Airbus A321 P2F
Conversions Launched
ELBE FLUGZEUGWERKE (EFW), the
joint-venture between ST Aerospace
(55%) and Airbus (45%), has secured a
launch contract from Vallair Solutions
Sàrl (Vallair) for its A321 passenger-to-
freighter conversion.
EFW will convert ten A321-
passenger aircraft to a 14-pallet cargo
configuration for Vallair. The first jet
will undergo modification during the last
quarter of this year and will be redeliv-
ered to the Luxembourg-based organ-
isation at the end of 2019.
Gregoire Lebigot, President and CEOof Vallair, remarked: “At Vallair, through
years of trading and supporting the
A320 Family, we have built a solid
technical competence on this aircraft.
Today, we see a huge potential in the
A321P2F, not only as a replacement of
the Boeing 757F, but as a key tool for the
cargo industry to achieve its projected
growth. The A321P2F will be the first
aircraft to introduce a containerised
lower deck to this market segment of
narrowbody freighters and will be a
significant game changer of any hub
and spoke operation.” (Photo Airbus)MAX Evolution
BOEING HAS been awarded an
amended type certificate (ATC) from
the US Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) for the 737 MAX 9, paving the
way for the aircraft to enter service.
The first customer aircraft is
undergoing final preparations before
delivery to the Lion Air Group.
In other news, Boeing has finalised the
configuration of the fourth member
of the family, the MAX 10. The variant
has a stretched fuselage that is 66in(168cm) longer than the MAX 9 and
will carry up to 230 passengers. First
deliveries are due to start in 2020.
The US manufacturer rolled out the
prototype 737 MAX 7 at its Renton,
Washington, facility on February 5. The
aircraft, N7021S (c/n 42561), is the
smallest member of the 737 MAX
family and is designed to carry up to
172 passengers over ranges up to
3,850nm (7,130km).
(Photo Boeing)18 AIRLINER WORLD APRIL 2018
News Review • International
Airbus Deliveries
Deliveries of Airbus A320ceos to easyJet are steadily coming to a close – the 136th (G-EZRO)
and 137th (G-EZRR) examples were handed over in January. The carrier has another 12 aircraft
on order before swapping to new engine option variants of the A320 and A321.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ASHLEY STEVENS
Airbus delivered the following aircraft in January:
A319ceo 1 Chengdu AirlinesA320ceo 11BOC Aviation (Spring Airlines), China Aircraft Leasing Group (China Eastern Airlines),
easyJet (2), International Airfinance Corporation (Saudia) (3), Lion Air (Batik Air) (3),
Spirit AirlinesA320neo 4 AirAsia, CIT Aerospace (Air India), GECAS (Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras), Scandinavian Airlines
A321ceo 3 China Southern Airlines, VietJet Air (2)
A321neo 2 AerCap (Interjet), GECAS (Virgin America)
A330-300 2 China Eastern Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines
A350-900 4 Aviation Lease and Finance Company (Thai Airways International), China Airlines, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International
Total 27US Trade Body Backs Bombardier
THE US International Trade Commission
(USITC) has issued further details as to
why it overturned a ruling in favour of
Boeing regarding Bombardier’s sale of
C Series aircraft to Delta Air Lines below
cost price.
It says that it rejected huge US tariffs
on the C Series partly because Boeing
had lost no sales or revenue when Delta
ordered 75 CS100s plus 50 options from
Bombardier in 2016. The USITC said the
110-seat CS100 and Boeing’s smallest
production aircraft, the 737-700/MAX
7, do not compete in the market. It also
pointed out that Boeing failed to offer
new-build aircraft to Delta during the
airline’s acquisition process – instead
the US manufacturer proposed a mix of
used Embraer 190s and 717s.
Delta testified that Boeing doesn’t have
anything to offer in the 100-125 seat
sector and didn’t have any available
delivery positions for the MAX 7 in the
required time period. The airline also
gave evidence saying it didn’t like the
737-700, calling it “uneconomical” and a
design “rooted in the 1960s”.
The four USITC commissioners
unanimously dismissed a complaint
from Boeing that subsidised sales of
CS100s to Delta Air Lines in 2016 had
harmed its ability to compete.
The decision prevents proposed US
Department of Commerce leverag-
ing tariffs of 292% on imports of the
Canadian manufacturer’s C Series
family into the US.
A Bombardier statement, responding tothe USITC decision on January 26, said:
“Today’s decision is a victory for
innovation, competition and the rule of
law. It is also a victory for US airlines
and the US travelling public. The C
Series is the most innovative and effi-
cient new aircraft in a generation. Its
development and production represent
thousands of jobs in the US, Canada and
the UK. With this matter behind us, we
are moving full speed ahead with
finalising our partnership with Airbus.”
Boeing maintained the commission
verdict failed to recognise the business
harm it suffered from billions of dollars
in government subsidies to Bombardier,
which it claimed were used to “dump
aircraft” in the US small single-aisle
aeroplane market. This had led the USDepartment of Commerce to issue the
tariff ruling last December.
In its statement, Boeing reacted: “While
we disagree with USITC’s conclusion,
we will review the commission’s more
detailed opinions in full as they are
released in the coming days. Boeing
remains confident in the facts and will
continue to document any harm to the
company, and its extensive supply chain
that result from illegal subsidies and
price dumping. We will not stand by as
Bombardier’s illegal business practices
continue to harm American workers
and the aerospace industry they sup-
port. Global trade only works if every-
body adheres to the rules we have all
agreed to. That’s a belief we will
continue to defend.”