ISSN 1718-7966 NOVEMBER 25, 2013 / VOL. 416 WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES Read by thousands of aviation professionals and technical decision-makers every week www.avitrader.com WORLD NEWS Mubadala eyes US buys Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Aerospace The Boeing is eyeing acquisitions in the US to 777X was expand its manufacturing capa- the star of bilities after winning more than the Dubai $5bn in industrial orders at last Airshow, and now has 259 week’s Dubai Airshow, accord- orders worth ing to Arabian Business. Homaid some $95m Al Shemmari, the unit’s executive from four director, said the group will invest customers more than $500m in building new facilities, with a “good percent- Boeing age” in the US. easyjet’s growth dividend Dubai Airshow’s $200bn order book breaks all records UK budget carrier easyJet showed Boeing’s new 777X becomes largest product launch in history by value that growth is not limited to the The aviation industry has become Gulf airlines dominate 2013 Dubai Airshow’s order book Middle East after it paid out a used to superlatives when referring £176m ($285.4m) special dividend to the Gulf region, and last week’s Customer Quantity/Model Value* Status to investors on the back of a 51% Dubai Airshow proved no excep- Boeing rise in full-year pre-tax profits to tion. The Middle East’s pre-eminent £478m. Its performance stands in (30) 787-10; (17) 777-9X airshow shattered the previous Etihad $18.2bn Order contrast to rival Ryanair, which has (8) 777-8X, (1) 777F orderbook record of $155bn (set issued two profit warnings in the Emirates (115) 777-9X, (35) 777-8X $55.6bn Commitment in 2007 in Dubai) when it broke past two months. through the $200bn ceiling on the flyDubai (75) 737 MAX, (11) 737-800s $8.8bn Commitment Chinese profit slump morning of the third day. Qatar Airways (50) 777-9X $18.9bn Commitment Total Boeing 342 aircraft $101.5bn The combined profits of China’s Within three hours of open- domestic airlines plummeted 38% ing, the order tally had reached Airbus year-on-year to 1.5bn yuan ($246m) $162.6bn. Dubai’s Emirates led Etihad (40) A350-900, (10) A350-1000 $19bn Order in October, half the amount netted the way with combined orders (36) A320/1neo, (1) A330-200F in September despite a 3% rise in from Airbus and Boeing worth Emirates (50) A380 $20bn Order revenues to 34.3bn yuan, reported $99bn - the largest-ever aircraft Orders + China Business News. Lower ticket Qatar (11) A330-200F $2.4bn order in civil aviation. commitments prices and the yuan’s appreciation against the dollar were blamed. To dispell any doubts about the Total Airbus 148 aircraft $41.4bn importance of the show, Sharief *List prices Companies Sorrell: Expand air capacity Fahmy, the chief executive of air- show organiser F&E Aerospace, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, the In all, Boeing received orders and to the carrier’s existing order for said that “if there was anyone left multinational advertising giant, commitments for 259 777Xs, 90 of the model - giving it nearly in the aerospace industry who had urged the British government to ex- worth more than $95bn at list half of the entire global order- not recognised the undeniable im- pand airport capacity in the coun- prices, representing the largest book of 259. try’s southeast to ensure future portance of this region, this morn- product launch in commercial economic success. He pointed out ing removed all doubt. We are Both airframers, as well as engine aviation history by value. that London’s Heathrow is already in the centre of a region with the maker Rolls-Royce, announced operating at 99% capacity and world’s fastest-growing aviation Meanwhile, Emirates’ firm order strategic partnerships in the emir- that there has not been a new full- infrastructure, fastest-growing air- for a further 50 Airbus A380s ate for maintenance and supply length runway built in the region lines and a region where security ended talk of an order ‘drought’ operations linked to their deals. since World War II. commitments are in focus”. for the ‘superjumbo’, and added More Dubai Airshow news inside The A340 can be considered an efficient long-haul solution in today’s market. When it first entered service, the A340 opened true long-haul operations, expanding the Airbus wide-body family. The A330 and A340 have since become the best-selling wide-body family of all time. In an ever-changing world some flag carriers like to keep their fleet age very low, it’s natural that a proportion of their aircraft will move to the used aircraft A340 market, the A340 is no exception. The A340 Family of three variants, the A340-300, -500 and -600, is now available at very competitive lease rates which makes them economically Providing affordable prospects for carriers looking at long-haul opportunities, especially as they await delivery of new-generation aircraft, such as the A350 XWB. A340 appeal efficient The A340 appeal is based on its availability, commonality with other Airbus types, its performance as well as its excellent payload accommodation. Now that older B747-400s are well into their retirement phase, the availability lift for the of significantly younger A340-600s equipped with modern avionics, make them the smart interim upgrade. The four-engined A340 is not subject to “Extended-range Twin-engine Operations” (ETOPS). Operators can fly the most direct routes and operate long-haul efficiently from ‘hot and high’ airports, potentially off-limits to other aircraft. Furthermore, the A340 fits seamlessly alongside other Airbus aircraft, especially the twin-engined A330, with which it shares the same modern technology, such as the cockpit, fly-by-wire architecture and systems. The A340 cabin can comfortably accommodate from 280 to 440 passengers depending on the model. Most A340s available in the market today are fitted with full Audio-Video-On-Demand (AVOD) IFE system in all classes, which is today’s standard. Moreover, when it comes to making the most of cargo revenue opportunities, the A340 can carry as much cargo as direct competitors if not more, with 18 to 25 tonnes of revenue earning cargo capacity. The bottom line So, has the A340 performed as intended by its designers? The answer is Could the A340 be a definitely ‘yes’ because today’s A340 is a mature product delivering high reliability. solution for airlines looking With its very competitive ownership costs, its passenger and cargo revenues, to make headway in an its availability and its comfortable cabin, the A340 can be considered an efficient long-haul solution in today’s market. expanding market? More information on www.airbus.com 3 AviTrader WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES AIRCRAFT & ENGINE NEWS Iraqi Airways signs Letter of Intent for up to 16 Bombardier CS300 aircraft Airbus wins 160 orders and commit- Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, ments worth $44bn at Dubai signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire Airbus won a total of 160 orders and com- five CS300 mainline jetliners. The LOI in- mitments at the 13th Dubai Airshow worth cludes options on 11 CS300 aircraft. Based $44bn, underlining the strong appeal of on CS300 airliner list price, a firm order its widebody aircraft. The A380 and A350 would be valued at approximately $387m XWB in particular, were demonstrated to and could increase to $1.26bn if the 11 be spot-on with customer requirements and options are converted to firm orders. Iraqi expectations. The order intake includes 142 Airways operates six CRJ900 NextGen re- firm orders worth $40.4bn (50 A380, 40 gional jets. The LOI was executed at the A350-900, 10 A350-1000, 26 A321neo, 10 Dubai Airshow during a visit that included government officials from Iraq, Canada, Captain Saad Al-Khafaji, CEO of Iraqi Airways, and Mike A320neo and 6 A330-200F) and 18 Memo- Arcamone, president, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft randum of Understanding worth $3.6bn. By the UK and Northern Ireland. signed an LOI for up to 16 Bombardier CS300 Bombardier value, Emirates placed the single largest or- der for 50 additional A380s, worth $20bn, commending its efficiency and passenger flight services with its fleet of three Dornier which will allow the Q400 NextGen aircraft appeal and confirming the A380 flagship 328 jets specifically configured for different to accommodate up to 86 passengers. status within their fleet. purposes, in addition to a number of Boeing 737 aircraft. GECAS delivers new leased Airbus 328 delivers Dornier aircraft 328 to A320 to Star Flyer SpringChild Investments’ new Nige- Nok Air of Thailand signs purchase GE Capital Aviation Services Limited (GECAS) rian airline Air Peace agreement for up to eight Q400 delivered a new leased Airbus A320 to Japa- NextGen aircraft German-based completions and refurbish- nese low-cost carrier Star Flyer to expand the ment company 328 completed work on a Bombardier Aerospace reported that low- airline’s fleet. The aircraft comes from GE- Dornier 328 aircraft for SpringChild Invest- cost Thai carrier Nok Air placed a firm order CAS’ existing order book with Airbus. ments, British Virgin Island (BVI), for the use for two Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners of its Nigerian based new airline, Air Peace. and has also taken options for two additional FAS signs firm orders for two AW169 The privately owned upcoming airline Air Q400 NextGen aircraft, as well as purchase Helicopters Peace, will be operating out of Murtala Mo- rights on four others. Bombardier also con- AgustaWestland released that FAS (Falcon hammed Airport Lagos. The new airline will firmed that Nok Air will be the launch cus- Aviation Services) of Abu Dhabi signed firm be offering Charter, Cargo and Scheduled tomer for a new extra capacity seating option, orders for two AW169 light intermediate hel- THREE AIRLINES RECEIVE TRUENGINE DESIGNATION FOR GE, CFM INTERNATIONAL ENGINES Azerbaijan Airlines receives TRUEngine Designation EMBRAER 195s and three EMBRAER 175s.