More E-Jets for
Saratov Airlines
Saratov Airlines has signed a deal with
Embraer to lease two further E195s. It
acquired its maiden examples in December- In addition, the airline is also extending
its ight hour pool programme, under which
the Brazilian manufacturer provides repairable
component support for the airline’s expanding
E-Jet eet, until 2021. Mikhail Gerasimenko,
Deputy General Director of Saratov Airlines,
remarked: “From the beginning, the E195 has
improved our eet’s efficiency, and that is why
we are adding more aircraft of this type. Also,
with the pool programme, we know we have
the best coverage for our operations, even
in the very demanding weather conditions in
which we operate.”
South African Airlines Merger Plan
Safair and Airlink, two independent
carriers, are planning to merge. Approval
for the deal was sought from the South
African Competition Commission on
November 28.
Under the terms of the merger, both
the Airlink and Safair brands will beretained, with the carriers continuing to
operate independently under their own
management teams. No jobs will be lost at
either airline.
Safair will maintain its operations for the
United Nations and International Red Cross
using its eet of civilian Lockheed L-Hercules and Boeing 737 Combi aircraft.
ASL Aviation Holdings will be a minority
shareholder in the new group. It has
enjoyed a close relationship with Safair
dating back many years and helped support
the creation of its low-cost brand, FlySafair,
in 2014.LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 MAX marks the start of eet expansion for the airline. Aviation Image Network/Simon GregoryLOT Polish Airlines has brought the Boeing
737 MAX into service, after taking delivery
of its rst example. The jet, SP LVA (c/n
64067) is a MAX 8 and arrived at the agcarrier’s Warsaw base on December 2.
The aircraft is one of six being acquired
from Air Lease Corporation.
The 737 MAX is the rst element of amulti-faceted eet expansion programme
that also includes four new 787-
Dreamliners due for delivery by the end of
next year.Air New Zealand Dreamliner Engine Issues
Unscheduled maintenance has been carried
out by Air New Zealand on several Rolls-
Royce engines belonging to its Boeing 787-
Dreamliner eet. The airline encountered
problems with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000
engines on two of its Dreamliners, forcing
both to return to Auckland.
The rst incident on December 5 resulted in
an engine shut-down during a ight to Japan,and the following day an Auckland to Buenos
Aires service also had to return to base,
although there was no engine shut-down.
A spokesperson for the airline said
turbine blades had failed on the Japan ight,
while the second event wasn’t so serious.
New Zealand’s Transport Accident
Investigation Commission will be looking into
both incidents.Rolls-Royce had already noti ed the
carrier that some of its 787-9 powerplants
would require maintenance earlier than
originally planned, and that it was unable to
provide spare engines while the work was
being undertaken.
Air New Zealand was forced to wet-lease
two aircraft to help it maintain its timetable
during the maintenance.CIVIL NEWS
10 Aviation News incorporating Jets February 2018First MAX for LOT
Low-cost carrier Flybondi’s rst aircraft is
Boeing 737-8AS, LV-HKS (c/n 33821). It was
sourced from lessor SMBC Aviation Capital
and is con gured in an all-Economy Class
layout, seating 189 passengers.
The jet was delivered to the airline onNovember 25 after undergoing modi cations
in Asia.
Julian Cook, CEO of the Argentine carrier,
said: “We are delighted to welcome this 737-
800 as the rst aircraft in our eet and the start
of our next phase of launching the airline.”Flybondi gets set to launch with its rst aircraft, a Boeing 737-8AS. Rafael RecaFlybondi Gears Up
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