NewsAeroflot orders more SSJ100s in major deal Russia’s Aeroflot has placed a major order for a further 100 Sukhoi Superjet 100s (SSJ100s), the largest order for the type. Russia’s biggest airline signed an agreement with United Aircraft Corp. (UAC), parent company of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, Sept. 11.
LinkRyanair braces for another strike, threatens to close German bases Ryanair pilots and cabin crew have called for a one-day strike Sept. 12 at the airline’s German bases, forcing the Irish LCC to cancel 150 out of 400 daily flights. As a result, Ryanair has threatened to close bases in Germany if strikes continue.
LinkAirbus August orders lag; first A220s delivered Airbus delivered 53 commercial aircraft to 24 airlines and seven lessors during the month, about 1.7 aircraft per day, a slowdown of the Toulouse-based manufacturer’s high pace of 2.7 per day set in in June and July.
LinkRossiya Airlines CEO resigns The Rossiya Airlines board has approved the early resignation of CEO Dmitry Saprykin whose contract would have expired in November 2018. Saprykin led the St. Petersburg-based Aeroflot subsidiary in November 2015, when Aeroflot Group management had to consolidate subsidiaries Rossiya, Rostov-on-Don-based Donavia and Orenburg-based Orenair. The combined carrier was launched under the Rossiya Airlines brand in March 2016.
LinkBritish Airways to lease Air Belgium A340s as 787 Trent engines are inspected Continuing problems with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on its fleet of Boeing 787s has forced British Airways (BA) to contract leased-in help to maintain its schedules. The UK carrier plans to use an Air Belgium Airbus A340-300 on its daily London Heathrow-Abu Dhabi service from Sept. 15 to Oct. 4. BA has already used the Belgian startup for a small number of flights from London to Cairo earlier this month.
LinkRyanair to begin service from Exeter in April 2019Ryanair said it would start flying from Exeter Airport in Devon, south west England to three European destinations from April, its first flights from the airport. The Dublin-based LCC said it would launch routes to Malaga, Spain; Malta and Naples, Italy with six weekly flights in total and 80,000 passengers per year.
LinkFlydubai moves Ukraine operations to KievDubai-based flydubai will move Ukraine operations to Kiev Boryspil International Airport, effective Oct. 28. Flydubai launched operations to Ukraine in 2013 and offers 17X-weekly flights from Dubai to Kiev and Odessa.
LinkChina’s Tengchong Airport opens Terminal 2China’s Tengchong Tuofeng Airport opened its second terminal Sept. 9, as part of an expansion program that began in March 2015. The three-year Terminal 2 project added five new aerobridges and four new Class C aircraft stands, increasing the total stands in the airport to 12. Other improvements include the installation of runway centerline lights, approach lights, and an exit slipway and parallel taxiway on the southern end of the runway.
LinkCrashed Let 410 had recently returned from lengthy storageThe Let 410UVP (UR-TWO) destroyed in a 9 September landing accident in South Sudan had only recently re-entered service after more than a decade in storage, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows. The Czech-built twin turboprop, which typically seats 19 passengers, was being operated by Ukrainian carrier Slaver Kompani on behalf of South Sudan-based South West Aviation. The aircraft was reportedly carrying 20 passengers and three crew, and crashed into Lake Yirol during an attempt to land at Yirol, South Sudan, after a domestic flight from Juba.
LinkFirst static-test 777X breaks coverBoeing has released images of its initial 777X static-test airframe, providing a better look at the manufacturer's latest widebody twin. The airframe, a -9 variant, was rolled out of Boeing's Everett, Washington production facility in recent days.
LinkHi Fly returns A380 to action after replacing engine's intake lipPortuguese wet-lease operator Hi Fly is today putting its Airbus A380 back into service for Air Austral following the jet's 7 September airbridge collision at Paris Charles de Gaulle. While being towed empty to the boarding gate for a departure to Reunion, the aircraft had sustained "minor damage" to the lip of the air intake on one of its engines as a result of a "slight touch" with an airbridge which "was not fully retracted for reasons that Air Austral is investigating", says Hi Fly.
LinkEcuadorian army receives M28 transportSikorsky-owned PZL Mielec has delivered an M28 utility transport to the Ecuadorian army. Flown from Mielec in Poland by company pilots via stops in Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the USA and Central America – a distance of over 7,300nm (13,500km) – the aircraft was handed over at Shell Mera air base.
LinkJapan cleared to buy nine additional E-2DsThe US government has cleared Tokyo to obtain nine additional Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft. The US State Department announced the potential deal in Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement. This means that Tokyo could eventually obtain up to 13 E-2Ds, as it already has firm orders four examples of the type.
LinkUSAF awards Boeing $2.9 billion for 18 more KC-46AsThe US Air Force awarded Boeing a $2.9 billion contract for 18 additional KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft, spares, support equipment, spare engines and wing air refueling pod kits. The contract represents the fourth production lot of KC-46A tanker aircraft the USAF has ordered from Boeing and brings the total number of tankers ordered to 52. Ultimately, Boeing expects to build 179 tankers for the service.
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