Norwegian Air Shuttle said Thursday it signed a letter of intent with Icelandair to acquire three Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787-8s that Icelandair currently has on order. Two of the aircraft are expected to be delivered during the first half of 2013 and the third in early 2015. Norwegian is also slated to receive two 787-8s on lease from ILFC in late 2012/early 2013 ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 9, 2010).
BAE Systems on Thursday agreed to sell its commercial aircraft lease portfolio and asset management business to investment affiliates of certain funds managed by Fortress Investment Group.
Boeing and 787 launch customer All Nippon Airways said Thursday they will conduct service readiness trials in Japan in July ahead of first delivery in August or September.
Boeing and 787 launch customer All Nippon Airways said Thursday they will conduct service readiness trials in Japan in July ahead of first delivery in August or September.
Rockwell Collins said its AHS-4000 Attitude and Reference Heading System is now certified for use onboard Bombardier CRJ1000s. It also announced its FMS-4200 Flight Management System is certified and will be standard on CRJ700/CRJ900/CRJ1000 aircraft.
Skyworld Aviation, formerly Skyways Aviation,sold one Saab 340A to Sprint Air of Poland on behalf of Avion Capital Partners of Sweden. It will join 12 Saab 340s already in the Sprint Air fleet ( ATW Daily News, Feb. 1, 2010). GECAS leased and delivered two new Airbus A320s to Aigle Azur.
Embraer delivered an E-190 to Air Astana on Monday, the first of the type the airline has received and the first of two it had been slated to take this year. The aircraft, which is leased by KC from Florida-based Jetscape, will be used to “right size routes and fill a capacity gap between its Fokker and Airbus fleets,” according to an Embraer statement. It will used to fly a mix of domestic and international city pairs from Almaty and Astana.
Aeroflot will take delivery of its first Sukhoi Superjet 100 this week and plans to put it into service June 16, according to Superjet International Deputy Senior VP-Commercial Svetlana Issaeva.
Bombardier revealed it will deliver a dual-class Q400 to an existing customer this summer and also is touting the better-than-expected performance of its first CRJ1000s in service.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. Executive VP Junichi Miyakawa conceded last week that a number of airlines are more interested in the 100-seat MRJ100X, which has not yet been launched, than the 70-seat MRJ70 and 90-seat MRJ90 models the manufacturer is currently developing and producing.
Bombardier said it has begun installing semi-automated jigs at its new wing facility in Belfast to support assembly of the advanced composite wings for the CSeries. The jigs are being installed in the second phase of a new 600,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and assembly facility. The first phase, which will accommodate the fabrication of the composite components, was completed at the end of 2010.
AirAsia X selected GE’s CF6-80E1 engines to power three firm and two option Airbus A330-200s ordered in March ( ATW Daily News, March 1). The aircraft, which is scheduled for delivery from 2012, will be operated on the carrier's expanding network, offering low-fare service to destinations in Europe, Asia and the Pacific.
GE Aviation is developing a next-generation regional jet engine to replace the CF34 that could be ready for a 2016 EIS, according to GM-Regional and Large Business Aviation Chuck Nugent.
ATR Head of Sales John Moore told ATW that EIS later this year of the ATR 72-600 should enable the turboprop manufacturer to make inroads in North America.
Boeing and Alaska Airlines are working together to develop a "Component Management Optimization Program" under which the airline has agreed to use its fleet and Seattle-based MRO organization to "develop, test and validate" RFID and "Contact Memory Button" technology that can be used to track parts information such as serial numbers, manufacturing date and maintenance history. Boeing, in partnership with Fujitsu, will provide automated identification technology devices, device readers, software applications and system integration service.
Bombardier said in its latest Commercial Aircraft Market Forecast released this week that 13,100 new aircraft in the 20-149 seat range will be needed through 2030, an increase of 300 units over its previous 20-year forecast.
Embraer Executive VP-Airline Market Paulo Cesar Silva said the Brazilian manufacturer is waiting for Boeing to make a move on a 737NG re-engining or replacement before making a decision on its next commercial aircraft development step.
Pratt & Whitney Canada is prepared to launch a next-generation turboprop engine for an aircraft in the 90-seat range next year for EIS in 2016, according to VP-Marketing Richard Dussault.
GECAS announced it will deliver a total of 20 new leased aircraft to China this year, representing an investment of $7 billion in the country. It will deliver 11 new Boeing 737s, two new 777Fs, and seven new Airbus A320s in 2011, representing a 10% increase of its leased portfolio in China, it said. Lufthansa took delivery of its seventh Airbus A380, scheduled to begin daily Frankfurt-San Francisco operations May 10. The carrier has ordered a total of 15 A380s.
Fokker Technologies confirmed Friday to ATW it signed an MOU with COMAC. The agreement was signed Thursday in Shanghai by COMAC President Jin Zhuanglong and Fokker Technologies CEO Sjoerd Vollebregt. It would not confirm any further details. According to Dutch News Service NIS New Bulletin, the partnership covers “the development and supply of components for planes.”
Air Lease Corp. signed long-term lease agreements for 29 aircraft with Asian airlines. China Eastern Airlines will lease 10 new Airbus A320-200s and five new Boeing 737-800s, for delivery in 2012 and 2013, in a transaction valued at approximately $700 million. It will also acquire from CEA three 767-300ERs, two under lease with MIAT Mongolian, for delivery in May and November 2011, and one to Orient Thai Airlines for delivery in August 2011.
Chile-based LAN Airlines confirmed to ATW it reached a deal with Boeing for the purchase of five 767s, plus options for four more, in a deal valued at $870 million. Delivery is scheduled between December 2012 and August 2013, LAN said. A Boeing spokesman told ATW, “We look forward to finalizing this order for five 767-300ERs in the very near future. This order will bring LAN's total 767 order count to 40.”
