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China Airlines becomes new operator of the A350 XWB

China Airlines (CAL) has taken delivery of its first A350-900, becoming the ninth airline to operate the world’s newest and most efficient twin engine widebody airliner.  CAL’s A350-900 is configured with a premium three class layout with a total of 306 seats, comprising 32 in Premium Business class, convertible to fully lie-flat beds, 31 in Premium Economy and 243 in the m...

First A330neo starts its final assembly in Toulouse

Airbus has commenced the final assembly of its first A330neo, an A330-900, at its Final Assembly Line in Toulouse with the joining of the wings to the centre fuselage at station 40.  As the newest member of the world’s most popular A330 wide-body family the A330neo builds on the Family’s proven economics, versatility and reliability, set to reduce fuel consumption by a further...

A380 has bright future despite production cutbacks, insists Airbus

Airbus has dismissed doubts over demand for the world’s largest passenger plane, the double-decker A380, even after it lowered production targets in July. "Every 15 years, the industry is doubling in size,"said the chief operating officer for customers, John Leahy. "So here you have London Heathrow, totally congested. JFK, congested. Los Angeles, congested. Hong Kong, co...

Sabena technics: Global support for Air KBZ fleet

Sabena technics, the French MRO provider, will provide Air KBZ, the largest domestic carrier in Myanmar, global support of their fleet of ATR 72-600 and ATR 72-500 aircraft until 2021. Within the scope of this five-year contract, Air KBZ will benefit from a large range of solutions including pool access, repair and overhaul of rotable components for...

Dassault Aviation welcomes the acquisition by India of 36 Rafale

France and India signed the contract for the acquisition of 36 Rafale by India. The conclusion of this contract comes after the announcement by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, during his visit to Paris in April 2015, of his desire to rapidly equip the Indian Air Force with 36 Rafale. This desire was reiterated during the visit to India by French President, François Hollande, in Jan...

JetBlue becomes launch customer of Airbus’ Scheduled Maintenance Optimizer solution

JetBlue has become the launch customer for the first module of Airbus’ “Scheduled Maintenance Optimizer”, following a successful prototyping and demonstration of value. This application, focusing on Long Term Planning, is part of the Airbus Smarter FleetTM solutions.  The Long Term Planning module will help decrease maintenance costs through the optimization of...

First ATR 72-600 High Capacity delivered to Cebu Pacific

Cebu Pacific,  the Philippines’ largest airline , took delivery of the very first ATR 72-600 High Capacity. Configured with 78 seats, this brand new option of the ATR 72 has ten additional seats compared to the standard configuration of the aircraft (68).  It therefore combines reduced seat mile costs for airlines and world class comfort for passengers...

Azores Airlines to expand transatlantic operations with A321neo

Azores airlines which is fully owned by Sociedade Açoreana de Transportes Aéreos (SATA) is modernizing its short-haul and transatlantic fleet with the A321neo and by 2019 with the longer range A321LR. The decision follows a growth strategy to expand into new transatlantic routes.  Azores airlines has been an Airbus customer since 1999 operating seven A310, A320 and A330 Airbu...

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...