AirAsia has taken delivery of its first A330neo aircraft, to be operated by its long-haul affiliate AirAsia X Thailand. The aircraft was delivered via lessor Avolon and is the first of two A330neos set to join the airline’s fleet by the end of the year.
With its enhanced economics, the A330neo will bring a step-change in fuel efficiency for AirAsia’s long-haul operations. The new-generation A330neo will be based at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport in Thailand, supporting the airline’s growth and network expansion plans to key markets such as Australia, Japan and South Korea.
The AirAsia X Thailand A330-900 features 377 seats in a two-class configuration, comprising 12 Premium Flatbeds and 365 economy class seats.
AirAsia’s long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X currently operates 36 A330-300 aircraft and is the largest customer for the A330neo with 66 on firm order.
The A330neo is the true new-generation aircraft building on the most popular wide-body A330’s features and leveraging on A350 XWB technology. Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the A330neo provides an unprecedented level of efficiency – with 25% lower fuel burn per seat than previous generation competitors. Equipped with the Airbus Airspace cabin, the A330neo offers a unique passenger experience with more personal space and the latest generation in-flight entertainment system and connectivity.
Airbus has today officially begun manufacturing the A220 in the U.S. The first team of A220 production workers began work at Airbus’ Mobile, Alabama-based production facility following their recent return from on-the-job training in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, where the A220 programme and primary final assembly line are located.
“The expansion of our commercial aircraft production in Mobile to a second product line – with 400 additional jobs to support it – further solidifies Airbus’ standing as a truly global aircraft manufacturer, and confirms without a doubt that Airbus is an important part of America’s manufacturing landscape,” said Airbus Americas Chairman & CEO C. Jeffrey Knittel. “With Mobile, and our production network in Asia, Canada and Europe, we have strategically created a worldwide industrial base to better serve our customers.”
Airbus announced plans for the addition of A220 manufacturing in Mobile in October 2017. Construction on the main A220 flowline hangar and other support buildings for the new A220 began at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley at the beginning of this year. Airbus is producing the first few aircraft within some current A320 Family buildings and newly-built support hangars. The first U.S.-made A220 – an A220-300 destined for Delta Air Lines – is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2020. By the middle of the next decade, the facility will produce between 40 and 50 A220 aircraft per year.
The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market; it delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and wide-body passenger comfort in a single-aisle aircraft. The A220 brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft. The A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft. With an order book of 551 aircraft as of end of June 2019, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lion’s share of the 100-to-150-seat aircraft market, estimated to represent 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.
Airbus has strong and longstanding ties to the United States, with Airbus aircraft being operated by the largest airlines in America. Additionally, Airbus is a major partner of U.S. aerospace companies and workers. The company has purchased $48 billion of components and materials from American suppliers in the last three years alone, and supports more than 275,000 American jobs. Among its facilities in the U.S. Airbus has: engineering centers in Kansas and Alabama; training facilities in Florida and Colorado; materials support and headquarters in Virginia; an innovative think tank (A3) in California; a drone data analysis business (Airbus Aerial) in Atlanta, Georgia; helicopter manufacturing and assembly facilities in Texas and Mississippi; and a satellite manufacturing facility (OneWeb) in Florida.
The Air France-KLM Board of Directors approved several strategic decisions concerning the development of the Air France fleet, following a meeting on July 30, 2019.
These decisions reflect the Group’s focus on simplification. Making the fleet more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircraft with a significantly reduced environmental footprint is key to achieving leading industry margins.
Firm order for 60 A220-300s, with 30 options and 30 acquisition rights, which will gradually replace Air France’s A318 and A319 fleet
Retirement of the 10 A380s from the Air France fleet by 2022, and study of the replacement of A380s by new generation aircraft
Renewal of Air France’s short- and medium-haul fleet
Air France has committed to a firm order of 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with an additional 30 purchase options and 30 acquisition rights. The first aircraft should be delivered in September 2021. They will join Air France’s short- and medium-haul fleet.
This aircraft will enable Air France to reduce its environmental footprint. The A220-300 generates 20% less CO2 emissions than comparable aircraft in its class, and is twice as quiet.
With a capacity of 149 seats and an operating range of 2,300 nautical miles, the A220-300 is perfectly suited to replace the A318 and A319 on the Air France short- and medium-haul network. This aircraft will allow the company to increase its competitiveness by reducing its cost per seat by more than 10% compared to the aircraft it will replace.
Finally, its entry into the Air France fleet will contribute to the continuous improvement of the customer experience, thanks to seats offering more space, larger cabin baggage storage compartments, wide aisles and WiFi on board.
Retirement of the A380s from the Air France fleet by 2022
The Air France-KLM Board of Directors today approved the retirement in principle of the remaining seven A380s from the Air France fleet by 2022, the phase out of three additional aircraft having been decided previously. Five of these aircraft are owned by the company, while two are leased.
The current competitive environment limits the markets in which the A380 can profitably operate. With four engines, the A380 consumes 20-25% more fuel per seat than new generation long-haul aircraft, and therefore emits more CO2. Increasing aircraft maintenance costs, as well as necessary cabin refurbishments to meet customer expectations reduce the economic attractiveness of Air France’s A380s even further. Keeping this aircraft in the fleet would involve significant costs, while the aircraft programme was suspended by Airbus earlier in 2019.
The Air France KLM Group is studying possible replacement options for these aircraft with new generation aircraft currently on the market.
“These decisions support the Air France-KLM Group’s fleet competitiveness strategy,” said Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM Group. “They follow the recent orders for A350s and Boeing 787s that Air France and KLM have placed. We are very pleased to work with Airbus to add the A220-300 to our fleet, an aircraft that demonstrates optimum environmental, operational, and economic efficiency. The selection of the Airbus A220-300 supports our goal of a more sustainable operation, by significantly reducing CO2 and noise emissions. This aircraft will also provide our customers with additional comfort on the short- and medium-haul network and will provide our pilots with a connected cockpit with access to the latest navigation technology. This is a very important next step in Air France’s transformation, and this evolution in Air France’s fleet underlines the Group’s determination to attain European airline leadership.”
Air France-KLM operates a fleet of 541 aircraft between its three main brands, Air France, KLM, and Transavia, to 318 destinations globally. In 2018, AFKL flew over 100 million customers.
British Airways (BA) has taken delivery of its first A350-1000 at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, making it the first operator of the larger A350-1000 in International Airlines Group (IAG). In total, BA has ordered 18 A350-1000’s. Iberia, which is also part of IAG, already operates five of the smaller A350-900’s.
BA’s A350 XWB with its modern and comfortable Airspace cabin will usher in new levels of comfort with the launch of the Club Suite, the first new business class seat for British Airways in 13 years. The airline’s sophisticated and newly-branded “Club Suite” offers direct-aisle access, a suite door for greater privacy and luxurious flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
The three-class layout includes 56 Club Suites, 56 World Traveller Plus and 219 World Traveller economy seats.
BA, celebrating its 100th anniversary, will initially use the aircraft to fly between London and Madrid prior to flying long-haul routes from September.
BA operates a fleet of over 150 Airbus aircraft from the smallest A318 to the largest A380.
The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (15,000 km). It features the latest aerodynamic design, a carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25% reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The A350 XWB’s Airspace by Airbus cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience.
At the end of June 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 893 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful wide-body aircraft ever.
LOS ANGELES, July 26, 2019 – Today Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) announced the delivery of one new Airbus A321-200neo LR aircraft on long-term lease to Aer Lingus (Dublin, Ireland). This Airbus aircraft, featuring CFM International LEAP-1A33 engines, is the first of eight A321-200neo LRs scheduled to deliver to the airline through 2020 from ALC’s order book with Airbus.
“ALC is pleased to announce this first of eight A321-200neo LR aircraft delivery today to our long-time customer, Aer Lingus, and introduce the A321neo to the airline,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “The new ALC A321neo LR will enable Aer Lingus to substantially increase the number of flights, frequencies and new destinations between Ireland and the USA and Canada. We are honored to be a part of Aer Lingus’ ongoing fleet transition to the A321neo LR to enhance the airline’s expanding route network with the most modern, fuel-efficient aircraft.”
“This significant delivery to our good friends at Aer Lingus strengthens our close relationship and we are confident that the A321-200neo LR will advance the airline’s fleet operations and overall growth goals,” added Grant Levy, Executive Vice President of Air Lease Corporation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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.
About Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus, part of International Airlines Group, operates as a leading Irish airline primarily providing passenger and cargo transportation services from Ireland to the United Kingdom and Europe and also to the United States and Canada.
São Paulo, Brazil, July 11, 2019 – The Portuguese Government announced today a firm order of five multi-mission airlifters Embraer KC-390 as part of the process to modernize Portuguese Air Force capacities to support national Armed Forces operations and increase readiness in missions of public interest. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2023.
The KC-390 is designed to set new standards for efficiency and productivity in its category while presenting the lowest life-cycle cost of the market. The aircraft can perform different types of military and civilian missions including humanitarian support, medical evacuation, search and rescue and firefighting, while fully meeting the requirements of the Portuguese Air Force, adding new superior cargo and troops transport, aerial delivery and aerial refueling capabilities.
“Today is a historic day for the KC-390 Program and I want to thank those who have contributed to the project. This is a very important step to consolidate the aircraft which we believe will become another success for Embraer. The Portuguese KC-390 will meet new interoperability requirements, in the areas of secure navigation, data and voice transmission that will allow the KC-390 to integrate joint operations in multinational alliances in which Portugal is integrated. These requirements, developed in partnership with the Portuguese Air Force, will enable the KC-390 to meet the needs of many other nations around the world.” said Jackson Schneider, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. “The industrial partnership between Portugal and Embraer contributes to the development of engineering and the Portuguese aeronautics industry, representing more than 300 million euros in exports each year and thousands of highly skilled jobs.”
Portugal is the largest international partner of the KC-390 Program and its participation in the development and production of the aircraft is recognized as having had a positive economic impact in the generation of jobs, new investments, increased exports and technological advances.
The KC-390 has received its Civil Certification from the Brazilian National Aviation Agency (ANAC) in 2018 and is now in full serial production. Entry into service is expected to occur in the 3rd quarter of 2019 with the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), with follow on deliveries to occur throughout the year.
The Airbus logo is pictured at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France.
BEIJING (Reuters) – Air China, China’s flagship carrier, will buy 20 A350-900 jets from Airbus SE worth $6.54 billion based on list prices, the carrier said on Thursday.
Air China, which has 10 of the fuel-efficient widebody aircraft in its fleet already, said the deliveries were scheduled from 2020 to 2022.
It was not immediately clear if the order would bolster the Airbus order book or if it had previously been attributed to an unidentified customer. Airbus did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
A fresh order would help Airbus narrow a deficit in widebody orders against Boeing as trade tensions persist between the United States and China.
Boeing won a positive total of 61 widebody orders in the first half this year against Airbus’ negative tally of 35 jets, meaning the European company had more cancellations than orders for twin aisle aircraft in the period.
Air China said it has the right to swap 5 out of 20 jets for the larger A350-1000.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Se Young Lee and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
(Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Tuesday its deliveries fell about 37% to 239 planes in the first half of 2019, hurt by the grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jets, putting it on track to lose the world’s biggest planemaker title after eight years.
Boeing’s deliveries lagged those of European rival Airbus SE, which handed over as many as 389 planes in the same period, up 28% from a year earlier, according to sources.
A new problem identified with the grounded MAX jets last month has delayed the aircraft’s entry into service until at least the end of September, disrupting schedules for airline operators and possibly adding to costs for Boeing.
The American planemaker’s net orders for the first six months was in the negative, with a total of minus 119 net orders. Boeing had minus 125 net orders as of the end of May.
Deliveries of the MAX aircraft were stopped in March, a few days after an Ethiopian Airlines crash killed all 157 people on board. Since then, Boeing has not reported any new order for the MAX planes.
Last month, British Airways-owner IAG signed a letter of intent to order 200 MAXs.
Boeing shares were down 0.5% at $349.4 in morning trade.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Anil D’Silva)
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian airline Ural Airlines plans to receive the first of 14 previously ordered Boeing-737 MAX aircraft for leasing in December, Interfax news agency reported, citing its chief executive Sergei Skuratov.
Two Boeing MAX aircraft crashed in Ethiopia in March and Indonesia last October, triggering the global grounding of the aircraft. Regulators must approve the fix and new pilot training before the jets can fly again.
“These are good aircrafts. Mistakes have been made, but they are going to be fixed,” Skuratov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
Ural Airlines signed a deal for the leasing of 14 Boeing-737 MAX 8 in the spring of 2018. The delivery was expected between October 2019 and May 2022, Interfax said.
When asked whether the company considered cancelling the deal, Skuratov told the agency that “Boeing has certain advantages: seven hours 45 minutes (of flight) without refueling fully loaded.”
Ural Airlines plans to receive its first Airbus A320neo in August with an additional four jets expected to arrive by the end of 2019, he added.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt,; Editing by William Maclean)
Adelaide’s electric multiple unit trains, manufactured locally by Bombardier, were the first electric trains to operate in South Australia
Mobility solution provider Bombardier Transportation has received a contract variation from the Government of South Australia for 12 three-car A-City electric multiple unit (EMU) trains. This latest order will increase Bombardier’s fleet of A-City EMUs to a total of 34 trains and provide a much-needed capacity increase on Adelaide’s suburban rail network.
Wendy McMillan, President, South East Asia and Australia Region, Bombardier Transportation, said, “Since 2005, Bombardier has been supporting Adelaide’s mobility needs with its diesel and electric commuter trains and this contract variation is another huge endorsement of our workforce and the quality of the products designed, built and maintained here in Australia.” She added, “We are proud to deepen our long-term partnership in this important market, built on a strong track record of delivery performance, best-in-class rail technology and value-adding long-term solutions; which has laid the foundation to further support South Australian Government’s great efforts to meet a higher demand for public transport that will ensure the comfort and ease of every passenger’s journey.”
Bombardier is the only rail manufacturer in Australia with the ability and capacity to singlehandedly manufacture trains and trams in Australia. We have industrial design, engineering, manufacturing, maintenance and rail signalling teams based in Australia which allows us to maintain the highest level of local content across the majority of our projects.
Bombardier has been delivering Adelaide DMU’s from 2005 and since 2011, our Dandenong facility in Victoria, Australia is involved in delivering the Adelaide A-City EMU fleet. Our local engineers have developed an in-depth knowledge of Adelaide’s rail network over these years, information which enabled Bombardier to propose the most efficient and network-friendly EMU solution which has resulted in high reliability and availability of trains, reduced operational cost and increased performance.
These three-car trains, operating on Seaford and Gawler Line, can accommodate 240 seated passengers as well as up to 300 standees, can provide premium passenger comfort and are equipped to handle Adelaide’s hot summers. These environmentally-friendly trains have generated more than 200 local jobs, achieved high local content from almost zero when we started in Dry Creek to more than 60% today, which has created a robust supply-chain in Australia, enhanced local talent pools with skills development and training programs and developed critical asset management capabilities for Australia’s rail industry.
The Adelaide A-City EMU trains won Bombardier a Good Design Award at the 2015 Australian International Design Awards. Bombardier has been investing in Australia for more than 70 years. As a trusted rail industry partner with over 1,000 employees, Bombardier designs, engineers, manufactures and maintains rolling stock across Australia, along with providing signalling, rail equipment, asset management and through-life support to customers and operators.
This latest order will increase Bombardier’s fleet of A-City EMUs to a total of 34 trains.
