Today Air Lease Corporation (AL) announced a long-term lease agreement with MIAT Mongolian Airlines for one new Boeing 787-9 aircraft. This aircraft, scheduled to deliver to the airline in Spring 2021 from ALC’s order book with Boeing, will be the first 787-9 to operate in Mongolia as well as the first Dreamliner in MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ fleet.
“ALC is honored to announce this significant lease placement with MIAT Mongolian Airlines and be the first to introduce the airline to the Dreamliner,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “We are proud to support the national carrier as it expands its fleet with the most technologically advanced aircraft to connect Mongolia with the rest of the world.”
“Our vision is to become a globally recognized Mongolian national flag carrier, and we are making a significant step forward by adding the first 787-9 Dreamliner to our fleet,” said Battur Davaakhuu, President and CEO, MIAT Mongolian Airlines. “The Mongolian Dreamliner will fly our passengers direct and in unmatched comfort to their dream destinations. Today is a proud day for MIAT and for all Mongolians.”
“It will be wonderful to see the 787 Dreamliner in MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ livery flying in and out of Ulaanbaatar and connecting Mongolia with key destinations across Asia and Europe. The airline has continued to build on its proud aviation history by modernizing its fleet and operations. We are honored MIAT has selected the 787 and its superior fuel efficiency and range to profitably grow their international network,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing for The Boeing Company. “We are delighted to partner with leading lessor ALC, which has a tremendous portfolio of 787 Dreamliners and other advanced jets, to open a new chapter in MIAT’s history.”
MIAT Mongolian Airlines currently operates two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and one 737-800 aircraft on lease from ALC.
* flight had 157 people from more than 30 countries aboard
* Boeing 737 MAX 8 was also involved in October Lion Air crash
* Many families learned of crash from social media (Updates with more details from CEO about pilot and plane)
By Duncan Miriri and Maggie Fick
NAIROBI, March 10 (Reuters) – An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board and raising questions about the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, a new model that also crashed in Indonesia in October.
Sunday’s flight left Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8:38 a.m. (0538 GMT), before losing contact with the control tower just a few minutes later at 8:44 a.m.
“There are no survivors,” the airline tweeted alongside a picture of CEO Tewolde GebreMariam holding up a piece of debris inside a large crater at the crash site.
Passengers from 33 countries were aboard, said Tewolde in a news conference. The dead included Kenyan, Ethiopian, American, Canadian, French, Chinese, Egyptian, Swedish, British, Dutch, Indian, Slovakian, Austrian, Swedish, Russian, Moroccan, Spanish, Polish, and Israeli citizens.
Weeping relatives begged for information at airports in Nairobi and Addis Ababa.
“We’re just waiting for my mum. We’re just hoping she took a different flight or was delayed. She’s not picking up her phone,” said Wendy Otieno, clutching her phone and weeping.
The aircraft, a 737 MAX 8, is the same model that crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta on Oct 29, killing all 189 people on board the Lion Air flight.
The cause of that crash is still under investigation.
Ethiopian’s new aircraft had no recorded technical problems and the pilot had an “excellent” flying record, Tewolde said in a news conference.
“We received the airplane on November 15, 2018. It has flown more than 1,200 hours. It had flown from Johannesburg earlier this morning,” he said. “The pilot mentioned that he had difficulties and that he wanted to return.”
“UNSTABLE SPEED”
Flight ET 302, registration number ET-AVJ, crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 km (38 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, with 149 passengers and eight crew aboard, the airline said.
The flight had unstable vertical speed after take off, the flight tracking website Flightradar24 tweeted.
The aircraft had shattered into many pieces and was severely burnt, a Reuters reporter at the scene of the crash said. Clothing and personal effects were scattered widely over the field where the plane came down.
It was not clear what had caused the crash. Boeing sent condolences to the families and said it was ready to help investigate.
This is the second recent crash of the latest version of Boeing’s workhorse narrowbody jet that first entered service in 2017. The 737 is the world’s best selling modern passenger aircraft and one of the industry’s most reliable.
A preliminary report into the October Lion Air crash, focused on airline maintenance and training and the response of a Boeing anti-stall system to a recently replaced sensor, but did not give a reason for the crash. Since then, the cockpit voice recorder was recovered and a final report is due later this year.
ANGUISHED RELATIVES
At Nairobi airport, many relatives were left waiting at the gate for hours, with no information from airport authorities. Some learned of the crash from journalists.
Robert Mutanda, 46, was waiting for his brother-in-law, a Canadian citizen.
“No, we haven’t seen anyone from the airline or the airport,” he told Reuters at 1pm, more than three hours after the flight was lost. “Nobody has told us anything, we are just standing here hoping for the best.”
Kenyan officials did not arrive at the airport until 1:30 p.m., five hours after the plane went down.
James Macharia, the cabinet secretary for transport, said he heard about the crash via Twitter.
Families were taken to Nairobi’s Sheraton hotel, but said they were still waiting to hear from airline staff eight hours after the accident.
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES
Under international rules, responsibility for leading the crash investigation lies with Ethiopia but the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will also participate because the plane was designed and built in the United States.
Representatives of Boeing and Cincinnati-based engine-maker CFM, a joint venture between General Electric and General Electric Co and France’s Safran SA will advise the NTSB.
Ethiopian is one of the biggest carriers on the continent by fleet size. The plane was among six of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets the rapidly expanding carrier has ordered.
The fleet will continue flying since the cause of the crash is not clear, the CEO said.
Its last major crash was in January 2010, when a flight from Beirut went down shortly after take-off, killing all 90 people onboard. The Lebanese blamed pilot error, which was disputed by the airline.
(Additional reporting by Hereward Holland, Omar Mohammed and Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa; Tiksa Negeri in Bishoftu; Tim Hepher in Brussels and Jamie Freed in Singapore; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Indian carrier SpiceJet is looking to add commuter routes to the more remote parts of the country. The ability to provide these essential air services are hampered by the lack of infrastructure and existing airfields available. The airline has been working with Setouchi Holdings of Japan on test runs of seaplane operations at Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty beach, as well as land operations to Nagpur and Guwahati.
SpiceJet is India’s third largest airline by passengers carried. Operating a fleet of newer Boeing 737 and Bombardier Q-400 aircraft has helped the airline to maintain its low-cost structure. The company currently operates 306 daily flights to 35 local and 6 international destinations, and operates hubs in Delhi and Hyderabad. In March of 2014, the airline signed a firm order for 42 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. This has been followed by orders for an additional 113 of the 737 Max 8’s. SpiceJet also signed a letter of intent at the 2017 Paris Air Show with Bombardier to purchase up to 50 Q400 aircraft to support growth in its feeder connectivity.
The feeder route network is where the partnership with Setouchi Holdings comes into focus. Setouchi Holdings owns Quest Aircraft, which manufacturers the Kodiak small commuter aircraft that can operate both on unimproved airfields, and as an amphibious aircraft fixed with pontoons. Quest Aircraft Company is located in Sandpoint, Idaho, and was purchased by the Japanese Holding Company in February of 2015.
Boeing’s slow-selling 737 Max 7 has a big fan in Western Canada. WestJet Airlines will become the second carrier next year, after Southwest Airlines Co., to operate the smallest version of Boeing’s upgraded workhorse. The Calgary-based company is set to receive five of the single-aisle jetliners next year.
“We love those planes,” WestJet Chief Executive Officer Gregg Saretsky said in an interview, citing the aircraft’s range and 12 additional seats compared with the Boeing 737-700, a linchpin of the airline’s fleet. “It’s great for long, thin markets.”
The rumors are mounting that Southwest Airlines will start flying to Hawaii as soon as 2018. The airline views Hawaii as an important opportunity for growth, with CEO Gary Kelly stating that “Hawaii is a high priority for the company”. It appeared that an announcement was imminent last month, when Southwest Airlines decorated a gate at the San Jose International Airport in California in a Hawaiian motif. The air carrier was also the lead sponsor for the Hawaii tourism summit held in September.
There has been a large increase in communication between Southwest Airlines and Hawaiian government officials and its Tourism Authority. It could be that they are trying to coordinate an official announcement date, as the airline tries to complete the checklist of requirements needed to commence Hawaiian service. These requirements include ETOPS certification and updating their reservations software. ETOPS certification is required to operate twin engine flights over the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the mainland.The software update is required to include overnight flights and reservations windows in excess of the current six month limit.
Southwest Airlines resolved a couple of other outstanding issues last year. The airline and its pilots ratified a new contract, settling a bitter 4 year dispute. That was critical, as the pilots claimed that the old contract did not allow for the pilots to operate the new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that were on order. That agreement came on the heels of the Southwest flight attendants also ratifying a new contract. The last obstacle before Southwest’s Hawaiian flights can start is performance testing of the airlines new 737 Max 8 aircraft.
