the first test aircraft for the stretched, 135-seat CS300 variant flew for about five hours on its maiden flight from Mirabel, near Montreal, Feb. 27.
The unmanned aerial systems (UAS) revolution is having an effect on what’s flying and what it can do for people almost as dramatic as that of the introduction of powered manned flight.
Airbus Group delivered a record 629 civil aircraft in 2014 and announced plans to increase the A320 production rate from 42 to 50 aircraft per month starting in 2017.
UK-based regional carrier Flybe has leased four ATR 72-600 turboprops from Singapore lessor Avation to undertake “white label” services on behalf of Scandinavian Airlines.
American Airlines has selected Phoenix-based regional Mesa Airlines—which operates as American Eagle and US Airways Express— to operate seven new Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen aircraft for a 10-year term under the American Eagle brand.
Commercial aircraft engine manufacturer CFM International posted 4,244 orders in 2014, a 55.9% year-over (YOY) increase from 2,723 engine orders in 2013.
US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) president and CEO Marion Blakey has been appointed president and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America starting in May.
SunExpress, a joint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, will add five Boeing 737-800s to its fleet this year, from an order for 25 of the type and up to 25 737 MAX 8s placed in February 2014. Deliveries are scheduled through 2021.
Trans States Holdings, parent of US regionals Trans States Airlines, Compass Airlines and GoJet Airlines, remains “comfortable” with its order for 50 Mitsubishi Regional Jets and expects to begin taking delivery of the aircraft in 2017.
Construction on the Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Mobile, Alabama is moving forward and is on track to deliver its first A321 aircraft to JetBlue Airways in “late spring-early summer 2016,” an Airbus spokesperson at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport told ATW.
Las Vegas, Nevada-based Allegiant Travel Co., parent of “ultra” low-cost carrier Allegiant Air, has agreed to purchase six additional Airbus A319 aircraft, as part of a plan to increase its A320 family fleet from 14 to 44 by the end of 2018.
Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines, which is in the final stages of replacing its aging Fokker 70/100 fleet, is considering transferring 16 Embraer E-195s from Lufthansa CityLine to Austrian Airlines.
