Resenha de notícias (INGLES)

[AeroEntusiasta]

Fonte: ULRICH HOPE

CASGC, China signed general terms agreement to order 150 A319s, A320s and A321s for delivery to six Chinese airlines: AIR CHINA, CHINA EASTERN, CHINA SOUTHERN, SICHUAN, SHENZHEN and HAINAN.

FINNAIR plans to order three A340-300Es and nine 314-pax A350-900s, and option four A350s, to replace fleet of eight MD-11s; it also ordered four EMBRAER 190s for 2007 and converted orders for two E170s to E190s for 2006.

VUELA, Mexico ordered 16 A319s. It plans startup of LCC services in 1H06.

PEGASUS AIRLINES, Turkey ordered 12 737NGs for delivery in 2008.

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES ordered nine A320s with CFM56s from Airbus, and optioned five, and agreed to lease two new A319s and two new A320s from GECAS; deliveries are planned in 2H06-2012. It currently has seven A320s.

WESTJET, Canada converted options/purchase rights for seven 737-700s into firm orders for 2007 (4)-2008 (3).

NORTHWEST reached financing agreements for 14 A330s on order for 2006-'07 with Airbus (10)/Pratt & Whitney (4).

ILFC leased 11 new 737-800s to SHANGHAI AIRLINES (8) and AIR CHINA (3) for delivery 2007-2008, and five new A320s to AIR MALTA (1), AEGEAN AIRLINES (3), and STAR FLYER, Japan (1) for delivery in 2007.

PAKISTAN INTL AIRLINES leased new 777-200ER with GE90s from ILFC for 10 years starting in January 2007.

AIR MEDITERRANEE, France leased ex-Blue Wings A321 (519) with CFM56s from ILFC for eight years.

INTER AIRLINES, Turkey leased two ex-bmi A321s (968/974) with V2500s from ILFC for four years starting 1Q06.

EL AL, Israel leased ex-Polynesian Airlines 737-800 (30639) from ILFC for five years starting February 2006.

BRAVO AIRLINES, Spain leased ex-Swe Fly 767-200ER (24150) from ILFC for three years starting January 2006.

AIR MACAU leased A300-600F (743; ex-China Airlines) from ILFC starting May 2006. EADS EFW will convert.

AIRBLUE, Pakistan leased two ex-Aero Flight A321s (1199/1218) with V2500s from ILFC for five years.

LAN AIRLINES, Chile leased ex-Vietnam Airlines 767-300ER (26261) with PW4062s from ILFC for three years.

ROYAL JORDANIAN leased new A320s (2598) from Aviation Capital Group; a second is due in February 2006.

ETHIOPIAN leased two ex-Transmeridian 757s (28480/30319) with PW2037s from Pegasus Aviation Finance.

FUTURA INTERNATIONAL, Palma, Spain leased ex-Air Europa 737-400 (26285) from Boeing Capital.

CONVIASA, Venezuela purchased ex-United 737-300 (23949) from AAR and acquired ex-United 767-300ER (25287) with PW4060s from LaserLine Leasing, NV, which purchased aircraft from US Bank in deal arranged by Bristol Assoc.

AVE.COM (formerly Phoenix Aviation), UAE leased (for purchase) ex-United 737-300 (23626) from RPK Capital.

KALININGRADAVIA, Russia leased ex-easyJet 737-300 (24092) from BBAM (Babcock & Brown).

ONUR AIR, Turkey leased two ex-Jetsgo MD-83s (53466/53488) managed by AerCap, The Netherlands.

AUTOMATIC, FL purchased ex-Aerolineas Argentinas 737-200A (23168) from Pegasus Aviation Finance, CA.

AIRBUS delivered 33 aircraft (27 A320 Family; four A330s; and two A340s) in November 2005 vs 29 (22 A320 Family; one A300s; and six A330s/A340s) in November 2004; it has delivered 337 of the 350-370 total planned for 2005.

BOEING delivered 28 airliners (one 717; 20 737s; one 747; two 767s; four 777s) in November 2005 vs 23 (20 737s; one 767; two 777s) in Nov. '04; it has delivered 268 of 290 total aircraft planned in '05 (revised after strike from 320).

GATX AIR plans to divest older aircraft valued at $450m, representing 23% of its portfolio. It had 150 aircraft in Oct.

QANTAS plans to form long-haul LCC under its JETSTAR brand to begin operations with 10 widebodies (type TBD) by January 2007. Qantas has called special Board meeting for December 14 to consider its long term fleet plan.

VIRGIN AMERICA, CA has secured $177.3m in financing, mostly from VAI PARTNERS (funded by Black Canyon Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners); Virgin Group will provide remainder. It plans to begin LCC services from SFO hub in 2006 with A320s; it has agreed to order 18 from Airbus and lease 15 from GECAS (SPNWS, June 8, 2004)

AIRBUS agreed to conduct study into possibility of setting up single aisle aircraft assembly line in China under MOU signed with National Development & Reform Commission of China to upgrade cooperation between two parties.

FLYI (Independence Air) says it received numerous expressions of interest from companies wanting to participate in court-supervised auction. It is now entering negotiations with select interested parties, and says the interest ranges from acquiring the entire airline as a going concern, to investing in the company, to buying only specific assets.

FITCH RATINGS says outlook for US airline industry revenue is strong for next several quarters, and average fares are likely to trend higher in 2006. It expects US domestic system capacity to fall as much as 5% in 2006.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES is developing Business Turnaround roadmap to start February '06 that will include securing immediate short-term cash injection/financing and establishing revenue management and cost reduction initiatives.

EATON, OH completed purchase of the Aerospace Division (sealing and pneumatic systems) of PERKINELMER.

GE has 10-year, £1.5b British Airways contract to maintain RB211s for 57 747s and 21 767s and CFM56s for 32 737s and 10 A320s at Nantgarw; contract follows 2-year review by British Airways of its engine maintenance requirements.

SNECMA SERVICES BRUSSELS has SkyEurope contract for CFM56-3 repair and overhaul for 12 737-300s/500s.

GOODRICH has JetBlue contract to maintain Goodrich-built components for its A320s. It has 84 with 99 on order.

DUCOMMUN AEROSTRUCTURES has $42m Spirit AeroSystems contract to supply 737 and 777 titanium super plastic formed and hot formed details and welded assemblies; work will be performed at its facility in Parsons, KS.

ARGER ENTERPRISES (formerly McKechnie Aerospace Aftermarket Group), NV has 5-year, $20m development and purchasing contract from Japan Airlines for PMA parts and battery and ground support equipment (GSE).

CAE booked orders worth C$48m from Japan Airlines for 737NG maintenance training simulator; from Jet Airways, India for 737-800 flight simulator and IPT; and from an undisclosed party for A320 simulator and A320/737NG FTDs.

MTU MAINTENANCE HANNOVER has 3-year, Û40m Biman Bangladesh contract for repair and overhaul of 19 CF6-50C2s for five DC-10-30s.

ROCKWELL COLLINS WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Weather Detection System was certified for installation by Airbus on the A320, A330 and A340.

VOLVO AERO has appointed 50 engineers to adapt GEnx engine for 747-8, expanding its participation in GEnx program; as part of GE team, Volvo is responsible for fan hub frame, turbine rear frame, and the booster spool.

MTU MAINTENANCE BERLIN-BRANDENBURG completed its 2,500th low-pressure turbine for V2500 for IAE.

CHINA SOUTHERN selected Trent 900s for five A380s on order for delivery starting in late 2007.

US AIRWAYS reached agreement with Airline Customer Service Employee Assn. (7,150 workers), formed by CWA and Teamsters unions, that covers integration of US Airways and America West workers into a single workforce.

ATLAS AIR WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS (Atlas/Polar) had $29.9m net income on $404.9m revenues in 3Q05 vs $42m on $350.2m in 3Q04, which included results pre- and post-Chapter 11 (it emerged in July 2004). It has 42 747s.

AIRASIA took delivery of its first of 60 A320s with CFM56s on order. It holds purchase rights for 40 more.

KOREAN AIR flew 4.2b RPKs in October 2005, up 9.6% vs October 2004; capacity rose 6.3% to 5.8b ASKs.

RYANAIR carried 2.75m pax in November '05 (81% PLF), up 25.1% from 2.2m pax (82% PLF) in November 2004.

EASYJET carried 2.30m pax in November '05 (80.2% PLF), up 8.3% from 2.12m pax (81.2% PLF) in Nov. 2004.

AIRBUS established a research and technology framework agreement with Australia's Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures (CRC-ACS) to facilitate further R&D projects into use of composites for aircraft.

TEXTRON Board approved plan to sell its Fastening Systems business, which had $1.5b revenues in Jan.-Sept.

ATA members flew 2.17b RTMs cargo in September, up 2.7% vs Sept. 2004. Intl. rose 5.4%; domestic fell 0.2%.

NETJETS ordered 50 Hawker 4000s with PW308As for 2007-2013 in >$1b deal (Raytheon Aircraft's largest single order) that includes 10-year maintenance program. Hawker 4000 can carry six pax >3,000 nm at Mach .82 cruise.

BENIN AIRLINES signed LOI to acquire 100 FF-1080-300ER Freight Feeders from Utilicraft in $1.35b deal that includes distributorship in Africa/Middle East and final assembly rights (first 36 by 2007). Order replaces 100 ordered by Afra Airlines (same owner); Benin plans to operate aircraft itself, wet-lease, and dry lease or sell aircraft outright.

LUFTHANSA Supervisory Board approved plan to order 12 84-pax CRJ900s to replace 50-pax CRJ200s.

INDEPENDENCE AIR (FLYi) is seeking Bankruptcy Court approval to reject leases on six additional CRJ200s; it already has approval to reject/abandon 22 CRJs and two 328JETs. It was operating 58 CRJs when it filed Chapter 11.

CLUB328, UK ordered four 6-seat Premier I/IAs for delivery in December 2005 (three) and January 2006 (one).

AIR BOTSWANA, Gaborone leased ex-National Jet Systems BAe 146-100 (1160) from BAE Systems.

KSAMC, Ukraine says it has commitments for >20 An-74T-200As from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and UAE.

NTE AVIATION, TX purchased ex-Continental Express EMB 120 (114; built in 1988) from Boeing Capital for part out.

NORTHSTAR AVIATION SERVICES arranged sales of four EMB 120s to SKIPPERS AVIATION, Australia (207; ex-SkyWest), BILL DAVIS RACING, NC (143; ex-Comair); DOG LEG TRANSPORTATION (Michael Waltrip Racing), NC (190; ex-Continental Express); and to EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS, NC (195; ex-Continental Express).

MASH AVIATION, Lebanon purchased ex-TAPSA Saab 340A (013) from Lambert Leasing for use in Kuwait.

AIR NOW (Business Air), VT purchased two Shorts 360-300s (3611/3633) from Pacific Coastal Airlines, Canada.

PERIMETER AVIATION, Winnipeg, Canada purchased ex-Big Sky Metro 23 (DC-852B) from CRI Leasing, FL.

AIR SEYCHELLES signed LOI to purchase a second Shorts 360 from BAC Leasing, UK.

SAAB has Japan Coast Guard contract to supply two Saab 340Bplus Search and Rescue aircraft for delivery by the end of 2006; Saab Aircraft Leasing is providing aircraft (362; ex-Penair/363; ex-Aerolitoral) for mods at Linköping.

WESTERN AIRLINES, WA plans all-jet services from Bellingham to US destinations (aircraft type/schedules TBD) as alternative to using airports in Seattle and Vancouver, BC; it has initiated the process to obtain a Part 121 certificate.

EMBRAER received type certification for EMBRAER 190 from Transport Canada; Air Canada has ordered 45.

EUROCOPTER and AVIC II, China teamed to develop/build the EC175 civil helicopter to fit between Dauphin and Super Puma families; each company plans to invest Û300m in project over five years. First flight is planned in 2009.

AIRCELL, CO was selected by Cessna to supply Axxess SATCOM as option for Citation X, Sovereign, and XLS.

L-3 AVIONICS SYSTEMS, MI was selected by Bombardier to supply the GH-3100 Electronic Standby Instrument System for Learjet 60 XR. GH-3100 was also selected by Premier/West Star for Falcon 50s and Citation Ultras.

ARINC DIRECT has agreement with iJET Intelligent Risk Systems to provide detailed destination intelligence to business jet operators as part of its flight services. ARINC customers will have real time access to iJET database.

BOMBARDIER inaugurated its 4,650 sq m European parts distribution center in Frankfurt, Germany.

AIRCELLE is increasing annual production of BR710 thrust reversers (for Gulfstream GVs, G500s and G550s and Bombardier Global jets) to 180 vs 140 in 2005 and 100 in 2002. It recently delivered the 1,000th for a G550.

LIBERTY AEROSPACE, FL delivered first 2-seat XL2 (composite fuselage) to US-based retail customer.

AIR NELSON began operation in Auckland of its new Q300 simulator built by FLIGHTSAFETY INTL.

ECLIPSE AVIATION, NM received Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) from FAA for Eclipse 500 to enable its personnel to begin performing onboard aircraft tests for certification credit; certification is expected in early 2006.

AIR CANADA JAZZ plans May 1, 2006 to begin daily LAX-Edmonton (CRJ705).

BOEING engineers/technical workers (SPEEA) in Puget Sound ratified new 3-year contracts with the company. Its SPEEA-represented engineers at its INTEGRATED DEFENSE SYSTEMS unit at Wichita rejected offer for their deal.

AIA says US aerospace exports were $15.8b ($13.4b civil and $2.5b military) in 3Q05 vs $13.6b ($11.5b civil and $2.1b military) in 3Q04. Aerospace imports were $6.5b ($4.8b civil/$1.7b military) vs $6.3b ($5b civil/$1.4b military).

GLOBAL AIRWORKS has orders from undisclosed US airline for wire/cable harnesses for retrofit on 757s and 767s.

SMITHS AEROSPACE completed $6.5m, 10,290 sq ft expansion (to 203,000 sq ft) to engine components manufacturing facility in Terre Haute, IN, to house new chemical milling process that reduces weight and strengthens structures.

US AIRWAYS GROUP, AZ says it will continue using KID-SYSTEME in-seat power supply (ISPS) ports on >120 US Airways' A319s, A320s, A321s and A330s; it is studying whether to install systems on America West A319s/A320s.

THALES-led consortium completed first review of 4-year, Û53m FLYSAFE project to design, develop and validate new onboad systems to provide pilots with flight safety support and ground systems to send weather info to aircraft.

PRESTON AVIATION SOLUTIONS (Boeing), Australia was commissioned by United to conduct a systemwide computer simulation study (using TAAM software) of operations to assess impact of proposed schedule changes.

UNITPOOL, Switzerland has Air Sahara, India contract for ULD control and pooling services for its 737s and 767s.

BARNES AEROSPACE, CT installed 5-axis radial groove grinder at its Windsor Division to increase capacity for precision grinding of high-temp alloys for use by jet engine OEMs. CAMPBELL GRINDER, MI supplied machine.

MKS, Canada was selected by Lufthansa Systems to provide software for ITIL and requirements management.

BAA submitted winning bid of £1.255b to APV, Hungary to purchase 75% stake in BUDAPEST AIRPORT (BUD).

THAI AIRWAYS INTL signed agreement to manage SHAH AMANAT INTL AIRPORT (CGP), Chittagong, Bangladesh.

LAX was approved by LAWA to begin Southside Airfield Improvement Project that calls for repositioning southernmost runway and adding a center taxiway. It says project will also enhance A380 operations at the airport starting in 2007.

ASUR, Mexico began building $100m, 40,000 sq m Terminal 3 (11 gates and four remote stands) at Cancun Intl. Airport (CUN); it also received necessary land to add a second runway (2,400 x 45 meters) at airport at cost of $50m.

BAA is investing £10m to extend runway at ABERDEEN AIRPORT by 300 meters to 2,129 to attract intl. service as part of Master Plan to handle forecasted growth from current 2.8m annual pax to 3.6m by 2015 and to 5.3m by 2030.

KLM is restructuring its summer 2006 flight schedule and expects capacity to be >5% higher in 2006 than in 2005.

ATA AIRLINES plans in late April 2006 to discontinue Chicago Midway-Ft. Myers, FL/-Orlando/-San Francisco.

RYANAIR plans to begin Shannon-Manchester/-Wroclaw/-Rome/-Murcia and Liverpool-Porto/-Seville on February 22; and Dublin-Lodz on April 4. It also plans on February 22 to discontinue Shannon-Hamburg/-Stockholm (737).

AIRASIA plans to begin Kuala Lumpur-Balikpapan, Indonesia on Dec. 20 and -Solo, Indonesia on Dec. 22 (737).

GOL plans in 2006 to begin four-times-weekly Sao Paulo (Guarulhos)-Asuncion, Paraguay (737).

AIR SAHARA plans January 6 to begin four-times-weekly Delhi-London Heathrow (767-300ER).

BMI plans to begin three-times-weekly London Heathrow-Jeddah on April 23 and -Doha in mid-2006 (A330).

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES plans June 9 to begin daily Maui-San Diego, CA (767-300ER).