Tag: order (Page 21 of 22)

Boeing & Bamboo Airways Announce Order for 10 787 Dreamliners

February 27, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

HANOI, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Bamboo Airways today confirmed an order for 10 787-9 Dreamliners valued at $3 billion according to list prices. The order for the super-efficient and longest-range member of the Dreamliner family was unveiled during a signing ceremony in Hanoi, witnessed by U.S. President Donald Trump and General Secretary and President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.

“We are excited to be adding the new 787 Dreamliner to our growing fleet,” said Mr. Trinh Van Quyet, Chairman of FLC Group and owner of Bamboo Airways. “Our long-term vision is to connect Vietnam with key markets in Asia, Europe and North America and the Dreamliner will enable us to launch these long-haul operations. The 787’s superior operating economics and efficiency, as well as the passenger pleasing interior of the Dreamliner, will allow us to successfully grow our business while enabling us to better serve our customers.”

This order was previously unidentified on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website.

Bamboo Airways, a startup airline founded in 2017, began commercial operations in January, offering flights linking the capital of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with cities in Vietnam. The airline plans on offering up to 40 domestic routes in 2019. Additionally, Bamboo is preparing to launch international service to Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Australia, before broadening service to other destinations in Asia, Europe, and North America.

“The 787 Dreamliner’s unmatched efficiency, range and flexibility make it the perfect airplane for Bamboo Airways to achieve its long-range ambitions. We are excited to advance the partnership between Boeing and Bamboo Airways and we look forward to helping them connect Asia with Europe, North America and beyond,” said Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The 787 Dreamliner family allows airlines to fly long ranges while reducing fuel costs by more than 20 percent compared to previous widebody jets. The Dreamliner’s superior efficiency and range have allowed airlines to open more than 210 new non-stops routes around the world since it entered service.

At 63 meters (206 feet), the 787-9 can fly 290 passengers, in a typical two-class configuration, up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140 kilometers). The airplane is 6 meters longer than the original Dreamliner and is capable of carrying more passengers and flying farther.

The 787 Dreamliner is the fastest-selling widebody airplane in history with more than 1,400 orders from 75 customers since its launch. Nearly 800 Dreamliners have entered service around the world, helping airlines save 33 billion pounds of fuel.

Bamboo Airways is wholly-owned by the FLC Group, a Vietnamese multi-industry company, focusing on aviation, real estate, resorts, farming, and golf.

Story and image from http://www.boeing.com

Ariane 6 Rocket Seeks First Commercial Deals

February 21, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

BREMEN, Germany (Reuters) – Ariane 6, Europe’s next-generation space rocket, is expected to win its first two commercial launch orders in coming weeks, company officials said, a key milestone as the European launcher vies for orders against Elon Musk’s U.S. competitor SpaceX.

Operator Arianespace faces increased competition from SpaceX and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Japan and India also pose a growing challenge.

Ariane 6 has three institutional orders in hand from the European Commission and France and is close to signing deals with two commercial customers, said Mathias Spude, spokesman for ArianeGroup, a joint venture of Airbus and Safran, that is the majority stakeholder in Arianespace.

ArianeGroup has invested 400 million euros (£347 million) of its own funds in the 3.4-billion-euro development of Ariane 6 – a project key to ensuring Europe’s independent access to space and a market valued at over $1 trillion by 2040.

Manufacturers say the rocket will be more versatile than Ariane 5, able to carry out missions from placing as many as 90 small satellites in low-earth orbit to taking classic spy satellites to far higher perches in geostationary orbit.

But the business case depends on drumming up enough commercial business to augment the 5-6 institutional launches expected in Europe annually in coming years, about a quarter of those planned in the United States.

European governments also face industry pressure to use Ariane 6 even if they could get cheaper rides using SpaceX.

“Europe continues to need its own access to space – the market of the future,” said Matthias Wachter with the BDI German Federation of Industry. “It doesn’t make sense to use European tax money to develop our own rocket but then launch satellites with competitors from the United States or Asia.”

Ariane 6, due for a first launch in 2020, was designed to save significant costs compared to Ariane 5, but industry experts say it will still cost around 70 million euros per launch – well above the rate offered by SpaceX, which uses reusable rocket technology and can count on larger U.S. orders.

Ariane 6’s designers insist innovative production techniques will favour the European launcher when the commercial market recovers from a recent slump.

“When it wakes up … we will be on the market with a rocket that is 40 percent cheaper, and will continue to reduce costs after that,” Spude told Reuters at the Ariane 6 production site.

Still, experts say SpaceX is widely credited with jolting the overall market with a keen focus on cutting costs, forcing Europe to shake up its launch industry.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Tim Hepher)

Airbus Pencils in Orders for New A321XLR Jet

February 21, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus has begun lining up tentative orders for a longer-range version of its A321 jetliner, seeking to exploit signs of hesitation at arch-rival Boeing over whether to develop a new model in a hotly contested niche of the airplane market.

The European firm is in detailed talks with airlines over the price and timing of the longer-range design – known as A321XLR – and has pencilled in some orders subject to a formal launch, expected this year, industry sources said.

Airbus is looking for 200-300 draft orders before committing to build the A321XLR, in a move that would limit the space available for a mid-market alternative that Boeing hopes to launch in a gap between medium-haul and long-haul jets.

“Every A321XLR that Airbus sells, means one less potential sale for the NMA (Boeing’s proposed New Mid-sized Airplane),” an industry source said.

An Airbus spokesman said the planemaker is “always talking to customers” and declined further comment.

The middle of the jet market is at the centre of one of the most widely watched airplane design battles for years.

Boeing is aiming its potential new 220 to 260-seat NMA at a niche previously served by two models: its own 757, a long-range single-aisle jet, and its 767, a larger twin-aisle model.

Boeing dominates the upper end of that spectrum but has come under pressure from Airbus at the lower end.

Last month it postponed a decision on whether to launch the NMA to 2020 from 2019, though it said it could still decide whether to offer the plane on a preliminary basis this year. It maintained its goal of seeing any new jet enter service in 2025.

Facing a potential new competitor, Airbus plans a pincer move, using derivatives of two existing models: the A321neo and its souped-up sister versions – the A321LR and the proposed A321XLR – at the lower end and an upgraded A330 at the top end.

Unlike the smaller A321neo, the upgraded A330neo has been selling poorly but received a boost last week when Emirates ordered 40 of the planes.

The A321XLR would attempt to make it harder for Boeing to launch its new plane by increasing pressure at the lower end of the roughly 200-270-seat mid-market, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars over 20 years.

It would have a higher maximum take-off weight of 101 tonnes and 400-500 nautical miles more range than the A321LR, Airbus’ longest-range single-aisle. It would not carry extra passengers.

The A321LR can carry 206 people for 4,000 miles or up to 240 people on shorter trips. Boeing’s proposed new jet is expected to fly 4,000-5,000 miles, but Boeing says it will do so with the greater comfort of a twin-aisle jet and at a lower cost.

Airbus is expected to try to create momentum for the A321XLR by offering airlines with existing orders for the A321neo or A321LR versions a chance to upgrade to the A321XLR.

U.S. sources have dismissed the A321XLR, saying another model in the A321 family would dilute the second-hand market, making it harder to finance orders of the new longer range version for which the market remains relatively niche.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Richard Lough)

Airbus Orders Decline as A380 Shutdown Questions Mount

February 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Airbus acknowledged reports last Thursday that Quantas has cancelled an order for its 8 remaining A380 aircraft. The announcement comes on the heels of Emirates re-evaluating its decision to add on to its remaining Super Jumbo order book.

Qantas Airlines of Australia confirmed it would not take any more of the world’s largest airplane, operating a fleet of 12 aircraft, instead of the 20 it had originally ordered. This news comes on the heels of Airbus’ largest A380 customer Emirates beginning discussions with Airbus over the possibility of changing some, or all, of its remaining A380 orders to smaller A350 or A330neo models after failing to secure an engine contract from Rolls-Royce for the last A380 order it placed.

Airbus has declined to comment on the future of the A380 at this time, but reports indicate that an announcement could come as soon as this Thursday.

Airbus also reported the cancellation of an order for five of its smallest aircraft, the 110-seat A220-100. The identity of the A220 buyer was not disclosed, but is widely believed to be the Swiss-based business charter carrier PrivatAir, which filed for insolvency at the end of 2018. PrivatAir had placed an ordered for 5 of the type, the Canadian Bombardier CS100 at the time of the order, in early 2012.

United Airlines Announce Repeat Orders for 737 MAX and 777

January 16, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SEATTLE, WA Jan 16, 2019 – Boeing [NYSE:BA] and United Airlines [NASDAQ:UAL] announced the carrier ordered 24 additional 737 MAX jets and four more 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes last year. The $4.5 billion order, according to list prices, was booked as unidentified on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website.

The Chicago-based airline has steadily placed new orders for the two Boeing jets to serve its large domestic and international network. United Airlines is among the more than 100 customers who have made the 737 MAX the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, receiving more than 5,000 orders since the program’s launch.

“United Airlines has been instrumental to the phenomenal success of the Boeing 737 and 777 programs over the years. We are honored by United’s continued confidence in our people and our airplanes and services,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company. “We are proud to again extend our long-standing partnership with United Airlines with these latest orders.”

The MAX builds on the 737’s industry-leading performance and reliability by offering operators more range and 14-percent better fuel efficiency compared to today’s airplanes and 20 percent more than the airplanes it replaces. The MAX achieves the improved performance thanks to the CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other airframe enhancements.

The 777 has become the best-selling twin-aisle jet family in history, earning more than 2,000 orders. In fact, United’s order pushed the program over the 2,000 threshold in December. It is also the most reliable twin-aisle jet flying today with the highest schedule reliability in the industry at 99.5 percent. The 777-300ER can seat up to 386 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a maximum range of 7,930 nautical miles (14,685 km).

United also utilizes Boeing Global Services to enhance its operations of their large fleet of Boeing aircraft. Multiple digital Boeing solutions, including those powered by Boeing AnalytX, optimize its operations. Recently, United signed for crew management and electronic flight bag (EFB) tools to enhance operational efficiency across all phases of flight.

Story and image from http://www.boeing.com

Airbus Loses 2018 Jet Order Race to Boeing

January 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS (Reuters) – Europe’s Airbus lost out to Boeing in 2018, breaking a five-year winning streak against its U.S. rival for the number of jet orders, slumping to its lowest share of the $150 billion jet market in six years, data showed on Wednesday.

Airbus posted 747 net 2018 orders, down 33 percent from the previous year, including 135 for the A220 jetliner which it took over from Canada’s Bombardier in July. Boeing beat Airbus for the first time since 2012 with 893 net orders.

Airbus delivered 800 jets, up 11 percent, including 20 of the small A220 model, leaving Boeing as the world’s largest planemaker by manufacturing volume for a seventh straight year.

Although Boeing missed its delivery target and Airbus had previously lowered its target due to strains on the industry’s global supply chain, strong demand for passenger jets expanded total deliveries by 8 percent, the fastest pace in six years.

Planemaking chief Guillaume Faury welcomed the deliveries, which set a company record, and a “healthy order intake,” with waiting lists for many new jets stretching for up to 7 years.

Insiders say the quest for new business has, however, been overshadowed in the past year by industrial problems, management changes and morale problems coinciding with a corruption probe.

A resurgent Boeing has been cashing in on greater availability and declining costs for its 787 Dreamliner, while struggling to contain its European rival in the lucrative segment for large narrowbody jets just above 200 seats.

The order figures underscore Airbus’s decision to take over the lightweight but loss-making Bombardier CSeries aircraft, generating 135 orders worth $12 billion at list prices.

Without that boost, Airbus took just 41 percent of the core market in which it competes with Boeing, the lowest since 2009.

Highlighting the pressure Airbus has been facing recently in the market for large, high-margin wide-body jets, the European company was outsold three to one by Boeing for a second year.

However it reached a targeted production rate of 10 aircraft a month for its wide-body A350, which competes with the 787 and larger 777, at the end of the year, company officials said.

Airbus also trimmed the order list for its slow-selling A380 superjumbo, officially cancelling an order for 10 from Hong Kong Airlines four years after Reuters first reported that the airline had axed the deal, triggering financial negotiations.

The world’s largest airliner is mostly dependent on Dubai’s Emirates as Airbus slows production to a trickle in the hope of a future upturn, though many airlines are for now backing smaller jets.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Elaine Hardcastle)

Image from http://www.boeing.com

JetBlue Airways Firms Order for 60 Airbus A220-300’s

January 8, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

JetBlue Airways has firmed up an order for 60 A220-300 aircraft, the larger model of the new, industry-leading A220 series.

“As we approach our 20th anniversary, the impressive range and economics of the highly efficient A220, combined with the outstanding performance of our existing fleet of Airbus A321 and restyled A320 aircraft, will help ensure we deliver the best onboard experience to customers and meet our long-term financial targets as we continue disciplined growth into the future,” said Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue.

JetBlue’s existing Airbus fleet includes 193 A320 and A321ceo aircraft in operation, with an additional 85 A321neo aircraft on order.

“JetBlue has proven there is no contradiction between economic efficiency and a high quality product,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “Their endorsement of the A220 proves this aircraft meets those two criteria better than any alternative in its segment. Thank you JetBlue and congratulations on this big milestone in your growth.”

The order was completed the last week of December. Airbus will produce the A220-300 aircraft at a new U.S. assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama. Construction of the plant, to be located adjacent to the existing Airbus A320 assembly facility, will begin later this month.

The A220 is the only aircraft purpose built for the 100-150 seat market; it delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and true widebody 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 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft. With a range of up to 3,200 nm (5,020 km), the A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft.

With an order book of more than 500 aircraft to date, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lion’s share of the 100- to 150-seat aircraft market estimated to represent at least 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.

@JetBlue #A220 #Airbus

Story and image from http://www.airbus.com

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

Boeing, Jeju Air Announce Order For Up To 50 737 MAX Airplanes

November 20, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SEOUL,South Korea, Nov. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE:BA] and Jeju Air announced the airline is ordering 40 737 MAX 8 airplanes with options for 10 additional jets. The deal, valued at up to $5.9 billion at list prices, is the largest order ever placed by a Korean low cost carrier and reflects rising demand for air travel in South Korea.

“With Korea’s growing commercial aviation market, we are excited to take the next step in expanding our business with the 737 MAX, a world-class airplane that will allow us to improve our operation and continue to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for our passengers,” said Seok-Joo Lee, President and CEO of Jeju Air. “The 737 MAX 8 and its superior performance and economics make it an ideal airplane to implement our growth strategy as we look to expand beyond Asia in the coming years.”

Jeju Air, based in South Korea’s Jeju Island, began operation in 2005 as the country’s first low-cost carrier. Since that time, the carrier has spearheaded the rapid development of Korea’s LCC market and contributed to the expansion of the broader Korean commercial aviation industry.

Flying a fleet of nearly 40 Next-Generation 737-800s, Jeju Air has steadily expanded its business and its profits. The airline has achieved 25 percent annual sales growth over the past five years and recorded 17 consecutive quarters of profitability.

Jeju Air is looking to build on its success with the enhanced version of the 737 jet. The 737 MAX 8 provides more range and offers 14 percent better fuel efficiency and environmental performance thanks to the latest CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other aerodynamic improvements.

“We are extremely proud that Jeju Air has become a leader in the vibrant LCC market by flying the Boeing 737. And we are delighted that the airline has chosen to build their future fleet with this major order for the 737 MAX,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company.

Along with the new airplanes, Boeing Global Services will provide Jeju Air with digital tools to reduce their operating costs. The solutions include the Fuel Dashboard Program, which allows operators to look across their fleet and identify areas where they can optimize their fuel spending.

Jeju Air serves 60 domestic and international routes with approximately 200 daily flights. The carrier is a founding member of the Value Alliance, the first pan-regional low-cost carrier alliance formed with eight airlines based in Asia.

The 737 MAX is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating about 4,800 orders from more than 100 customers worldwide. This order will be reflected on Boeing’s Orders and Deliveries website per our standard process. For more information and feature content, visit www.boeing.com/commercial/737max.

Story from www.boeing.com Image from www.jejuair.net

American Airlines Buys Additional Embraer E175 Jets

November 5, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

São José dos Campos, Brazil, November 5, 2018 – Embraer and American Airlines Inc. signed a firm order for 15 E175 jets in a 76-seat configuration. The contract has a value of USD 705 million, based on current list prices, and will be included in Embraer’s 2018 fourth-quarter backlog. Deliveries will take place in 2020.

Combined with the airline’s previous orders for the E175, this new contract results in a total of 104 E175 jets for American Airlines since 2013. The most recent order took place in May 2018 for 15 aircraft.

American Airlines selected Envoy, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, to operate the 15 aircraft, which will be configured with a total of 76 seats, being 12 in First Class and 64 in Main Cabin, including Main Cabin Extra seats.

“This new order from American Airlines continues to show the value that airlines place on our best-selling E175 aircraft,” said Charlie Hillis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, North America, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “We are fully committed to providing fleet solutions that have a positive bottom line impact, and our E175 leads the charge with over 80 percent market share in the North American market.”

Including this new contract, Embraer has sold more than 435 E175s to airlines in North America since January 2013, earning more than 80% of all orders in this 76-seat jet segment.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats. The Company has 100 customers from all over the world operating the ERJ and E-Jet families of aircraft. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,400 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft.

image and story from www.embraer.com

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