Aircraft & Propulsion

Singapore Airlines’ (SQ) new medium- to long-haul low-cost carrier Scoot took ownership of its first aircraft, a Boeing 777-200, Saturday.

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.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) on March 8 took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800; it plans to receive 33 -800s by the end of the year.

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.

Airbus has completed structural assembly of the first A350 XWB aft fuselage of aircraft MSN1, which will be the first to fly.

Etihad Airways (EY) and Air Berlin (AB) have announced plans to join their Boeing 787 programs, saving millions of dollars for both carriers.

Flybe (BE) signed a contract with Brussels Airlines (SN) to provide two Bombardier Q400 aircraft on a wet-lease basis for two years starting March 25.

EADS CEO Louis Gallois said the company is “devoting maximum attention to solving the A380 wing rib feet issues,” discovered earlier this year.

The FAA said the total number of aircraft in the US commercial airline fleet (including regional carriers) stood at an estimated 7,185 at the end of 2011, down 29 aircraft compared to the end of 2010.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has unveiled the design and specifications of its new flagship aircraft, the Airbus A380-800, which is set to enter the MAS fleet in July.

Thai Airways’ (TG) first Airbus A380 launched its maiden flight March 6 following completion of the airframe assembly and system tests in Toulouse, France.

Warsaw-based EuroLOT has signed a firm order to acquire eight Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, plus 12 options.

Air France KLM Group reported a net loss for its shortened nine-month 2011 financial year of €442 million ($580.5 million), reversed from a net profit €980 million in the year ago-period.

Aeroflot (SU) has taken delivery of its sixth Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) at Komsomolsk-on-the Amur (KXK). The aircraft, painted in the SkyTeam livery, flew from KXK to Moscow March 5. The carrier, which has 30 SSJ100s on order, operates five aircraft on its domestic and international routes.

Western-built aircraft with more than 100 seats make up 74% of the Russian airline fleet and 28% in the regional fleet.

LAN Airlines in late 2012 will become the first airline in Latin America to incorporate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner into its fleet.

Qantas (QF) on Wednesday launched inflight connectivity trials onboard six Airbus A380 aircraft flying to Los Angeles from Sydney and Melbourne. The OnAir connectivity service, using Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband, will initially be available to customers in the first- and business-class cabins.

Hainan Airlines (HU) may order Boeing 747-8s aircraft, citing repeated delivery delays of the 787.

The A350 XWB’s main and nose landing gear test bench is ready for service at the Airbus site in Filton, UK.

Air China has taken delivery of an Airbus A321-200 Feb. 29, as part of its re-fleeting and investment program. This aircraft is part of a mandate to finance six A321-200s under a French optimized lease structure combined with ECA loan, with Natixis as arranger of the French lease structure and ECA agent and KfW IPEX-Bank and Natixis as arrangers of the ECA debt.

Airbus is considering increasing the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of the A330-300 from 235 tonnes to 240 tonnes.

Airbus has begun labeling its current generation A320s the ceo—short for current engine option—as it markets the new, re-engined A320neo while still selling the original variant.