Wings Air took delivery of its first three ATR 72-500s, part of the order for 15 it placed at last fall's Dubai Airshow ( ATWOnline, Nov. 16, 2009). Aircraft will replace MD-80s. Remaining 12 -500s are scheduled to deliver through 2011. AWAS announced the delivery of the first of three F70s to Carpatair of Romania. Remaining aircraft will be delivered in February and March.
Export-Import Bank of the US and Air India parent National Aviation Company of India reached a $1.1 billion financing deal to support AI's acquisition of 777-200LRs, 777-300ERs and 737-800s. Ex-Im approved a $1.2 billion package in 2007 and $548.8 million in financing in 2008 to support NACIL's Boeing orders.
Pemco World Air Services is converting six Hainan Airlines 737-300 passenger aircraft to freighters under a contract announced Friday. Two aircraft already have been redelivered to parent HNA Group, with the third scheduled for next month and the remaining three set to enter service before July.
Kingfisher Airlines announced the Tuesday launch of Kingfisher Xpress, a door-to-door cargo delivery service that the carrier said will be "India's first and only same-day delivery by air service, with a money-back guarantee." Pickup facilities will be offered in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata with guaranteed same-day delivery to those six destinations plus Bagdogra, Coimbatore, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati, Indore, Raipur, Ranchi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune and Srinagar. Next-day delivery will be available to 20 additional cities.
Boeing yesterday announced an executive reorganization designed to "strengthen processes, tools and functional excellence" and the execution of its delayed 787 and 747-8 programs.
Air France-KLM Group issued a request for proposals for 787s and A350s last year, "but this tender is 'asleep' because both Boeing and Airbus are not able to provide clarity on delivery dates," KLM President and CEO Peter Hartman told Luchtvaartnieuws.nl.
NavAero announced that its tBag C22 Electronic Flight Bag system received an EASA STC for A318/A319/A320/A321 aircraft. Certification and engineering activities were performed in cooperation with Scandinavian Avionics A/S.
AAR said it has partnered with Quest International UK to distribute and develop AirManager, an active air filtration system for aircraft. Under the agreement, AAR will be an authorized distributor and also will "provide design engineering services and manage the Supplemental Type Certificate processes required to install and operate the product on a variety of commercial aircraft."
International Aero Engines announced a V2500 SelectOne order from Jetstar Airways worth up to $1.5 billion comprising engines for 50 A320 family aircraft plus 40 options and purchase rights. Jetstar also signed a $2 billion IAE Aftermarket Services agreement covering the newly ordered engines plus those already operating on 40 current aircraft. Rolls-Royce said its share of the order was valued at up to $1.2 billion and Pratt & Whitney said its share "could exceed" $1 billion, including the aftermarket agreement.
ILFC closed out 2009 with the following lease deals and deliveries: One used A320-200 to Wind Jet for five years; one used 737-500 to Georgian Airways for three years; one used 757-200ER to Spanish charter airline Privilege Style for five years (scheduled for February delivery); one used 737-300 to Wings of Lebanon for three years; two used A321-200s to Air Berlin for five years each; one used A321-200 and one used A320-200 to Turkuaz Airlines of Istanbul for five years each; one used 737-400 to Vision Airlines of Las Vegas for five years; one used A310-300 to Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Lufthansa Systems signed a five-year deal with Cimber Sterling to provide Lido RouteManual navigation charts and the Lido TakeOff performance analysis solution.
Boeing Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said yesterday that "re-engining the 73[7] is under active consideration" with customers "anxious for us to make a move" on a more efficient narrowbody.
Airbus signed an MOU with CDB Leasing of China "to share competence and experience to cooperate on a variety of leasing and financing projects," including pre-delivery payment financing, delivery financing and passenger-to-freighter conversion projects. CLC will offer financing solutions to airlines around the world and committed to $4 billion in sale-and-leaseback transactions over the next five years.
Gulf Air said it sold its two oldest A340-300s to an affiliate of Florida-based Apollo Aviation Group, commenting that the transaction "relieved the company of the impending requirement to invest $25 million in order for the aircraft to continue in service." Aircraft are 16 years old and had been withdrawn from service.
Former Northwest Airlines President and CEO Doug Steenland has replaced founder and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy as chairman of ILFC, according to the lessor's website, while The Wall Street Journal cited sources who indicated that Udvar-Hazy could leave the company as early as this week. The newspaper said Steenland joined ILFC last month. The lessor reported a $245.8 million third-quarter profit ( ATWOnline, Nov.
Aeroflot last week took delivery of its 33rd A320 and its ninth A330-200. The latter is on lease from AerCap. It expects to take an A330-300 in April. Skytech-AIC of the UK won a contract from Air Greenland to remarket a 757-200ER during the second quarter. The RB211-535E4/11B-powered aircraft was built in 1992.
Gulf Air signed a preliminary lease agreement with Embraer for two E-170ARs scheduled for delivery in early March. Aircraft will be leased for three years, with an option for a further five, and will seat seven in business class and 60 in economy. Gulf said it will initiate a "full analysis and evaluation of all the regional jets on the market including Embraer, Airbus and Bombardier" in order to select the "optimal" aircraft to complement its new regional focus ( ATWOnline, Nov. 24, 2009).
Airbus said the second A330-200F flew for the first time Wednesday. The Trent 700-powered aircraft flew for 3 hr. The 200-hr. flight test program is expected to result in mid-March certification, with first delivery to Etihad Crystal Cargo scheduled for the summer. The first -200F, powered by PW4000s, initially flew in November and currently is undergoing cold-weather testing in Canada ( ATWOnline, Nov. 6, 2009).
Yemenia Yemen Airways firmed its order for 10 A320 family aircraft announced at the Dubai Airshow, Airbus said ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2009). No engine choice was announced.
China Southern Airlines has committed to purchasing 20 A320 aircraft for delivery in 2011-13. The carrier said it would pay less than the $1.54 billion catalog value for the aircraft and that the fleet expansion will increase ATKs by 4.5%. Aircraft are part of the order for 110 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s that the Chinese government placed with Airbus in November 2007.
ATR delivered 54 aircraft in 2009, down one from the prior year, and enjoyed record revenue of $1.4 billion, up 7.7%. The French turboprop manufacturer took orders for 40 new aircraft plus 17 options last year compared to 42 orders plus 14 options in 2008.
Copa Airlines took delivery of two new 160-seat 737-800s and now operates a fleet of 20 737-700s, 11 737-800s, 26 E-190s and one MD-80 along with AeroRepublica. The airlines expect to be operating a combined fleet of 63 aircraft by year end.
BAE Systems secured an agreement from Condor Airlines to remarket 13 757-300s for a sale/leaseback transaction with a financial institution or lessor. All aircraft will remain in operation with the German carrier.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake yesterday announced that the carrier placed orders for 10 737-800s this month while achieving a long-sought objective to create a West African hub with the launch of ASKY Airlines, a Lome-based carrier operating a pair of 737s leased from ET. First flights for the new airline on Jan. 15 were from Lome to Abidjan and Banjul ( ATWOnline, Dec. 9, 2009).
Eurowings, Lufthansa's regional subsidiary, will phase out 17 CRJ200s and two CRJ700s during the summer schedule starting on March 28 as part of the parent company's Climb 2011 cost-cutting plan. Several hundred jobs reportedly will be cut. In a statement, Eurowings said the aircraft will be removed from the fleet over a 12-month period during which the carrier will increase the number of CRJ900s to 15.
