Qantas Airways has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 787-9s and deferred the delivery of 15 787-8s to reduce capital expenditure amid a challenging operating environment. … The “prudent” decision will reduce capital expenditure by $3 billion and still allow Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar to “take advantage of growth opportunities and market demands, both domestically and internationally”, he adds.
The first Airbus A320 aircraft to be assembled in China enters into service with Sichuan Airlines today after being delivered to owner Dragon Aviation Leasing on Tuesday.
The plant at Tianjin that is the first A320 assembly plant outside Toulouse, France. It is a joint-venture between Airbus, the Tianjin Free Trade Zone and state-owned China Aviation [...]
Boeing Postpones 787 First Flight
EVERETT, Wash., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) today announced that first flight of the 787 Dreamliner will be postponed due to a need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft.
The need was identified during the recent regularly scheduled tests on the full-scale static test airplane. [...]
Boeing identified a structural issue with the 787 several weeks ago but it was not until last Friday that analysis confirmed that the first flight should be delayed pending a modification.
“Preliminary analysis was that we could have a credible flight-test envelope, but then during detailed analysis the envelope narrowed to the point that it would [...]
Airbus’s bigger A350 aircraft has won almost 500 orders, 10 of them at the Paris Airshow, forcing Boeing to turn its attention to the market for bigger planes with more than 300 seats. The Chicago- based company is considering an upgrade of its 15-year-old 777 aircraft. Airlines say it should spend billions on a new [...]
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker has warned Boeing that the airline could “walk away” from its 60-order 787 contract if the airframer does not quickly resolve major issues over delivery delays.
“We at Qatar Airways have some serious issues with Boeing and if they do not play ball with us they will be in [...]
United Airlines is considering replacing its 757, 767 and 777 fleets with 787s – including -3s to replace 96 757-200s used on routes of around 4,600km (2,500nm).
Japan Airlines has dropped its 787-3 order in favour of the longer-range 787-8, leaving just one customer for the short- to medium-haul type designed for Japanese airlines requiring a high-density configuration with a trimmed wingspan for use at space-constrained gates.
The backlog for the -3 now stands at 28, with remaining customer All Nippon Airways converting two -3s to -8s as well.
International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) could drop its A380 orders because of a lack of requests for the jumbo jet, CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy said.
According to Hazy, ILFC can cancel the order between January and June of 2010 without having to pay any penalties. In addition to an outright cancellation — which would be the first [...]
Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 747-400 will soon make one final flight to a wrecker’s yard as further capacity cuts loom in the face of a continued fall in demand for global air travel.
The 19-year-old jumbo, named The Bay of Islands, was grounded and put up for sale after completing Air New Zealand’s historic biofuel [...]
