Over recent weeks, billionaire Sir Richard Branson has been on the receiving end of negative press in relation to his request to the British government for a £500 million (US$625 million) bailout to stop Virgin Atlantic going bust. Many feel he should use part of his estimated £4.7 billion (US$5.88 billion) personal fortune instead. Branson
GECAS, the aircraft leasing arm of General Electric Co, has canceled an order for 69 of the Boeing 737 MAX jets that has remained grounded since March 2019, citing a desire to evaluate its order book during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, GECAS maintains 29 737 MAX jets and still has a further 82 of the
With the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affecting demand for new aircraft, Airbus has decided to delay ramping up the increase in production of is Canada-based A220 narrow-body jet until next year but has not opted to reduce production either. By the middle of 2021, the European planemaker anticipates it will increase current output of four jets
Spirit AeroSystems (Spirit) the American airframe maker has announced that for the first quarter of 2020, it is likely to post a loss of US$160 million as opposed to a profit of US$163 million for the same period last year, generating approximately U$1.1 billion in first quarter revenue, down about 46% from U$2.0 billion for
Following on from the month of March where the world’s second-largest planemaker posted 150 MAX cancellations, which included 75 from Avolon, the Irish leasing company, April has now seen a further 75 cancellation. These include 34 of a 135-jet order from Brazil’s GOL. This is now the thirteenth month since the 737MAX was grounded following
easyJet has delayed the delivery of 24 Airbus jets as it looks to stave off pressure from its major shareholder and former founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Haji-Ioannou is pushing hard for the cancelation of the order for the 24 jets and is looking to have two directors of Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier, chief financial officer, Andrew
In a bid to deal with the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic Norwegian, Europe’s third-largest low-cost carrier, is now looking to convert up to US$4.3 billion of debt into equity and will be issuing new shares in an attempt to stay afloat. The strategic move is in response to the requirements needed to meet
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier easyJet, is looking to oust the carrier’s current chief financial officer, Andrew Findlay, and non-executive director Andreas Bierwirth, in an attempt to have an order for 107 jets with Airbus canceled. Haji-Ioannou was opposed to the purchase of the jets, valued at approximately US$5.5 billion, from the
Based on its long-term view of the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG has opted for strident measures to reduce capacity of flight operations and administration. The Board feels that while it will be many months before the airline industry will see any regrowth from current levels through the
The planned US$6.4 billion all-stock merger between two major aerospace and defense suppliers, Hexcel Corp and Woodward Inc, has been abandoned by mutual consent in light of the ravages the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are having on the aerospace industry. With the companies’ two principal customers Boeing and Airbus cutting back on or halting
