Pratt & Whitney continues aggressively to push the PW1000G geared turbofan as a solution for re-engining the A320 and/or 737, but President David Hess acknowledged that talks with International Aero Engines partner Rolls-Royce about developing a variant of the GTF as a successor to the V2500 have been "tough" with no agreement in sight.
Jackson Square Aviation is the name of a new lessor launched by a management team previously with Pegasus Aviation and Sky Holding. Parent JSA International Holdings has received a $500 million equity commitment from Oaktree Capital Management. JSA President and CEO Richard Wiley said the firm is "well positioned" to finance more than $2 billion worth of Airbus and Boeing aircraft annually, with an emphasis on sale/leaseback arrangements. San Francisco-based JSA already has deals in place with Avianca and Air Berlin
Bombardier signed an MOU with CDB Leasing of China, a unit of China Development Bank, allowing it offer pre-delivery payment financing, delivery financing and leasing solutions to CSeries, Q400 and CRJ customers. CLC has up to $3.85 billion in capital available, according to Bombardier. "The financial resources of CLC put Bombardier in a stronger competitive position to recommend financing and leasing solutions for potential customers in China and elsewhere," Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Gary Scott stated.
Boeing's proposed 787-10 stretch may be back on the radar as the 787 and 747-8 programs are retiring risk, according to a new report from New York-based Bernstein Research. The report, released yesterday, also highlights concerns that the 787 may be falling behind on its flight test hr., although Boeing remains within the margin to enable the first three aircraft to be delivered to ANA by year end.
BOC Aviation reported a $137 million profit in 2009, up 28% from the $107 million earned the prior year. The lessor's portfolio comprised142 aircraft at year end compared to 92 at the close of 2008. The Bank of China subsidiary owned 118 and managed an additional 24 on behalf of third-party investors. It took delivery of 17 planes last year and acquired 31 on sale/leaseback deals. It has 49 more on order and four on committed sale/leaseback deals through 2012.
B/E Aerospace said nine unidentified airlines and aircraft lessors have selected its new Pinnacle main cabin seating platform in deals worth more than $250 million combined. Contracts cover economy seating in new 737, A320 and 787 aircraft, with deliveries expected to start before year end. B/E said Pinnacle seats will save 15% in operating costs owing to "greater use of composites, an integrated lightweight comfort suspension system and a new design methodology that reduces parts by more than 25%."
Boeing completed the ultimate-load wing up-bending test on the 787 static test aircraft over the weekend. "During the testing, loads were applied to the airframe to replicate 150% of the most extreme forces the airplane is ever expected to experience while in service," it said. "The wings were flexed upward by approximately 25 ft. (7.6 m.) during the test. The initial results of the ultimate-load test are positive.
Lufthansa Systems signed a five-year contract with Bulgaria Air to provide its Lido RouteManual navigation charts. Contract includes an option to migrate to Lido eRouteManual.
Shenyang Aircraft Corp., an AVIC subsidiary, yesterday began construction on the 21,000-sq.-m. facility in which the CSeries fuselage will be built. SAC delivered the first test fuselage barrel last August to Bombardier's Saint-Laurent site. It is being used to demonstrate manufacturing and engineering structural concepts in advance of the aircraft's final design phase, which is scheduled to begin before year end. It has been subjected to 40,000 simulated flight cycles of testing, Bombardier said
Jet Airways will dry-lease three 777-300ERs to Thai Airways for three years each ( ATWOnline, March 19). Jet also has four -300ERs on lease to Turkish Airlines. Skyworld Aviation said it is assisting in the marketing of six Q400s being sold by Republic Airways Holdings. Aircraft were operated by Frontier Airlines subsidiary Lynx Aviation, which will be dissolved by Republic in September ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5).
AerCap Holdings and Genesis Lease announced completion of their $1.76 billion merger yesterday. Genesis shareholders will receive one AerCap ordinary share for each Genesis share. AerCap said it now is the world's largest independent aircraft leasing company with assets of some $8 billion and a portfolio of 345 commercial aircraft and 92 engines. AerCap CEO Klaus Heinemann and CFO Keith Helming will lead the enlarged company, in which Genesis shareholders now own approximately 29% ( ATWOnline, Sept. 21, 2009).
China Southern Airlines plans to introduce 35 new aircraft this year, increasing its total fleet to 400 by 2011, according to GM Tan Wangeng. He noted that the Guangzhou-based carrier will phase out older MD-90s and 757s. It is scheduled to take delivery of its first A380 and 787 in 2011. It has firm orders for five A380s and 10 787s.
Aires of Colombia took delivery of its eighth 737-700. Aircraft will seat 149 passengers and will be followed by two more this year. It also operates 13 Dash 8-200s. The Bogota-based airline carried 203,405 passengers in January, a nearly fourfold increase year-over-year.
Alliance Airlines, a Brisbane-based charter carrier, said it plans to acquire eight more F100s starting in May to support natural resource-related contracts in Queensland and Western Australia. Aircraft will be purchased from a European operator and will lift Alliance's fleet to 19. MD Scott McMillan told ATWOnline that the F100 acquisition "is a major vote of confidence in the future of the resources industry in this region" and that the aircraft has been "extremely popular among the contract customers we serve."
Sukhoi Superjet 100 completed cold soak testing in Yakutsk, the manufacturer announced. Aircraft was exposed to temperatures as low as -41C and was parked for up to 17 hr. before APU and engine startup. Seven test flights were conducted.
Boeing on Friday said it will "accelerate planned rate increases" on both the 777 and 747-8 in response to increasing demand "in the recovering airplane market." Last week, Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh signaled that the company likely would make an announcement in April regarding the 777 ( ATWOnline, March 18). The 777 monthly build rate will climb to seven from five in mid-2011, about six months earlier than had been planned.
Continental Airlines plans to take delivery of four 787-8s in the third quarter of 2011 and two more in the fourth quarter, it said in a US Securities and Exchange filing last week. It has 11 -8s and 14 787-9s on order. The fleet plan included in the filing anticipates the 2010 delivery of two 777-200ERs, three 757-300s, two 737-900ERs, 10 737-800s (one of which will not enter service until 2011) and three 737-500s, plus the disposal of six 737 Classics. By year end, CO will have 350 aircraft in the mainline fleet.
Embraer earned a $248.5 million profit in 2009, down 36.1% from the $388.7 million reported the prior year, as the recession and industry downturn contributed to falls in both orders and deliveries. Full-year sales revenue declined 13.7% to $5.47 billion and EBIT dropped 37.5% to $335.6 million from $537 million. The company's commercial aviation segment posted $3.37 billion in revenue, a 20.5% decrease. It delivered 122 commercial aircraft in 2009, down from 162 the year before. Last year's deliveries comprised seven ERJ-145s, 22 E-170s, 11 E-175s, 62 E-190s and 20 E-195s.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh believes China will become a significant competitor in civil aircraft manufacturing, but he does not expect COMAC's C919 to achieve a major sales presence outside the country. "It will probably be a good airplane. Will that be the airplane that they market outside China? Probably not," Albaugh told media this week at Boeing offices in Arlington, Va., adding, "But the airplane after that and the one after that. . .We have to look at China as a real competitor for years to come."
Thai Airways said it will lease 3-6 aircraft with 300-350 seats for 3-5 years each to cover short-term needs, with at least three aircraft joining the fleet by mid-year. It did not offer additional details. It said it carried 3.5 million passengers in the first two months of 2010, up 13.4% from the year-ago period, on a 12% lift in ASKs. January load factor rose 4.8 points year-over-year to 80% and February's climbed 5.2 points to 82.2%.
Boeing said the third and final test 747-8F successfully completed its first flight yesterday afternoon. Aircraft RC 521 took off from Paine Field, reached an altitude of 30,000 ft. and an airspeed of 282 mph, then landed at Boeing Field 2.5 hr. later. The three aircraft will conduct a test program totaling 3,700 hr. on the ground and in the air. First delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter ( ATWOnline, March 16).
Boeing is leaning toward increasing production rates for the 737 and 777 families with decisions expected by mid-year, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said yesterday. The current 737 build rate is 31.5 units per month and the company expects to make a decision in June on whether to raise it. Last week, Airbus announced it was taking the A320 rate to 36 per month from 34 as of December ( ATWOnline, March 10).
