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Boeing delivers new 787 to American Airlines, reaches 100th Dreamliner milestone
As Boeing’s centennial anniversary approaches this summer, the company is also celebrating the number 100 for a different reason today, as its Charleston, South Carolina plant is delivering to American Airlines the 100th 787 built there. This milestone was reached in less than four years after the rollout of the first Dreamliner from the site on April 27, 2012.
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Undisclosed customer signs for 14 A330neos
Airbus has revealed that an undisclosed customer has ordered 14 of the re-engined A330neo. All 14 aircraft are the -900neo variant, the larger of the two versions being offered.
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Bombardier to take Q400 up to 90 seats
Bombardier has announced a new 90-seat variant of its Q400 turboprop at the Singapore air show, as well as other payload and maintenance enhancements, that will enter service in 2018. The airframer says that it will move back the rear bulkhead and reconfigure the front right-hand door to accommodate an extra row of seats. The seat pitch will however remain at 28in.
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Comac works to optimise ARJ21
Comac says it is working to optimise its ARJ21 regional jet, and that changes could be incorporated into production aircraft within the next two to three years. Since delivering the first production jet to launch customer Chengdu Airlines last November, the manufacturer has been scrutinising possible design changes to make the aircraft more efficient, Comac’s general manager for sales and marketing Dang Tiehong said at the Singapore air show.
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Rolls-Royce launches enhanced Trent XWB
Rolls-Royce has launched an enhanced version of its Trent XWB engine, with Singapore Airlines (SIA) as the first customer. The enhanced engine will offer a 1% improvement in fuel consumption. Deliveries of the Trent XWB-84 Enhanced Performance (EP) engine to SIA will begin in the fourth quarter of 2019, says Rolls-Royce. The engine will be offerable to existing customers after that date.
LinkAirlines
Air Canada plans to purchase Bombardier aircraft
Air Canada plans to purchase up to 75 Bombardier CS300 aircraft this year. Air Canada will accept deliveries of the aircraft beginning in 2019.
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American looks at new technologies to boost in-flight connectivity
American Airlines is looking at a new provider, along with new technologies, to ensure faster speeds for the carrier's inflight Wi-Fi. "We continually evaluate the in-flight connectivity service we provide customers to ensure it's meeting their needs and wants," said Casey Norton, a spokesman for the carrier.
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American Airlines 737 clips tail of Southwest 737 at Detroit Airport
The wingtip of an American Airlines Boeing 737 clipped the tail of a Southwest 737 on Feb. 17, as the latter aircraft was being deiced at Detroit Metro Airport. There were no reports of injuries. A spokesperson for the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed the agency’s awareness of the incident, but told ATW that as of 4 p.m. EST Feb. 17, no formal investigation of the incident had been announced or launched. The NTSB was “in the process of collecting information at this point,” the NTSB spokesperson said.
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Delta contributes $350 million shares to pension plan
Delta Air Lines has contributed $350 million in shares of its common stock to its pension plans. “This is in addition to the $825 million in cash contributions the company has already made to the plans this year,” Delta said in a statement. To accomplish this contribution, Delta said it issued 7.85 million shares from treasury. “To avoid diluting existing shareholders with this contribution, the company has entered into a $350 million accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement.
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Garuda Indonesia To Restructure Fleet
Garuda Indonesia is facing pressure on yields because of over-capacity and weak economic growth, forcing it to restructure its fleet and defer some aircraft deliveries. Garuda and its budget carrier, Citilink, face intense competition from privately held Lion Airlines, which has become a dominant local player, helped by aggressive expansion.
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JetBlue strategy includes LAX, Long Beach airport
In 2001, less than two years after its first flight, New York-based airline JetBlue Airways decided to set up a West Coast focus city in Long Beach, just outside of Los Angeles. Long Beach Airport is unusual because it has a very restrictive noise ordinance that limits the number of commercial airline flights permitted there. JetBlue has taken advantage of this situation to maintain a dominant share of traffic at Long Beach Airport for more than a decade.
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Nok Air Delays European Partner Plan
Thailand's Nok Air has postponed plans to form a partnership with a European airline until 2017 after a pilot strike that forced the budget carrier to cancel several domestic flights on Sunday. The strike came as Thailand is overhauling its aviation industry to improve safety standards after downgrades by international audit agencies last year.
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Okay Airways commits to up to 20 737s
China's Okay Airways has committed to order up to 20 Boeing 737s, in a deal worth $1.3 billion at list prices. The agreement comprises firm orders for 12 aircraft, comprising eight 737 Max 8s, three Max 9s and one 737-900ER, as well as eight options.
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Philippine Airlines Signs Airbus A350 Order
Philippine Airlines ordered 6 Airbus A350-900s worth about USD$1.8 billion at list prices as it seeks to fly non-stop flights to the US. PAL will start taking delivery of the A350s in two years, Jamie Bautista, PAL's president, and Fabrice Bregier, Airbus president, told a news conference at the Singapore Airshow.
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Scoot CEO: 787 allows profitability going forward
Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline’s transition to an all-Boeing 787 fleet is enabling the Singapore Airlines (SIA) subsidiary to finally achieve profitability, and predicted the carrier’s financial performance will steadily improve. Scoot’s aircraft liveries and staff uniforms feature a bright yellow, but the carrier’s balance sheet has been in the red for most of its four years of existence, putting a drag on parent SIA’s earnings. But with the six aging 777s that comprised its initial fleet all retired last year, Scoot believes its fleet of 10 787s, evenly split between -8 and -9 models, opens a new chapter.
LinkAirports
Orlando, Fla., airport plans $43 million expansion
Officials at Florida's Orlando Sanford International Airport have announced plans for a $43 million expansion that will include new gates, baggage carousels and security lanes. Last year, the airport served nearly 2.5 million passengers, compared to 48,000 in 1995. Construction is expected to begin in 2017 and should be complete by 2020.
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Developer to revamp TWA terminal into hotel at JFK
A developer is transforming the shuttered TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport into a 505-room hotel at a cost of $250 million. "It's a spectacular building that welcomed people from 1962 to 2001," said developer Tyler Morse. "We’re bringing it back to the way it was."
LinkMilitary
Why Skunk Works ditched its clean-sheet T-X for Korean T-50
One year ago this week, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works chief Rob Weiss announced that his advanced design team had been working on a clean-sheet aircraft for the US Air Force’s T-X programme as a potential alternative to the South Korean T-50 Golden Eagle, which Lockheed jointly developed with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and now exports around the globe. That announcement was heard across the world, including in Korea, where the government spent billions of dollars to jointly develop the F-16 spinoff T-50 and procure the F-35 Lightning II. Indeed, Korea and Indonesia had even inked a deal to codevelop the KF-X fighter with significant technology transfer from the USA via Lockheed.
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Northrop resumes work on Long-Range Strike Bomber
Northrop Grumman will resume development of America's next stealth bomber after the US Air Force lifted a stop-work order that has been in place since 6 November, the service confirms. The decision to continue work on the $23.5 billion development programme, which includes construction of an undisclosed number of test aircraft, comes after the US Government Accountability Office rejected a formal protest by Boeing, the losing bidder.
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Aviation Quote
This thing we call luck is merely professionalism and attention to detail, it's your awareness of everything that is going on around you, it's how well you know and understand your airplane and your own limitations. Luck is the sum total of your of abilities as an aviator. If you think your luck is running low, you'd better get busy and make some more. Work harder, Pay more attention. Study your NATOPS more. Do better preflights.
— Stephen Coonts, The Intruders.
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