Tag: Purchase (Page 12 of 13)

Qatar Agrees to Buy U.S. Aircraft, Engines, Defense Equipment

July 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Bloomberg) — Qatar has made agreements with U.S. companies to spend billions on airplanes and jet engines and to develop a petrochemical complex, the White House said on Tuesday.

At least some of the deals were previously made but were publicly touted by the Trump administration Tuesday. Among them: Qatar Airways purchasing Boeing Co. 777 freighters and large-cabin aircraft from Gulfstream Aerospace, the private jet unit of General Dynamics Corp.

“They’re investing very heavily in our country,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They’re creating a lot of jobs. They’re buying tremendous amounts of military equipment including planes.

Qatar’s defense ministry committed to acquire Raytheon Co.’s NASM and Patriot Systems, according to the White House. In addition, a unit of Chevron Corp. entered into an agreement with Qatar Petroleum for the development, construction and operation of a petrochemicals complex in Qatar.

The agreements, whose total cost wasn’t disclosed by the White House, were announced during a visit to the White House by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

The deals come amid a two-year economic blockade of Qatar led by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and supported by nations including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Trump initially appeared to support the Saudi move — echoing its assertions that Qatar supported terrorists — even though it put the U.S. in an awkward position because it has a major military base in Qatar.

But Qatar has looked to improve relations in the U.S., with the emir saying the country was committed to doubling the economic partnership between the two countries. Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud, who leads the Qatar Investment Authority, said earlier this year that the country’s sovereign wealth fund will look to increase its U.S. investment portfolio from around $30 billion to about $45 billion over the next two years.

The country has also made significant gestures toward increasing its spending on U.S. defense contractors, with the U.S. approving a large weapons systems purchase ahead of Sheikh Tamim’s last visit to the country. In 2017, the country signed a deal to spend $12 billion for the purchase of 36 F-15QA fighter jets.

And the U.S. has announced plans to expand and renovate the al-Udeid Air Base near Doha, which houses the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command and some 10,000 American troops. During a dinner with the leaders on Monday, Trump thanked Sheikh Tamim for Qatar’s $1.8 billion investment in the project which will be used to construct housing and entertainment facilities.

Several companies have released specifics of some of the agreements that were formalized on Tuesday.

Gulfstream said its deal is for $1 billion in corporate jets that General Dynamics announced in January without giving the customer’s name. Boeing said last month it made a deal to sell five 777 freighters at a list price of $1.8 billion.

Qatar Airways plans to use General Electric Co. jet engines for Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft, according to the White House.

A Chevron statement Tuesday said the company was signing a new agreement at the White House for a previously unannounced $8 billion U.S. Gulf Coast project. The White House statement mentions only a prior deal, announced last month, in which the company would join forces with Qatar Petroleum to build a facility in Qatar.

(Story by Justin Sink and Thomas Black, Edited by Alex Wayne, Justin Blum, and Larry Liebert)

Air Lease Announces Q2 2019 Earnings Conference Call

July 1, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LOS ANGELES, July 1, 2019 – Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) will host a conference call on August 8, 2019 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s financial results for the second quarter of 2019.

Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing (855) 308-8321 domestic or (330) 863-3465 international. The passcode for the call is 4472126.

The conference call will also be broadcast live through a link on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website at www.airleasecorp.com. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the broadcast will be available on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website.

For your convenience, the conference call can be replayed in its entirety beginning at 7:30 PM ET on August 8, 2019 until 7:30 PM ET on August 15, 2019. If you wish to listen to the replay of this conference call, please dial (855) 859-2056 domestic or (404) 537-3406 international and enter passcode 4472126.

About Air Lease Corporation

ALC is a leading aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. For more information, visit ALC’s website at www.airleasecorp.com.

Embraer Announces KLM Intention for up to 35 E195-E2 Jets

June 19, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Paris, France, June 19, 2019 – Embraer announced today, at the 53rd International Paris Air Show, KLM Cityhopper’s intention to purchase up to 35 E195-E2 jets, 15 firm orders with purchase rights for a further 20 aircraft of the same model. This intention, which still requires a Purchase Agreement, has a value of USD 2.48 billion based on Embraer’s current list prices. The order will be added to Embraer’s backlog as soon as a firm contract is completed.

“With a fleet of 49 E-Jets, KLM is already the largest Embraer operator in Europe and adding KLM to the E2 family of operators would be a huge vote of confidence in Embraer, our after sales care, and the E2 programme. The aircraft uses 30% less fuel per seat compared to KLM Cityhopper’s current E190s. And in terms of aircraft noise, the aircraft is the quietest in its class both internally for passengers, and externally, by a significant margin*”, said John Slattery, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers, said, “Embraer has been a key partner for KLM and Cityhopper over the past ten years. Our customers appreciate the E190 and E175’s. The E2 would be a welcome addition to the KLM fleet, giving us greater capacity flexibility and help to manage down costs. In addition, the environmentally friendly E195-E2 also supports our sustainability goals with lower levels of noise and emissions.”

The economic and environmental performance of the aircraft makes the E195-E2 the ideal aircraft for growing KLM’s European business and supporting their hub-and-spoke operation, complementing the mainline fleet. This is why Embraer nicknamed the jet – The Profit Hunter.

KLM Cityhopper started the process of replacing its fleet of venerable Fokker aircraft for E-Jets in 2008, in order to enhance the existing network and to permit the efficient development of new routes. KLM Cityhopper’s all Embraer fleet currently has 49 E-Jets, the largest E-Jet fleet in Europe – 32 E190’s and 17 E175’s.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers from all over the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleet of 75 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline carriers.

*Note to Editors External noise technical information: the cumulative margin to ICAO Stage IV noise limit ranges from 19 to 20 EPNdB, 4.0 EPNdB better than its direct competitor.

About KLM Cityhopper

KLM Cityhopper is Europe’s largest regional carrier. In 2018 it operated more than 300 flights per day from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to 72 European destinations. Since 2018, KLM Cityhopper’s fleet consists entirely of Embraer jets, including 32 E190’s and 17 E175’s. This will give KLM the single largest Embraer fleet in Europe.

Elbit Eyes Acquisition Opportunities from Raytheon-UTC Deal

June 19, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) – Israel-based Elbit Systems on Wednesday said it would keep an eye out for possible acquisitions if the proposed merger of U.S. aerospace companies Raytheon Co and United Technologies Corp triggers certain divestments.

“We could have several opportunities coming from that kind of merger,” Ran Kril, executive vice president for International Marketing & Business Development, told Reuters at the Paris Airshow.

Kril said Elbit was committed to expanding in the United States, and would keep a close eye on any possible divestments ordered by U.S. authorities reviewing the proposed merger.

He said Elbit expected to wrap up the purchase of the night vision business of Harris Corp in the autumn. Antitrust authorities had ordered the sale of that business as a condition for approving Harris’s merger with L3 Technologies.

“We’ve decided to grow in America and after the Harris acquisition, we will always find opportunities to expand our portfolio and our presence in the U.S.,” Kril said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by Deepa Babington)

Air Antilles to be First Caribbean Operator of Viking Twin Otters

June 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Paris, France, June 18th, 2019: Viking Air Limited of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and Air Antilles, of Guadeloupe, French West Indies, have signed an agreement for the purchase of two Viking Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft, making Air Antilles the first commercial operator of the Series 400 in the Caribbean. Also forming part of the purchase agreement, Air Antilles will become the first Series 400 Twin Otter operator to receive European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for steep approach operations.

The two Viking-built Series 400 Twin Otters are scheduled for delivery to Air Antilles in the last quarter of 2019 and will be configured as 19-passenger regional commuter landplanes to replace the two legacy de Havilland Series 300 aircraft currently in commercial service with the airline.

With delivery of the Series 400 aircraft, Air Antilles will become the first commercial operator to receive EASA certification for steep approach landings, providing the airline with procedures to operate at approach angles in excess of 4.5 degrees. This is essential for Air Antilles’ scheduled operations to Gustaf III airport in Saint Barthelemy in order to satisfy EASA’s requirements for all commercial aircraft that access the airport to have factory certification for steep approach landings due to the surrounding mountainous terrain.

Eric Kourry, chairman of Guyane Aero Invest, the holding company of Air Antilles, commented, “As an operator of legacy de Havilland Series 300 aircraft for more than a decade, our knowledge of the Twin Otter’s exceptional flight capabilities, ease of maintenance, high dispatch reliability and suitability for our operations made selection of the Viking Series 400 a natural choice for upgrading our fleet.

“As travel tourism in the Caribbean expands, improvements to safety are becoming increasingly important for airlines to retain a competitive advantage. The innumerous improvements made to the new Series 400 will help Air Antilles increase safety and bring added value to their flight operations,” said David Caporali, Viking regional sales director for the Americas. He added, “The Caribbean shows encouraging market opportunities for Series 400 Twin Otter due to its low operating costs, ability to access the many short runways throughout the region, and its ability to support growth of an inter-island commercial transportation network. We highly value Air Antilles’ initiative to be the launch customer for the Series 400 in the region and are confident this relationship will yield many good results for both parties.”

About Air Antilles:

Compagnie Aerienne Inter Regionale Express (CAIRE), created in 2002, is an airline that operates under the name Air Guyane in the French Guiana, and under the name Air Antilles in the Caribbean. Air Antilles is one of the main regional airline companies in the Caribbean with more than 20 destinations in the area. The Twin Otter aircraft essentially serve from Guadeloupe to Saint Barthelemy, with Dominica soon to be added.

*Pictured above: Proposed paint scheme for Air Antilles’ new Series 400 Twin Otters scheduled for delivery at the end of 2019.*

Embraer and Binter Sign Order for Two Additional E195-E2’s

June 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Paris, France, June 18, 2019 – Embraer announced today, at the 53rd International Paris Air Show, that it has signed a contract with Binter, of Spain, for two additional E195-E2’s, confirming purchase rights from the original contract, signed in 2018. The two new E195-E2s will be included in Embraer’s 2019 second-quarter backlog and have a value of USD 141.8 million, based on Embraer’s current list prices. The airline is celebrating 30 years of operations in 2019.

“We are extremely proud that Binter is reinforcing its commitment to the E2 program and has confirmed these new acquisitions even before the first E195-E2 delivery to the airline. We wish continued success to Binter as it modernizes its fleet and continues to expand into new international markets in Europe and Africa”, said Martyn Holmes, Vice President, Europe, Russia & Central Asia, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

Binter will receive its first E195-E2 jet in the second half of 2019, becoming the first European customer of the E-Jets E2’s largest model. The airline is configuring the aircraft with 132 seats in a very comfortable single-class layout.

“We are pleased to confirm the firm order for these two additional Embraer E195-E2s,” said Binter’s Vice President, Rodolfo Núñez “We know that the E195-E2 is the ideal aircraft model for our operations, and, with typical Embraer efficiency, Type Certification was exactly on schedule. This along with fuel burn and other performance indicators being even better than originally expected, we have total confidence in placing this new firm order.”

Qantas Expects Final Proposals for Sydney-London Jet

June 3, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Airline could place an order for A350 or 777X by year end
21-hour flight would be the world’s longest
Qantas plans economy class section, including stretching zone (Adds details on aircraft configuration)

SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) – Qantas Airways Ltd has asked Airbus SE and Boeing Co to present their “best and final offer” for planes capable of flying 21-hours non-stop from Sydney to London by August, the airline’s chief executive said on Monday.

“Hopefully by the end of the year … we will come to a conclusion one way or another,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told reporters on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. “If the business case works we will put in an order.”

Qantas is aiming for the planes to be delivered from late 2022, with the first Sydney-London flights likely in 2023, he said. The route would be the world’s longest commercial flight and Qantas is examining A350 and 777X models.

The airline is in talks with pilots about changing a labour contract to increase productivity to help support the business case for an order, Joyce said.

Qantas plans to have four service classes on the airplane, including first, business, premium economy and economy, with a zone for economy and premium economy-class passengers to stretch and hydrate, he said.

Singapore Airlines Ltd has only business class and premium economy on the world’s current longest route, from Singapore to New York.

Joyce said Qantas’ success in selling around 90% of economy-class seats on its Perth-London flights showed there was demand for economy class on the even longer Sydney-London route.

“There still will be a large economy,” he said.

Qantas also planned other routes with the new jets such as Melbourne-London, Sydney-New York and possibly flights from the east coast of Australia to other cities in Europe, the U.S. east coast and Brazil, he said.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates)

AirAsia in Talks to Buy Proposed New Airbus A321XLR

May 31, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

May 31 (Reuters) – Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia is in negotiations to buy a proposed new longer-range version of the best-selling Airbus A321 passenger jet, two people familiar with the matter said.

Airbus has begun tying up customers for the A321XLR ahead of a possible formal announcement of the modified version at the Paris Airshow in June, though the timing of any deal between Airbus and AirAsia remains unclear.

Airbus declined to comment. AirAsia was not available for comment.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Richard Lough)

Boeing Jets Could Be Part of Broad U.S.-China Trade Deal

March 7, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Purchases of U.S.-made Boeing Co aircraft by China could be part of a sweeping deal currently being negotiated to end the months-long trade war between Washington and Beijing, Boeing’s top executive said on Thursday.

A tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economic powers has slowed the global economy. It has also opened up new risks for Boeing, which calls itself America’s biggest exporter, in the world’s fastest growing aviation market. Boeing sells roughly a third of its top-selling U.S.-made 737 jetliners to customers in China.

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg told an aviation summit in Washington that he sensed U.S.-China trade talks were progressing “in a good way.”

“They are dealing with some of the tough framework issues around intellectual property and things like that,” Muilenburg said. “I do think they are making progress. And at the same time, I think there’s an economic opportunity here for airplanes to be part of the ultimate deal and help further close the trade deficit gap.”

Governments typically use jet deals to achieve broader diplomatic objectives. In talks with Beijing, U.S. officials have demanded more details on China’s pledge to make big purchases of American goods, as well as to push for ways to hold China to any commitments on changes to industrial policies.

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that China shrink its widening trade surplus with the United States. On Wednesday, the U.S. reported the goods trade deficit with China rose 11.6 percent to an all-time high of $419.2 billion in 2018.

China is poised to overtake the United States as the world’s largest aviation market in the next decade and is gobbling up planes made by both Boeing and European rival Airbus SE, while also investing in homegrown aircraft businesses.

Boeing forecasts Chinese demand for 7,700 new airplanes over the next 20 years valued at $1.2 trillion.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown)

NOTE: Planesintheair.com forcast that 12 to 16 Boeing 747-8F freighters will be included in any new US-China trade deal!

Lion Air Ponders Canceling Boeing Jets After Crash

December 3, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS/JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Lion Air is reviewing airplane purchases from Boeing Co and has not ruled out canceling orders as relations worsen in a spat over responsibility for a 737 jetliner crash that killed 189 people in late October.

Co-founder Rusdi Kirana is furious over what he regards as attempts by Boeing to deflect attention from recent design changes and blame Lion Air for the crash, while the airline faces scrutiny over its maintenance record and pilots’ actions.

Kirana is examining the possibility of canceling remaining orders of Boeing jets “from the next delivery,” according to a person familiar with his thinking. Another source close to the airline said it was looking at canceling orders.

No final decision has been made, but discussion over the fate of $22 billion of remaining orders highlights the stakes surrounding an investigation involving Boeing’s fastest-ever selling jet, the 737 MAX, which entered service last year.

Lion Air has 190 Boeing jets worth $22 billion at list prices waiting to be delivered, on top of 197 already taken, making it one of the largest U.S. export customers.

Any request to cancel could be designed to put pressure on Boeing and would likely trigger extensive negotiations. Many airlines defer orders, but industry sources say aerospace suppliers rarely allow much scope for unilateral cancellations.

Lion Air declined to comment. A Boeing spokesman said: “We are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, and are working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved. We are also supporting our valued customer through this very tough time.”

MAINTENANCE, SOFTWARE

Kirana, who is now Indonesia’s envoy to Malaysia but still carries weight at the airline he co-founded with his brother in 2000, ordered the review in response to a Boeing statement focusing attention on piloting and maintenance, the person said.

Boeing released the statement after investigators last week issued an interim report focusing on maintenance actions spread over four flights in the run-up to the doomed flight on Oct. 29.

Boeing is also examining software changes in the wake of the crash, while insisting longstanding procedures exist for pilots to cancel automated nose-down movements experienced by the 737 MAX in response to erroneous sensor readings.

It has come under fire from U.S. pilots for not mentioning the MCAS system – a modification of existing anti-stall systems – in the manual for the 737 MAX, which began service last year.

“Why are they changing (software) if there was nothing wrong?” the person familiar with Kirana’s thinking said.

Boeing has said all information needed to fly the 737 safely is available to pilots and that its workhorse model is safe.

Some financial sources say Lion Air and southeast Asian rivals over-expanded and would be comfortable with fewer orders.

But the row highlights an unusually polarized dispute over the causes of the crash. Experts say most accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors and parties rarely comment in detail before the final report, which often follows a year of analysis.

In its statement, Boeing recapped the interim report and listed questions on maintenance and pilot behavior that it said remained unanswered in the 78-page document, but did not mention the MCAS modification covered in an earlier safety bulletin.

It is not the first time an airline has crossed swords with its supplier after a crash. Lion Air’s rival AirAsia clashed with Airbus after its Indonesian subsidiary lost an A320 in 2014. It continued to take deliveries, but relations never fully recovered and it later toyed with buying 787s from Boeing.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS, Cindy Silviana in JAKARTA; Additional reporting by Eric JOhnson; Editing by Mark Potter)

Image from www.boeing.com

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