Flight International - 5 June 2018

THIS WEEK

ightglobal.com 5-11 June 2018 | Flight International | 9

Ottawa advances

Cormorant

upgrade

This Week P

A

merican Airlines will grow

its international network by

seeking aircraft and scheduling ef-

ficiencies, rather than ordering

new large widebodies.

Neither the Boeing 777X nor

the 787-10 are currently in the

Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier’s

fleet plan, says vice-president of

network and schedule planning

Vasu Raja, responding to a ques-

tion about widebody fleet growth

in an employee newsletter.

“Buying new planes is just one

way to achieve growth,” he says.

“Others include using larger air-

craft, flying them further, or

scheduling more efficiently.”

The question had referred to

American’s order for 47 787s, in-

cluding 22 -8s and 25 -9s, in April.

The airline said at the time that

the deal was to replace its Airbus

A330-300s and 767-300ERs, and

some its 777-200s, rather than

support growth. Its new aircraft

will be delivered from 2020.

American will operate the

787-8 in a 226-seat configuration,

while its -9s will accommodate

up to 285 passengers.

The carrier has a strong prefer-

ence for fleet commonality, so the

330-seat 787-10 could be have an

advantage over the larger 777X if

it does revisit its fleet plans in the

future. Its 777-300ERs have 310

seats, while Boeing says the 777-

will carry between 350 and 375

passengers in a two-class layout.

Raja says that American is “al-

ways looking out into the future

to evaluate our long-term needs”

when it comes to aircraft.

No US airline has yet ordered

the 777X, Flight Fleets Analyzer

shows. Boeing has so far secured

firm orders for 53 777-8s and 263

-9s, plus 10 where a variant has

yet to be confirmed. ■

I

ndia’s defence ministry, air force

and Russian firms are in active

discussions about a mid-life up-

grade for 44 of the nation’s current

Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters.

The planned modernisation ac-

tivity spans the integration of five

new missiles and the installation

of Russian, Western and indige-

nously developed systems. The

programme’s main elements also

relate to the type’s radar, weapon

control system, mission computer

and communications suite.

STRATEGY EDWARD RUSSELL WASHINGTON DC

American seeks growth by efficiency

Carrier says it will expand network through improved scheduling and utilisation rather than by ordering bigger twins

MODERNISATION

India sets its sights on major Su-30MKI upgrade

State-owned airframer Hindu-

stan Aeronautics (HAL) is aggres-

sively pursuing the lead role for

the upgrade programme, as the

company continues to produce

the Russian-developed aircraft

under license.

In late May, India’s Defence Ac-

quisition Council also approved

the indigenous design and devel-

opment of a long-range, dual-band

infrared search and track (IRST)

system for the Su-30MKI, with at

least 100 units to be procured.

It is not clear whether the pro-

posed mid-life upgrade will in-

clude structural changes to allow

the twin-engined type to carry the

2.5t BrahMos supersonic cruise

missile. The Indian air force wants

around 40 of its Su-30MKIs to be

modified to carry the long-range

weapon, with HAL proposing de-

livering new-build examples for

this requirement, in order to keep

its production line in Nasik active

for at least four more years.

HAL’s order backlog for the Su-

30MKI has dwindled to 30 units,

with defence ministry figures

showing it had delivered 192 ex-

amples as of April 2018. The re-

maining aircraft are due to be de-

livered by 2020-2021.

The Su-30MKI forms the back-

bone of the Indian air force’s fleet,

making up 14 of its 31 active

Sukhoi type forms the backbone of air force’s current strike fleet fighter squadrons. ■

Airline will replace some of its 777-200s with recently-ordered 787s

Indian air force

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