Small jet manufacturers are planning to invest heavily in their platforms and increase the size of current aircraft models, according to a panel discussion at the ISTAT Americas 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla.
Bombardier Aerospace rolled out the first CSeries flight test vehicle (FTV1) Thursday at its Montreal Mirabel facility and announced an extended variant of the CS300 that can carry up to 160 passengers.
As ceremonies go, despite being led by a man with a very French name and accent, Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier’s July 2 announcement that his company will build a final assembly factory in Alabama could not have been more American. The red, white and blue was everywhere; balloons and confetti rained down reminiscent of a US political rally, and even the company name was given the Stars and Stripes treatment, to emphasize the “US” in Airbus.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a final commitment of $1.1 billion to finance the export of a fleet of Boeing 737-900ERs.
International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) has entered into an agreement with American Airlines to buy and leaseback an additional 15 new Boeing 737-800s and one new 777-300ER. ILFC last year finished delivering 15 737-800s to American as part of a previous sale and leaseback agreement. The 737-800s included in the new deal are scheduled for delivery between May 2013 and December 2014. The 777 will be delivered later this month, ILFC said.
Turkish Airlines has confirmed to ATW that it remains in continuing negotiations with both Boeing and Airbus regarding a potential order for narrowbody aircraft.
Korean Air has taken delivery of the first Boeing 777 built at the manufacturer’s increased production rate of 8.3 per month, or 100 aircraft per year. JetBlue Airways has signed a letter of intent with Airbus to acquire 110 ship-sets of retrofit Sharklets for the airline's in-service A320 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2014.
Belgian leisure carrier Jetairfly has taken delivery of the first of two new Embraer E-190s, which it has secured on lease from Singapore-based BOC Aviation.
Air China has agreed to buy 31 Boeing aircraft, including 20 737-800s, according to a Friday filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange made by the airline.
FAA administrator Michael Huerta said Boeing’s proposed 787 battery fix is being “carefully analyzed” but gave no guidance on how long it will take to review the proposal.
Ireland-based aircraft lessor Avolon said an analysis it conducted on the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737NG and their successors, the A320neo and 737 MAX, concluded that the current versions won’t be quickly displaced when the new versions enter service in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
United Airlines has removed the Boeing 787 from its flight schedule through June 5, though it is still hopeful it can launch Denver-Tokyo Narita 787 service in May.
