For the aviation stakeholders, the budget was heavy on prose and lacking in numbers. A government that came in with a decisive mandate was expected to deliver on bold reforms. Yet, given that the tax revenues are declining and ambitious social sector schemes continuing, aviation once again saw token allocations and scant consideration. 5 key areas were highlighted: 1. Air …

A British Airways Boeing 777-200ER registration G-YMMU, operating flight BA119 from London Heathrow to Bangalore Kempegowda airport returned to London Heathrow airport soon after take-off due to a technical issue. The cause of the issue is being investigated by the engineers, and no determination on what caused the issue has been made as of the time of this report. The …

In a surprise move, Indigo announced an increase in cancellation and change fees. These will be effective as of June 27th. The airline added that for domestic bookings, customers can make any changes or cancellations free of charge within 24 hours of booking, if booked at least 7 days before the travel dates. This is largely to comply with the …

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the parent company of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has entered an agreement to acquire Bombardier’s Canadair Regional Jet program. The agreement will see Mitsubishi pay Bombardier $550 million USD and assume liabilities of approximately $200 million USD. Mitsubishi will accuire the Canadian manufacturer’s maintenance, support, refurbishment, marketing, and sales activities for the CRJ Series aircraft – which …

KLM Cityhopper has announced its intention to purchase 35 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft at the Paris Air Show today. The deal which will be finalised after the show will incude 15 firm orders and options for 20 more aircraft. Pieter Elbers, President & CEO, KLM “Embraer has been a key partner for KLM and Cityhopper over the past ten years. Our …

Airbus has announced two more orders for its new A321XLR. The first is from Indigo Partners for 50 aircraft. Indigo Partners is a American private equity fund focused on worldwide investments in air transportation. It has major ownership stakes in Frontier Airlines (U.S.A.), JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary). The four carriers operate a fleet of 295 Airbus …

Boeing has announced two orders for 777 freighters at the Paris Air Show today. The first came from China Airlines in the form of six 777 Freighters. China Airlines will use the 777F to replace their existing 747 Freighters and to operate between their base in Taipei to North America and Europe. Hsieh Su-Chien, Chairman, China Airlines “Air cargo is …

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 15 Mitsubishi SpaceJet M100 aircraft with an unidentified prospective North American customer. The deliveries of the aircraft are expected to begin in 2024. Hisakazu Mizutani, President, Mitsubishi Aircraft “We are pleased to welcome a new airline to the SpaceJet program, We have received strong interest …

Embraer announced two orders yesterday at the Paris Air Show. The first was from Japan’s Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA) for two E175 jets. The aircraft will be configured in a single-class layout with 84 seats, with deliveries starting in 2019. The second order came from Binter of Spain. The order was a conversion of options for two E195-E2s. Binter will …

Australian airline Qantas Airways has placed an order for 36 Airbus A321XLRs. The order will sees the airline convert 26 aircraft from their existing order for 99 A320neos to the longest range version. Qantas has also placed an order for an additional 10 A321XLR bring up their total A320 family order to 109 aircraft. Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas “It can …

Delta Air Lines has placed an order for an additional five A220-100 aircraft. The airline is also the first to select the new increased maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) improvement package for its entire fleet from 2020. Last month Airbus had announced that it would increase the MTOW of the A220 by 2,268 kg. The increased MTOW would increase the range …

Full service carrier Vistara (Tata-SIA) has signed a code-share agreement with American carrier United Airlines. The agreement will see United place its UA flight code on Vistara flights allowing passengers flying United to connect to over 20 additional destinations in India. The agreement will also allow United MileagePlus and Club Vistara members to earn and redeem miles on the other …

International Airlines Group (IAG) has signed a letter of intent at the Paris Air Show for 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The order will include a mix of 737 MAX 8 and MAX 10s and is valued at $24 billion at current list prices. IAG is the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and LEVEL. The group …

International Airlines Group (IAG) has announced an order for 14 Airbus A321XLR aircraft. Eight of these aircraft will go to Iberia and six to Aer Lingus. The aircraft will be delivered 2023 onward and will be configured in a two class configuration with flat bed business class seats. The XLR will allow Aer Lingus to operate flights beyond the US …

Boeing has opened its second day at the Paris air show by announcing an order for 30 787 Dreamliners from Korean Air. The airline has signed a deal for 20 787-10s and 10 787-9s. Ten of the 787-10s will be leased through Air Lease Corporation. The airline is a long time customer of Boeing and operates the 737, 777, 787 …

Saudi flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines has placed an order for an additional 30 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The order which includes 15 A321XLRs also gives the airline options on 35 more A320 family aircraft, bringing the airline’s firm order to 65 aircraft and 100 aircraft including options. The airline has not yet announced what engines it will equip with …

Philippines based low cost carrier Cebu Pacific has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for a 31 aircraft deal which includes 16 A330neos, 10 A321XLRs and 5 A320neos. The airline will configure its A330-900neo in an all economy 460 seat configuration. The airline’s A320neo’s will be the first to feature 194 seats. The A321XLR will allow the airline …

Lebanese flag carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA) has placed a firm order for four Airbus A321XLR making it the launch airliner customer for the type. The launch order came from American leasing company Air Lease Corporation earlier today. The order adds to the airline’s existing A321neo order placed in 2017. MEA will use the A321XLR to strengthen its network in …

American airframer Boeing has opened its 2019 Paris Air Show with a small order for 10 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF) for GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). The lessor converted it’s options to firm orders and also added additional options for 15 more aircraft. Richard Greener, SVP and Manager, GECAS Cargo “Our leasing customers are very pleased with the versatility …

Brazilian airframer Embraer announced its first order of the 2019 Paris air show, an order for upto 39 E175s for United Airlines. The order which is valued at USD 1.9 billion at list prices includes a firm order for 20 E175s and options for 19 more. The aircraft will be configured in a 70 seat configuration and will be join …