Airbus reveals first A330neo for AirAsia

Airbus and AirAsia have unveiled the first A330neo for the AirAsia Group at the Paris Air Show. 

The aircraft will be delivered via lessor Avolon in the coming weeks for operation by AirAsia’s long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X Thailand. The event was attended by Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, AirAsia X Malaysia Chairman, Nadda Buranasiri, AirAsia X Group CEO, Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, Domhnal Slattery, Avolon Chief Executive Officer and Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce President Civil Aerospace.

Air Lease Corporation Announces Lease Placement of Ten Airbus A321-200neo Aircraft with Sichuan Airlines

Air Lease Corporation announced this week long-term lease agreements for ten Airbus A321-200neo aircraft with Sichuan Airlines. Scheduled to deliver from ALC’s order book with Airbus starting in 2021 through 2022, the ten A321-200neos join one A350-900, one A321-200neo, one A320-200neo, four A321-200s, one A330-300 and one A330-200 aircraft currently on lease to the airline from ALC.

“This significant lease placement exhibits ALC’s strong relationship with Sichuan Airlines and signals yet another chapter in our partnership,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “We are extremely honoured to once again partner with the Sichuan team as the airline continues to excel as a leading carrier with a world-class fleet.”

Canada’s Airports Focus on Aviation Safety

Canadian Airports Safety Week is returning this year from June 17th to 21st 2019. The initiative is being led by the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), in collaboration with 29 participating airports across the country to promote healthy and safe work practices among airport employees.

Hyatt Announces Plans for First Alila Branded Resort in Europe

 Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced this week that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Resort 4 SA, owned by Ben Golf Investissements SA, for Europe’s first Alila branded resort.

Alila La Gruyère in Switzerland will strengthen Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle and wellbeing offerings in the region

Overlooking a picturesque lake, Alila La Gruyère will be a luxury destination resort offering a high-end golf course with stunning views and an authentic wellness retreat, enhancing Hyatt’s lifestyle and wellbeing offerings for guests. With 85 rooms and 27 residences, the resort is expected to open in 2023, marking a significant growth milestone for Hyatt since the Alila brand integrated into the Hyatt portfolio in late 2018.

Emirates commits to reducing single-use plastic on board

Emirates has made a network-wide commitment to reduce single-use plastics on board its aircraft

Emirates has made a network-wide commitment to reduce single-use plastics on board its aircraft. As of June 1st, eco-friendly paper straws have been introduced and all Emirates flights will soon be plastic straw-free.

The airline has been working on various long-term sustainability initiatives. In addition to plastic straws, plastic swizzle sticks and stirrers will also be replaced with eco-friendly alternatives by the end of the year. From August, plastic bags used for Inflight Retail purchases will also be replaced with paper bags. These initiatives will remove an estimated 81.7 million single-use plastic items from landfill each year.

GECAS and David Neeleman agree to a Letter of Intent for Nine A220-300 aircraft

GECAS and David Neeleman’s new airline, codenamed ‘Moxy’, have agreed to a Letter of Intent for the purchase and leaseback of nine A220-300 aircraft with deliveries scheduled in 2021 and 2022.

Mr Neeleman is a veteran airline entrepreneur, with a world-renowned track record of success: he is the founder of both JetBlue and Azul Brazilian Airlines, and the controlling investor in the consortium which has turned around the fortunes of TAP Air Portugal. Mr Neeleman’s latest startup airline will be based in the United States and will focus on getting travellers where they want to go, quickly, conveniently and inexpensively.

American Airlines Now Offers More Aircraft with High‑Speed Wi‑Fi Than Any Other Airline

American Airlines now offers customers access to high-speed satellite Wi-Fi and live TV on more aircraft than any other airline.

The company recently completed installation of the fast, consistent and industry-leading connectivity on its entire long-term mainline narrowbody fleet of more than 700 aircraft. Satellite-based Wi-Fi allows customers to stream video without buffering or interruptions; upload and download files with ease; and stay connected from gate to gate. Upgraded bandwidth capacity ensures customers won’t compromise on connection quality or speed, even if every customer chooses to access inflight internet at the same time.

Boeing Forecasts $8.7 Trillion Aerospace and Defence Market through 2028

 A strong commercial aviation industry, stable defence spending and the need to service all platforms throughout their lifecycle are driving a growing aerospace and defence market, according to the Boeing Market Outlook. Released today at the Paris Air Show, the outlook values the aerospace and defence market at $8.7 trillion over the next decade, up from $8.1 trillion a year ago.

Embraer and United Airlines Sign Contract for up to 39 E175s

Photo United

Embraer announced this week, at the 53rd International Paris Air Show, that it has signed a contract with United Airlines for up to 39 E175s. The order comprises 20 firm aircraft and 19 options in a 70-seat configuration. The order has a value of USD 1.9 billion, based on Embraer's current list prices, with all options being exercised. The firm order will be included in Embraer's 2019 second-quarter backlog. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2020. These aircraft will replace older 70-seat aircraft currently operated by United's regional partners. 

"With this contract, we have the opportunity to continue serving United's fleet with our class-leading E175 platform," said Charlie Hillis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, North America, Embraer Commercial Aviation. "Embraer's dedication to finding solutions that meet our customer's needs is the primary reason we continue to outperform in this market segment."

British Airways to offer Flying with Confidence courses from London City Airport

The UK's British Airways will be celebrating its big birthday weekend in August with the first ever Flying with Confidence course at London City Airport.  The course, which has run for three decades and helped more than 50,000 people overcome their fear of flying, celebrates the airline’s centenary on August 25 when it takes off at the Docklands airport for the first time.

It is run by British Airways Captain Steve Allright (pictured) and a specialist team who will explain the technical side of flying, challenging regular areas of concern such as turbulence.  There will be expert advice from a clinical psychologist on relaxation techniques and managing anxiety and the day will finish with a flight on a modern Embraer 170 jet.

Delta’s A220 expands to Seattle hub and 9 other airports this summer

​​After its February debut, the A220 fleet is ramping up to 74 daily flights across the U.S., from Boston to Dallas to Seattle.

Delta's new Airbus A220 is expanding to more routes and new airports this summer, giving more customers than ever the opportunity to experience the aircraft's modern and spacious interior – and popular lavatory window! ​

The aircraft in April made its debut in the West at Salt Lake City International Airport and in May began operating from Mineta San Jose International Airport. This week, it launched from Delta's Seattle hub when it began operating on two of Delta's six daily flights to San Jose, with expansion to more Seattle routes planned later this year. The West Coast launch is part of a broader ramp-up of Delta's A220 schedule, which will grow to 74 daily flights to and from 10 airports this summer.

More A350 orders for Air Lease Corporation clients....... FrenchBee and Air Caraïbes

Air Lease Corporation Announces Lease Placement of Three New Airbus A350-900 and One New Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft with Air Caraïbes and FrenchBee

Air Lease Corporation announced this week long-term lease agreements with Air Caraïbes and FrenchBee, part of Groupe Dubreuil Aéro, for three new Airbus A350-900 and one new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, on lease from ALC’s order book with Airbus.  The three A350-900s are scheduled to deliver to Air Caraïbes starting in 2019 through 2020, the first of which delivered to the airline on June 12, 2019 on lease to FrenchBee.  The A350-1000 is scheduled to deliver to the airlines in Fall 2021.

Boeing to supply Airbus A320neo parts to British Airways

Boeing has confirmed that the International Airlines Group (IAG), one of the world's largest airline groups, signed two agreements at the Paris Air Show today that will provide key services for IAG's British Airways, including parts for the airline's Airbus A320 family and its Boeing 777 fleet.

In a surprise move that had angered European planemaker Airbus, the first agreement signed will mean Boeing will own, manage, and maintain a global exchange inventory of parts for the airline's A320 and A320neo aircraft. Some in the European aviation industry say this new deal is tantamount to full-scale industrial espionage out in the open. It will certainly help Boeing keep up on all the new developments regarding the latest developments of the A320neo programme. It will also aid Boeing in its processes of buying up the small and medium-sized companies that produce parts from Airbus in order to control, dominate and alter the supply chain to its rivals.

Deloitte to Present Smart Factory Services at the 2019 International Paris Air Show

Deloitte today announced its attendance at the 53rd International Paris Air Show where Deloitte leaders, original equipment manufacturers, and industry partners will explore issues and technologies impacting the aerospace and defence (A&D) market such as supply chain, smart factory and Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing.

Seamless Air Alliance showcases technologies enabling the future of in-flight connectivity at Paris Air Show 2019

The aggravations of in-flight internet access will soon be a thing of the past as the next-generation of inflight connectivity is set to become a reality. The Seamless Air Alliance will demonstrate some of the key technologies that will be a part of the specification being developed by its membership of industry-leading companies.

Collins Aerospace to provide Environmental Control System and multiple flight control surfaces for NASA X-59 Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator

Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corporation has been selected by Lockheed Martin to provide the Environmental Control Systems (ECS), flaps, ailerons and rudder for the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® is developing the X-59 for NASA to collect data that could make supersonic commercial travel over land possible through low sonic boom technology. Following Collins Aerospace's earlier announcement that it has been selected to provide the X-59's avionics, the company has now received a total of three awards relating to the aircraft.

RAF Chinook helps with flood defences in Lincolnshire

Photo RAF

An RAF Chinook was deployed on June13th to try and stem the flow of water in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire and continued to be work alongside a Puma on June 14th to tackle the floods.

The Environment Agency confirmed that the river had breached its defences after more than double June’s average rainfall came down within three days. An assessment by the Lincolnshire Local Resilience Forum and Environment Agency decided that air support was needed to create a plug to stem the flow, while the evacuation of the village takes place. The RAF are able to reach an area that had become inaccessible to responders on the ground thanks to the unique heavy lift capability offered by the Chinook.

More new destinations for Air Italy

Guadalajara becomes first destination in Mexico Portland, Seattle, San Diego and others added via connections through Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York

Air Italy has added 10 new destinations to its network through the signing of a Special Prorate Agreement with Alaska Airlines.  The new interline agreement start the airlines’ partnership with 10 destinations across the US and Mexico: Anchorage, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Palm Springs, San Diego, Newark, San Jose (CA) and Guadalajara (Mexico).

Air Italy passengers will now be able to connect to AS’s network at Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York (JFK) airports, which Air Italy serves directly from Milan Malpensa with its fleet of Airbus 330-200 aircraft offering 24 fully flatbed seats in Business Class and 228 seats in Economy Class.

Helvectic Airways says goodbye to its last Fokker 100

On Friday 14th June an era came to an end for the small Swiss regional airline, Helvetic, as it said goodbye to its final Fokker F100 aircraft.

The airline has been flying the lovely Fokker's since 2003 on a number of European routes, mainly from its Zurich base.  The airline is transitioning its fleet to the more modern and fuel-efficient Embraer aircraft. 

Farewell Fokker. 

(Images Helvetic Airways)