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)
LE BOURGET, France June 17 (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Monday it would supply parts for A320 jetliners made by its competitor Airbus to supply British Airways, the first such agreement by the U.S. planemaker to support an Airbus aircraft.
Under the agreement announced at the Paris Airshow, Boeing will manage and maintain a global exchange inventory of parts for Airbus’ A320 and A320neo single-aisle aircraft.
The deal reflects a push by the world’s largest planemaker into the higher-margin services business that includes aircraft parts and analytics, which Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg aims to grow to $50 billion in revenue in a decade.
“We were happy to put our hat in the ring and give a choice to British Airways,” Boeing Global Services Chief Executive Stan Deal told reporters.
British Airways also signed a deal for three landing gear exchanges for its 777 widebody fleet, Boeing said.
Separately on Monday, Boeing signed an agreement through its subsidiary Jeppesen to provide United Airlines with analytics services to help the carrier optimize crew planning operations through its entire fleet.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson and Tim Hepher; Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter)
SEOUL (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways Corp is in discussions with Airbus SE about the European planemaker’s plans for a longer-range version of its A321neo family as it prepares to jump into the transatlantic market, Chief Executive Robin Hayes said on Monday.
The sixth-largest U.S. carrier has 85 A321neo aircraft on order, of which it has already decided to convert 13 into a longer-range version called the A321LR for its planned launch of daily flights from New York and Boston to London in 2021.
But if the low-cost carrier decides to fly to other European cities such as Brussels or Amsterdam, it will need a plane with more stamina. It is studying the A321XLR, which Airbus has been promoting ahead of a formal product announcement in June.
“London is the biggest opportunity because it has the highest fares, but there would be other opportunities if we had an airplane that had more range. The XLR gives us more range,” Hayes said on the sidelines of a global airlines meeting in Seoul.
“We’re still working through how many aircraft it would be (but) any XLRs would be linked to the planes we have on order today,” he told Reuters in an interview, adding any purchases would be converted from existing orders rather than generating completely new ones. No decision has yet been taken.
JetBlue is betting on its Mint business class product for narrowbody aircraft to succeed in the highly competitive premium transatlantic market. As of now, its U.S. customers have to fly to London on rival carriers where business class seats can cost as much as $12,000.
In the United States, JetBlue has argued that its Mint seats have driven a 50 percent decline in premium fares on some competing routes, and by sticking with narrowbody jets Hayes believes seats will be full.
U.S. carriers like American Airlines Group Inc and United Airlines service London with widebody aircraft that Hayes said can be tough to fill during off-peak travel.
“The transatlantic market is very seasonal. In the summer you tend to do very well but in the winter you’re flying a bunch of empty seats, so the LR helps us manage significantly the risk of the winter because we’re not flying such an expensive airplane.”
A handful of Europe-based budget carriers have tried to penetrate the transatlantic market in recent years, but only cash-strapped Norwegian Air is still standing.
Hayes said he expects to work on code-share agreements with partners that have a strong presence in Europe, where the airline wants to eventually build up its brand.
A number of JetBlue’s 50 airline partners have already reached out, he said.
(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Tim Hepher, Christopher Cushing)
The first A350 XWB for Japan Airlines (JAL) has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France. The A350-900 is the first ever Airbus aircraft to be produced directly for JAL and features a special A350 XWB red logo on the fuselage.
The aircraft will now proceed to ground and flight tests, before delivery to JAL in early summer.
In total JAL has ordered 31 A350 XWB aircraft, comprising 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s. The A350-900 will initially be operated on major domestic routes, with a three-class configuration seating 369 passengers.
The A350 XWB is the world’s most modern and eco-efficient aircraft family shaping the future of air travel. It is the long-range leader in the large widebody market (300 to 400+ seats). The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (15,000 km).
The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, 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 March 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 890 firm
orders from 50 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful
widebody aircraft ever.
ANA becomes Japan’s first carrier with Airbus’ double-deck jetliner and joins airlines that use A380s to serve the Tokyo Narita – Honolulu route
Japan’s All
Nippon Airways (ANA) today took delivery of its initial A380, which will
serve the popular Japan-to-Hawaii routing – and is appropriately
painted in a special livery depicting the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle,
also known as the Honu.
ANA becomes the world’s 15th operator – and Japan’s first – of this widebody passenger aircraft. It has ordered a total of three A380s.
Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, the jetliner features ANA’s very latest in-flight entertainment systems, as well as full connectivity in all classes. It will enable the airline to almost double the capacity between Japan and the U.S. island state of Hawaii, generating value for the airline.
As the world’s largest and most spacious passenger aircraft, the A380 will be operated on ANA’s popular Japan-to-Hawaii route.
“This marks a new milestone in our relationship
with ANA – our longest-standing customer in Japan,” said Tom Enders,
Airbus Chief Executive Officer, during today’s delivery ceremony at
Toulouse, France. “We are confident the A380 will be a huge success in
service with All Nippon Airways, and we remain committed to supporting
the airline’s A380 operation – as we will for all operators of this
magnificent aircraft.”
Each of ANA’s A380s will feature the special livery depicting the
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle. The no. 1 aircraft is blue, the second will
be green and the third orange. This elaborate paint scheme covers a
surface of 3,600 square metres and took the Airbus team 21 days to
paint, using 16 different shades of colour.
With this character design of
Honu, All Nippon Airways aims to raise awareness about environmental
issues and contribute to saving sea turtles and the environment.
Shohei Hattori, ANA Corporate Planning Manager
“Customers around the world were asked to create
an attractive design to be painted on Japan’s first A380 as part of a
contest – and the Honu, a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Hawaii,
was among the numerous ideas,” explained Shohei Hattori, the ANA
Corporate Planning Manager.
Airbus’ longstanding relationship with Japan
The relationship between Airbus and Japan’s All
Nippon Airways began in 1986, when the airline placed its first order
for 20 single-aisle A320s, the first of which entered service in 1991. Since then, ANA has operated a fleet of A320 Family
aircraft, consistently ranking among the top Airbus operators for
technical performance and achieving more than 99.5% operational
reliability with its latest A321neo fleet.
In recent years, Airbus also extended its operator base in Japan with
ANA subsidiaries Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, both of which
exclusively fly Airbus A320 Family aircraft.
At the end of 2018, Airbus reached a milestone with 100 of its aircraft in Japanese operators’ service, representing 20% of total fleet flying in the country – with a target to reach 30% by 2020, and 50% in the long term.
As the first Japanese
customer for Airbus’ double-deck jetliner, ANA’s no. 1 A380 bears the
representation of a Hawaiian turtle – and will be part of promotions to
save sea turtles and the environment.
The unique A380 experience
More than 230 A380s have been delivered to 15
airlines worldwide, with the jetliners operated on 120-plus routes and
60 destinations.
An estimated250 million passengers already have flown aboard
the double-deck aircraft – and people actively seek out A380 flights for
the unique travel experience. To assist passengers, Airbus created a
dedicated iflyA380 website, where travellers can search and book their preferred flights – which now also include those operated by ANA.
Some 50% of weekly global A380 flights take place in Asia-Pacific –
with flights performed within the region, to or from it, demonstrating
that the jetliner offers the best solution for traffic growth in Asia.
As the world’s largest and most spacious passenger aircraft, the A380 is a favourite among travellers, with unmatched comfort and wider seats. For airlines, the jetliner has the lowest cost per seat of any competing widebody, delivering comfort and economic benefits and maximising revenue. With passenger traffic doubling every 15 years, the A380 is the solution to transportation growth and airport congestion, carrying more people with fewer flights at lower cost and reduced emissions.
As the first Japanese customer for Airbus’ double-deck jetliner, ANA’s no. 1 A380 bears the representation of a Hawaiian turtle – and will be part of promotions to save sea turtles and the environment.
Air Senegal has taken delivery of its first A330-900 from Airbus’ production line in Toulouse. The carrier is the first African airline to fly Airbus’ new generation widebody aircraft featuring latest technology engines, new wings with enhanced aerodynamics and a curved wingtip design, drawing best practices from the A350 XWB.
Fitted with a three-class cabin comprising 32 Business class, 21
Premium Plus and 237 Economy class seats, Air Senegal plans to operate
its first A330neo on its Dakar-Paris route and to further develop its
medium and long-haul network.
The A330neo is the true new generation aircraft building on the
best-selling widebody 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 Airspace by Airbus cabin, the A330neo offers a unique passenger
experience with more personal space and the latest generation in-flight
entertainment system and connectivity.
Note to editors
This delivery event also marks the first time when the Airbus
Foundation and Air Senegal team up for goodwill flight. Read more on
Airbus Foundation website
(Reuters) – Boeing Co said late Sunday it will postpone the planned ceremonial debut of its 777X widebody aircraft after Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that left 157 dead.
A Boeing spokesman said there was no delay to the 777X program.
Boeing said that after the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 it is focused on “supporting” the airline and would not proceed with Wednesday’s planned debut of the 777X in Seattle.
“We will look for an opportunity to mark the new plane with the world in the near future,” the company said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Tim Hepher; Editing by Marguerita Choy & Kim Coghill)
Delta’s first A330-900neo left the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France, this weekend, sporting its signature Delta livery. Though at first glance, the aircraft might look ready for takeoff – a closer look reveals something major still missing: the plane’s engines, which will be painted separately and mounted in the coming days.
Once the finishing touches are complete, the A330-900neo will take to the skies for testing before being delivered to Delta later this year.
Delta will be the first North American operator of the A330-900neo, which will offer the latest in innovative design and technology for customers. Delta’s A330-900neo will feature all four branded seat products – Delta One suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin – a move Delta is making across its widebody fleet to give customers greater choice than ever before.
The jet will also feature memory foam cushions throughout the aircraft and will be the first Delta widebody to feature the new wireless IFE system developed by Delta Flight Products, the airline’s wholly owned cabin interiors start up.
This aircraft is the first of 35 next-generation A330-900neos on order by Delta and is expected to begin service later in 2019.
TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery of the world’s first new generation widebody A330neo and, as the launch airline, will be the first to benefit from the aircraft’s unbeatable operating economics, increased range, and Airbus’ new Airspace cabin offering passengers the best in class comfort. The Portuguese carrier will take delivery of a further 20 A330-900s in the coming years.
TAP Air Portugal’s first A330-900 is leased from Avolon. It features 298 seats in a comfortable three-class lay-out with 34 full-flat business class, 96 economy plus and 168 economy class seats. The Airspace by Airbus cabin offers more personal space, larger overhead storage bins, advanced cabin lighting and the latest generation in-flight entertainment system and connectivity. The aircraft will be deployed on routes from Portugal to the Americas and Africa.
“I am delighted to welcome the first Airbus A330-900 into our expanding fleet. Its unbeatable economics and efficiency will power our business forward,“ said Antonoaldo Neves, TAP Air Portugal CEO. “The A330neo will give us a lot of operational flexibility thanks to its commonality with the other Airbus aircraft in our fleet. This aircraft will be the first equipped with the new Airspace cabin, which is a new concept shaped to meet TAP’s ambition to offer the best product in the industry to our passengers,“ he added.
“Handing over the first ever A330neo to a long standing Airbus customer, TAP Air Portugal, is a very important milestone for Airbus,” said Guillaume Faury, President Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “Through continuous innovations, the A330neo, our newest widebody aircraft, will offer maximum value and efficiency to our customers and superior comfort to their passengers. This occasion marks another step forward to meeting our industry’s goal for sustainable aviation,” he added.
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 fully optimised for the best aerodynamic performance. Together these advances bring a significant reduction in fuel consumption of 25 percent compared with older generation competitor aircraft of a similar size. Moreover, new composite nacelles, a fully faired titanium pylon and zero-splice air inlet technology provide the A330-900 with state-of-the-art aerodynamics and acoustics .
Today, TAP Air Portugal operates an Airbus fleet of 72 aircraft (18 A330s, 4 A340s,and 50 A320 Family aircraft). The single-aisle fleet includes 22 A319ceo, 21 A320ceo and four A321ceo, one A320neo and two recently delivered A321neo.
The A330 is one of the most popular widebody families ever, having received over 1,700 orders from 120 customers. More than 1,380 A330s are flying with over 128 operators worldwide. The new A330neo is the latest addition to the leading Airbus widebody family, which also includes the A350 XWB and the A380, all featuring unmatched space and comfort combined with unprecedented efficiency levels and unrivalled range capability.
(Reuters) – Boeing (BA.N) topped analysts’ forecasts for quarterly profit on Wednesday despite a series of charges on U.S. military programs and raised its forecasts for annual profit as it continued to benefit from a boom in global air travel and airplanes.
Shares of the world’s biggest planemaker were up 4.5 percent in premarket trading, helping brighten the mood on Wall Street after a handful of shaky results on Tuesday from U.S. manufacturers hurt by concerns over global trade.
Soaring demand from commercial airlines has driven another surge in revenues for Boeing over the past year, pushing shares in the company up by roughly a third over the past 12 months.
Those moves have been dented somewhat by a combination of the trade worries, this year’s greater market volatility and a series of recurring charges for its delay-plagued KC-46 tanker program.
Boeing recorded another $176 million in charges in the quarter on the aerial refueling tanker, bringing the total cost of the program to more than $3 billion.
It also took a charge of $691 million related to the MQ25 refueling drone and T-X training jet contracts it won in August and September, offset in part by a $412 million tax benefit.
Despite the charges, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg played up the new T-X and MQ25 business and completion of a static test model of its forthcoming 777X widebody, with two test flight jetliners in production.
“This strong underlying performance, along with growth across our businesses we’ve seen throughout the year, give us confidence to raise our 2018 revenue and earnings guidance and reaffirm our operating cash flow guidance.”
Boeing raised its full-year profit forecast to $14.90-$15.10 from a previous $14.30-$14.50 per share, and revenue to a range of $98 billion to $100 billion, up from $97 billion to $99 billion.
The Chicago-based firm’s core earnings, which exclude some pension and other costs, came in 11 cents above analysts’ average forecast at $3.58 per share in the quarter ended Sept. 30.
Boeing has delivered 568 aircraft in the first nine months of 2018 despite production snarls on its best-selling 737 narrowbody, up from 554 at the end of September a year ago, putting it on track to deliver another record year of plane sales.
That keeps the manufacturer, which aims to deliver between 810-815 planes in 2018, in front of its European rival Airbus SE (AIR.PA), which delivered 503 aircraft through September this year. Airbus shares gained 2.7 percent.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Nick Zieminski)
Boeing Delivers First 787-9 Dreamliner to Juneyao Airlines
In other recent Boeing news, the company delivered the first 787-9 Dreamliner for Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines. The new, super-efficient Dreamliner will also be the first widebody commercial jet operated by a privately-held Chinese airline.
“This delivery is our airline’s biggest milestone and marks a big step toward expanding our network in China and beyond,” said Wang Junjin, Chairman, Juneyao Airlines. “As the market-leading widebody model, the 787-9 Dreamliner will play a key role in our global business growth.”
Juneyao Airlines, previously an all-Airbus operator, mainly offers flights from Shanghai to more than 50 cities across China. In introducing the long-range 787 Dreamliner, the carrier is looking to expand its international network and increase flights to Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea.
The 787-9 is part of a family of three airplanes that offer long ranges and unmatched fuel efficiency in the 200 to 350 seat market. The 787-9 can carry 290 passengers and fly up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140 km), while reducing fuel use and emissions by 20 to 25 percent compared to older airplanes. Passengers will appreciate a more comfortable flight thanks to the Dreamliner’s large windows, lower cabin altitude, smooth-ride technology, and other amenities.
“We are delighted to welcome Juneyao to the growing 787 Dreamliner family. We are confident that the Dreamliner’s fuel efficiency, range and passenger-pleasing features will power the next stage of Juneyao Airlines’ expansion,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing at The Boeing Company. “This delivery marks the first of 10 787-9 Dreamliners for Juneyao and their emergence as an international carrier.”
To ensure a smooth introduction of the Dreamliner, Juneyao Airlines will use Boeing Global Services’ pilot training. The airline will also employ electronic flight bag in the flight deck to improve operational efficiency. On other aircraft, Juneyao uses Boeing’s tailored charting services and flight planning solutions.
