Commercial Aviation News

Qantas reveals new indigenous livery on one of their Boeing 787-9s

Another look at the new livery...photo by Katie Bailey.

Emirates Boeing 777 New Business Class and New Economy experience by Sam Chui.

In case you haven't been watching, here is the latest with the Boeing Max 9 program.

Just a few days ago, in fact on Friday, the Boeing 737 Max 9 gained type certification (ammended) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It now means that very soon, launch customer Lion Air from Indonesia will be having the first one to enter commercial service. For the last year approximately, the MAX 9 program has been under testing utilizing two test aircraft.

United is expected to debut their first 737 MAX aircraft in June. It will be the MAX 9 variant which was just certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Once in revenue service the new class of 737 will fly between Houston Intercontinental and Los Angeles.

The new identity and livery for AirItaly was unveiled today in Milan with Qatar Airways and Alisarda being investors now. Meridiana now takes on this new identiy and the investors are looking to grow the fleet to about 50 aircraft in the next three years and will comprise of the Boeing 737 Max 8, Boeing 787 and Airbus A330s. 5 A330s, 20 Boeing 787s and 20 Boeing 737 Max 8's.

Airbus is looking to further cut production of their flagship Airbus A380. Presently the airframer is looking at producing 12 of the type this year. In 2019 they want to reduce the rate to 8 units and then in 2020 to 6. This surely isn't sustainable and they will be taking losses and will probably absorb the losses in order to keep this dying type still in production.

Qatar Airways has taken delivery of the world's first Airbus A350-1000. The ceremony took place today and was a vibrant and moving laser and projection display on the airplane. The requisite speeches took place between the out-going Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Brégier and Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker.

Ethiopian Airlines is now the first airline in Africa to have a full flight simulator (FFS) for the Airbus A350 XWB. The airline announced the achievement yesterday. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said the introduction of the A350 XWB FFS is “a continuation of our pioneering role in African aviation technology” and is “part of our Vision 2025 strategic roadmap to be fully self-sufficient in the provision of pilot training in all the aircraft type we operate.” The airline also has other full flight simulators including those to train for the Boeing 787, 777, 737NG, 757/767 and Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 with plans to add one for Boeing 737 MAX.

Sam Chui enjoys the inaugural flight of the world's first Airbus A350-1000 delivered to Qatar Airways.

Singapore Airlines will run is first Boeing 787-10 on the Singapore to Osaka route. The route is expected to start in May. If all goes according to plan, Singapore Airlines will take delivery of the first of the type on March 28th. 49 Boeing 787-10s are on order for Singapore Airlines and subsequent deliveries after the first will service other areas in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the end of January the Leisure Travel Group company TUI took delivery of its first Boeing 737-MAX 8 aircraft. On January 29th the first aircraft was handed over and it will be pressed into service with TUIfly Belgium. That is one of approximately 9 aircraft of the type the group is intending to take possession of.

It appears as though German carrier Eurowings is going to be closing its Colonge (CGN) base and moving the long-haul fleet to Dusseldorf (DUS)to take up the void that the now defunct Air Berlin left in Dusseldorf.

United States low cost carrier jetBlue met recently with Canadian airframer Bombardier and photo circulating on social media suggest that an Embraer E195-E2 was at a jetBlue hangar on display. Talks between the American carrier and Bombardier as well as Embraer appear to be heating up. JetBlue said in the past that they are looking to replace around 60 Embraer aircraft and are obviously weighing between Embraer again or to go with the new CSeries offerings from Bombardier.

Boeing has delivered the first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to Icelandair. The carrier seeks to grow and renew its fleet and enhance its trans-Atlantic operations with the new planes. Icelandair placed an order for 16 737 MAXs in 2013, including the MAX 8 and larger MAX 9 models. Both airplanes offer airlines exceptional performance with lower seat-mile costs and more range (up to 3,515 nautical miles or 6,510 kilometers) to open new routes profitably.

AeroMexico takes delivery of their first Boeing 737 MAX

In 2012 Aeromexico placed an order for up to 90 MAX airplanes, including the MAX 8 and the larger MAX 9 variant. The two models offer the airline the flexibility to fly between approximately 160 and 190 passengers on flights of about 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 kilometers), both with better operating costs and passenger experience. "We are very proud to be one of the first airlines in Latin America operating this aircraft, which allows us to provide operational efficiencies that translate into multiple benefits for our clients, both in terms of their experience on-board and the options they have to reach their destination," said Andrés Conesa, CEO of Aeromexico.

Hawaiian has ditched the Airbus A330-800Neo in favour of the Boeing 787-9.

Hawaiian Airlines has executed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) for the purchase of 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft with purchase rights for an additional 10 aircraft, the airline announced today. The first fuel-efficient, lightweight, passenger-friendly “Dreamliner” is scheduled to arrive in the first quarter of 2021. Hawaiian has selected the General Electric GEnx engine to power the additions to its fleet. "The Dreamliner combines excellent comfort for our guests with fantastic operational performance and will allow us to continue modernizing our fleet into the next decade," said Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram. "It has more seating capacity than Hawaiian’s current wide-body fleet, which will allow us to further build upon our successful growth in Asia."

First Airbus A350-900ULR rolls out from Toulouse facility. Airbus are moving fast with all of their programs, the latest one to come to light in reality is the first A350-900ULR. Of course everyone knows the A350-900XWB but this one is the ULR or Ultra Long Range. To achieve its ULR status, Airbus tweaked the fuel system as well as certain aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft. With these updates, its range now stretches to 9,700 nautical miles. The first A350-900ULR will go to customer Singapore Airlines.

Virgin Atlantic has dealt Airbus another blow regarding their A380 program. Virgin initially ordered A380s early in the process but a mixture of delays and company deferrals has now led to Virgin's decision to scrap the idea of having A380s all-together. Virgin had 6 Airbus A380s on order but now reveals, at least publicly, that the double-deck jumbo has no place in its fleet. All isn't lost for Airbus from Virgin Atlantic as the carrier recently put in an order for several A350-1000s, the newest of the A350XWB trio. 12 of the A350-1000s are on order with deliveries to commence next year and run through to 2021.

Painting of TAP Portugal's first Airbus A330neo