Commercial Aviation News

Hardly any progress has been made in an ICAO effort to put together an agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions from international air travel. It sluggish progress is now raising doubts that its civil aviation body can deliver a final resolution by a September target date, several government officials said on Monday.

It (ICAO) has yet to resolve key questions such as whether states or airlines would be responsible to pay for their emissions; how to account for a country's aviation emissions and whether lesser-developed countries should have different goals to attain than more well-off states.

Qatar Airways wants to be 777X launch client

Qatar Airways' chief executive said the Middle-Eastern carrier wants to be a launch customer for Boeing's 777X mini-jumbo jet, and that the airline plans to open at least three new routes to the US in the next 12 to 18 months. "We are very keen on the 777-8 and -9X aircraft and we are receiving presentations from Boeing in this regard," Akbar Al Baker, CEO of the Doha-based airline, said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.

Bombardier Extends Q400 Smart Parts Agreement with Japan Air Commuter

LAN ready to resume Boeing 787-8 commercial service after this successful test flight...

Kuwait Airways said it had signed an initial agreement with Airbus to buy 25 new aircraft and take an option on 10 more in the biggest overhaul of its fleet since the 1990 Iraqi invasion. The order for the new planes includes 15 A320neo narrow-body jets and 10 of Airbus's new A350-900 XWB, chairman Sami al-Nisf told a news conference on Thursday. "We signed a letter of acceptance with Airbus," he said, adding that this was the step before signing a memorandum of understanding with Airbus within the next couple of weeks. He declined to give a value for the order. The airline expects Airbus to start delivering the aircraft in 2019.

Interesting news surfacing from American

American Airlines is said to be planning to lease 130 Airbus A319s and A321s that they currently have on order. Third party lessors could include AerCap, Avolon Aerospace Leasing, GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), Guggenheim Aviation Partners, International Lease Finance (ILFC) and ORIX Aviation, all of which have relationships with American. The order are divided up into 65 A319s and 65 A321s, according to engine supplier International Aero Engines. Deliveries are expected to begin in July and will continue through to 2017.

Gosh this plane is so sexy! Thomson first Boeing 787-8 takes to the air for a flight test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX2iVWrgVe4

Wing modifications to Emirates Airbus A380s have started late because of late aircraft deliveries. How late? about two months later than expected. The wing modification programme has been delevoped and designed to hopefully address wing cracks that have been happening to some A380s. and will cover 34 Emirates A380s and is due to be completed by the end of next year.

"The modifications were due to begin in mid-March, but the first aircraft only went into modification in early May," says Tim Clark, president of the Dubai-based carrier. "We need to receive the new aircraft to backfill the fleet and maintain the route network when we release A380s for modification. There's been quite a long delay driven by the lateness of delivery of the new aircraft."

Polish airline LOT is expected to have five Boeing 787 aircraft by August 2013. News of this surfaced as the Polish flag-carrier received their third 787 from Boeing on May 17th. "Very soon, as the only airline in Europe, we will offer our passengers again a unique standard of travel," says LOT board member for operational matters Tomasz Balcerzak. LOT is expected to resume Boeing 787 commercial service on June 5th, 2013.

Ryanair announce profit numbers

Ryanair currently operates on over 1,600 routes and transported some 79.3-million passengers in the year up to March 31 - a 5% increase on the previous year, as revenues rose 13% to €4.8 billion or £4.1 billion. Profits after taxation soared to €569 million or £481.4 million. The Dublin-based carrier is hoping for further growth this year. However, they are a little cautious with the prevailing economic conditions.

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Baggage restrictions coming to EasyJet

Passengers flying with EasyJet in the upcoming summer will have to get accustomed to the new baggage rules they will be introducing starting in July. According to EasyJet, certain flight services simply do not have enough room on board to accommodate all passengers' hand luggage- And with full effect from 2 July 2013, all carry-on luggage will need to be within the 50cm x 40cm x 20cm dimensions, to ensure it falls within easyJet's guaranteed admittance threshold. Those dimensions include all external bag elements, such as pockets, wheels and handles.

Middle Eastern carrier Oman Air has ordered another three Airbus A330-300s, which will take its overall A330 fleet to 10 aircraft. "This additional order will allow us to continue our strategy of growth with an aircraft we know to be both reliable and profitable, and in addition offering the highest levels of passenger comfort," says Oman Air chief Wayne Pearce.

Cheeky stuff from Micheal O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair. This was a press conference from a few years ago. He is something else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UfIY24BErBE

Flybe sells Gatwick slots as well as defer Embraer E175s

U.K. regional airline Flybe is making further structural changes to fund its financial turn-around by selling its entire slot portfolio at London Gatwick Airport. Additionally, the airline is deferring nearly half of its outstanding order for Embraer 175s.

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Delta is officially playing things safe before making any orders for new generation aircraft. The two plane makers have orders for more than 3,000 of their narrow-bodied models, the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo, which boast fuel savings of about 15 percent. The new models are to be in service from the second half of the decade.

"We'd rather get toward the end of a production line because one, the airplane has probably been stretched, and stretched economics are always better than the original economics," the airline's chief executive Richard Anderson told Reuters.

Jumping in at the back of the line for a new model allows time for technical difficulties to be resolved, he said. "Our ideal solution for buying airplanes is to compete Boeing against Airbus against used airplanes; compete GE against Pratt and Rolls-Royce so that we always have multiple engine manufacturers and multiple airframe manufacturers at the table," Anderson said.

Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson is currently in an interview on Bloomberg. Interesting interview.

Air China will pay USD$8.9 billion for 100 new Airbus aircraft, the company said in an announcement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. Air China said it will purchase 60 Airbus A320-series aircraft for USD$5.37 billion, taking delivery of the aircraft between 2014 and 2020. It said its subsidiary, Shenzhen Airlines, will purchase 40 Airbus A320-series aircraft for USD $3.483 billion, taking delivery between 2016 and 2020. Air China earlier this year agreed to purchase 31 aircraft from Boeing for USD$4.8 billion.

(Reuters)

Boeing congratulated ANA for resumption of service with their 787 aircraft.

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Ryanair Outlines deliveries of new Boeing 737 fleet

The famous Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has outlined the potential five-year delivery plan of its new batch of 175 Boeing 737-800s jets. The first 11 of these new aircraft are expected to be delivered to them by the end of March 2015. The first 11 of the new order will then enter the fleet, while the carrier will respectively take 35, 50, 50 and 29 aircraft over a span of four years.

Aeroflot receives Airbus A320 with a Retro-livery

Aeroflot is about to take delivery of a brand new Airbus A320 that showcases a retro livery from a former Soviet-era colour scheme. The aircraft, MSN5614 is being leased from Irish-based lessor AWAS.

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