Weekly Aviation Headline News
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ISSN 1718-7966 November 12, 2018/ VOL. 666 www.avitrader.com Weekly Aviation Headline News WORLD NEWS British Airways to expand Scottish route British Airways is to significantly expand its service between Heath- row and Inverness by operating two daily return services from Monday to Friday and three return services at weekends from summer 2019. The increased schedule means that, for the first time since the Heathrow to Inverness route was reinstated in 2016, an aircraft will be parked over- night at Inverness Airport and British Airways customers will be able to travel between the two cities, com- Air Astana plete a full working day, and return will open its home the very same day. LCC operation next year. TrueNoord secures further Photo: funding to drive growth plans Air Astana TrueNoord, the regional aircraft lessor, has secured new investment from ex- Air Astana plans low cost offshoot isting and new investors. This brings to- New subsidiary to launch in 2019 tal equity available to nearly US$400m to expand TrueNoord’s aircraft portfo- Air Astana has announced that it is Arystan will operate from multiple ence at Cebu Pacific and Virgin lio and partially refinance the existing to launch a low-cost airline in the aircraft bases in Kazakhstan with Blue. Although FlyArystan will be a fleet as it embarks upon the next phase first half of 2019. The airline will routes and aircraft bases to be an- low-cost airline, with very different of growth. It complements a senior se- be called FlyArystan. It will oper- nounced over the coming months. service procedures to those of Air cured debt facility of US$500m which Astana, it is to be stressed that as a was announced in July. ate a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft configured to an all-economy class FlyArystan’s management team division of Air Astana, there will be Vueling launches Vueling Holidays of 180 seats. It will operate a classic has already been appointed and no degradation of airline safety or Vueling Airlines, low cost carrier part LCC model, strictly reliability standards. of IAG group, and Expedia Partner following the exam- All safety standards Solutions (EPS), a B2B brand of Expe- ples of highly suc- “It will be good for the mid to long-term and regulatory pro- dia Group, launch Vueling Holidays, a cessful airlines such cesses to which Air new offer that will provide affordable as easyjet, Indigo, prospects of Air Astana.” Astana is subject, flight and hotel travel packages to the Cebu Pacific, and Peter Foster, President & CEO of Air Astana will automatically airline’s passengers for the first time. Air Asia. It will offer apply to FlyArystan. In an exclusive agreement, Vueling low airfares – ap- Finally, and as usual Holidays, powered by Expedia’s proximately half of what Air Astana is drawn from Air Astana’s senior with Air Astana, the project will be white-labelled online template, gives offers today – on mostly domestic local managers, whom the airline entirely self-funded. FlyArystan will travellers access to flight and hotel routes – but it is expected to ex- has been developing for the last require no capital from sharehold- package deals, including Expedia pand onto regional international 16 years. The team will be led by ers, no state subsidies or external Group’s global supply of more than routes in the mid-term. It will oper- Tim Jordan, a British-Australian financial support of any kind. 500,000 accommodations in over ate initially four aircraft, growing to national with more than 15 years’ 25,000 destinations worldwide. a fleet of at least 15 by 2022. Fly- senior LCC management experi- Continued on page 3 leaders & builders right this way > 3 WEEKLYWeekly AviationAVIATION HeadlineHEADLINES News ...continued from page 1 PeterUnited Foster, is also President committed & CEOto improving of Air Astana, the entertainment changing local options and forregional include airline English business closed captioning.ling public, Select who willDIRECTV be ablechannels to benefit also include from wascustomers quoted with as saying disabilities. “FlyArystan Earlier is thisthe resultyear, the environment.airline began Itoffering will be closedgood for captioning the mid towhen significantly the TV station cheaper makes airfares it available. on domestic United conand- ofa new much main serious menu thought category and on internal seatback business on-demand long-term that is labelled prospects Ac- of tinuesAir Astana, to add and additional we regional accessible routes”. entertainment and screening op- planningcessible Entertainment.and comes as Thisa result new ofsection a rapidly makes hope, it easier very for welcome custom -to thetions Kazakhstan across its travel fleet.- ers with hearing and vision challenges to find accessible entertainment options, grouping all of the titles that are either audio descriptive or Unique highlights of United’s personal device entertainment program- closed captioned in one main menu category. Seatback on-demand is ming include: an exclusive partnership with VEVO, delivering new, cu- one of United’s entertainment options available on 757, 767, 777 and rated music video playlists each month; relaxation content including AIRCRAFT & ENGINE NEWS First A330-800 successfully completes maiden flight 787 aircraft. The carrier currently offers approximately 20 different Headspace, a popular meditation app and Moodica, which takes the movies and TV shows that are audio descriptive and more than 50 that brain on a much-needed vacation using videos. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA to sell five A320neo aircraft Arctic Aviation Assets, a subsidiary of Norwegian AirAIRCRAFT Shuttle ASA, &has ENGINE signed an agreementNEWS for the sale of five Airbus 320neo aircraft. The aircraft Orders and deliveries – Boeing and Airbus are currently leased out and thus not operated byAerCap the company. leased, Deliverypurchased will takeand placesold 114dur- Airbus v Boeing: Orders and Deliveries ingaircraft the fourth in the quarter first ofquarter 2018. The of 2018transaction March 2018 YTD isAerCap expected has announcedto increase itsthe major company’s business liquidity trans- Airbus Boeing byactions US$62 during million the after first repayment quarter of of2018. debt The and Com to- Type Orders Deliveries Type Orders Deliveries havepany asigned positive lease equity agreements effect. Salefor proceeds83 aircraft, will beincluding used to 15 repay wide-body debt. aircraft and 68 narrow- A320 Family 37 95 737 171 132 body aircraft. AerCap purchased seven aircraft, A330 -6 8 747 14 2 including two Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, two Airbus A350s and three Boeing 787-9s and A340 0 0 767 7 4 Skyworldexecuted sale Aviation transactions arranges for 24 saleaircraft, of threeinclud- TheA350 first A330-800 performed its 0maiden flight on 17November 6 777 5 Photo:12 Airbus Saabing 11 2000s Airbus A320 Family aircraft, four Airbus A380 14 1 787 24 34 A330s, one Airbus A340, one Boeing 737 Classic, Aegean Airlines has selected the Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine to power up to 62 Airbus The first Skyworld Aviation delivered three Saab 2000s one Boeing 737NG, two Boeing 777-200ERs and A330-800Total development aircraft45 to fly, 121MSN1888, hasTotal landed at Toulouse-Blagnac,221 France 184 after earlier this year to the Directorate General De- one Boeing 787-8 from AerCap’s owned port- successfullySource: Airbus completing its first flight which lasted four hours and four minutes. TheSource: aircraft, Boeing the fence Purchase of Pakistan, arranged on behalf folio and two Airbus A320 Family aircraft and second member of the A330neo Family, is powered by the latest technology Rolls-Royce Trent ofone Swedish Boeing shipping 737 Classic company from AerCap’s Erik Thun managed AB. The 7000Airbus turbofan booked engines. orders for “Today’s eight A320 first Familyflight ofsingle-aisle the A330-800 jetliners is the inlatest the NEO addition and CEO to ourversions efficient aircraft,portfolio. serial The Companynumbers continues024, 038 and to 062manage were 12 wide-bodyduring March, family,” while said delivering Guillaume 56 Faury,aircraft President in the monthAirbus from Commercial across the Aircraft. company’s “The in-produc A330-800- previouslyaircraft that in wereoperation sold from with its BRAowned (Braathens portfolio istion an exceptionallysingle-aisle and versatile widebody ‘route-opener’, product lines. offering unbeatable economics for airlines – encom- Regionalduring the Airlines) quarter. of AerCap Sweden. has The signed original financing agree- passingBoeing generatedeverything a from total short- of 197 to orders very-long in March haul wide-body including amissions.” staggering He 160 added: 737s. “We Deliveries look for in- menttransactions was signed for US$2.9bn.under a formal procedure at wardthe stated to the month successful reached flight-test 91 planes campaign, across leadingthe in-production to certification product next line. year.” the Ministry of Defence production headquar- The A330-800’s development program will include around 300 flight-test hours, paving the ters in Islamabad on February 16, 2018. Serial way for certification in 2019. Its sibling, the larger A330-900 family member, recently complet- numberLion Air 038 Group (SE-MFF, orders now 50 J-038) 737 MAXwas the 10 firstair- ed its development testing and certification program which validated the A330neo Family’s toplanes be delivered in April 2018, quickly followed tifiedcommon on Boeing’sengines, Orderssystems, & cabinDeliveries and flight website. & groundJetBlue operations. selects Pratt & Whitney Geared by serial number 024 (SE-LTX, now J-024). Serial TheThe Lion A330neo Air Group comprises was the two first versions: to put the the 737A330-800 Turbofan™ and A330-900. engines Both of these wide-body Boeing and the Lion Air Group have announced aircraft incorporate new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, nacelle, titanium pylon, new wings number 062 (SE-LTU) was the last to depart on MAX 8 into service and the first to order the 737 the airline has purchased 50 of Boeing’s new 737 and offer an exclusive ‘Airspace by Airbus’ passengerJetBlue experience.