Aircraft & Propulsion

Bangkok Airways has taken delivery of its first of nine ATR 72-600s, which will be used for growth and will replace its eight -500s.

Ryanair’s shareholders have voted to approve the low cost carrier’s plan to order 100 737 MAXs, plus 100 options, valued at around $22 billion at list prices.

Air France-KLM Group has named Benjamin Moreau chief executive of its subsidiary CRMA, which specializes in repair of engine parts and assemblies, especially CFM engines, GE90s and GP7200s, and component overhaul.

SkyWest Inc., parent of SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, has confirmed its order for seven current generation Embraer E-175s, valued at $301 million, which it will deploy on behalf of Alaska Airlines.

American Airlines Group will next year start transferring at least 50 Embraer E-145s from its wholly owned regional subsidiary Envoy Air to other regional airlines, including moving at least 15 E-145s to Trans States Airlines.

Air France is in talks to upgrade its ATR fleet to the latest -600 variant and is looking to replace its Embraer ERJ-145s and Bombardier CRJ700s around 2020.

China’s Ruili Airlines has received its first direct-purchase Boeing 737-700.

Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee’s Aviation Register (IAC AR) has granted a Supplemental Type Certificate to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. (SCAC) for its Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) to perform vertical navigation (VNAV) for all stages of flight.

Colorado-based Frontier Airlines has placed its first Airbus A321 order, inking a deal for nine of the type to join its all-Airbus fleet.

Louis Chenevert, the architect of the biggest aerospace and defense (A&D) acquisition ever and a driving force behind Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engine, has stepped down as chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. (UTC).

Avianca Holdings plans to order more than 160 narrowbody aircraft by the end of the year, chairman Germán Efromovich told ATW in Abu Dhabi.

ATR has obtained European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for approach avionics developed for its ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 aircraft.

Boeing has started final assembly of the 787-9 Dreamliner at its South Carolina facility.

Emirates Engineering has completed a 3C check, the largest maintenance check on any aircraft, on the first A380 delivered to Emirates Airline.

Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) new management team is reviewing all parts of its operation to determine if any changes to fleet and network plans are required, president and COO Jaime Bautista said.

Delta Air Lines has placed a firm order for 50 new Airbus widebody aircraft, comprising 25 A350-900s and 25 A330-900neos.

Boeing has announced Kuwait Airways intends to purchase 10 777-300ERs worth $3.3 billion at current list prices.

Despite the recent spate of large widebody aircraft orders by Japanese carriers, there are still opportunities for new contracts with these airlines, according to a senior Boeing executive.

Aircraft News-Nov. 20, 2014

Mitsubishi Aircraft sees a global market over 20 years for 5,000 aircraft in the 100-seat sector and aims to win orders for 2,500 of that total market, the company’s president and COO said Wednesday.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has affirmed FAA’s authority to impose civil fines against commercial operators of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) engaging in “careless or reckless” flying.

Utah-based SkyWest Inc., parent of regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, plans to remove from service all Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia 30-seat turboprop aircraft operated by SkyWest Airlines by mid-2015, as it aims to improve overall efficiency and long-term profitability.

Boeing has begun flight testing more than 25 new technologies aimed at improving aviation’s environmental performance through every phase of flight.

Boeing and Air Mandalay have signed a memorandum of collaboration that will see Boeing support the Myanmar-based airline’s fleet renewal efforts.

Lufthansa’s premium economy class—which was planned to launch Dec. 1—will launch Nov. 22, nine days earlier than planned.