Aircraft & Propulsion

American Eagle pilots have filed a formal objection to the capacity purchase agreement between American Airlines and Republic Airways.

Airbus is still comfortable about using lithium ion batteries on its A350 aircraft, which is under development, but has the option to return to conventional batteries.

Boeing has warned Norwegian Air Shuttle of possible delays in delivery of its first 787 due to problems with lithium-ion batteries and FAA grounding of the aircraft.

US FAA has given Boeing permission to operate 787 test flights to help determine why batteries failed and overheated on two in-service Dreamliners.

Villa Air, which operates as FlyMe, has taken delivery of one ATR 72-600 turboprop, on lease from GECAS. Villa Air operates two ATR 42-500s; it will use the new aircraft to expand services in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Copa Holdings has closed sale-leaseback transactions for four new Boeing 737-800 aircraft with SMBC Aviation Capital. The aircraft deliveries, which are part of Copa Airlines’ current order with Boeing, are scheduled for delivery in 2014.

Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) plans to validate the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) certificate in India this year.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has awarded the certification for the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofan.

US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman Deborah Hersman said assumptions made by Boeing and FAA to justify certifying 787 batteries “must be reconsidered.”

ST Aerospace has acquired a 35% stake in EADS EFW and plans to begin an Airbus A330 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) engineering development phase this month.

AirAsia X has introduced a “quiet zone” for ages 12 and up in the first seven economy class rows on Airbus A330-300 long-haul flights.

Russia’s Yakutia Airlines has taken delivery of its first Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

Russian aviation authorities have given Aeroflot permission to operate its Boeing 777-300ER.

Embraer estimates it will deliver between 90 and 95 commercial jets in 2013, a slight decrease from 106 aircraft delivered in 2012.

The All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787 lithium ion battery that failed Jan. 16 exhibits signs of “thermal runaway,” according to Japanese investigators.

Air Lease Corp. (ALC) has ordered 25 Airbus A350 XWBs plus five options.

Yakutia Airlines has taken delivery of its second Sukhoi Superjet 100. It will be used on routes from Yakutsk to Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok and other cities in Russia’s Far East and Siberia. It will also be used on routes to Harbin, Niigata and Seoul.

Airbus is adding more cabin options to the A321neo, which will add more seats and boost revenue potential, the company said.

The worldwide grounding of the Boeing 787, initiated Jan. 16, shows no sign of being lifted.

Turkish Airlines has ordered five additional Airbus A330-300s, which it said are needed to meet capacity demand for global growth.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has selected Airbus ProSky to undertake a study of airspace.

Pratt & Whitney began construction on an 180,000 sq. ft. production facility at the Singapore Seletar Aerospace Park.

Myanmar’s domestic carrier Air KBZ has taken delivery of the first of two ATR 72-600s.

Aeroflot must postpone Boeing 777-300ER operations as it has not yet received type certification from the Interstate Aviation Committee.

On the eve of joining oneworld, Malaysia Airlines has rolled out its first aircraft in the livery of the global alliance.

Boeing reaffirmed its confidence in the grounded 787 and said “good progress” is being made in finding the cause of recent battery failures.