AirlinesGreen Africa commits to up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8s Nigerian startup Green Africa Airways has committed to purchasing up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, Boeing said Dec. 21. Split between 50 firm orders and 50 options, the deal is valued at $11.7 billion if all purchase rights are exercised.
Boeing described the transaction as “the largest aircraft deal ever for the African continent.”
LinkSaudi LCC flyadeal commits to 50 737 MAX aircraft Saudi Arabian LCC flyadeal has signed a commitment with Boeing to order 30 737 MAX 8s, plus 20 options, in an order that would be valued at up to $5.9 billion at list prices.
The deal is subject to both sides concluding final terms and conditions, and a purchase agreement.
Flyadeal is part of Saudia Group and had been considering both the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo.
LinkFedEx lowers 2019 earnings forecast on airline weakness Weakness in FedEx Corp.’s airline segment in the last quarter caused management to reduce its long-term target for the unit and lower the company’s earnings guidance for FY2019, despite strong growth in the FedEx Ground and Freight businesses.
Operating income at the airline unit, FedEx Express, slowed to 3%, coming in at $620 million for the quarter, which the company blamed on weakness in international trade, particularly in Europe. Operating income at FedEx Ground rose 18% to $586 million, while operating income for FedEx Freight grew 37% to $148 million.
LinkChinese carriers see steady growth in November Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Hainan Airlines all reported steady traffic growth year-over-year (YOY) for November. However, the country’s four largest carriers all saw traffic decline compared to October.
The three state owned carriers—Air China, China Southern and China Eastern—all had reasonable growth in passengers carried, up by 4%, 6.5% and 7.1% YOY, respectively. The three airlines carried a combined a total of 30.4 million passengers in November.
LinkChile’s JetSMART begins flights to three Argentinean cities Chilean ultra-LCC JetSMART has begun flights to Argentina after obtaining an operating certificate from the Argentinian government.
Having secured a certificate of exploitation of aero-commercial services, JetSMART began flying direct to Cordoba and Mendoza in Argentina from Santiago and La Serena in Chile. Flights to Buenos Aires, the Argentinian capital, followed.
LinkScoot sees second extended 787 delay in weeks Technical and administrative issues caused a Scoot Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight to be delayed 56 hrs.—the second extended delay for the Singapore LCC’s 787s in less than a month.
The most recent incident occurred Dec. 18 when an “aircraft equipment limitation” delayed an Athens-to-Singapore flight, forcing 321 passengers to disembark, Scoot said in a statement.
LinkAmazon to lease 10 additional ATSG Boeing 767Fs Amazon Air, forging tighter ties with Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), will lease 10 more Boeing 767-300 freighters from the company. It will also extend 20 existing leases and receive incentives for leasing up to 17 more aircraft, including narrowbodies, the companies announced Dec. 21.
The deal also grants Amazon additional warrants that could see it own 40% of ATSG stock.
LinkEasyJet continues preparations for no-deal Brexit EasyJet has converted 580 of 1,400 UK pilot licenses to Austrian ones as the UK-based LCC continues to prepare for a no-deal Brexit when the UK leaves the European Union on March 29, 2019.
The process to rewrite easyJet’s 1,400 pilot licenses to Austrian ones began in November. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Austria’s aviation authority Austro Control have been working together to transfer the licenses.
LinkAir Tanzania takes delivery of Africa’s first A220 Air Tanzania has become the first African carrier to take delivery of the Airbus A220, which will be used to further develop the Dar-es-Salaam-based carrier’s domestic and regional market as well as open new routes to India and the Middle East.
LinkTarom eyes profitability with fleet, route growth Romanian flag carrier Tarom has reported third-quarter traffic and revenue growth as the airline continues a strategy of fleet and route expansion in pursuit of profitability.
For the quarter, Tarom carried 21% more passengers and saw a 23% increase in revenue compared to the year-ago period, CEO Werner Wilhelm Wolff told ATW.
LinkPICTURES: Royal Air Maroc’s first 737 Max 8 delivered Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has begun expansion and modernisation of its short-haul fleet with the delivery of the first of four Boeing 737 Max 8s.
The delivery of the airline’s first Max (registration CN-MAX), took place on 21 December, a week after it received the first of four 787-9s and shortly after RAM announced it was joining the Oneworld global alliance.
LinkAirAsia India set to serve Mumbai as it adds 20th aircraft AirAsia India is set to launch Bengaluru-Mumbai service next month as it adds its 20th aircraft to its fleet.
The low-cost carrier will operated daily daily on the route starting 15 January.
FlightGlobal schedules data shows that AirAsia India will compete with seven carriers on the Bengaluru-Mumbai route, including Air India, GoAir, IndiGo, and SpiceJet.
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