News

LE BOURGET, France, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric [NYSE: GE], today announced an order for 20 737 MAX 10s at the Paris Air Show, converting 20 of its current MAX orders to the larger MAX 10. “This 737 MAX 10 order further enhances our fleet with the newest technology, offering our customers commonality along with increased range and available seating,” said Alec Burger, President and Chief Executive Officer of GECAS. “Combining the increased capacity of the 737 MAX 10 and the CFM International LEAP-1B engines offers our customers many benefits.” GECAS has 170 737 MAX airplanes on order, the largest of any aircraft leasing company. Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/19/17

LE BOURGET, France, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE:BA] and BOC Aviation Limited announced a memorandum of understanding for 10 737 MAX 10 airplanes, subject to internal approvals, today at the 2017 Paris Air Show. The announcement is valued at approximately $1.25 billion at list prices and will be posted to the Boeing Orders and Deliveries website once finalized.

BOC Aviation is one of the first aircraft operating leasing companies to order the newest member of the 737 MAX family. The company has committed to more than 300 Boeing aircraft since establishment, it took delivery of its 200th Boeing airplane in March 2017 and has an additional 74 737 MAXs on order.

“BOC Aviation and Boeing have been partners for more than 20 years, providing the very best airplanes to their customers around the world and the 737 MAX 10, with its lowest seat costs of any single-aisle airplane, will continue this tradition,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president, Global Sales and Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We are honored that BOC Aviation has again placed its confidence in Boeing and the 737 MAX family.”

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/19/17

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric [NYSE: GE] has signed a firm order for 100 A320neo Family aircraft at the 52nd International Paris Air Show. GECAS has selected CFM’s LEAP-X engine for all 100 A320neo Family aircraft.

This new order brings the total number of Airbus aircraft ordered by GECAS to almost 600 aircraft. Of these 220 are A320neo Family aircraft.

“The A320neo aircraft is an excellent product. GECAS is pleased to make this additional commitment for A320neos to meet strong customer demand for this type,” said Alec Burger, President and CEO of GECAS, “The A320neo family aircraft powered by CFM’s LEAP-1A engines, with now proven increased fuel efficiencies, longer range and higher seating capacity will continue to be one of our core assets in our lease portfolio. The A321 version has also gained strong acceptance from customers in various new markets proving the versatility of the type.”

The A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver at least 15 percent fuel savings at delivery and 20 percent by 2020. With more than 5,000 orders received from over 90 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has captured some 60 percent share of the market.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/19/17

Expanding on their successful 2016 introduction of the A330neo and A350, Airbus announced the A320 joins the Airspace family. The brand DNA is based on a consistent range of strong cabin product elements which provide both tangible benefits to passengers and differentiation to airlines. The A320 will not only share common cockpit ergonomics with the wide-bodies, but will also have a common cabin design language and the latest technology. Some of the enhanced elements of the new interior include:

• The Largest Overhead Storage Compartment (OHSC) in its Class: Called the “Airspace Bin”, it not only allows eight, instead of five bags, per four-frame bin, but also accommodates bigger and heavier bags stowed vertically.

• Iconic Ceiling Lighting: Featuring a fully customized on-board luminary experience, that begins at the entrance with a welcoming ambiance and continues throughout the aircraft with variable lighting features.

• New Sidewall Panels with Increased Cabin Width: One more inch at shoulder level for extra personal space.

• New Window Bezel: The new fully-integrated window shades provide passengers more window space and unobstructed view, evoking the feel of the A350.

• New Lavatory Design: The new spacious design also features colored mood lighting, along with anti-bacterial coatings, automatic aroma dispenser, sound and optional touchless options.

• Colored LED Lighting: Leveraging 16.4 million colour options, the new custom-cabin mood lighting creates a personalized in-flight experience at 30,000 feet throughout the cabin.

• Harmonized Door Surround: The new lines of the frames match the Airspace design of the A350 XWB and the A330neo.

“The A350 XWB cabin has proven extremely popular, with great feedback not only from passengers, but from design professionals,” commented Dr. Kiran Rao, Executive Vice President, Product Strategy, Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “This was great validation that gave us confidence to apply the design language to the A330neo and now to the A320 Family.”

Additional features such as the less obtrusive cabin sidewall panels and lavatory options (‘Smart-Lav’ and ‘Space-Flex’) maintain a consistent design to the popular Airspace wide-body series. Passengers will also appreciate the modular IFE platform with overhead video and in-seat audio/video on-demand, as well as the provision for in-seat power, wireless flexible connectivity and mobile telephony (GSM on board). The full Airspace Interior package is targeted for 2020 and will retrofit to the current hardware.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/19/17

LE BOURGET, France, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE:BA] announced the launch of the 737 MAX 10 as the newest member of the 737 MAX family today at the 2017 Paris Air Show. The 737 MAX 10 will have the lowest seat-mile cost of any single-aisle airplane ever produced.

The airplane has gained wide market acceptance with more than 240 orders and commitments secured from more than 10 customers worldwide. Customers will be announcing order details throughout the week.

The 737 MAX 10 continues the MAX family’s range advantage over competing models and will deliver five percent lower trip costs and five percent lower seat-mile costs. Design changes for the 737 MAX 10 include a fuselage stretch of 66 inches compared to the 737 MAX 9 and levered main landing gear. The airplane has the capacity to carry up to 230 passengers.

Other changes include a variable exit limit rating mid-exit door, a lighter flat aft pressure bulkhead and a modified wing for low speed drag reduction. Like Boeing’s other 737 MAX models, the 737 MAX 10 incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets,

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/19/17

Airbus is presenting a development study for an enhanced A380, the “A380plus”. The study includes aerodynamic improvements in particular new, large winglets and other wing refinements that allow for up to 4% fuel burn savings. Added to an optimized A380 maintenance program and the enhanced cabin features first shown at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in April, the overall benefit is a 13% cost per seat reduction versus today’s A380.

The new winglets measure approximately 4.7 meters in height (an uplet of 3.5m, and a downlet of 1.2m). It is designed to improve aerodynamics and reduce drag.

The optimized cabin layout based on the ‘cabin enablers’ presented at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), allows up to 80 additional seats* with no compromise on comfort: redesigned stairs, a combined crew-rest compartment, sidewall stowage removal, a new 9-abreast seat configuration in premium economy and 11-abreast in economy.

The A380plus will have an increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 578 ton’s providing the flexibility of carrying up to 80 more passengers over today’s range (8,200nm), or flying 300nm further.

The A380plus features longer maintenance check intervals, a reduced six-year check downtime, and systems improvements, which will reduce maintenance costs and increase aircraft availability. Over 170 million passengers have already enjoyed the experience of flying on board an A380 today. Every two minutes a, A380 takes off or lands somewhere in the world.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/18/17

Airbus has delivered EasyJet’s first A320neo, which is also the airline’s 300th A320 Family aircraft, at a ceremony in Toulouse involving Carolyn McCall, EasyJet CEO, Gaël Méheust, CFM international CEO, Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, and other senior executives.

The aircraft, powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, is configured in a comfortable 186 seat layout. To mark the occasion and to distinguish the NEO fleet, the aircraft has a specially designed NEO logo on the fuselage. EasyJet’s NEO fleet will be based out of London Luton Airport and operate its first commercial flights in June to Amsterdam, Madrid and Edinburgh.

From its first A320 Family delivery in 2003, EasyJet has grown to operate Europe’s largest A320 Family fleet and is also Europe’s largest customer for the NEO. Environmentally, the NEO has significant benefits with a 15 percent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions rising to 20 percent by 2020. The noise footprint is also reduced by 50 percent. In May 2017, EasyJet upsized orders for 30 A320neo with 186 seats to the larger capacity A321neo with 235 seats for growth at slot constrained airports.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 06/18/17

The aircraft is in the next assembly station for structural completion such as the installation of winglets, ground testing of mechanical, electrical and avionics systems. Next steps will include in particular cabin completion, engine installation, painting and flight tests. This will lead to the delivery scheduled in Q4 2017, of the first A350-900 to Air Mauritius.

Air Mauritius will acquire a total of six A350-900 twin engine widebodies comprising four directly purchased from Airbus and two on lease from AerCap. At entry into service, the A350 XWB will be deployed on the carrier’s long-haul, mainly the Mauritius-Paris route. Air Mauritius currently operates a fleet of 13 aircraft of which 10 Airbus aircraft including six A340-300, two A330-200 and two A319 on regional and long haul services.

The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fiber fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions, and significantly lower maintenance costs. The spaciousness, quietness, beautiful interior and mood lighting in the cabin contribute to superior levels of comfort and well-being, setting new standards in terms of flight experience for all passengers.

To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 831 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 44 customers worldwide, already making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 05/26/17

Airbus Corporate Jets has launched a private jet version of its new A330neo[1], which combines new-generation engines and aerodynamic and other improvements to deliver even more comfort, efficiency and true “nonstop to the world” range.

Called the ACJ330neo, it will fly 25 passengers 9,400 nm/17,400 km or 20 hours, enough to fly nonstop from Europe to Australia.

“For customers, such as countries needing to fly heads of state and delegations worldwide on government business, the ACJ330neo offers an unbeatable combination of modern design, proven capability and productivity, as well as being part of the world’s best-selling wide body family,” declares Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers, John Leahy.

Featuring a very spacious cabin the ACJ330neo readily accommodates conference/dining areas, a private office, bedroom, bathroom and guest seating, and can be fully customized to suit customer needs. With experience in delivering around 70 turnkey cabins over several decades, Airbus has unrivalled manufacturer know-how in this field.

The A330 is the world’s most successful wide body airliner, having evolved through intelligent innovation into an even more capable one – as well as into freighter, multi-role tanker transport, and corporate jet roles. Recent A330 advances include new-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, Sharklet wingtips and improved maximum take-off weights,

Other new features include the option of an onboard airport navigation system (OANS), similar to GPS in cars, and a runway overrun prevention system (ROPS), for which insurance companies offer reduced premiums. Like all Airbus aircraft, the ACJ330 features Category 3B auto land and other enriching features as standard and, like all Airbus aircraft in production today, it has a common cockpit, on which more than 100,000 pilots are already qualified. The ACJ330 also has optional dual head-up displays (HUDs) and, in common with the rest of the family, inherits excellent reliability from its airliner roots.

Launched as a joint program Airbus’ A330 and A340 are the world’s best-selling wide body family, with more than 2,000 orders to their credit and over 170 customers and operators. Airbus supports more than 500 airline and corporate jet customers with one of the largest support networks in the world, including services tailored to business jet needs. More than 180 Airbus corporate jets are in service on every continent, including Antarctica.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 05/26/17

Atlanta, Georgia (U.S.)-based Delta Air Lines has placed an incremental order for 30 firm A321ceo aircraft. This order follows three previous Delta orders for the Current Engine Option version of the largest Airbus A320 Family member. The airline took delivery of its first A321 in March of last year. Delta now has ordered a total of 112 A321s, each powered by CFM56 engines from CFM International.

“The A321’s comfort, performance and economics make it a very compelling aircraft for Delta in our domestic route network,” said Gil West, Delta’s Sr. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We value our longstanding partnership with Airbus and look forward to taking more new A321 aircraft for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareowners.”

All of Delta’s A321s will feature fuel-saving Sharklets – lightweight composite wingtip devices that offer up to 4 percent fuel-burn savings. This environmental benefit gives airlines the option of extending their range up to 100 nautical miles/185 kilometres or increasing payload capacity by some 1000 pounds/450 kilograms.

Many of Delta’s A321s are being delivered from the Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, Alabama. The airline received its first U.S.-manufactured A321 last year. By the end of 2017, the Airbus facility in Mobile is expected to produce four aircraft per month, most going to Airbus’ U.S. customers.

As of the end of April, Delta was flying a fleet of 187 Airbus aircraft, including 145 A320 Family members and 42 A330 widebodies.

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 05/26/17

SEATTLE– Boeing (NYSE: BA) The first delivery of the new 737 MAX. The airplane, a 737 MAX 8, was handed over to Malindo Air at the Seattle Delivery Center. The Malaysia-based airline will be the first to put the 737 MAX into commercial service.

“This airplane will change the face of the single-aisle market,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Kevin McAllister. “The 737 MAX 8 is the best in its class, providing unmatched performance and economics for our airline customers.” The new aircraft will allow the airline to go to further destinations and will play a key role in providing lower air fares to our customers.

The 737 MAX family is designed to offer the greatest flexibility, reliability and efficiency in the single-aisle market. Every airplane will feature the new Boeing Sky Interior, highlighted by modern sculpted sidewalls and window reveals, LED lighting that enhances the sense of spaciousness and larger pivoting overhead stowage bins.

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 05/26/17

SEATTLE, /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Primera Air announced an order for eight 737 MAX 9 airplanes, valued at more than $950 million at list prices. The agreement also includes purchase rights for four additional 737 MAX 9s and a lease agreement for eight more airplanes from Air Lease Corporation.

The 737 MAX 9 will form the backbone of the low-cost airline’s future as it seeks to commence flights between Europe and North America. Primera Air plans to use the MAX 9’s auxiliary fuel tanks to lower trip costs and maximize the range to accommodate flights connecting Europe to the east coast of the U.S.

“The 737 MAX 9 will allow Primera Air to open up nonstop, long-haul routes from Europe to the U.S. with unmatched economics,” said Andri M. Ingolfsson, President, Primera Air. “This aircraft has a lower per-seat cost than the current wide body aircraft servicing the transatlantic and the capabilities of this aircraft type will change the economics of the industry. This will open up fantastic possibilities for growth for Primera Air in the future.”

is an all-Boeing carrier currently operating a fleet of nine Next-Generation 737-700s and 737-800s with flights to more than 70 airports in Europe. Primera Air is part of the Primera Travel Group that operates travel agencies and tour operating companies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Estonia.

The 737 MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 05/26/17

Boeing confirms the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Iran Aseman Airlines, expressing the airline’s intent to purchase 30 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes with a list price value of $3 billion. The agreement also provides the airline with purchase rights for 30 additional 737 MAXs.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, an aerospace sale of this magnitude creates or sustains approximately 18,000 jobs in the United States. Deliveries would be scheduled to start in 2022.

Boeing negotiated the MOA under authorizations from the U.S. government following a determination that Iran had met its obligations under the nuclear accord signed in 2015. Boeing will look to the Office of Foreign Assets Control for approval to perform under this transaction. Boeing continues to follow the lead of the U.S. government with regards to working with Iran’s airlines, and any and all contracts with Iran’s airlines are contingent upon U.S. government approval.

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 04/10/17

RENTON, Wash., March 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced today that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified the 737 MAX 8 airplane for commercial service. Boeing is now in the final stages of preparing for the first 737 MAX 8 delivery to customers in the coming months.

To earn certification for the 737 MAX 8, Boeing undertook a comprehensive test program that began just over one year ago with four airplanes, plus ground and laboratory testing. Following a rigorous certification process, the FAA granted Boeing an Amended Type Certificate for the 737 MAX 8, verifying the design complies with required aviation regulations and is safe and reliable.

“This certification is a true testament to the dedication and commitment of our entire MAX team throughout the process, from airplane design to flight testing,” said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The Renton team looks forward to delivering superior efficiency, reliability and design to our customers as they start to receive their 737 MAX aircraft in the next few months.”

The 737 MAX family of aircraft is designed to offer customers exceptional performance, flexibility and efficiency, with lower per-seat costs and an extended range that will open up new destinations in the single-aisle market. The MAX 8 and 9 will be followed in 2019 by the smaller MAX 7 and higher capacity MAX 200, while studies and discussion continue with customers on growing the family.

The 737 MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market. It is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating more than 3,600 orders to date from 83 customers worldwide.

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 03/09/17

RENTON, Wash /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) marked a milestone Tuesday March 7, 2017. The first 737 MAX 9 made its debut in front of thousands of Boeing employees.

The 737 MAX 9 is the second member of Boeing’s industry leading 737 MAX family, with a maximum capacity of 220 passengers and a range of 3,515 nautical miles.

The airplane now begins system checks, fueling and engine runs on the flight line. Once completed, the airplane will begin flight testing in the coming weeks – the final phase of verification of the operational characteristics and overall performance of a new airplane.

“The 737 MAX team continues to do a fantastic job getting us to these important milestones right on schedule,” said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of the 737 MAX program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Our primary focus is delivering an aircraft that has the legendary reliability our 737 customers depend on, plus the optimized flexibility and range capability they desire.”

The 737 MAX 9 is scheduled to enter service in 2018. The 737 MAX 8 is on track to deliver to customers in the second quarter of 2017.

The 737 MAX family has been designed to offer customers exceptional performance, flexibility and efficiency, with lower per-seat costs and an extended range that will open up new destinations in the single-aisle market. The MAX 8 and 9 will be followed in 2019 by the smaller MAX 7 and higher capacity MAX 200, while studies and discussions continue with customers on growing the family.

Source Boeing / Edited By Airline Adviser 03/08/17