Air India is to phase out its three
remaining Airbus A320s tted with a
‘double-bogie’ rear undercarriage by
the end of this year. The variant was
built especially for Indian Airlines, which
ordered 31 for its domestic network, ying
them into some of the country’s poorerairstrips still in operation around the late
1980s and early 1990s.
The extra sets of wheels helped to
displace the aircraft’s weight more widely. Air
India and Indian Airlines were merged in 2007
and most of the latter’s double-bogie A320s
transferred to the national ag carrier’s eet.The Lufthansa Group has placed a rm
order for four more Boeing 777s in a deal
that includes two -300ERs for Zürich-
based subsidiary Swiss International
Air Lines and two more freighters for
Lufthansa Cargo.
The German company said: “The order
for the new long-haul aircraft highlights ourstrategy of predominantly allocating the
growth within our multi-hub system, where
cost and quality offer the best conditions for
pro table investments.”
Swiss said its new jets, which will
increase its 777 eet to 12, are due to enter
service in early 2020 and will be used to
expand its route network.IN BRIEF
MANCHESTER AIRPORT will have direct
service to Mumbai from November 5. The
four-times weekly connections, own by
Jet Airways, will use a 254-seat Airbus
A330-200. International Trade Secretary Dr
Liam Fox said: “Jet Airways’ direct route
between the north of England and India will
strengthen connections between two major
global cities. More than a hundred Indian
companies are based in the northwest alone
and this route will further trade relations
worth £18bn between the world’s largest and
oldest democracies.”Meanwhile, ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES is starting
a service from Manchester to its Addis
Ababa base, via Brussels, with a four-times
weekly Boeing 787 service from December 1.TAP AIR PORTUGAL has taken delivery
of its rst Airbus A320neo. The jet, CS-
TVA, will be joined by a further 49 Airbus
narrowbodies over the next seven years –
18 A320neos, 17 A321neos and 14 A321LRs.London Biggin Hill has announced the
opening of a new TEXTRON AVIATION
MAINTENANCE FACILITY at the airport.
The centre will provide line maintenance
support to customers with Citation, King
Air and Hawker aircraft, including the soon
to be certi ed Citation Longitude, Textron
Aviation’s largest-ever jet. Robert Walters,
business development director at Biggin Hill
Airport, noted: “Over the past 12 months,
three leaders in MRO services have chosen
to open new facilities at the airport, and
many of our resident businesses continue
to seek expansion.”Holiday carrier THOMAS COOK Airlines has
introduced special liveries promoting two of
the group’s own-brand hotels. The aircraft
involved include Manchester-based Airbus
A321-211 G-TCDV, which has been painted
in a gold scheme promoting the latest
addition to the travel giant’s hotel portfolio,
Cook’s Club.AIR FRANCE is to raise its presence across
Australia and Asia after expanding its
co-operation with Qantas. Their revised
codeshare agreement, which starts on July
20, will see the French carrier partner on
several new Qantas-operated international
routes, including from Hong Kong and
Singapore to Sydney, Melbourne and
Brisbane, and on domestic connections
from Sydney to Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide,
Cairns and Darwin. Under the deal, Qantas
will add its code to Air France services from
Singapore and Hong Kong to Paris. The new
tie-up increases codeshare ights to more
than 200 a week.A daily non-stop ight between
London’s Heathrow Airport and BRUNEI
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT by Royal Brunei
Airlines will start from October 28. The
carrier is dropping its Dubai stopover, so
passengers will have faster journey times- with the Brunei-to-London route reduced
from just over 18hrs to 14hrs 36 mins. The
Melbourne-Brunei-London service will take
23hrs – ve hours less than before.
CIVIL NEWS
8 Aviation News incorporating Jets July 2018Air India’s double-bogie A320s are to be phased out. Illustrated is A320 VT-EPJ at Mumbai
before it withdrew from service in October 2017. AirTeamImages.com/Girish BTwo more 777s are to join the Swiss International Air Lines eet. BoeingAir India Withdraws
‘Double-Bogie’ A320s
Expanded 777 Fleet
MRO Boost for Farnborough
Gulfstream Aerospace is expanding its
maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)
operation in the London area with a
purpose-built facility at TAG Farnborough,
expected to be operational by the third
quarter of 2020.
The new 180,000 to 220,000ft^2 (16,
to 20,439m^2 ) building will include offices,
customer areas, and a hangar for up to 13
large-cabin aircraft – plus ramp space and a
car parking area.
All of Gulfstream’s current capabilities
at Luton – such as maintenance
authorisations from the US Federal
Aviation Administration, European Aviation
Safety Agency and more than 20 other
civil aviation authorities – will be replicated
at Farnborough.Derek Zimmerman, Gulfstream product
support president, said: “In recent months
we’ve announced several new MRO facilities
and expansions, including in Van Nuys,
California; Appleton, Wisconsin; Savannah
[Georgia]; and now the UK.
“The growth of the Gulfstream eet and
increased size of our aircraft are driving the
need for continued growth and additional
capacity in our service centre network. We
chose TAG Farnborough Airport because
it’s a London gateway airport dedicated
exclusively to business aviation.”
The London area boasts the highest
volume of Gulfstream traffic in Europe, and
is home to the company’s European parts
distribution centre, near Heathrow, and its
sales and design centre, in Mayfair.06-09_civil_newsDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 8 08/06/2018 11: