Tag: leased (Page 2 of 2)

Alstom to Deliver 19 Electric Regional Trains in Germany

November 14, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom will deliver 19 Coradia Continental electric regional trains to the state of Baden-Württemberg. The contract, signed with DB Regio, is worth approximately €120 million. The trains will be built at Alstom’s site in Salzgitter.

Beginning in December 2022, the new trains will be gradually deployed on the routes from Karlsruhe to Heilbronn, Achern, as well as via Freudenstadt to Herrenberg.

The new trains have been designed to optimise passenger experience while meeting the region’s operational requirements. In addition to high-performance WiFi, they will include spacious multi-purpose areas in each car and a large capacity for bicycles. The trains are specifically designed to cope with the steep gradients that punctuate the tracks running through the Black Forest.

“Passengers in the Karlsruhe region can look forward to modern, proven and reliable trains. Our trains not only satisfy passengers, but are also known for outstanding reliability and availability, thus offering absolute planning security for operators,” says Jörg Nikutta, Managing Director of Alstom in Germany and Austria.

The Coradia Continental is part of Alstom’s Coradia range of modular trains that benefits from more than 30 years of know-how. To date, over 2,800 Coradia trains have been sold and 2,400 are currently in service in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada.

The new vehicles will be procured by DB Regio AG on behalf of the Ministry of Transport of the state of Baden-Württemberg as the responsible public transport authority for this network. After delivery of the vehicles, they become the property of the Landesanstalt Schienenfahrzeuge Baden-Württemberg (SFBW) and are leased by DB Regio for the term of the 13-year transport contract.

First Fiji Airways A350 XWB Rolls Out of Paint Shop

September 12, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Fiji Airways’ first A350 XWB has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse featuring the airline’s signature livery. The aircraft, an A350-900 leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprises, will be the first of its type to be operated by an airline in the South-Pacific region.

The aircraft will now proceed to the final phase of the assembly process, with the installation of engines followed by ground and flight tests, before delivery to Fiji Airways in Q4.

The aircraft will be configured with 33 full lie-flat Business Class and 301 Economy Class seats. The aircraft will be deployed to enhance existing long-haul services from Fiji to Australia and the U.S., and to provide the opportunity to open additional routes.

The A350 XWB is the world’s most modern wide-body family and the long-range leader. It is the only all-new design aircraft in the 300-410 seat category, offering the lowest cost per seat of any large wide-body. The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (9,700 nm).

The A350 XWB is an all-new family of mid-size wide-body long-haul airliners shaping the future of air travel. The A350 XWB has 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% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, and significantly lower maintenance costs. At end of August 2019, Airbus has recorded a total of 913 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 51 customers worldwide.

AirAsia Inks Major Deals with Airbus

August 30, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

AirAsia X orders 12 more A330neo and 30 A321XLR aircraft

AirAsia X, the long-haul unit of the AirAsia Group, has finalised a firm order with Airbus for an additional 12 A330-900 and 30 A321XLR aircraft. The contract was signed by Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Chairman, AirAsia X Berhad and Guillaume Faury, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus in Kuala Lumpur today, in the presence of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia Group, who was present at the signing, said: “This order reaffirms our selection of the A330neo as the most efficient choice for our future wide-body fleet. In addition, the A321XLR offers the longest flying range of any single-aisle aircraft and will enable us to introduce services to new destinations. Together, these aircraft are perfect partners for long-haul low-cost operations and will allow us to build further on our market leading position in this fast-growing sector.”

Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Chairman of AirAsia X Berhad, said: “Today’s announcement is testament to our confidence and commitment to longer haul air travel. This is the future of our long-haul operations. The A330neo’s revolutionary new features and modifications will move our long-haul service sectors up to a higher level and allow AirAsia X to look at expanding beyond the eight-hour flight radius, such as to Europe, for example.”

Guillaume Faury, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus commented: “AirAsia X has been the pioneer of the long-haul low-cost model in the Asia-Pacific region. This new order for the A330neo and A321XLR is a true endorsement of the Airbus solution to meet mid-market demand with a combination of single-aisle and wide-body products. This powerful solution will provide AirAsia X with the lowest possible operating costs to expand its network and enable even more people to fly further than ever before.”

The new contract increases the number of A330neo aircraft ordered by AirAsia X to 78, reaffirming the carrier’s status as the largest airline customer for the type. Meanwhile, the A321XLR order sees the wider AirAsia Group strengthen its position as the world’s largest airline customer for the A320 Family, having now ordered a total of 622 aircraft.

AirAsia X currently operates a fleet of 36 A330-300s on services to points within the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. In addition, in August, the first A330neo joined the fleet of AirAsia’s Bangkok-based long haul affiliate, AirAsia X Thailand. The aircraft is the first of two leased A330neos joining the airline’s Thai affiliate by the end of the year.

The A321XLR is the next evolutionary step from the A321LR which responds to market needs for even more range and payload, creating more value for the airlines. From 2023, it will deliver an unprecedented Xtra Long Range of up to 4,700 nm – 15% more than the A321LR and with 30% lower fuel burn per seat compared with previous generation competitor aircraft.

The A330neo is a true new generation aircraft building on the A330’s success and leveraging on A350 XWB technology. It incorporates the highly efficient new generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and a new higher span 3D optimised wing with new Sharklets. Together these advances bring a significant reduction in fuel consumption of 25% compared with older generation competitor aircraft of a similar size. The A330 is one of the most popular wide-body families ever, having received over 1,700 orders from more than 120 customers.

African Court Impounds Tanzanian Airplane

August 24, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

DAR ES SALAAM/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 24 (Reuters) – South African authorities impounded an Airbus 220-300 aircraft leased by Tanzania’s national flag carrier following a court application by a retired farmer who is owed compensation by the Tanzanian government, the farmer’s lawyer said.

The plane had been scheduled to fly from the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Friday, but was seized on an order issued by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, Tanzania’s transport ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Roger Wakefield, of Werksmans Attorneys, said his client, an elderly farmer who asked not to be named, was owed $33 million, including interest, in compensation from the Tanzanian government after his land in the country was expropriated several decades ago. The farmer was subsequently awarded the compensation in an arbitration, he said.

Wakefield said the only way Tanzania could secure the release of the plane was if it put up security or paid the debt.

A Tanzanian government spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Calls to the High Courts in Gauteng province went unanswered outside of usual business hours.

Speaking by phone to Reuters, Wakefield said the plane was impounded in line with South African and international laws allowing for an asset owned by a foreign entity to be attached to a case related to a foreign arbitration award.

The plane was chosen because there is evidence it is owned directly by the Tanzanian government and its value is commensurate with the amount owed to the farmer, who was born in Namibia, he said.

While the Tanzanian government has acknowledged it owes the farmer money, has previously made some payments and promised to pay the rest, it has not made a payment since around 2014, Wakefield said.

The plane is leased by loss-making state carrier Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL).

President John Magufuli has personally taken charge of the revival of the airline, spending hundreds of millions of dollars purchasing eight new planes since 2016.

The airline’s existing fleet, which is leased from the state-run Tanzania Government Flight Agency (TGFA), includes one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, two Airbus A220-300 jets and three DHC Dash 8-400 aircraft, formerly known as the Bombardier Q400 turboprop.

ACTL managing director Ladislaus Matindi told Reuters earlier on Saturday that the impounded plane was an Airbus 220-300, and arrangements had been made for its passengers to use another plane for their planned flight.

Tanzania has pinned hopes on the revival of the national airline to turn the country into a regional transport hub and boost the tourism sector, its biggest foreign exchange earner.

In 2017, a Canadian construction firm seized one of Tanzania’s new Q400 turbo-prop planes in Canada over a $38 million lawsuit related to a compensation ruling by the International Court of Arbitration.

The Q400 was released in March 2018 after Magufuli sent the country’s prime minister and attorney general to Canada to negotiate its release. Aviation sources said the government reached a financial settlement to secure the aircraft.

(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala in Dar es Salaam and Emma Rumney in Johannesburg Writing by Hereward Holland and Emma Rumney Editing by Angus MacSwan and Frances Kerry)

Azores Airlines Takes Delivery of its First A321LR

July 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Azores Airlines, the Azores archipelago-based carrier, has taken delivery of its first of three A321LRs to be leased from Air Lease Corporation “ALC”; NYSE: AL, becoming the latest operator of the long-range single-aisle aircraft.

Powered by CFM International’s LEAP-1A engines, the Azores Airlines’ A321LR comprises 190 seats in a two-class configuration (16 Business class seats and 174 seats in Economy) offering premium wide-body comfort in a single-aisle aircraft cabin and with single-aisle operating costs. With this new A321LR, the Portuguese operator will continue its strategy of growth and network expansion to European destinations as well as transatlantic routes between the Azores and North America.

The A321LR is a long-range (LR) version of the best-selling A320neo Family and provides airlines with the flexibility to fly long-range operations of up to 4,000 nm (7,400 km) and to tap into new long-haul markets, which were not previously accessible with single-aisle aircraft.

The A321LR will join the Azores Airlines’ Airbus fleet of five single-aisle aircraft comprising three A320ceo and two A321neo jetliners in service since last year. This new member of the fleet will provide Azores Airlines with more operational flexibility while leveraging on aircraft commonality.

The A320neo and its derivatives are the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family with over 6,500 orders from more than 100 customers. It has pioneered and incorporated the latest technologies, including new generation engines and the industry’s reference cabin design, delivering 20% fuel cost per seat savings alone. The A320neo also offers significant environmental benefits with nearly a 50% reduction in noise footprint compared to previous generation aircraft.

@_AzoresAirlines #Airbus #A321LR

Bamboo Airways Wants To Fly A380’s To The US

June 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

You can file this one under… “what on earth?”

Bamboo Airways: Vietnam’s newest airline

Bamboo Airways is a new Vietnamese airline that commenced operations at the beginning of 2019. The airline currently has a fleet of about 10 Airbus A320 family aircraft, and has a further 76 planes on order, including 46 A321neo’s and 30 787-9’s.

Click the link below for the full story!

https://onemileatatime.com/bamboo-airways-a380/