Vietnamese low-cost carrier Vietjet helped break an order logjam at the Dubai Airshow on November 10 by announcing a firm order with Airbus valued at $3.6 billion to purchase 30 A321 narrowbody airliners. The order is the third the carrier has made with Airbus over the past two years. Hanoi-based Vietjet, which launched operations in 2011, now operates 29 A320-series aircraft, including three A...
US maintenance, repair and overhaul company StandardAero has certificated and installed its first Rockwell Collins Synthetic Vision System (SVS) on a Dassault Falcon 2000 business jet. The installation was performed at StandardAero’s Springfield, Illinois facility as part of major overhaul of the large-cabin twin. The completed aircraft was handed over to an unnamed customer in October. O...
As a newly-built maritime patrol aircraft rolls (MPA) out of a Genoa factory, Piaggio is showing off the ground demonstrator of the P.180 Avanti-based surveillance type at the Mubadala stand. Piaggio is developing the heftier and heavily modified MPA version of the Avanti in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Autonomous System Investments (ADASI). To accommodate a higher endurance of 8-9h, the MPA...
During the first day of the Dubai Airshow, Etihad announced the US$637 million additional aircraft will be arriving next year. James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “Etihad Airways is delighted to exercise options for two freighters that will join our fleet next year, demonstrating our confidence and commitment to our partners at Boeing and to the global freight market.&...
Oman Air has signed an agreement with Airbus to upgrade the cabins of its A330s. Above: Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Chief Officer Management Affairs, signed the agreement on behalf of Oman Air with Xavier Bertran, Head of Upgrade Services at Airbus. This interior modernisation will harmonise the airline's business class cabins across its long range fleet and ensure the latest standards...
Etihad Airways has expanded its strategic cooperation with Air France-KLM through a several hundred million US dollar component maintenance agreement for its Boeing 777 fleet. The 10-year deal, effective February 2016, provides Etihad Airways and its equity partners with access to an extensive global pool of components offered by Air France-KLM’s maintenance arm, Air France Industries KLM...
Bell Helicopter announced today the signature of a letter of intent (LOI) with Strong Aviation for a Bell 525 Relentless super medium helicopter. Above: (left to right) David Sale, Regional Sales Manager, Bell Helicopter, Captain Salem Safar, Aviation Manager, Strong Aviation and Patrick Moulay, VP Global Commercial Sales, Bell Helicopter. Established in 1995, Strong Aviation is a p...
Emirates SkyCargo's state-of-the-art cargo terminal at the Logistics District in Dubai South has been officially inaugurated Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Named Emirates SkyCentral, the cargo facility is the home of Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet of 15 freighter aircraft, and was officially opened on the side lines of the Dubai Air Show. The event was attended by a number of dignitari...
Philippine Airlines (PAL), the Philippine flag carrier, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pratt & Whitney to power its order of 15 firm plus 15 purchase right A321neo aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2017. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. "We pride ourselves on the fact that we embrace innovative technology within our aircraft fleet," sa...
Including a unique portfolio of completion and maintenance for ACJ350 Lufthansa Technik AG is prepared for the technical services on A350 XWB for both, commercial and VIP customers. The company is already holding the approval of the European airworthiness authority EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) as Maintenance Organization for the new aircraft type (Part 145 approval) and is supporting...
The Kingdom of Bhutan, Airbus Helicopters announced the arrival of the first H130, from the proven Ecureuil family, in the Kingdom of Bhutan. This is the first of two helicopters acquired by the Royal Bhutan Helicopter Services Limited (RBHSL) to serve parapublic and commercial missions. The second H130 is expected to be delivered in June 2016. “We are thrilled to be the first to rec...
Bombardier Business Aircraft is pleased to announce that it was awarded Transport Canada (TC) Certification for its Challenger 650 aircraft. With customer deliveries expected to commence in 2015, the Bombardier Challenger 650 demonstration aircraft will make its North American debut at the National Business Aviation Association conference and exhibition. “This latest milestone is terrific...
Russian Helicopters, part of state corporation Rostec, has started flight testing of a second prototype of the medium multirole Mi-171A2 at Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant. The new Mi-171A2 prototype includes all the unique features typical of this type of helicopter, making it competitive with its global peers. Pre-flight and certification testing are also currently underway. The Mi-171A2 is the m...
The Defence Ministry on Tuesday said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy’s Finmeccanica, to buy six AW609 tilt-rotor aircraft for search and rescue operations. Major General Abdullah al-Hashimi, the ministry’s executive director of strategic analysis, told reporters at the Dubai Airshow that the aircraft would improve the capabilities of...
Cairo // Investigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are “90 per cent sure” the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb, a member of the investigation team said on Sunday. The Airbus (AIR.PA) A321 crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Sharm El Sheikh tourist resort eight days ago, killing all 224 passengers and crew. ISIL...
AstroLabs – named after the astrolabe, an ancient navigational device perfected by the Arabs – is a new co-working space in Dubai. While there have been a slew in recent years – Shelter, The Pavilion, Make, The Cribb – this latest venture, which officially opened late last month, boasts three hallmarks that set it apart. Firstly, having been launched by two successful...
As top Aerion executives meet with Dubai air show attendees, the aspiring supersonic business jet manufacturer is continuing to search for a US assembly site for flight-test and production aircraft. The selected location will form the “new home of Aerion Corporation”, says the company. Its production system is taking shape ahead of a scheduled first flight date in 2021 and entry...
Argentina is expected to sign a contract on 10 November covering the purchase of 14 Kfir Block 60 fighters. The nation's air force opted to acquire upgraded examples of the Israel Aerospace Industries-produced combat aircraft, which have been non-operational for two decades. IAI had been offering a Block 60 version of the roughly 40-year-old Kfir design, powered by a GE Aviation&n...
Airbus has underlined its faith in the A380, despite slower-than-desired activity and an absence of sales for the type so far this year. Chief operating officer for customers John Leahy, speaking at the Dubai air show, insisted that the “case for the A380 is inevitable”. He is confident that the type is becoming “known in the marketplace” and that a new customer could...
Airbus Helicopters has taken its in-development H160 twin-engined helicopter to a speed of 176kt (202km/h) during flight tests, and believes a never-exceed speed (Vne) of 180kt should be achievable. Disclosing the flight-test progress at a Dubai media briefing held at the H160 mock-up on the static display, Benoit Terral, sales promotion manager for the type, said the velocity was achieved duri...
A number of African countries have turned their attention to the Embraer EMB-314 A29 SuperTucano aircraft. Jon Lake looks at the reasons why. For many years, some African air forces have been guilty of letting considerations of national prestige govern their combat aircraft procurement. In many cases, supersonic fighter interceptors have been purchased or acquired which have had litt...
