Category: Airbus news (Page 44 of 48)

Hawaiian Airlines’ Fleet Transition Back On Track

July 23, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Five years ago, Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA) ordered 16 medium-range Airbus(NASDAQOTH: EADSY) A321neos. It later agreed to lease two more A321neos, with all 18 aircraft scheduled for delivery between 2017 and 2020.

Hawaiian Airlines received its first two A321neos from Airbus in late 2017. Entering 2018, the carrier expected to have eight A321neos by the middle of the year, allowing it to replace its aging Boeing 767s and increase service during the summer peak season. However, a new round of production miscues at engine supplier Pratt & Whitney delayed this year’s deliveries.

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Hawaiian Airlines’ Fleet Transition

Airbus & Boeing Deals @ Farnborough Airshow

July 18, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Following is a summary of commercial aircraft deals announced by Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) at the Farnborough Airshow in southern England.

The two companies have so far signed deals worth more than $100 billion at current list prices. However, this is a gross number. Several of the deals firm up provisional ones, disclose previously unidentified buyers, or change existing orders, making it hard to gauge the level of new business.

AIRBUS DEALS – $57 billion

** GOLDEN FALCON AVIATION (for Wataniya Airways): confirmed an order for 25 Airbus A320neo jets for Kuwait’s Wataniya Airways worth about $2.8 billion at list prices.

** GOSHAWK AVIATION: a firm order for 20 Airbus A320neo jets worth about $2.2 billion at list prices.

** LEVEL (low cost of IAG): firm order for two A330-200s, worth around $477 million at list prices. https://bit.ly/2Jumrbv

** MACQUARIE FINANCE: ordered 20 A320neo jets in a deal worth about $2.2 billion at list prices.

** PEACH AVIATION: updated a previous deal for 10 A320neo, changing it to eight A320neo and two A321LR planes. The deal would be worth around $1.1 billion at list prices.

** SALAMAIR: signed an agreement to add six new A320neo aircraft to its fleet. The deal would be worth around $700 million at list prices.

** SICHUAN AIRLINES: ordered 10 Airbus A350 XWB jets, confirming a deal struck earlier this year. The order is worth about $3.2 billion at list prices.

** STARLUX AIRLINES: signed a preliminary deal for 17 Airbus A350 jets worth an estimated $6 billion at list prices.

** UGANDA AIRLINES: signed memorandum of understanding for two A330-800neo aircraft, worth around $0.5 billion at list prices.

** UNDISCLOSED CUSTOMER: order for 100 A320neo family aircraft worth about $11.5 billion at list prices.

** UNDISCLOSED CUSTOMER: a preliminary deal for 80 A320neo jets with a leasing firm. The deal would be worth around $8.8 billion at list prices.

** UNDISCLOSED CUSTOMER: has signed a commitment for six A330neo family aircraft. The deal would be worth around $1.6 billion based at current list prices. https://bit.ly/2uJJsBT

** U.S. AIRLINE START-UP: a commitment for 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft worth about $5.5 billion at list prices.

** VISTARA: a letter of intent to buy 13 Airbus A320neo aircraft and commitment to taking a further 37 A320neos from leasing firms. The deal for all 50 aircraft would be worth around $5.5 billion at current list prices.

** VIVA AEROBUS: firmed up a deal for 25 incremental A321neo and 16 conversions of A320neos to A321neos. The 41 planes are worth around $5.3 billion at list prices.

BOEING DEALS – $82 billion

** AIR LEASE CORP (AL.N): committed to buy as many as 78 Boeing aircraft in a deal valued at $9.6 billion at list prices.

** AVIATION CAPITAL GROUP: order for 20 737 MAX 8 airplanes, valued at $2.34 billion at list prices.

** DHL: a $4.7 billion deal for four Boeing 777 Freighters, and purchase rights for seven additional freighters.

** GECAS: an agreement for 35 additional 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters. The deal includes 20 firm orders and an option for 15 more. The deal for 35 aircraft would be worth around $3.6 billion at list prices. http://bit.ly/2mme2O5

** GOL AIRLINES: an order for 30 737 MAX 10 Airplanes, 15 MAX 8s. New agreement converts some MAX 8 orders to the larger MAX 10 model, adds 15 more jets. The deal for 45 aircraft would be worth $5.7 billion at current list prices.

** GOSHAWK AVIATION: an order for 20 737 MAX jets valued at $2.3 billion at current list prices.

** JACKSON SQUARE AVIATION: a firm deal to buy 30 737 MAX 8 aircraft, valued at about $3.5 billion at list prices.

** JET AIRWAYS: ordered an additional 75 737 MAX 8 airplanes valued at $8.8 billion at current list prices.

** QATAR AIRWAYS: finalised an order for five 777 Freighters, valued at $1.7 billion at list prices.

** SEACONS TRADING: ordered a Boeing Business Jet MAX 7, worth $96 million based on current list prices.

** TAROM ROMANIAN AIR TRANSPORT: a $586 million order for five 737 MAX 8 airplanes.

** UNITED AIRLINES (UAL.N): expanded its commitment to the 787 Dreamliner programme with an order for four more 787-9 planes, worth about $1.1 billion according to current list prices. https://bit.ly/2NXKYJw

** UNDISCLOSED CUSTOMERS: sign commitments for 40 High-Capacity 737 MAX 8s, 53 MAX 8 Airplanes, worth nearly $11 billion at current list prices

** VIETJET (VJC.HM): provisionally ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, worth about $12.7 billion at current list prices

** VISTARA: confirmed an order for six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with an option to buy four more. The deal for the 10 planes would be worth about $2.8 billion at list prices.

** VOLGA DNEPR: committed to buying 29 of Boeing’s 777 freighter aircraft and five of its 747-8 freighter, in a deal worth about $11.8 billion at list prices.

(Compiled by Joao Manuel Mauricio, Katarzyna Piasecka and Anna Pruchnicka in Gdynia; Editing by Mark Potter)

Boeing Gets Farnborough 777-F Order

July 17, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

The Farnborough International Airshow kicked off today, with Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) 777 Freighters pushed to the limelight as logistics and airline companies finalized their orders for fleet expansion. The 777 Freighter is an all-cargo version of the 777-200 longer-range passenger liner. Boeing rolled out the first 777 Freighter in 2008, and the aircraft’s sales have been going strong ever since.

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Boeing Gets Farnborough 777-F Order

Embraer Gets $1.1 Billion Order From United Airlines

July 17, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) has signed a firm order with United Airlines (UAL.N) for twenty-five 70-seat E175 jets, the Brazilian planemaker said on Monday, providing a boost to the company shortly after JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) opted to replace its fleet of Embraer jets with ones made by Airbus SE (AIR.PA).

Under the contract, worth $1.1 billion at current market value, Embraer is set to deliver the jets in the second quarter of 2019, Embraer said in a statement.

Earlier in July, JetBlue announced it would buy 60 A220-300 narrowbody jets from Airbus, sending down shares in Embraer. The A220 will replace JetBlue’s existing fleet of 60 Embraer E190 aircraft, with those jets retiring beginning in 2020.

That came shortly after Embraer and Boeing Co (BA.N) struck a deal creating a new $4.75 billion joint venture, effectively reshaping the global passenger jet industry.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Did JetBlue Get 72% Off Airbus A220 Order?

July 17, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

JetBlue Airways Corp. got a great deal on its latest aircraft purchase from Airbus SE, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The carrier probably paid $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion for 60 Airbus A220-300 jets, or between $23 million and $28 million per plane, Moody’s analyst Jonathan Root said in a report Friday, citing estimates by appraisers and price breaks that are typical for large orders. “As with most campaigns, we believe the decision comes down to the lowest all-in cost, because the narrow-body aircraft manufactured by Airbus and Boeing have similar capabilities and operating costs for the majority of operators,” he said.

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Did JetBlue Get 72% Off Airbus A220 Order?

Israel’s Elbit Systems Speeds Up Drone Race

July 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

REHOVOT, Israel (Reuters) – Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems on Thursday unveiled a 1.6 ton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) designed to fly in airspace currently reserved for piloted civilian planes as a race heats up to deploy military drones outside combat zones.

The move came hours after a U.S. rival staged a landmark transatlantic demonstration flight, as arms firms vie to develop drones with flexibility to be used in civilian-controlled airspace – a drive that could spawn future technology for unmanned airliners.

Changing security concerns following the dismantling of Islamic State and rising geopolitical tensions have caused European countries to shift defense efforts from far-away conflicts to homeland security, resulting in demand for drones that can be safely integrated into civilian airspace to, for example, monitor border crossings, Elbit officials said.

A version of Elbit’s Hermes 900 StarLiner is being assembled for the Swiss armed forces and is scheduled to be delivered in 2019 in a deal worth $200 million.

“We are getting a lot of interest from other customers for the same configuration … from all over the world,” Elad Aharonson, general manager of Elbit’s ISTAR division, told Reuters.

The StarLiner, being launched ahead of next week’s Farnborough Airshow, is derived from the Hermes 900 operated by Brazil for surveillance during the 2014 World Cup. That operation required closing off airspace to civilian aircraft, something the StarLiner, with technology to detect aircraft and avoid collisions, will not require, Elbit said.

The drone is compliant with NATO criteria, qualifying it to be integrated into civilian airspace, Elbit said. It will still need approval of the various civil aviation authorities.

The StarLiner has been flying in civilian airspace in Israel over the past year.

California-based General Atomics’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian – a version of the widely used Predator family – completed its Atlantic crossing on Wednesday ahead of the world’s largest military airshow at RAF Fairford in western England.

Elbit expects to receive approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its own product in the coming months.

EASA was not available for comment.

Israel’s drone exports in 2005-2012 totaled $4.6 billion, according to consultancy Frost & Sullivan. They reached $525 million in 2016, accounting for 7 percent of Israel’s defense exports, defense ministry data show.

Drones are a major source of revenue for Elbit and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The United States and Israel dominate the industry but face growing competition from cheaper Chinese drones.

U.S. military drone makers are vying for a larger share of the global market, which market researcher the Teal Group forecasts will rise from $2.8 billion in 2016 to $9.4 billion in 2025.

INTELLIGENCE GATHERING

Flying alongside airliners would expand the horizons of drones originally developed for military surveillance. But it would also call for advanced sensors and software that could eventually filter back into commercial use as developers look at single-pilot and ultimately pilotless cargo or passenger jets.

The StarLiner can reach 30,000 feet – the altitude of some commercial jets – and photograph an 80 square kilometer (31 square mile) area, Elbit said.

“Some customers would like to use the system to gather intelligence,” Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis said. “Another example can be for homeland security applications, to fly above an area and make sure it is monitored against terrorist activities.”

The drone can be equipped with radar, cameras to take video and still pictures, and signals intelligence to analyze electronic signals.

“This is a major step towards unmanned civilian planes,” Aharonson said, adding the main barrier to such aircraft would be psychological rather than technical.

(Editing by Jonathan Weber, Tim Hepher and Mark Potter)

JetBlue Places Order For 60 Airbus A220’s

July 10, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Airbus SE scored a key victory on Tuesday, with U.S. airline JetBlue announcing it would buy 60 of its A220-300 narrowbody jets, the first major order for the planemaker’s newly rebranded programme as its battle with rival Boeing Co intensifies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Airbus unveiled the new A220 name for the 110-seat to 130-seat model jets, previously called the CSeries under Canadian firm Bombardier, at a ceremony at the planemaker’s Toulouse facilities in France.

Airbus has taken majority control of the loss-making Montreal-based aircraft programme, with Bombardier and Quebec as minority partners. The deal closed on July 1.

“We feel the 220 is the perfect fit for our network, strategy and customer experience, and most importantly, for our owners,” JetBlue Chief Financial Officer Steve Priest said in a phone interview. “It really is the ideal aircraft to carry the momentum of our structured cost programme well into the next decade.”

The A220 will replace JetBlue’s existing fleet of 60 Embraer E190 aircraft, with those jets retiring beginning in 2020.

The A220’s triumph over Brazil’s Embraer SA sets the stage for a fierce competition between Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing Co in the narrowbody market. Both major planemakers have recently taken stakes in smaller rivals’ jet programs.

Boeing last week announced a tentative deal for a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft arm of Embraer under a new $4.75 billion (£3.57 billion) joint venture.

“It’s a very smart decision on JetBlue’s part because the A220 is an extremely flexible airplane,” Atmosphere Research Group fleet analyst Henry Harteveldt said, adding that it was a “completely new airplane” with a fuel efficiency that would allow JetBlue to carry “20 to 30 more passengers for free.”

The jets will be powered by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) PW1500G engines. Pratt & Whitney is owned by Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp.

JetBlue declined to outline the financial details of the deal.

The carrier said the new aircraft will be assembled at Airbus’ Mobile, Alabama, facility.

(Reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Tim Hepher in Toulouse, France; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Photo from:

https://www.airbus.com/

Airbus Renames CSeries Jet As A220

July 10, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

* Sees demand for at least 3,000 of the planes over 20 years

* Says move will be positive for jobs in Quebec

* Broadens its battle with Boeing to small passenger jets (Adds potential order, background)

TOULOUSE, France, July 10 (Reuters) – Airbus gave its newly acquired Canadian CSeries jet a new name and looked close to winning an inaugural order on Tuesday as it prepares to broaden its battle with Boeing for jet sales.

The European firm said it was rebranding the plane as the A220, slotting it just under its longstanding A300 portfolio which stretches from the 124-seat A319 to the 544-seat A380.

Airbus expects to sell a “double-digit” number of the jets that have 110-130 seats this year and sees demand for at least 3,000 of them over 20 years, said CSeries sales chief David Dufrenois.

“I don’t think it will be very long before we see the first results on the market,” said Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Eric Schulz.

The CSeries has been locked in a fierce competition for a deal to supply jets to U.S. carrier JetBlue and is in poll position to win as Airbus also offers more attractive delivery positions on its larger planes, industry sources said.

Airbus and JetBlue declined comment.

The rebranding seals the takeover of one of Canada’s most visible industrial projects and ends Bombardier’s efforts to go it alone in the mainline jet market against larger rivals.

Airbus officials stressed it would be positive for jobs in Quebec where the lightweight jet is built.

The 110-seat and 130-seat models, previously known as CS100 and CS300, will be known as A220-100 and A220-300 respectively.

A deal for Airbus to take majority control of the loss-making Montreal-based aircraft programme with Bombardier and Quebec as minority partners closed on July 1.

The move also sets the stage for a broader confrontation with Boeing, which last week announced a tentative deal to take over the commercial unit of Bombardier’s competitor Embraer.

Until now the two plane giants have focused mainly on planes starting at 150 seats and largely ignored the niche below their single-aisle jets.

Adding the smaller models to their portfolios will broaden the revenue base of each company and prevent a key slice of Western know-how reaching potential competitor China, which had held talks to buy the CSeries, people involved in the deal said.

The change of identity came in a slick branding ceremony as the Canadian-developed passenger jet performed a flypast in searing heat over Airbus’s Toulouse facilities, with executives papering over past differences over prospects for the jet.

Airbus said it expected total demand for 7,000 planes in its category over 20 years, including its own A319.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Edmund Blair)

Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways Moves Closer To Startup

July 10, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

HANOI, July 10 (Reuters) – Fledgling Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways moved a step closer to starting operations on Tuesday as the government said it would authorise the transport ministry to issue it with an aviation licence.

Privately owned FLC Group last month agreed a $5.6 billion deal to buy 20 Boeing Co planes at current list prices and in March signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for up to 24 planes.

The government said on Tuesday that Bamboo Airways will invest 700 billion dong ($30 million) during 2019-2023 on 10 Airbus or Boeing planes, but it was unclear whether it would rent or buy planes initially.

It will become Vietnam’s fifth airline. It has yet to receive an aviation licence but the government said in a statement on Tuesday that it had authorised “The Ministry of Transportation to evaluate and issue an air transport business license in accordance with the law.”

FLC has said it expects the airline to begin operations in 2019 and launch direct flights to the United States and Europe and position itself as a hybrid airline, combining traditional and low–cost models, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Vietnam’s four airlines are flag carrier Vietnam Airlines ; budget operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines which is partly owned by Vietnam Airlines; budget carrier Vietjet Aviation and Vietnam Air Services Co.

The country’s airport capacity has been reaching its limits as fast economic growth means more people in the nation of 90 million are taking flights.

Hanoi-based FLC, whose main businesses are housing, resorts and golfing, had said it planned to operate international flights through Bamboo Airways to tourist spots in Vietnam including where FLC has properties and also plans domestic flights.

($1 = 23,039 dong) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Boeing To Take Over $4.75 Billion Embraer Unit

July 6, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO/PARIS (Reuters) – Boeing Co (BA.N) struck a deal for a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft arm of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) under a new $4.75 billion joint venture, the firms said on Thursday, reshaping a global passenger jet duopoly.

The new company, encompassing Embraer’s airliner business, thrusts Boeing into the lower end of the market, giving stiffer competition to the CSeries jets designed by Canada’s Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) and backed by European rival Airbus SE (AIR.PA).

The memorandum of understanding signed by Boeing and Embraer values the Brazilians’ commercial aircraft operations, the world’s third-largest, at $4.75 billion and Boeing’s planned 80-percent stake in the venture at $3.8 billion.

The Boeing-Embraer alliance, following on the heels of the Airbus-Bombardier tie-up announced last year, represents the biggest realignment in the global aerospace market in decades, strengthening established Western planemakers against newcomers from China, Russia and Japan, analysts say.

Chief Executive Paulo Cesar Silva told employees in a note reviewed by Reuters that consolidation in the aerospace supply chain had also forced Embraer’s hand.

“This has been happening with both our suppliers and our clients. They have started to organise in big blocs, making it harder for companies of Embraer’s size to negotiate,” he said.

Embraer shares fell 10 percent in New York and nearly 15 percent in Sao Paulo on disappointment at the financial terms of the long-awaited deal.

The price tag for Embraer’s commercial aviation unit was “significantly lower” than early reports, according to analysts at Vertical Research Partners, who underscored in a client note that a deal must still clear political and regulatory barriers before closing as proposed at the end of next year.

“We also see strong odds of Embraer shareholders demanding a higher price for the stake in the commercial segment,” wrote BTG Pactual analysts Renato Mimica and Samuel Alves in a note.

The partnership, which adds a 70- to 130-seat family to Boeing’s lineup, is expected to boost the U.S. firm’s earnings per share from 2020, generating annual pre-tax cost savings of about $150 million by the third year, the companies said.

Boeing shares were little changed on Thursday.

CASH AND DEBT

Embraer will transfer much of its debt to the new venture and receive cash from Boeing, Embraer executives told analysts.

About a fifth of the cash payment will go to taxes and the rest could be split between share buybacks, a special dividend, deleveraging and new product development, they said.

Silva told employees in his note that Embraer would improve its cash position by $1 billion once the deal closes, allowing more investment in new projects.

Embraer will hold the remaining 20 percent of the Boeing joint venture and keep control of its defence and business jet operations. Concern over U.S. influence in military programs had raised flags in the Brazilian government, which holds a strategic veto at Embraer dating back to its privatisation.

However, recent signals from Brazil’s President Michel Temer and military officials suggest the government is satisfied with the new structure of the tie-up, as long as Brazilian jobs are maintained and Embraer continues to develop new technology.

One government official said the deal as announced on Thursday was likely to get approval in Brasilia. Another official said government approval was not certain and would depend on the final details presented later this year. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In addition to the passenger jet deal, Boeing and Embraer will deepen a sales and services partnership on the new KC-390 military cargo jet through a separate defence venture that is likely to eventually receive a joint investment, Silva said.

A union of metalworkers in Sao Jose dos Campos, where Embraer is based, said in a statement it would “pressure” the federal government to use the golden share it owns in Embraer to veto the deal.

The Embraer-Boeing tie-up took shape more than two years after the idea was first presented internally to Boeing’s board and reflects a longstanding affinity between the two planemakers, a person familiar with the discussions said.

However, the pressure for an alliance accelerated when Airbus last year announced it would take control of the CSeries jet, which had been struggling in its battle with Embraer at the small end of the airliner market.

That deal put enormous marketing weight behind Embraer’s competitor, while for Boeing the transatlantic tie-up threatened to expand the revenue base of its European arch-rival.

“The Boeing-Embraer announcement confirms the strong market potential in the 100- to 150-seat category,” Airbus said through a spokesman. “Boeing and Embraer are following Airbus and Bombardier.”

(Reporting by Brad Haynes in Sao Paulo and Tim Hepher in Paris; Additional reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru, Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia, Paula Laier, Flavia Bohone and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Flynn, Nick Zieminski and Lisa Shumaker)

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