UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators say there is no direct evidence that a fire onboard a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 was caused by the aircraft’s batteries
Airbus has put its new A350 XWB twinjet through its entire flight envelope and tested all key systems, as it prepares to fly its second test aircraft in September.
Chile-based LAN Airlines has resumed daily operations of its Boeing 787 fleet, nearly two months after it completed a test flight of the aircraft after installing battery modifications.
EADS Innovation Works and Rolls-Royce are studying a new type of propulsion system—Distributed Electrical Aerospace Propulsion (DEAP)—to cut noise and CO2 emission levels, as well as dramatically reduce fuel burn.
British Airways (BA) has landed its first Airbus A380, registered G-XLEA, at its London Heathrow home base for the first time, marking its third long-haul aircraft delivery in a week. “This is a momentous moment for British Airways. In 17 years, we haven’t taken any new long-haul aircraft. Two at a time is not exactly what we expected,” BA CEO Keith Williams said after disembarking the new aircraft.
Oman Air is considering switching some of its planned Boeing 787-8s to larger variants and expects to inaugurate a new wet-lease freighter service by the end of this year.
Airbus delivered 151 aircraft in the second quarter of 2013, consisting of 119 A320 family aircraft, 28 A330s and four A380s. Boeing made 164 commercial aircraft deliveries during the second quarter, comprised of 111 737 NGs, six 747s, eight 767s, 23 777s and 16 787s.
China’s Hainan Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The delivery is the first of 10 787s for Hainan Airlines. Hainan vice chairman Mu Weigang said the 787 would allow the carrier to open new routes from Beijing to North America. Hainan will first operate the Dreamliner on a domestic route from Beijing to Haikou before deploying it on North American routes, increasing the frequency of its Beijing-Seattle, Beijing-Toronto and Beijing-Chicago services, with several new destinations.
Air Baltic CEO Martin Gauss has told ATW he will make a final call on whether to exercise the Latvian carrier’s 10 Bombardier CSeries options and take a CSeries simulator next year.
