LE BOURGET - Qatar Airways has signed a 10-year maintenance cost per hour agreement for the continued maintenance, repair and overhaul of its Airbus A330 aircraft powered by CF6-80E engines.

"This agreement will enable us to help optimize Qatar Airways' operations and to lower cost of ownership," said Paul McElhinney, president and chief executive officer, GE Aviation Services. "We are extending a strong relationship that goes back several decades. The CF6 engine continues to be the workhorse engine in GE's product portfolio, and we welcome the opportunity to maintain and overhaul Qatar Airways' CF6-80E engine fleet."

"The CF6 engine continues to be the workhorse engine in GE's product portfolio, and our MRO expertise will enable us to help lower Qatar's cost of ownership with this engine line."

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: "We are pleased to be continuing our highly successful professional relationship with GE Aviation Services for the maintenance of engines on selected aircraft. This demonstrates a partnership that has gone from strength to strength."

Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the State of Qatar and flies to more than 128 destinations with 125 aircraft. One of the fastest growing airlines operating among the youngest fleets in the world, Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over US$50 billion for more than 250 aircraft.

Qatar Airways was this week honored with three Skytrax awards - Best Business Class in the World, Best Business Class Lounge in the World and the accolade for Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East for the second consecutive year.

Source: General Electric Company
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1147h UTC Jun 19, 2013

On June 19th, 2013 at the 50th International Paris Air Show (Le Bourget, France) Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company and Bahrain leasing company AeroLease – Aircraft and Equipment Leasing Company signed a Letter of Intent on financing and\or leasing of existing and prospective deals for Sukhoi Superjet 100.

The Letter of Intent confirms interest of the world’s leasing companies and financial institutes to invest deliveries of Sukhoi Superjet 100 to the Middle East and the Southeast Asia.

Source: Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1146h UTC Jun 19, 2013

European manufacturer of turboprop aircraft ATR and the leasing firm HGI Aircraft Division, -Air division of HGI Capital Group-, today signed a contract for the sale of 20 ATR 72-600s that will be introduced in the fleet of the Brazilian carrier Passaredo Linhas Aéreas. Of these, 10 are firm sales while 10 are options, for a total sum of US$ 482 million. HGI Capital Group also becomes shareholder of Passaredo following the approval of ANAC, Brazil's National Agency for Civil Aviation. The contract has been signed on the occasion of the Paris Airshow, and was witnessed by Mrs. Nicole Bricq, French Minister for Foreign Trade.

This latest sale confirms ATR's remarkable success with Brazilian regional airlines. Over the past three years, ATR has received firm orders for over 60 ATR 72-600s for Brazilian airlines. Brazil is currently experiencing significant development of its regional air transport networks and airport infrastructures in small and medium-sized towns. Since 2005, ATR has almost quadrupled the number of its aircraft on the Brazilian market, where currently almost 80 are operating in the colors of five different airlines. Over a hundred ATR aircraft will be operating in Brazil in 2015.

While signing the contract at the Paris Air Show, Juan Alcaraz, Chief Executive Officer of HGI Capital Group, said: “We are delighted to initiate our aircraft investments in association with Passaredo and ATR following the authorization of ANAC. We are convinced that the development of regional air transport in Brazil offers excellent business prospects for our newly created HGI Aircraft Division.” And he added: “Our investment in Passaredo will strengthen the airline in a highly competitive sector, allowing them to consolidate their presence and further increase their market share.”

Luiz Felicio, Chief Executive Officer of Passaredo Linhas Aéreas, said: “The ATR 72-600 is clearly the aircraft best suited to meet our operational requirements. The aircraft's performance on all of our routes of less than 600 kilometers is unbeatable, allowing us to make very significant fuel-savings while offering a high quality service to our passengers.”  And he added: “And all of this with the added bonus of having the lowest environmental impact of any aircraft of its capacity.”

Fillippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, emphasized ATR's strong growth, not only in Brazil, but throughout Latin America, where more than 160 ATR aircraft are currently operating: “The ATR 72-600 has become the top-selling regional aircraft on the vast Latin American market. We are very pleased to be able to support the growth of airlines and regional traffic using aircraft that combine the highest standards in passenger comfort with the lowest operating costs.”

Source: ATR
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1112h UTC Jun 19, 2013

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, has signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) for six A330-300s and four A350-900s. The airline, an all Airbus operator, has chosen the highly reliable A330 and the latest generation A350 XWB aircraft as part of its long-haul fleet renewal.

“The efficiency, reliability and passenger appeal of our in-service A330s form the pillar of SriLankan’s long haul operations,” said Kapila Chandrasena, CEO of SriLankan Airlines. “Adding more new A330’s to our fleet, combined with the unbeatable economics the A350 XWB will offer, allows us to achieve a strong economical performance.”

“We are grateful of this renewed confidence SriLankan Airlines is placing with us,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers “The winning combination of A330’s and A350 XWB’s will allow SriLankan Airlines to offer the highest levels of comfort to their passengers while also benefitting from superior efficiency levels at any time.”

Source: Airbus
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1044h UTC Jun 19, 2013

LE BOURGET, France /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Ryanair today finalized a firm order for 175 Next-Generation 737-800 airplanes valued at $15.6 billion at list prices. The order, originally announced as a commitment in March, is Boeing's largest ever aircraft order from a European airline.

At a signing ceremony today at the 2013 Paris Air Show, Michael O'Leary, president and CEO of Ryanair, joined Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO, to finalize the historic deal.

O'Leary flew into the air show on one of Ryanair's 303 737-800s, which bore a special livery celebrating the agreement.

"Ryanair is proud to buy Boeing, who make great aircraft, and the 737-800 has been the foundation of Ryanair's recent successful growth due to its great engineering and phenomenal reliability," said O'Leary. "These 175 new airplanes will enable us to lower costs and airfares even further. They provide Ryanair with the additional capacity to exploit substantial growth opportunities that now exist as many of Europe's flag and regional airlines are restructuring and are reducing their short-haul operations."

"We are delighted to finalize this order. It is a testament to the value the Next-Generation 737 family brings to Ryanair," said Conner. "As the most efficient, reliable, large single-aisle airplane flying today, the Next-Generation 737 has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of the Ryanair fleet. I could not be more proud to see the partnership between Ryanair and The Boeing Company extended for the years to come."

The Boeing 737-800 is the best-selling version of the successful Next-Generation 737 family. Known for its reliability, fuel efficiency and economical performance, the Next-Generation 737-800 is selected by leading carriers throughout the world because it provides operators the flexibility to serve a wide range of markets.

Ryanair, which took delivery of its first 737-800 from Boeing in 1999, has the largest fleet of Boeing airplanes in Europe, operating over 1,600 flights per day from 57 bases on 1,600 routes across 29 countries, connecting more than 180 destinations.

Today's announcement brings the total number of 737s ordered to date to more than 11,000. Boeing currently has more than 3,400 unfilled orders for 737s.

Source: Boeing
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1043h UTC Jun 19, 2013

The Air France-KLM Group has finalized a firm contract for 25 A350-900 aircraft and for a further 25 options. These aircraft will become an essential element in the Group’s future fleet strategy.

"This order of new-generation, high performance aircraft reflects the importance of our investments for the benefit of our customers, whose comfort is at the heart of our concerns. With the A350, Air France-KLM will continue to operate one of the most modern fleets in the world, and ensure the growth of its long-haul activity, while achieving significant cost savings." said Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO of the Air France-KLM Group as of first of July 2013.

Peter Hartman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KLM, said: “Our order for this new aircraft type opens a new chapter for the Group. This aircraft introduces major environmental advances and will contribute to our ambitious targets for noise and carbon reduction.“

"We are honoured that our all new, extra efficient A350-900, which has just recently flown on its maiden flight, will become an essential cornerstone in the future fleet development of Air France-KLM,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer. "The A350 XWB's unbeatable economics and environmental credentials will pay nice dividends into the future positioning of the airline, while the aircraft’s commonality with the groups existing Airbus fleet will generate further efficiencies and savings.”

The Air France-KLM Group currently operates a fleet of just over 190 Airbus aircraft, comprising eight A380s, 31 A330s, 13 A340s, 25 A321s, 54 A320s, 41 A319s and 18 A318s. With this new order Air France-KLM joins an exclusive group of airlines who are customers for every member of the Airbus product family.

Source: Airbus
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1042h UTC Jun 19, 2013

LE BOURGET, France /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced from the 2013 Paris Air Show that CIT Aerospace has placed an order for 30 737 MAX 8s.

"The addition of these Boeing 737 MAX 8s ensures that CIT Aerospace maintains one of the youngest and most fuel efficient fleets," said C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of CIT Transportation Finance. "As a leading aircraft lessor, we continually strive to provide our customers with the most technologically advanced aircraft. The Boeing MAX provides the fuel burn improvement and lower seat mile cost that our customers demand to run their airlines with optimal efficiency."

"CIT is one of the leading lessors in the industry and this order demonstrates its confidence in the capabilities of the 737 MAX," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. "The CIT leadership team recognizes the value the 737 MAX offers for its airline customers. The 737 MAX is on the leading edge of passenger comfort, fuel efficiency and reliability."

As of March 31, 2013, CIT owned or financed a fleet of approximately 350 commercial aircraft, including operating lease and financing agreements in place for 128 Boeing aircraft.

Source: Boeing
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1041h UTC Jun 19, 2013

Jet2.com today unveiled its ‘keep passengers flying’ strategy to overcome the recent French air traffic control strikes.  In a pre-emptive ‘strike’ the airline planned its crew and aircraft resource with military precision.  Anticipating potential regions of disruption Jet2.com re-routed and planned accordingly.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com said:  “We’ve become very adept at planning for these types of situations.  Our teams on the ground work closely with the guys back at our central operations.  Careful crew, route and aircraft allocation mean that we do everything we can to mitigate disruption, ensuring out passengers arrive at their destinations with as little delay as possible.”

Additionally, the airline ensures that it has excellent relationships with all the potential airports involved and timely alerts are distributed to maximise efficiency on the ground so that take-off times are never missed. There is constant monitoring of the ATC slots to ensure any available opportunities are taken.   UK airports, with earlier closing times, have agreed to stay open for later landing slots after close co-operation with Jet2.com to deliver a more flexible service during times of disruption.

Whilst the company did still experience some delays, unlike other airlines – no flights were cancelled during the French strikes.

Heapy concluded:  “From a ground perspective, we put more people on shift to deal with any delays and to sell tickets to people travelling with other airlines who had cancelled. We informed all the bus and taxi companies that flights would be arriving late to allow them to put on extra resource or delay pick-ups.  As an airline and holiday company, we believe that we have the best procedures in place to ensure our customers get to their destinations.  Unlike other operators we don’t cancel, we plan ahead.  We’re ready to take on the strikers this summer and win.”

Source: Jet2
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1032h UTC Jun 19, 2013

Finnair has signed a contract on the lease of three Embraer 170 aircraft to the Mexican airline Aeromexico Connect. All three aircraft are owned by Finnair. One of the aircraft was earlier leased out to Honeywell, and it will be delivered to Aeromexico Connect in this month. The two remaining aircraft will be delivered to Aeromexico Connect in June 2014, when their existing lease periods with Kenya Airways expire. The lease period for all three aircraft is six years.

The lease agreement is a part of Finnair's 140 million euro savings program. In the past few years Finnair has increased the efficiency of its fleet, for example, by leasing out some of its aircraft to third parties.  At the same time it has increased the utilization of its aircraft and reached significant savings.

Finnair Aircraft Finance, responsible for administering the Finnair fleet, owns in total five 76-seat Embraer 170 aircraft and twelve 100-seat Embraer 190 aircraft. These aircraft, with the exception of those leased to Aeromexico Connect and Kenya Airways, are operated by Finnair's affiliated company Flybe Nordic as contract flying for Finnair. Of the 44 aircraft-wide narrow and wide body fleet that Finnair operates itself, Finnair owns 26 planes and has leased 18.

Source: Finnair
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1007h UTC Jun 19, 2013

LE BOURGET, France - In a special ceremony here today, AirAsia announced that it has ordered additional CFM LEAP-1A engines and CFM56-5B engines to power the 100 Airbus A320 aircraft it ordered in a deal announced last December and signed a comprehensive long-term service agreement to support its fleet.

The order, which comprises LEAP-1A engines to power 64 A32neos and CFM56-5B engines to power 36 A320ceo aircraft along with 5 CFM-56B spare engines and 9 LEAP-1A spare engines, is valued at $8.6 billion U.S. at list price, including a 20-year RPFH (Rate per Flight Hour) agreement, under the terms of which CFM will guarantee maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.

"We are pleased to expand our LEAP and CFM56 engine orders," said Dato' Kamarudin Meranun, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia. "CFM has been one of the elements that has helped power our growth over the last decade and we are happy to work with CFM to further strengthen AirAsia's expansion plans."

At the 2011 Paris Air Show, AirAsia announced what was at the time the largest engine order in history when it initially selected the LEAP-1A engine to power 200 Airbus A320neo aircraft.

"This order is a great extension of a fantastic relationship," said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM. "The CFM philosophy of continually investing its products will reap real long-term benefits for AirAsia in both the CFM56-5B and the new LEAP engines."

"We love working with AirAsia and really appreciate their continued trust in CFM," said Kevin McAllister, vice president of sales for CFM parent company GE Aviation. "We are looking forward to a great future with AirAsia and to working hard each day to prove to them that they have made the right choice."

AirAsia, a pioneer in low-cost travel in Asia and the World's Best Low Cost Airline for five consecutive years as awarded by Skytrax, has been a CFM customer for more than a decade. As the single largest Airbus A320 operator in the Asia-Pacific region, AirAsia operates a fleet of more than 120 CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320s with more than 91 still to be delivered. AirAsia began operations in 2001 and has continued to experience steady growth, today, the airline and its subsidiaries serve destinations in 20 countries throughout the region.

Source: CFM
Posted by: just4airlines.com at 1006h UTC Jun 19, 2013