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Bombardier delivers 100th Challenger to NetJets
Bombardier has delivered the 100th Challenger-series business jet to fractional ownership company NetJets. The handover of the Challenger 350 comes around five years after the Columbus, Ohio-headquartered operator took delivery of the initial example of the super-midsize jet.
NetJets in 2012 placed orders and options for up to 225 Challenger jets for its US and European operations. It is not clear now many of the options have been exercised to date.
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Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 secures Transport Canada certification
Rolls-Royce has received Transport Canada certification for the Pearl 15 engine that powers the in-development Bombardier Global 5500 and 6500 business jets.
Scheduled for approval and service entry in the fourth quarter, the Canadian-built long-range twins are the launch platforms for the 15,125lb (67.3kN)-thrust-rated Pearl 15.
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Comac projects sharp jump in Chinese airline fleet
By 2038, Chinese airlines will need 10,344 aircraft, or about 21% of the global fleet.
This marks a dramatic increase from the current 3,854 aircraft, which is about 16% of the global fleet.
Chinese airframer Comac, which released its global aircraft forecast at last week's Aviation Expo China in Beijing, says China will account for more than 9,000 forecasted aircraft deliveries in the next 20 years.
LinkAirlines
Thomas Cook files for liquidation
Leisure firm Thomas Cook Group and its associated UK companies have filed for compulsory liquidation after discussions on recapitalisation and restructuring fell through.
The company says in a 23 September statement that the discussions "have not resulted in agreement" between its stakeholders and potential investors, leaving the board with "no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect."
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Thomas Cook’s Condor seeks investor; Lufthansa considers bid
German leisure carrier Condor is urgently seeking bridge financing and a new investor after its parent company, Thomas Cook Group, filed for bankruptcy Sept. 22.
Unlike Thomas Cook’s UK airline unit, which ceased all flights, Condor continued operating Sept. 23. It is, however, under intense financial pressure and has asked the German government for a loan guarantee.
Lufthansa is considering a last-minute bid for the airline, according to industry sources.
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XL Airways CEO appeals to Air France for rescue
The CEO of insolvent French airline XL Airways has appealed to Air France to save the carrier, saying it could boost the group’s long-haul LCC offerings.
Citing “great financial difficulties,” XL declared insolvency and stopped selling tickets Sept. 19.
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XiamenAir opens Shanghai branch
XiamenAir has established a branch company at Shanghai, increasing its ability to gain service rights at China’s largest city, especially for international destinations.
The carrier said it will have 15 aircraft based at Shanghai in 2020, increasing the number to 33 by 2025. The airline carries 2 million passengers a year from the city’s two airports now and plans to lift its business to 7 million by 2025.
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NTSB investigates second SWISS PW1500G failure
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is looking into the second PW1500G engine failure involving a low-pressure compressor stage 1 rotor in two months—both involving Swiss International Air Lines A220-300s operating the same route.
The second incident took place Sept. 16, an NTSB update said. The aircraft, HB-JCA delivered in May 2017, was climbing out of Geneva International Airport en route to London Heathrow when the left-side PW1524G engine failed.
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PICTURE: Air Astana receives first A321LR
Kazakhstan carrier Air Astana has taken delivery of its first long-range Airbus A321neo, the first of seven that it will operate.
The A321LR registered P4-KGA is on operating lease from Air Lease Corporation, and is configured with 16 business class and 150 economy class seats.
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Air India plans for rapid growth post-privatisation
Air India has prepared plans to increase its fleet to over 250 aircraft over the next five years although that will depend on the outcome of its privatisation process.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the World Routes event, the airline's general manager commercial Purnima Nerukar says that the airline has not taken on any additional aircraft in the past two years but will inevitably have to grow the fleet to keep up with demand.
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Cathay steps up emergency equipment checks
Cathay Pacific will be adding inflight and post-landing checks on emergency equipment on board its aircraft, after it uncovered six instances of tampered portable oxygen bottles.
The carrier states that the six incidents occurred over a month, between August and September.
LinkAirports
CAAC approves Chinese carriers for Paris, London routes
Chinese airlines have won permission to introduce or expand services to Paris and London, including two routes from imminently operational Beijing Daxing International Airport.
China Eastern Airlines is especially building up Paris services, adding two routes while increasing frequencies on a third, thanks to approval of applications for service rights by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
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Changi eyes nonstops to Vancouver and Chicago
Singapore Changi airport expects to build on the recent growth in nonstop services to North America, with Vancouver and Chicago high on the agenda.
Liew Zhong Yao, associate general manger air hub development at Changi, says that the move to twice-daily services by United Airlines on the Singapore San Francisco market has been well received, and gives the airport confidence that there is room for more nonstops to North America.
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Thomas Cook’s Gatwick slots likely to generate interest
The grounding of UK leisure carrier Thomas Cook Airlines is likely to spark interest in the airline’s slot portfolio at London Gatwick Airport, although the slots are highly seasonal.
In the early hours of Sept. 23, Thomas Cook said it had entered compulsory liquidation after last-ditch talks to save the UK business failed. Thomas Cook Airlines was immediately grounded.
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Aviation Quote
Earthbound souls know only the underside of the atmosphere in which they live . . . but go higher - above the dust and water vapor - and the sky turns dark until one can see the stars at noon.
- Jacqueline Cochran
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Trivia
787 Trivia
1) What was the 787 Dreamliner originally called?
a) The Dash 87
b) The 7E7
c) The 797
d) The 007
2) The 787 was dubbed Dreamliner by an online "Name the Plane" contest, and the modified 747 freighters that carry sections of the plane around the globe are called Dreamlifters. What is the "Dream Weaver"?
a) The machine that turns carbon-fiber thread into a fabric that will be baked into the 787's composite-plastic skin.
b) The code name for the group that developed the 787 concept while Boeing officially pursued another plane, the Sonic Cruiser.
c) A 1970s hit song.
d) The nickname of a Seattle Mariners pitcher.
3) As Boeing's global partners built factories for this plane of the future, how did the past intrude?
a) Italy's Alenia had to move scores of 300-year-old olive trees from its factory site.
b) Sweden's Saab unearthed a Viking tomb on its proposed location.
c) Traditional Japanese rice farmers refused to vacate Mitsubishi's property.
d) British fox hunters halted Messier-Dowty's plant expansion.
4) What amenity did Boeing cut from the 787 design to reduce the plane's weight?
a) Foot rests
b) The galley
c) Seat-back Magic Fingers
d) Wireless inflight-entertainment system
5) The 787 will have a button that passengers can use to?
a) Signal they don't wish to talk to a chatty neighbor.
b) Darken the window electronically.
c) Order a $8.99 sandwich billed to their credit card.
d) Upgrade the entertainment options to better movies and music.
6) Boeing has put the 787 on a diet to slim it down to the target weight of?
a) 85,000 pounds
b) 222,000 pounds
c) 222,000 tons
d) 1 million nautical pounds
7) Before choosing Everett for the final assembly of the 787, Boeing also considered which of these sites?
a) Harlingen, Texas
b) Tulsa, Okla.
c) Mobile, Ala.
d) Biloxi, Miss.
e) Savannah, Ga.Boeing has taken 642 orders for the 787 as of July 6, selling more planes before rollout than any jet in history. But it has no customers yet on which of these continents?
a) Australia
b) South America
c) Africa
d) Europe
e) Antarctica
9) Seven 787s have been sold by Boeing as VIP jets. The only individual buyer who's been publicly identified is?
a) Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau
b) Heavy metal rocker/TV star Ozzy Osbourne
c) Exiled Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky
c) Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
10) Miles of wiring in the 787?
a) 13
b) 229
c) 61
d) 1,112
11) According to Boeing, how much more fuel-efficient than other comparable airliners will the 787 be?
a) 10 percent
b) 20 percent
c) 50 percent
12) The 787 takes Boeing's outsourcing of major components to a new level. All of these countries supply major components for the 787 airframe except?
a) Germany
b) China
c) Australia
d) South Korea
e) Canada
13) To create holes for windows into the stiff composite plastic that forms the airplane shell, Boeing and its suppliers use?
a) Lasers
b) Diamond-tipped band saws
c) Ultrahigh-pressure water jets
d) Biodegradable industrial acids
14) The 787's windows are?
a) Self-cleaning
b) The size of an 18-inch (square) pizza.
c) One-third larger than the 777, the biggest on any current airliner.
d) b and c
e) a and c
f) a,b and c
