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France aviation news

Daher marks aviation milestone with rollout of 800th TBM aircraft

Daher announced the completion of its 800th TBM very fast turboprop business aircraft, which has rolled out from the company’s final assembly line at France’s Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport. This milestone aircraft is a TBM 930 – the latest addition to the TBM family of very fast turboprop aircraft, which is in production along with the TBM 900 version. « The 800t...

Air France says bookings will fall further in wake of terror attacks

Air France expects a further decline in bookings over the coming months as a result of terrorist attacks and a cabin crew strike that took place during the summer, the airline’s boss Jean-Marc Janaillac said. Bookings were down 5 per cent in July and August and the drop had accelerated to between 5 and 10 per cent for the remainder of the year, he said in Paris. He said the biggest drop i...

Airbus Helicopters and Denel Aviation to cooperate on modernisation of the Rooivalk

Airbus Helicopters and Denel Aviation have announced their intention to cooperate on a programme to enhance and modernise the Rooivalk attack helicopter. The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the biennial African Aerospace & Defence show at Air Force Base Waterkloof this week, in which they agreed to cooperate on a phased programme of enhancements for the Rooiv...

China Airlines’ first A350 XWB takes to the skies

The first A350 XWB for China Airlines (CAL) has completed its maiden flight over the skies of Toulouse in South West France. The aircraft bearing the airline’s distinctive livery will now enter the final phase of production, including further ground and flight tests. This first A350-900 for China Airlines is scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks. China Airlines has 14 A350-900s on...

Hundreds of flights at risk during new Air Traffic Control strike in France

- Airlines have to reduce capacity by 15%. - ATC strikes cost up to €9.5 billion of European Union’s GDP associated with 131,000 jobs over the last six years. Thousands of European passengers will see their travel plans disrupted again today with another air traffic control (ATC) strike in Europe. Holiday makers and business people’s rights have been infrin...

Dassault Aviation to Show Fast Selling Falcon 7X at South African Air Show

Dassault Aviation will present its popular large cabin, long range Falcon 7X at the Africa Aerospace & Defence Expo, to be held at Waterkloof Air Force base, South Africa from  September 14-18. Dassault’s three engined Falcons are extremely popular among African operators, who highly value their legendary sturdiness, reliability and operating economy. Some 70 Falcon air...

Airbus delivers North America’s first A320neo to Volaris

Low-cost carrier Volaris took delivery of its first A320neo, making the airline the first operator of the A320neo in North America. Volaris is Mexico’s largest Airbus customer, having ordered 74 A320 Family aircraft, including 30 A320neo. The all-Airbus operator became a customer in 2006, and since then has become Mexico’s biggest A320 Family operator with 63 A320 Family aircraft in se...

Airbus wing plant is a model of robotic technology

Like a cartoon space alien with a dome-like skull, an Airbus Beluga transport plane arriving from Madrid drops from the sky above this village 200 miles northwest of London and taxis to a stop with its front end tucked inside a large building off the runway. Its bulbous forehead pops open to disgorge massive wing panels — 98 feet long and 20 feet wide — that will soon be assembled b...

Safran delivers first U.S-built Arrius 2R

Safran Helicopter Engines has delivered on schedule the first Arrius 2R engine made in the U.S.A. Celebration of this handover to Bell Helicopter took place at Safran Helicopter Engines' USA facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. It marks a major step in the 2R program and Safran's commitment to supply Bell Helicopter with best-in-class products, assembled in the United States. The Arrius 2R...

Dassault to Highlight Success of Falcon 7X, 8X at Jet Expo 2016

Dassault Aviation is highlighting the growing success of its Falcon 7X and 8X large-cabin long range Falcon business jets at Jet Expo Moscow 2016, which opens on September 8 at the Vnukovo 3 business aviation complex. The exhibit will feature the top-of-the-line Falcon 7X and the long range Falcon 900LX trijets, and spotlight the forthcoming entry-into-service of the new, ultra-long range...

AirAsia receives its first A320neo

AirAsia has taken delivery of its first A320neo at a dedicated ceremony in Hamburg. The aircraft is the first CFM International LEAP-1A powered A320neo in South East Asia and the second worldwide. Equipped with a Space Flex Cabin for an optimal passenger comfort and efficiency, the aircraft is configured with 186 seats.  AirAsia is Airbus’ biggest airline customer for the A320 Family...

Vietjet to expand its Airbus fleet with new order for 20 A321s

Vietnam’s Vietjet has placed a firm order with Airbus for 20 A321 single aisle aircraft to meet growth on its domestic and regional network. The purchase agreement, covering 10 A321ceo and 10 A321neo, was signed in Hanoi today by Vietjet President and CEO, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President & CEO. The signing took place during the state visit to Vietnam of François Hol...