Airbus, Indigo Partners finalize orders for 430 A320neo Family aircraft

Airbus announced just before new year that it had finalized agreements with Indigo Partners and its four portfolio airlines for the purchase of 430 additional A320neo Family aircraft for ultra-low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines (United States), JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary).  The signed purchase agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding among the parties announced at the Dubai Air Show last month.

The 430-aircraft order is made up of 274 A320neos and 156 A321neos worth $49.5 billion at list prices. Airlines in the Indigo Partners family had previously placed orders for a total of 427 A320 Family aircraft.

“These customer-friendly and efficient A320neo Family aircraft form a great platform for continued growth for our family of ultra-low-cost airlines,” said Bill Franke, Managing Partner of Indigo Partners. “The Indigo Partners team looks forward to creating even more value for even more passengers around the world with these modern and efficient aircraft.”

John Leahy, Airbus’ Chief Operating Officer, Customers, added, “Bill Franke and the teams from Wizz, Volaris, JetSMART and Frontier are great partners, and the global Airbus team is very proud to continue to meet their growing needs for aircraft that provide value, reliability and comfort.  The A320neo Family offers the lowest operating costs, longest range and most spacious cabin in the single-aisle aircraft market, making the ‘NEO’ a great choice for these low-cost airlines in the Americas and Europe.”

CALC orders 50 A320neo aircraft

CALC (China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited), a full value-chain aircraft solutions provider for global airlines, has signed a firm order for 50 A320neo Family aircraft. This latest incremental order brings CALC’s total order book to date to around 200 Airbus single-aisle aircraft.

Mr. Mike Poon, Chief Executive Officer of CALC, said, “We are proud to augment our fleet by adding 50 in-demand A320neo jetliners that have outstanding fuel efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort. Since CALC’s inception, we have maintained a close and dynamic relationship with Airbus, and the commitment marks yet another endorsement of our mutual trust. This bulk purchase will significantly expand CALC’s fleet portfolio and further solidify our position as a full value-chain aircraft solutions provider. Currently, the majority of our fleet comes from direct purchase from manufacturers and that will remain the major source of our new aircraft.”

“We are very happy with this repeat order by CALC. It is once more a great endorsement for our leading A320 Family aircraft. With unbeatable fuel efficiency and the lowest operating costs, it is the best match for CALC’s customers. Thanks to the widest single-aisle cabin in the skies, the A320neo passengers will enjoy the best in class comfort,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer - Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft.

BA to lease more Qatar Airways aircraft

Qatar Airways are coming to the rescue of British Airways yet again, although this time it isn't because of industrial action, but the lack of aircraft.

The British carrier has submitted another application to the UK regulator the CAA for the approval to wet lease six Qatar Airways Airbus A320 aircraft.  According to the application, submitted in December, BA will hire the aircraft and crews from Qatar between 9th February and 9th April to cover for the UK's carrier's own late arriving A320neo aircraft. 

Aircraft A7-LAA to A7-LAF are needed to complete British Airways spring schedule, although the exact routes the Qatar aircraft will operate has yet to be assigned.  And whilst British Airways may hope it won't have to rely on Qatar to wet lease aircraft to them for longer periods of time, it's good news for many BA passengers, as the Qatari aircraft are considered to be more comfortable and the crew more efficient and friendly than the ones they are replacing. 

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AerCap boosts A320neo portfolio by 50 aircraft

Leading aircraft lessor AerCap holdings has upped its A320neo portfolio after signing a firm agreement to buy 50 additional aircraft. This transaction brings AerCap's firm orders for the A320neo Family aircraft to a total of 270, owned and on order.

Aengus Kelly, CEO of AerCap said, "As the largest lessor of the A320neo Family aircraft, we have already placed three-quarters of our A320neo Family aircraft from our existing forward order book with Airbus. We have seen significant market appetite for these aircraft from our diverse customer base. This transaction is in line with our portfolio strategy of investing in the most in-demand modern technology aircraft in the world.”

“AerCap is one of the most highly regarded lessors and an additional 50 A320neo Family aircraft to an existing portfolio of 220 is a fabulous endorsement of the world’s favourite single-aisle aircraft,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft.

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Order a jet flight with the click of a button? The Internet of Things takes flight in private jet charters

GrandView Jets launches 'Press for Jet' web-enabled button to order private jet services
on-demand. GrandView operates Phenom 300 light jets out of the
DC/Baltimore region and will be opening a base in Texas early 2018.

GrandView Jets, an affiliate of GrandView Aviation, is releasing a 'Press for Jet' Web-enabled button that allows clients to order a private jet at the press of a button. The device is an Amazon's Web Services' IoT button powered by ButtonJoy software. Particular preferences like routes, meals & drinks, and special requirements are connected to the client's button. Once a client presses, they're immediately contacted by GrandView Jets' dispatch department to arrange their trip and can be wheels up in as little as 2 hours.

4 People sent to hospital after toxic odour on American Airlines aircraft.

An unusual 'mechanical issue' forced an American Airlines flight scheduled to depart Boston for Charlotte, to return to the departure gate on Monday after reports of an odd toxic odour on-board.  The smell was so bad that it caused four people - three crew members and a passenger - to be sent to the hospital.  

American Airlines says the aircraft had turned around and returned to the terminal due to to a mechanical issue, although at this stage it is unclear what the issue was or if it contributed to the mysterious odour.

Whilst the four people were taken to local hospitals the other passengers deplaned and were taken to Charlotte on a different aircraft a few hours later. The original aircraft was inspected and returned to service later in the day.

American issued a statement "American Airlines Flight 1719 from Boston to Charlotte returned to the gate prior to departure on Jan. 1 because of a possible mechanical issue,"

The statement goes on to say "There were reports of an odor onboard and the captain elected to return to the gate.  The aircraft was taken out of service and the flight departed for Charlotte later in the day with a replacement aircraft. Three flight attendants and one passenger requested medical attention at Boston Logan and were transported to a local hospital to be evaluated. All were later released,"

The airline has remained silent on possible causes for the odour or irritation caused to some of those on the aircraft. 

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Tianjin Airlines launches a new route from Auckland to Tianjin via Xi'an

Tianjin Airlines debuted its first flight from Auckland to Tianjin via Xi'an on December 30, 2017. This is Tianjin Airlines' second intercontinental flight between China and New Zealand, coming after the flight from Auckland to Tianjin via Chongqing which began to operate in December 2016.

Tianjin Airlines new international flight products

Free-accommodation service for transit passengers

When the flight connecting time is more than 6 hours and less than 48 hours, one-night accommodation is free for passengers who take Tianjin Airlines international flights and transit via Chongqing on domestic flights of HNA Group or Tianjin Airlines. Free-accommodation service is also provided for passengers who take Tianjin Airlines international flights and transfer via Tianjin and Xi'an on Tianjin Airlines' domestic flights under the same circumstances.

International ticket package

Tianjin Airlines provides air ticket packages, available for both business and economy classes. Passengers flying Tianjin Airlines between China and UK, Russia, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand can enjoy favourable pricing.

Seat selection service

Tianjin Airlines provides seat selection service on some international routes. Passengers who depart from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Phuket, Korea and Japan can select the seats in the first and exit rows of economy class for a suitable price. These spacious seats will give fliers additional legroom and a more comfortable experience. Passengers can also purchase seat selection service during the check-in process and our staff will assist with the seat selection.

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Norwegian aims for its biggest ever year of growth in 2018

That highly respected and increasingly popular Low-cost airline Norwegian has revealed some impressive plans for 2018 as the award-winning carrier’s rapid expansion will take the airline to new heights!

The airline will build upon its growth by launching new long-haul routes – including its first service to South America, introducing a new enhanced Premium cabin and in-flight Wi-Fi to new long-haul aircraft. Norwegian will also add more affordable flights to its most popular USA destinations.

Europe’s third largest low-cost carrier flew 5.8 million passengers from the UK & Ireland and launched more than 15 routes in 2017. Some of its successes include commencing groundbreaking transatlantic flights from Scotland, Belfast and Ireland to smaller US east coast cities and taking low-cost long-haul global with the world’s longest low-cost route between London and Singapore.

Read on the see what Norwegian’s continued expansion top five developments for 2018 are: