Delay for MRJ
Delivery of the rst Mitsubishi Regional
Jet (MRJ) to launch customer All
Nippon Airways has been pushed back
12 months to the second quarter of
2018.
Mitsubishi Aircraft said the type’s
maiden ight and subsequent ight
tests had proven satisfactory, but
recognised “several issues” it needs
to resolve which has led to the revised
delivery schedule.
In a statement posted on its website,
Mitsubishi Aircraft said: “In the progressof our engineering work together with
experts in the United States, we have
made additions to and revisions of test
items in order to complete a better-
integrated aircraft. These have been
re ected in the new delivery schedule.
In addition, we have undertaken an
overall review with our partners, and
re ected this in our development
schedule.”
It added that the aircraft’s ight test
campaign would begin in North America
“as soon as feasible”.Maiden A
for TAM
TAM Airlines has received its rst Airbus
A350-941, PR-XTA (c/n 024). The aircraft was
delivered from the manufacturer’s facility at
Toulouse to São Paulo on December 17, making
TAM the rst carrier in the Americas to operate
the type. This is the rst of 27 examples the
LATAM Airlines Group has on order. TAM plans
to debut the A350 in January between São
Paulo and Manaus. This will be followed by
international rotations from São Paulo to Miami,
Madrid and Orlando.Plans Unveiled for New Sydney Airport
A draft Airport Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement for the new Western Sydney
Airport has been released by the Australian
Government.
After studying 80 alternative sites, the
previously proposed Badgerys Creek is still said
to represent the least environmental impact
as well as bene ting from close proximity to
existing road and rail links to the city.The new airport is expected to open in
the mid-2020s and will cater for demand that
Sydney Airport cannot accommodate even if
restrictions on operations and development
at the existing facility were to be lifted. The
Western Sydney Airport will initially have
a single 12,140ft (3,700m) runway and
a capacity for approximately ve million
passengers per annum (mppa), increasing to10 million within ve years. A second runway
is part of the facility’s future development to
meet forecasted increases in demand, and
it is expected to have the capacity to handle
37mppa by 2050.
The documents were available for
inspection at a public exhibition that ran until
December, with assessment and nalisation
of the plans expected by June this year.Ramp tours are being offered at Van Nuys
Airport, California. During the 90-minute tours,
guests are driven around the aprons and FBOs,
although no ramp access is granted at any of
the FBOs and photography is from behind the
glass. Guests are allowed off the bus at the
Los Angeles Fire Department to photograph
the re ghting aircraft and any aircraft arriving
or departing. A tour of the HQ of the Condor
Squadron, which operates Harvards and
Texans, can be arranged through a tour guide
on the day. The ramp tours for up to 33 people
are free and are arranged monthly on various
dates. Other tours can be organised for a
minimum of ve, but these smaller group visits
are dependent on airport staff availability.
Please e-mail Mark Ollier [email protected]
at SoCal Spotters for details.CIVIL NEWS
8 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft February 2016Saudia A319 Painted
PrivatAir Airbus A319-112 D-ASPA (c/n 1598) has been painted into the colours of Saudia, by
Air Livery at Manchester, prior to wet lease. A second example, D-ASPB (c/n 1625), is also
expected to join the Saudi Arabian carrier. Gary Claridge-KingQatar Executive
Welcomes
G650ER
Gulfstream handed over Qatar
Executive’s rst G650ER long-range
business jet at a ceremony at its
headquarters in Savannah, Georgia, on
December 14. The jet, registered A7-CGA
(c/n 6153), is the rst of 30 Gulfstream
aircraft Qatar Executive has on order.
Gulfstream President Mark Burns handed
the aircraft over to Qatar Airways Group
Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker at the
ceremony.African Gem
Nyassa Air Taxi de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo 7Q-STB departing Ostend, Belgium on
December 15 wearing United Nations Humanitarian Air Service and World Food Programme (WFP)
titles. The aircraft had arrived the previous night from Ke avík, Iceland and headed to Brindisi,
Italy on its departure, continuing on to Aswan (Egypt) and Khartoum (Sudan) before arriving in
Juba in South Sudan. Here it will operate humanitarian missions for the WFP. Paul Sanders06-08_10_civil.JR.mf.JR.mfJRDC.indd 8 08/01/2016 14: