Air Premia may add Airbus widebodies to mitigate 787 delivery delays and is also evaluating a shift toward narrowbodies as it studies a hub-and-spoke model.
Airbus is now targeting the third quarter of 2026 for the first flight of the A350F, leading to first delivery and entry-into-service in the second half of 2027.
For Emirates’ long-haul fleet, the challenge is twofold: maintaining aging widebodies while looking beyond their likely life spans to the next big thing.
Airbus has pivoted to moving uncompleted A350s off the production line to finish cabin installation at numerous separate stations as it works to ramp production
Airbus Commercial CEO Christian Scherer says the company could build a stretched version of the A350-1000 and is seeing increasing customer demand for such an aircraft.
By Christine Boynton, Jens Flottau, Guy Norris, Graham Dunn
Listen in as editors discuss Boeing and Airbus both now looking at the feasibility of upsizing their largest twin-aisles at the behest of Emirates, which led the way for orders at Dubai Airshow.
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark believes a stretched version of the 777-10 would only be available well into the 2030s, while he thinks it will be harder for Airbus to do larger variant of the A350 but would like that too.
Philippine Airlines is expecting to soon receive the first of the Airbus A350-1000 deliveries that will allow improved operations on its North American routes.
Rolls-Royce is on track to clear key durability upgrades to the A350-1000's Trent XWB-97 engine as it nears the end testing aimed at improving performance in the Middle East.
Singapore Airlines will roll out LEO satellite connectivity to enhance inflight Wi-Fi as part of a long-haul cabin product revamp set for the 2026 first half.
The rapid growth in inbound travel to Japan is showing no signs of easing off, and Japanese outbound demand is also rising, a Japan Airlines executive says.
Malaysia Airlines parent Malaysia Aviation Group is preparing to launch its campaign to select the widebody aircraft type that will replace its current long-haul fleet.
With the aviation community converging for the Dubai Airshow, this week’s Flight Friday looks at the post-pandemic recovery of the Middle East’s major carriers.