[CORRECTED] Southwest Airlines (SWA) aims to attract more business passengers going forward, as an “integral part of its business strategy” through its route map and by investing in cabin comfort.
Aeromexico—which has leased three 787-8s from International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) and ordered two from Boeing—has agreed to lease an additional two new 787-8s from ILFC as part of its previously announced international expansion plan to add 20 new aircraft.
TAP Portugal selected OnAir to provide its inflight Wi-Fi service onboard its Airbus A330 aircraft, targeting a launch date of early 2012. TAP will also deploy OnAir services on its planned fleet of A350s. Pitch Aircraft Seating has introduced its new lightweight economy seat, developed in co-operation with Intier Automotive, the PF2000. The seat is designed for the high-density, single-aisle retrofit market and weighs less than 25 kg. for a triple unit.
British Airways (BA) has committed to another Embraer E-190, increasing the number of E-Jets it has on order to 14, comprising six E-170s and eight E-190s.
Japan Airlines (JAL) took delivery Monday of its first two Boeing 787-8s, the second airline to add the Dreamliner to its fleet and the first to take GE GEnx-powered aircraft.
EVA Airways (BR) will begin serving two more gateways with its Hello Kitty jets May 23. The airline will use two of its new cartoon character-themed Airbus 330-300s on its Taipei Songshan-Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Songshan-Shanghai Hongqiao routes. The flights (BR192/BR191 and BR 190/191) will be 2X daily. BR is also working to give two A330-200s Hello Kitty jet makeovers.
Embraer will establish the Embraer Engineering and Technology Center USA as part of its growing aeronautical cluster in Melbourne, Fla. It will be a subsidiary of Embraer Aircraft Holdings Inc., Embraer SA’s wholly owned subsidiary in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and will mean about 200 new jobs in Melbourne over the next five years. Bulgaria Air took delivery of four Embraer E-190s March 21. The remaining three aircraft will be delivered by year end.
Boeing will handicap itself on potential sales of the 737 MAX if it sticks with a sole-source engine on the aircraft, Steven Udvar-Hazy, Air Lease Corp. chairman and CEO said Tuesday.
Indian civil aviation minister Ajit Singh ended months of speculation about whether struggling state-owned Air India (AI) may cancel a portion of the 27 Boeing 787s it has on order, telling reporters Tuesday that all of the aircraft will be taken by the airline.
Kigali-based RwandAir has signed a firm order for two Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen aircraft, plus two options, making it the first CRJ900 operator in eastern Africa.
Russian carriers are turning to Western-built regional aircraft as they replace Soviet-built fleets. Russian regional carrier Saravia Airlines (6W) will lease three Bombardier Q400s, the company said in a statement.
Frontier Airlines will launch 3X-weekly Orlando-Bloomington, Ill. service May 25. It will also increase seasonal 2X-weekly Orlando-Madison, Wis. service from seasonal to year-round May 27, swapping the Embraer E-190 with an Airbus A319. REDjet will launch Barbados-St. Maarten service May 19. Silver Airways will launch Gainesville, Fla. service to Orlando (daily) and Tampa, Fla. (12X-weekly) April 15.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines plans to replace 3,520 seats in its narrowbody fleet with new lightweight, slim economy-class seats, beginning with its Boeing 737-800 fleet in May.
SunExpress (XQ), the Antalya-based joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, will lease its fleet of 28 Boeing 737-800s to make better use of over-capacity during the low-demand European winter season, it said in an statement.
