Bombardier will suspend its lawsuit against Mitsubishi (Japan) and
eventually drop it once the deal for the CRJ program closes. The carrier
is in talks with Mitsubishi for possible takeover of the CRJ line.
Bombardier has confirmed the closing of the previously announced
sale of the Q Series aircraft program assets to De Havilland Aircraft of
Canada, an affiliate of Longview Aviation Capital (Capital), for gross
proceeds of approximately US$222 million.Boom (US) has delayed its first XB-1 demonstrator flight back to 2020,
while it works with Japan Airlines on the planned Overture.CALC (Hong Kong) has entered into the agreements with CAG
Bermuda 1 to sell two additional aircraft.
It has also entered into three non-legally binding LOI with three
buyers in Ireland in relation to sale of six A320s.Cargo Aircraft Management (US) is to place at least four B767Fs with
new dry-lease customer United Parcel Service (US), while five will go to
Amazon (US). It will also be alert for opportunities to add the A321 to
its leasing portfolio as those aircraft become available in 2020.CDB Aviation (Ireland) has announced an order for LEAP-1A engines
to power 45 A320neos. The order is valued at more than US$1.3 billion
at list prices.
CDB Aviation delivered a B737-800 to Comair (South Africa).
The company is to buy a portfolio of 11 A320s from Fly Leasing
(Ireland) and Incline B Aviation.CFM (US) has caught up with delays in deliveries of its LEAP jet engine
after keeping its assembly lines running at high speed while the B737
MAX remains grounded.
CFM is monitoring its LEAP engine fleet for signs of an issue that
could be tied to the late March 2019 contained engine failure on a
B737 MAX 8 operated by on a Southwest Airlines (US). The aircraft is
being ferried to storage.
The manufacturer announced orders and commitments for more
than 1,150 LEAP engines during the 2019 Paris Air Show, along with
long-term services agreements, for a total value of approximately
US$50.2 billion at list price.
CFM International (US) has finalised a U$588 million order with
Macquarie Airfinance Group (Ireland) for LEAP-1A engines.Chorus Aviation Capital (Canada) has entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire five, Q400s currently on lease with Flybe (UK).
The transaction is expected to close by summer 2019.
Chorus Aviation Capital has entered into agreements to deliver six
new ATR72-600s to IndiGo (India) under a sale/leaseback transaction.
Deliveries are anticipated in the 2Q and 3Q19.Embraer and WEG (Brazil) have announced a scientific and
technological cooperation agreement to jointly develop new
technologies and solutions to enable electric propulsion in aircraft.
Embraer has announced that over the next 20 years it forecasts a
steady market demand for 10,550 new aircraft with up to 150 seats
worldwide, worth US$600 billion. Market growth will drive 55% of total
demand and the remaining 45% will be delivered to replace ageing
aircraft.
The manufacturer has announced the signing of pool maintenance
and parts agreements. Helvetic Airways (Switzerland) signed a pool
contract to cover four recently added E190s, and Aurigny Air Services
(UK) signed an extension of their current agreement on parts
maintenance to support its E195.
Embraer has announced that KLM Cityhopper (Netherlands)
intends to purchase up to 35 E195-E2 jets, 15 firm orders with
purchase rights for a further 20 aircraft of the same model. The deal is
valued at US$2.48 billion based on current list prices.
Embraer has signed a contract with Binter (Spain) for two
additional E195-E2s, confirming purchase rights from the original
contract, signed in 2018. The two new E195-E2s will have a value of
US$141.8 million, based on current list prices.
Embraer has signed a contract with Fuji Dream Airlines (Japan) for
a firm order of two E175 jets. The order has a value of US$97.2 million,
based on 2019 list prices, and was already included in Embraer’s 2019
first-quarter backlog as “undisclosed.”- IAG (UK) has signed two agreements that will provide key services
for British Airways, including parts for the airline’s A320 family
and its B777 fleet. - Turkmenistan Airlines announced its plan to extend its long-haul
operations by adding a fourth B777-200LR to its fleet. The
commitment is valued at US$346.9 million at list price.
Boeing has announced a US$1 million investment in Brazil’s efforts to
establish a sustainable aviation fuel industry.
The Boeing B737 MAX fleet is expected to stay grounded until late
2019 as a result of the latest flight-control problem flagged by the FAA
(US) while the company complies with an FAA request on new software
changes to the B737 MAX, which the planned software changes do not
presently address. Boeing had decided it would defer an update to fix
the cockfit warning light until 2020, after discovering a problem in
2017 with this feature on the B737 MAX. It has no plans to change the
name of the B737 MAX after news reports that it would be prepared to
do so to improve its future marketing. The company says it is in talks
with airlines for sales of its grounded B737 MAX, while dismissing the
launch of the A321XLR as suitable for only a “sliver” of the market that
Boeing hopes to address with a possible NMA.
Boeing is negotiating a proposed settlement with the families of
some victims of the crash of the Lion Air B737 MAX in 2018. It is being
sued by a French widow who filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer
for US$276 million in damages over the crash in Ethiopia of an B737
MAX 8, which killed all 157 people on board – including her husband.
The manufacturer will tailor its compensation to airlines for the
B737 MAX grounding around customer preference, and they could be
paid back in services instead of cash.
Boeing is facing a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 400
pilots from a major international airline claiming compensatory
damages from the grounding of the B737 MAX fleet.
Boeing believes a growing shortage of pilots represents one of the
biggest challenges facing the airline industry.
Boeing delivered a B777F, serial 66079, to DHL Express (Germany),
the first of 14-21 that were part of an order announced in 2018. The
aircraft will be operated by Southern Air (US).
Boeing delivered the first B787-9, serial 65801, for Turkish Airlines,
which plans to operate new non-stop international routes such as Bali,
Bogota-Panama, Washington and Atlanta.
Boeing engineers are reducing the scope and duration of certain
costly physical tests used to certify the planemaker’s new aircraft, but
the strategy could be at risk if regulators and US lawmakers require
even more rigorous safety tests before certifying new aircraft as
passenger-worthy.
Boeing is in talks with Chinese airlines for an order of about B787
and B777X aircraft. It is looking to make the first test flight of its
B777X as soon as late June 2019, slightly later than planned, but still
on track for EIS in 2020. It faces concern over these delays from two of
its top customers, Emirates (UAE) and Lufthansa (Germany). The UAE-
based carrier is drawing up contingency plans in case the June 2020
delivery commitment is missed. Lufthansa may keep some older B747-
400s to compensate.
Boeing handed over 56% fewer aircraft in May 2019 – 30 –
compared with a year earlier, as deliveries of the B737 MAX jet
remained suspended. Net orders for the first five months remained in
negative territory, with a total of minus 125 net orders.
Boeing’s market outlook foresees the need for 44,040 new jets,
valued at US$6.8 trillion over the next two decades and up 3% from a
year ago. The global commercial aircraft fleet will also sustain the need
for aviation services valued at $9.1 trillion, leading to a total
commercial market opportunity of $16 trillion through 2038.
Boeing may offer the larger of the two proposed new B797 variants
first for delivery in 2025.
Boeing says that after taking over the passenger jet unit of
Embraer, it will call the division Boeing Brasil – Commercial, dropping
one of Brazil’s most iconic company names.
Boeing, Korean Air and Air Lease (US) plan to add 30 new B787s to
the carrier’s fleet, with a commitment to purchase 10 new B787-10s
and 10 additional B787-9 airplanes valued at US$6.3 billion at current
list prices. As part of this agreement, Korean Air will also lease 10 B787-
10s from ALC, scheduled to deliver in 2021 through 2023.