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United States aviation news

United Airlines 2016 Fleet Plan

We are now getting our first look at United’s 2016 fleet plan.  Some of the highlights include United taking delivery of older ex-China Southern A319 aircraft as well as new 737-900ERs, Dreamliners, and its first 777-300ER. A319: United operates 55 A319s in its fleet, and in 2016 the airline plans to take delivery of 9 of the 14 ex China Southern aircraft leased fr...

U.S. hopes to conclude Cuba aviation talks 'very, very soon'

The United States hopes to conclude aviation talks with Cuba about the resumption of scheduled commercial airline flights "very, very soon," a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday. The official was speaking ahead of Thursday's one-year anniversary of the United States and Cuba's agreement after 18 months of secret talks to restore diplomatic ties that Washingt...

mba Provides Maintenance Cash Flow Forecast for CLAS US$713 Million ABS Deal

Morten Beyer & Agnew (mba) provided Castlelake, L.P. with Maintenance Cash Flow Forecast and General Market Analysis for their Aircraft Securitization Trust (“CLAS 2015-1”) consisting of fifty-four (54) aircraft and six (6) engines (the “Portfolio”), subject to twenty-three (23) operators, spanning eighteen (18) different countries.  CLAS 2015-1 was made pu...

GE Capital Aviation Services and Virgin America Sign Lease Agreement for 10 Airbus A321neo Aircraft

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, today announced it signed an agreement with Virgin America, Inc., to lease 10 new Airbus A321neo aircraft powered by CFM’s LEAP-1A engines to expand the carrier’s fleet. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in Q1 2017 and the remainder will deliver in 2017 and 2018. All 10 air...

Boeing Board Elects AT&T CEO Stephenson as New Member

Boeing Chairman Jim McNerney announced today that the company’s board has elected Randall Stephenson as a new director, effective February 2016. Randall Stephenson Stephenson, 55, has been chairman and CEO of AT&T, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, since 2007. AT&T is a global leader in integrated connectivity solutions for businesses and co...

Alaska Airlines Files Motion in SeaTac Proposition 1 Legal Challenge

Alaska Airlines, Filo Foods, BF Foods and the Washington Restaurant Association today filed a motion in King County Superior Court asking the trial court to hear evidence on whether the City of SeaTac’s Proposition 1 ordinance interferes with the Port of Seattle’s authority to run the airport. In August, the Washington state Supreme Court issued its opinion on Proposition 1 and, as...

Zetta Jet Signs Deal for Five Bombardier Global 6000s

Los Angeles-based air charter firm Zetta Jet has signed a deal with Bombardier Business Aircraft for up to five Global 6000s worth a potential $318 million at list prices. The agreement, announced today, is a firm order for one Global 6000 and options for four more of the ultra-long-range jets. The airplane will operate out of the company's Asian hub in Singapore and will join Zetta Jet’...

Flexjet Outlines How Supersonic AS2s Will Be Integrated

Like its Gulfstream G650s that will enter service next year, Flexjet's supersonic Aerion AS2s—slated for delivery starting in 2023—will be part of the fractional provider’s Global Access program, Flexjet chairman and parent company Directional Aviation Capital principal Kenn Ricci told AIN. This means that Flexjet will not be selling shares in either of these long-r...

StandardAero LAX completes first Embraer Legacy 650 ADS-B Installation

StandardAero recently completed its first certified ADS-B solution for an Embraer Legacy 650 aircraft at the company's Los Angeles International Airport MRO facility. Along with the ADS-B installation, StandardAero also completed a full Wide Area Augmentation System GPS upgrade. Both upgrades were performed through Embraer Service Bulletins. "We continue to see an increasing nu...

Northrop Grumman completes B-2 Bomber maintenance in record time

Northrop Grumman Corporation has delivered on a commitment to the U.S. Air Force to increase the availability of the B-2 stealth bomber fleet by completing a periodic "wingtip-to-wingtip" overhaul of the jet in a record 359 days. The company returned B-2 Spirit of Kitty Hawk to the bomber's operational home at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, on Sept. 23. The shorter cycle for p...

Boeing, China Postal Airlines Announce Purchase of 10 Next-Generation 737 Boeing Converted Freighters

Boeing today announced an agreement with China Postal Airlines for 10 Next-Generation 737 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCFs), pending a program launch. Through its converted freighter programs, Boeing extends the valuable service life of a passenger airplane by modifying it to function as a freighter. "This is a historic order both for China Postal and Boeing," said&n...

Why Boeing 787s are appearing to lose their way

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is facing another challenge from regulators. Canadian and Australian authorities have instituted restrictions on the type based on a bug in its implementation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, which has been found to transmit inaccurate positional data while declaring the data as high integrity. After receiving data from a number...