Aircraft & Propulsion

Thai Airways (TG) is in talks to acquire up to 12 leased and purchased Airbus A350-900 XWBs for delivery between April 2016 and November 2017.

Azerbaijan Airlines (J2) has placed a firm order for four Embraer E-190s, valued at $181 million, and has purchased two used Embraer E-170s from ECC Leasing.

Tianjin-based Okay Airways (BK) has inked an agreement with the Aviation Corp. of China’s (AVIC) subsidiary Xi’an Aircraft International Corp. for three MA60s.

ST Aerospace has broken ground on a new $11 million, 3,600 sq. m. narrowbody aircraft hangar at its Singapore Changi facility.

Qatar Airways (QR) has taken delivery of its first of 30 Boeing 787s. The aircraft, the first to be delivered to an airline in the Middle East, will be used on its Dubai, London Heathrow, Delhi and Zurich routes.

Mexico’s Interjet (4O) has signed a purchase agreement for 40 Airbus A320neo aircraft.

The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) has won 50 orders for the 150-seat C919 at the Zhuhai Air Show.

Boeing has rolled out the first 787 Dreamliner built at the new production rate of five-airplanes-per-month.

Gulf Air (GF) has renegotiated its 2008 orders covering 20 Airbus A330s and 24 Boeing 787s, agreeing instead to take up to 24 A320s and a maximum of 16 787s.

Libya-based Afriqiyah Airways (8U) has placed a follow-on order for four Airbus A350 XWBs and converted its earlier order for six A350-800s to the larger A350-900.

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) will take the delivery of its first Boeing 787 in April 2013.

Several Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft delivered to Aeroflot (SU) in 2011 and 2012 could be turned into business jets and sold to other customers, according to Russia’s Prime news agency, which quoted Sukhoi Civil Aviation Co.’s (SCAC) SVP Igor Syrtsov.

Condor (DE) took delivery of its 12 Boeing 767-300ER. The aircraft, configured with 268 seats, will be used to expand its long haul business for example to South Africa and the Far East. DE has added three 767-300ERs to its fleet within 14 months. Alaska Airlines has introduced its first Boeing 737-900ER, to be used on its Seattle, Wash.-San Diego, Calif. service. It is scheduled to take delivery of 38 of the aircraft through 2017.

Bombardier has postponed entry into service (EIS) of the CSeries, its foray into the narrowbody aircraft sector, from late 2013 to around the end of June 2014.

Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways (GE) has placed a follow-on order for six Airbus A321neos, which will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines.

Fastjet, the African low-cost carrier backed by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has unveiled its new brand and will begin selling tickets next week.

Russia’s UTair Aviation (UT) and VEB-Leasing have signed a financing deal for the delivery of 20 Airbus A321s the carrier ordered at the Farnborough Airshow.

Grupo Aeromexico (AM) has finalized a purchase agreement for up to 90 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody aircraft.

United Airlines (UA) made its Boeing 787 inaugural flight from Houston-Chicago Sunday after receiving US FAA certification Friday.

Kuwaiti lessor ALAFCO has finalized an order for 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, the first sale of the type into the Middle East.

Air New Zealand (ANZ) has taken delivery of its first of seven ATR 72-600 aircraft, part of a deal that included five options, worth more than $270 million.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has agreed to lease three Boeing 787-8 aircraft from the International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC).

Aeroflot (SU) has taken delivery of an Airbus A330-300, its 100 th Airbus aircraft. The aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines and will be used on numerous routes on SU’s medium- and long-haul network. Indonesian Sky Aviation’s first Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft has arrived at Ulyanovsk for painting and cabin outfitting at the facilities of Aviastar-SP. The Indonesian airline has ordered 12 SSJ100s.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways (EY) has signed a firm order for two additional Airbus A330-200 passenger aircraft as part of the carrier’s continued growth plans.

Russian lessor Aviation Capital Services has announced a commitment for 35 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, becoming the first Russian company to sign up for the MAX.