Having announced back in February 2019 that the Superjumbo – the double-decker A380 and largest commercial airliner – would cease production in 2021, Airbus is now faced with having to merge operations of two production plants in Spain as there will now be insufficient work for them both. On March 17, 2021 the final Airbus
In what is Europe’s largest defense project expenditure France, Germany, and Spain have reached an agreement over the next generation of fighter jets including unmanned drones – the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) – with an expected expenditure of around €100 billion (US$122 billion.) The new aircraft will begin to phase out the existing German
Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), has unveiled its newest aircraft, VoloConnect, at EBACE Connect. This electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) is designed to connect suburbs to cities and complements the company’s existing family of aircraft for the intra-city mission. VoloConnect’s distinctive hybrid lift-and-push design is expected to achieve certification within
As a result of operating at between only 50% and 60% of pre-pandemic levels according to Bahrain’s state carrier, Gulf Air has agreed with both Boeing and Airbus to postpone the delivery of currently ordered jets for between six and nine months. While no specific models were mentioned, Gulf Air had previously indicated it was
The fix for electrical faults on the Boeing 737 MAX that forced over 100 of the jets to be grounded in early April has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Two bulletins with appropriate fixes which received FAA approval have been sent to affected carriers. “After gaining final approvals from the FAA, we
Alaska Air Group has announced that it has converted nine of its April 2016 options to firm purchases for Brazilian planemaker Embraer’s E175 jets under a Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) at a list price of US$449.1 million. “We have navigated through the pandemic and we’re on a solid path to recovery. The E175 remains a
The wholly owned aviation asset management unit of Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) and the Singapore-headquartered investment company Temasek have announced the intention to create a 50-50 joint venture for freighter aircraft leasing to meet the expanding demand for freighter aircraft as e-commerce and air cargo volumes expand globally. The JV has set a five-year
In an effort to reduce current losses plaguing the A220 program, Airbus has appointed Benoit Schultz, a former Bombardier employee and a current supply chain executive with the European planemaker, to the role of running the Canadian operation. He will adopt his new role on September 1, when the current chief, Philippe Balducchi, leaves to
Air T, an industrious American holding company which operates a group of independent, yet interrelated, aviation businesses, has announced the formation of a new aircraft asset management business called Contrail Asset Management (CAM), and a new aircraft capital joint venture called Contrail JV II LLC (CJVII). The new joint venture has been formed as a
With the boom in express delivery services and a burgeoning e-commerce market, demand for the Boeing 737 800BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter) has further increased. As a consequence, Boeing has chosen to create two new, dedicated production lines for the 737 variant in conjunction with Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA) in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Both
