NewsEmirates demands A380 production guarantees before ordering more Emirates Airline is demanding guarantees from Airbus that A380 production will continue in the long term before committing to another major order for the aircraft. Emirates president Tim Clark told Reuters that “the ownership here is concerned about continuation.” He added that “they need some copper-bottom guarantees that if we do buy some more, then the line will be continued for a minimum period of years and that they are fully aware of the consequences of cancellation and leaving us high and dry.”
LinkAvianca pilot strike ends after 51-day walkoutThe pilot strike against Colombian flag carrier Avianca ended Nov. 10 after a 51-day walkout, the airline reported, with both parties agreeing to participate in an arbitration tribunal to be convened by Colombia’s ministry of labor.
LinkEmirates to debut new first class on Boeing 777sDubai-based Emirates Airline is launching a new first class product for yet-to-be-delivered Boeing 777-300ERs and its future 777X fleet. The airline presented the new product on board the latest 777-300ER it has received from Boeing on the opening day of the Dubai Air Show. The new first class, which features six fully enclosed cabins with sliding doors, follows a four-year process of studies and negotiations to satisfy regulatory authorities pressing to ensure emergency evacuation, air flow and other issues are respected.
LinkRussia, UAE to design a new 250-seat narrowbody aircraft Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have started preliminary talks on the joint production of civil aircraft, which could be located in the UAE, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov announced at the Dubai Air Show. “We will create a working group to discuss it further,” Chemezov added. The aircraft would be based on Russia’s single-aisle twin passenger jet, the 250-passenger MC-21-400, which is a planned version of Irkut Corp.’s MC-21 family.
LinkVietnam Airlines, Vietjet select Pratt & Whitney GTF to power A321neos Two Vietnamese airlines selected Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan (GTF) engines to power a combined 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft in deals valued at a total of more than $2 billion at list prices.
LinkALAFCO firms Boeing MAX order Kuwait-based lessor ALAFCO has firmed an order for 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft originally placed at the Paris Air Show earlier this year. The order doubles ALAFCO’s existing order for 20 MAX aircraft, first placed in 2011. The first aircraft from the latest order will begin arriving in 2022, ALAFCO deputy CEO Adel Al-Banwan told reporters at the Dubai Air Show.
LinkChorus grows leased fleet to 60 aircraft as 3Q net profit soarsChorus Aviation’s third-quarter 2017 net profit climbed to C$79.1 million ($63.5 million), nearly quadrupling the Halifax-based company’s C$20.1 million net income in 3Q 2016, as an unrealized foreign exchange gain of C$31.1 million boosted the quarterly result.
LinkPanasonic Avionics exec says seatback screens have advantagesBrian Sumers interviews Jon Norris, senior director of corporate sales and marketing at Panasonic Avionics, about the future of seatback entertainment systems. Norris says advantages of the systems include the potential to offer some movies the same day they premiere.
LinkVR, facial recognition coming to commercial aviationSurveys suggest that air travelers expect biometrics and facial recognition technology to soon become more common in airports. Airlines are also looking into virtual reality for employee training and airplane maintenance projects.
LinkHawaiian Airlines dedicates new hangar with 5-jet capacityHawaiian Airlines' new 95,800-square-foot maintenance hangar is large enough to hold five Boeing 717 aircraft at a time, and has safety systems including equipment that can fill the hangar with 14 feet of flame-retardant foam. "Hawaiian Airlines, since its inception, has always provided capacity for people traveling between the islands. That won't change. There will always be seats available. We will always meet the needs of this community," CEO Mark Dunkerley said.
LinkDenver could be second largest United hub by 2019United Airlines plans to grow its hub at Denver International airport to 400 daily departures in 2019, potentially pushing it ahead of other hubs to become the second busiest in its system. The "proposed" growth in departures comes on the continued strong performance of the Denver hub, says captain Rob Biddle, United's chief pilot for Denver, in a letter to pilots on 10 November.
LinkBoeing 787-10 data snapshotWith Emirates announcing a $15.1 billion commitment for 40 Boeing 787-10s, we examine the firm-order status for the largest Dreamliner with data from Flights Fleets Analyzer.
LinkSuperjet had been 'serious' contender for Air BalticSukhoi's Superjet 100 had been a strong contender for the Air Baltic fleet renewal, before being politically excluded from the competition. Air Baltic has been introducing Bombardier CS300 jets – it has seven of the type so far – but chief executive Martin Gauss insists that the Superjet had been a "serious" option for the carrier.
LinkAir Baltic plans for CSeries-only fleetLatvian carrier Air Baltic will aim to move to an exclusive Bombardier CSeries fleet with its intention to acquire at least another 14 of the twinjets. Air Baltic is displaying one of its CS300s at the Dubai air show.
LinkCollins bullish on cabins in wake of B/E acquisitionRockwell Collins is at Dubai for the first time with its new interiors business following its April 2017 acquisition of B/E Aerospace. Werner Liberherr, executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Interior Systems – and the former chief executive of B/E – says the acquisition has enabled the company to offer nose-to-tail solutions for aircraft.
LinkBoom Supersonic to pick engines in 2018Boom Supersonic hopes to pick an engine to power its developmental airliner program next year as it works towards service entry in 2023 for the 55-passenger aircraft. Speaking at a Dubai show press conference, company founder and chief executive Blake Scholl said there were "a couple of options in front of us for the production engine".
LinkEmbraer's KC-390 an airlift jet-setterLockheed Martin has dominated the tactical transport mission in Western air forces virtually since the C-130's first flight in 1954, with more than 2,500 Hercules delivered to multiple customers, including Brazil. As the Brazilian air force began searching for a replacement about a decade ago, Embraer launched studies for what was to become the KC-390. Initial studies posited a straightforward freighter derivative of the E190 regional jet. But with its potential domestic customer's demand for a new aircraft with performance at least on a par with the Hercules, the company scrapped this idea and launched a clean-sheet, jet-powered design.
LinkCFM starts closing Leap-1 delivery gap CFM International expects to close a delivery gap for the Leap-1 engine family by the second quarter of next year as the manufacturer works to address a spreading technical problem within the engine. Speaking to FlightGlobal on the eve of the Dubai air show, executive vice-president Allen Paxson acknowledged that CFM remained behind schedule on deliveries, which is slowing planned production ramp-ups for the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo families.
LinkBombardier still discussing Q400 outsourcingBombardier still wants to outsource major structural work for the Q400 to factories outside Canada, but discussions with potential partners remain ongoing, the company's top commercial aircraft executive has disclosed. The union that represents Q400 machinists in Toronto agreed last June to allow Bombardier to move assembly of the wings and cockpit section overseas.
LinkTAI outlines 100-seat jet ambitionsTurkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has unveiled ambitious plans for the launch of an all-composite regional airliner within five years as part of a decade-long masterplan. However, the proposal floated by TAI chief executive Temel Kotil risks scuppering a separate Turkish regional aircraft programme being driven by US firm Sierra Nevada (SNC).
LinkAirbus bares C295's teethAirbus Defence and Space is seeing strong interest from Middle East and North African nations for the heavily armed ISR/strike variant of its C295 tactical transport. The manufacturer will soon deliver the first two "light weaponised" versions of the C295 to an unnamed customer. In that version, the C295 is fitted with a palletized mission console, multi-mode radar, machine guns mounted at the rear paratrooper doors and an electro-optical/IR turret.
LinkRAF talks up Typhoon interoperability with F-35As interest in fifth-generation fighters builds in the UAE, a top Royal Air Force officer explained at the show how the Eurofighter Typhoon is already demonstrating how a non-stealthy fighter can integrate with the Lockheed Martin F-35 in contested airspace.
LinkBoeing pitches KC-46 tanker to Middle EastEven as Boeing’s KC-46A struggles with testing and meeting schedule, Boeing is already marketing the next-generation tanker to potential customers in the Middle East. There is high demand for tankers in the turbulent region, with the US Air Force currently supporting Saudi Arabia combat operations in Yemen with air refuelling.
LinkEmbraer KC-390 set to resume flight testing after minor repairsThe Embraer KC-390 protoype involved in a stall speed incident on 12 October has not been significantly damaged and is set to return to flight testing following minor repairs. The Brazilian airframer says in a statement provided to FlightGlobal that the aircraft, 001, “experienced an event beyond the planned limit” during a simulated icing test, which took the aircraft beyond its airspeed and load factor operating limitations.
LinkUSAF general sceptical of mixed F-35 and Russian fleet for UAEThe United States may be in talks with the United Arab Emirates over a potential Lockheed Martin F-35 sale, but the US Air Force’s head of Central Command doubts the UAE would be able to operate the Joint Strike Fighter alongside a fifth-generation Russian fighter.
Link Deer Jet's BBJ 787 Dream Jet makes show debutThe world’s only Boeing BBJ 787 available for charter is making its show debut on the static display. Owned by Chinese business aircraft operator Deer Jet, the VVIP widebody is marketed under the apt brand name Dream Jet – a variant of the Dreamliner moniker.
LinkRussian Helicopters details Ka-62 test planRussian Helicopters intends to fly its second Kamov Ka-62 prototype next month as it looks to bring the developmental medium-twin back on track following earlier program delays. "Starting from December we plan to use the second flight model," said chief executive Andrey Boginsky, speaking through an interpreter at the Dubai air show. "It is now in the final stages of production."
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