http://www.airlinerworld.com 21News Review • International
Air Lease Corporation has finalised an
order for eight more Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
The deal, which is valued at $936.8m,
raises the lessor’s commitments for the
MAX to 138. John Poerschke, executive
vice president of Air Lease Corporation,
remarked: “These aircraft perfectly fit ALC’s
and our airline lessees’ growing need for
additional 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Our success
in MAX placements to date speaks to the
strong market demand for these aircraft.”SMBC Aviation Capital has sold eight of its
single-aisle fleet to long-standing customer,
the Dublin-based lessor Genesis Aircraft
Services. The portfolio consists of four jets
from SMBC’s owned fleet and four from its
managed inventory, featuring both Airbus
and Boeing types which are currently on
lease to six different airlines.Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has received approval
from the Russian Federal Air Transport
Agency (Rosaviatsia) for a major modification
to the Superjet 100 type certification that
allows the jet to operate in Arctic latitudes
up to 78.25° North. In tests performed
at the end of March, the manufacturer
dispatched one of its prototype SSJ100s
to the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard
to monitor the jet’s inertial navigation
system to ensure the type can perform
safely from airfields in high Arctic locations.
(Photo Sukhoi Civil Aircraft)Aircraft Engineers International (AEI),
the world’s only organisation representing
licensed aircraft engineers/technicians,
has written to the European Transport
Commissioner, Violeta Bulc, warning that
some countries are failing to allow licensed
engineers to inspect maintenance work
carried out by unlicensed mechanics as
required by the European Commission. This
practice has been acknowledged by EASA
following audits it has carried out, however
attempts to enforce regulations have so far
failed. AEI says that without the intervention
of the Commission, “only an avoidable
disaster will spur the authorities to comply”.Boeing Horizon X, the business unit
responsible for investing in start-ups
and companies developing revolutionary
concepts and bringing them to the
market, has invested in Oxfordshire-based
Reaction Engines. The UK company is best
known for its synergetic air-breathing rocket
engine (SABRE), a hybrid engine blending
jet and rocket technology which is capable
of Mach 5 in air-breathing mode and Mach
25 in rocket mode for space flight. Boeing
said as Reaction Engines unlocks advanced
propulsion that could change the future of
air and space travel, it expects to leverage
this revolutionary technology to support its
own pursuit of hypersonic flight.in brief
Huge Order
for CFM International
TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS (the
leasing arm of the Lion Air Group) and
CFM International have finalised an
order for 380 Leap-1A engines to power
Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft
the airline group has on order. The deal
signed in Jakarta, Indonesia on March
29, is valued at $5.5bn – the choice
of powerplant was announced in
February 2016.
Also included is an extension of the
25-year material service agreement
for CFM56-7B, CFM56-5B and Leap-1B
engines originally signed by
Transportation Partners in 2014, which
has been expanded to include the
Leap-1A. The engine manufacturer will
additionally provide maintenance repair
and overhaul services to the Lion Air
Group’s CFM56 and Leap powerplants
until the company’s own facility,
Batam Aero Technic, located in Batam,
Indonesia is completed.
CFM International has been supporting
the airline’s new engine maintenance
and test cell facility since the project
was launched in 2016, providing project
management, design, construction
and commissioning advice for the
new facility. (Photo Boeing)Rolls-Royce
Trent 1000
Problems
Continue
ENGINE MANUFACTURER Rolls-Royce
has issued a further statement relating
to the ongoing problems it is having
with Trent 1000s powering Boeing
787 Dreamliners.
As part of an inspection regime
instigated by the company of the 380
engines affected, it says it will now
carry out additional checks to those
previously planned. This increased
frequency is driven by its further
understanding of the durability of the
Trent 1000 Package C compressor
issue, a problem that the company
highlighted earlier this year. These
inspections will be supported by
service management and flight
operations guidance to airlines that will
be issued by airworthiness authorities.
Rolls-Royce said this will cause
additional disruption to its customers,
however this new regime doesn’t
impact on operators of Trent 1000
Package B or Trent 1000 TEN engines.
The manufacturer added it is allocating
between £450m and £550m in its
accounts to fix the problem.
Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce,
commented: “Our focus is on
supporting our customers and doing
all we can to minimise any impact on
their operations. We sincerely regret
the disruption this will cause, and we
are working around the clock to ensure
we return each engine to full service as
soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Boeing’s own statement
said about 25% of the total 787 fleet is
powered by this engine variant.
An existing EASA Airworthiness
Directive for the Package C engine
requires inspections of an intermediate
pressure compressor blade at certain
flight cycles. If a durability issue is
found, the blade will be replaced.Boeing Deliveries
The penultimate Boeing 737-800 for Japan Transocean Air from the carrier’s order for eight
aircraft it placed with the US manufacturer in May 2014. This example, JA07RK (c/n 61485) was
delivered on March 22. JOE G WALKER
Boeing delivered the following aircraft in March:
737-700 1 Kunming Airlines737-800 369 Air, Air China, Bank of Communications Leasing (2), BOC Aviation (3), China
Development Bank Finance, China Eastern Airlines (6), China Southern Airlines
(3), Hebei Airlines, ICBC Leasing, Japan Transocean Air, Jet2.com (2), Ryanair (7),
Shenzhen Airlines, Southwest Airlines (2), Standard Charter Bank, Transavia (3)
737-800A 1 US Navy737 MAX 8 23Aeromexico, Air Canada (4), Air China (2), Air Lease Corporation, American Airlines (2),
China Eastern Airlines (2), China Southern Airlines, GECAS, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair
(3), SCAT Airlines, Southwest Airlines, TUI Travel, WestJet (2)
737-900ER 4 Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines (3)
737 MAX 9 1 Lion Air (Thai Lion Air)
747-8F 1 UPS
767-300F 1 FedEx Express
777-300ER 7 Air India, Korean Air (2), Qatar Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, United Airlines (2)
777F 1 FedEx Express787-9 14Air France-KLM Group, All Nippon Airways, Aviation Capital Group, British Airways,
CIT Aerospace (2), El Al Israel Airlines, International Lease Finance Corporation,
Norwegian Air Shuttle, TUI Travel, Unidentified Customer, Virgin Atlantic Airways,
Xiamen Airlines (2)
787-10 1 Singapore Airlines
Total 91