Le Bourget, France, June 19 (Reuters) – Airbus unveiled an aircraft deal with Taiwan’s China Airlines on Wednesday, snatching the carrier’s medium-haul fleet renewal from Boeing a day after its U.S. rival made a shock entry into the single-aisle fleet of British Airways owner IAG.
The European planemaker said China Airlines had signed a preliminary deal to buy 11 A321neo aircraft, worth about $1.4 billion at list prices, while leasing another 14.
Although much smaller than the IAG letter of intent for 200 Boeing 737 MAX announced on Tuesday, the China Airlines deal signals intensified competition in Asia where Boeing this week predicted 40 percent of jets would be delivered over the next 20 years.
Airlines can rarely be persuaded to jump ship to rival suppliers because of the costs of training and parts, but this week’s Paris Airshow has witnessed two such announcements as sold-out planemakers mount incursions to continue their growth.
In a further competitive twist, Boeing announced on Monday it would take over the supply of spare parts for the remaining Airbus A320 fleet at British Airways.
China Airlines announced the leasing part of the deal in May and Reuters reported it would pave the way for the Taiwan carrier to switch its medium-haul fleet to the Airbus A320neo.
The rare deal to replace older 737s took years to complete and was drafted before the 737 MAX was engulfed by a crisis involving two crashes and a worldwide grounding, sources said.
The Dassault Aviation group is delighted to be presenting its dual civil and defense know-how at the 2019 edition of EBACE, Europe’s primary business aviation event, to be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 May.
Saint-Cloud, France, 17 May 2019 – The Dassault
Aviation group is delighted to be presenting its dual civil and defense
know-how at the 2019 edition of EBACE, Europe’s primary business
aviation event, to be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 May.
Three Dassault aircraft will be presented in the static display:
On its stand, Dassault Aviation will also be presenting:
a full-scale mock-up of the cabin of the Falcon 6X, the new Falcon
twin-jet currently under development. Visitors will be able to enter
this mock-up, which is fully representative of the features and comfort
of the actual cabin;
a mock-up of the Rafale, the multi-role combat aircraft, which has
proven itself in numerous theatres of operations. The Rafale is a
candidate for the Swiss Air Force’s combat fleet renewal program;
a mock-up of the nEUROn stealth combat UAV demonstrator built under
the project leadership of Dassault Aviation, in cooperation with
companies from five European countries, including Ruag of Switzerland;
a representation of the new capabilities of Dassault Aviation’s
Falcon maintenance networks, notably following the acquisition of MRO
activities of TAG Aviation in Europe and ExecuJet in Asia, Australia,
New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
As well as being the lynchpin of a strategic industrial network
comprising hundreds of companies in France and around the world,
Dassault Aviation is also the core industrial shareholder of the Thales
Group and the leader of the new-generation European combat aircraft
program.
NEW YORK – Amtrak will continue its Infrastructure Renewal program at New York Penn Station this summer by performing state of good repair work on JO railroad interlocking which directs Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and NJ TRANSIT trains heading east and west from the East River Tunnels.
“Amtrak has made record levels of capital investment to improve the reliability of our infrastructure and overall customer experience, and we continue to do so in New York Penn Station for all the users of this important station,” said Amtrak President & CEO Richard Anderson. “We appreciate the continued support and confidence from our commuter partners and patience from our customers as we continue to deliver this important work safely, on time and within budget, improving the commutes for the many users of Penn Station.”
The total cost of the projects is estimated at $30 million, which will keep this important infrastructure in a state of good repair and benefit all users of Penn Station with an upgraded, state-of-the art railroad and more reliable service. The work on JO Interlocking will occur between Friday, June 28, and Monday, Sept. 2, including the renewal of critical infrastructure such as switches and turnouts at North America’s busiest train station.
Amtrak schedule adjustments will include:
• Northeast Regional Train 110 from Washington, D.C. to New York Penn Station will be cancelled. • Northeast Regional Train 127 from New York Penn Station to Washington, D.C. will be cancelled. • Northbound Keystone Train 640 will terminate at Newark Penn Station (NWK). • Southbound Keystone Train 643 will originate at NWK. • Southbound Keystone Train 653 will departe NYP early. • Cardinal Train 51 will depart NYP early on weekdays only. • Maple Leaf Train 63 and Adirondack Train 69 will be combined on the regular time slot for 63 and will split at Albany, N.Y. (ALB).
Customers booked on trains with a modified schedule will be contacted and accommodated on other scheduled services.Additional information and updates will be posted on Amtrak.com and Amtrak.com/NYPrenewal. To be notified of service disruptions on the Northeast Corridor (including Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other corridor services), follow @AmtrakNECAlerts on Twitter.
While Amtrak has maintained and repaired this aging infrastructure, some of which dates back to the 1970’s, full replacement is now required. During the summer of 2017, Amtrak kicked off its Infrastructure Renewal at New York Penn Station, and continued it in early 2018 and during the Summer of 2018. The Infrastructure Renewal program is one element of Amtrak’s overall plan to modernize stations, infrastructure and equipment on the Northeast Corridor.
SAO PAULO, Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and B3: GOLL4), Brazil’s #1 airline, announced today an acceleration of its fleet renewal and modernization plan and the execution of operating lease agreements for 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with Avolon.
Result of operational gains and favorable market conditions, GOL has accelerated its fleet renewal and modernization plan with operating leases of 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to be received in the second half of 2019. GOL will maintain its capacity discipline, and the decision to accelerate its fleet renewal maintains the flexibility of GOL’s fleet plan. The accelerated fleet renewal will not alter GOL’s planned capacity, as the Company will simultaneously return and/or sell 737 Next Generation (NG) aircraft under operating and finance leases.
“We acquired the 737 MAX to make GOL’s operations even more efficient and to offer our passengers additional flights aboard new and even more modern and safe aircraft. The 737 MAX exceeds the expected performance on every count,” said Paulo Kakinoff, CEO of GOL. “We’ve been very impressed with the MAX’s superior range, fuel efficiency and reliability. By accelerating our fleet renewal plan to this new technology, we will be able to further reduce our costs and open up more international destinations for our customers.”
GOL launched operations with the 737 MAX 8 in July 2018 with impressive results. Compared to GOL’s 737-800 NG aircraft, the MAX 8 has decreased fuel consumption on GOL’s routes by approximately 15%. Additionally, the increased range of the 737 MAX 8 has allowed GOL to further diversify its route network and to begin operating flights to North America. In fact, GOL’s new Brasilia-Orlando route is the longest commercial 737 flight in history.
“GOL continues to be at the forefront of making air travel more accessible across Latin America. The airline is capitalizing the advantage of the MAX’s long range and unmatched efficiency to profitably open new routes and reduce operating costs,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company. “We are honored that GOL has experienced the many advantages of flying the MAX and selected to speed up deliveries to realize the benefits across their fleet.”
In addition to the four new international destinations already announced – Miami, Orlando, Quito and Cancun – the additional 737 MAX 8s will allow GOL to launch a new international destination every quarter over the next two years.
Onboard, GOL’s passengers will also enjoy the greater comfort and convenience provided by the Boeing Sky Interior, which includes: a spacious and welcoming cabin, dynamic LED lighting, and the largest and most accessible overhead bins in the market. The aircraft will also be equipped with Wi-Fi antennas, making it possible for passengers to access GOL’s complete on-board entertainment platform during flights.
GOL has an order for 135 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to be delivered through 2028 and is currently the largest 737 operator in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. The 737 MAX offers exceptional performance, with lower per-seat costs and an extended range to open new destinations. The 737 MAX incorporates the latest CFM International LEAP-1B engines, advanced technology winglets, Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays and other features to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the market.
OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Air (NWC.OL) has sold six Boeing 737-800 airliners as part of fleet renewal plans that could see it sell up to 140 planes.
“The prices are well above the debt on the aircraft,” Chief Financial Officer Geir Karlsen told Reuters on Thursday, without disclosing numbers.
The sales proceeds will be used to repay debt and increase liquidity.
Norwegian Air has a fleet of more than 150 aircraft and has commitments to acquire a further 210 by 2020 as it looks to rapidly expand in Europe and on transatlantic routes.
Its aircraft commitments are worth $12.36 billion (9.50 billion pounds), Norwegian Air said in a June rights issue prospectus.
With an equity ratio at the end of June of just 7 percent, the plan is to ease its commitments going forward.
“We have said we will renew our fleet and sell our oldest aircraft. We have 22 Boeing 737NG and they are a target to be changed with new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.”
“In addition we have a big order at Airbus which can be used by us or they could be sold or taken out of our balance sheet and leased out.
“In theory we could sell as many as 140 aircraft,” Karlsen said.
Norwegian Air has made huge aircraft orders on favourable terms with Boeing and Airbus, according to Espen Andersen, associate professor at BI Norwegian Business School.
“These orders are taking up a lot of capacity at Boeing and Airbus. Other airlines could be at risk of not getting the aircraft they need.
“Airlines or leasing firms could buy aircraft from Norwegian Air. The leasing firms are very liquid,” Andersen said.
(Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord; editing by Jason Neely)
