Australian carrier Regional Express Holdings (Rex) is a rare example of an airline looking to make new fleet moves to take advantage of market opportunities despite the COVID-19 crisis.
Turboprop manufacturer ATR enjoyed a significant increase in orders in 2019 and believes that the regional market will be one of the first to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regional turboprop manufacturer ATR, following a pause in its activities for four days last week, is resuming production at its Toulouse final assembly line.
The airline, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, is currently undertaking an important fleet modernisation process which will see it receive a total of nine ATR turboprops over the next three years for operation both on main routes and connections from and to smaller islands and communities across the country.
The Iranian aviation industry is also undergoing significant change and earlier this month Iran Air took delivery of its first new Airbus A321. The airline has concluded deals with both Airbus and Boeing for more than 180 aircraft and is currently in the final stages of agreeing a deal with ATR for regional turboprops, albeit the first half dozen aircraft are already completed and ready for delivery.
Within ten years China’s domestic air traffic will become the world’s largest, manufacturers Airbus and Boeing once again reinforced in the latest editions of their Global Market Forecast and Current Market Outlook released at the Farnborough International Airshow this week.
After last year becoming the first Haitian airline to be awarded a Part 129 Operating Permit which upgraded its activities from ad-hoc/charter services to scheduled status, the introduction of an ATR 42 will allow Sunrise to serve longer haul routes more effectively in its Western Caribbean route network.
The additional 15 new aircraft will begin arriving from late 2016 with eleven directly replacing older ATR 72-500 variants, but four earmarked for further growth on regional New Zealand routes.
Subject to the execution of final purchase documentation, Cebu Pacific, the largest operator in the Philippines, will take delivery of the new aircraft from the third quarter of 2016. They will initially be used to replace its current fleet of eight ATR 72-500 aircraft, which will be retired as the new aircraft enter service, as well as opening up market growth opportunities.
