ON THE BOEING FRONT

                                     Boeing Hits 2022 Delivery Target After Strong December

Boeing ended up exceeding its twice-revised 737 delivery goal for 2022; shipping 387 of the narrowbody jets during the year, thanks to the rapid pace of deliveries in December.  In addition, Boeing logged new orders for the final month of 2022 for 250 aircraft.   The highest monthly total for several years according to the airframer’s latest performance figures, disclosed on January 10.  Boeing ended the year with 4,578 jets in its backlog, up from 4,250 at the end of 2021.

It is worth noting that Boeing revised its delivery target twice last year.  The manufacturer started with what proved an ambitious goal of delivering 500 737s, including 737NGS before year-end.  As 2022 progressed, operational troubles accumulated and executives repeatedly tried to estimate, ultimately cutting it in November to 375.

Boeing actually exceeded figures with the 387 737s deliver last year, albeit that 13 were 737NGs for military programs along side 374 737 Max jets.

Boeing’s delivery pace ticked up in December, when it handed over 54 737s more than in any other month last year. Notably, Southwest Airlines alone received 18 737 Max in December, the most Maxs Boeing has ever delivered to a single buyer in a month, it says and United Airlines took 11 of the type.

Also in December, Boeing delivered 15 widebody jets, including 10 787s, two 767-300 Freighters and three 777Fs.

United was the largest contributor to Boeing’s Commercial aircraft business in December, handing the US airframer fresh orders for 90 737 Max and 90 787s.  When disclosing those orders in December, United said it would take 100 of each type; but Boeing now says the total included orders for 10 of each aircraft it had not disclosed the identity of the customer.

Boeing’s other 737 Max deals in December included orders for 40 aircraft from BOC Aviation, five from Pembroke Capital, five from Avolon Aerospace Leasing and nine to undisclosed customers.

Its other 787 orders in December included two from Avolon, one from El Al Israel Airlines, two from Hawaiian Airlines and six where the customer was not  revealed.  Boeing has reported 774 commercial orders last year after cancellations and conversions.

Source: Boeing, Picture United Airlines     

                      

ON THE AIRBUS FRONT

                             Airbus Falls Short of 2022 Delivery Target, Blames Supply Chain

Airbus fell short of meeting 2022 delivery target by 39 airplanes, thanks to a supply chain environment company CEO Guillaume Faury said remains at a  “very low point” during a media call on January 10.  The delivery tally of 661 airplanes represented just 8 percent over the company’s total in 2021, when the company largely overcame Covid-Related market complexities to exceed its delivery target of 600 aircraft by 11 units.

Notwithstanding the supply chain challenges, Airbus COO Christian Scherer portrayed the market environment last year as robust, as the company collected gross orders for 1,078 airplanes and registered a net order of 820.  He also characterized cancellations as “in line with previous years”.

The Airframer handed 98 aircraft in December.  Airbus recorded 10 A350s, but a net deficit of 65 A330s.  Its single-aisle range however, was 875 net orders including 105 A220s.

Airbus long-haul activity picked up slightly in the closing weeks of last year, with the airframer recording an order for four A350 freighters from undisclosed customer.

It also booked 10 A330neos from lessor Avolon and a pair of A350-900s from a client identified simply a ‘financial institution’ during December.  Airbus unusually did not record any single-aisle orders for the month; however, it removed 21 A220s from the backlog.   All 20 were previously assigned to Lease Corporation International, plus one for Macquarie Air Finance.

Source: Airbus, Picture Airbus                 

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

                                                  ATR Delivers First ATR 72-600 to Maldivian

ATR and Maldives’ national airline Maldivian announced on January 3rd, the delivery of the carrier’s first ATR 72-600, as part of a firm deal for two ATR 72-600 and one ATR 42-600.  The latest generation turboprops will replace the airline aging models, contributing to offer best-in class fuel consumption, CO 2 emissions, operating costs, and passenger comfort.

Equipped with brand new PW127XT engine, soon to be 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel compatible, the brand new aircraft will contribute to offer local communities and tourists with further affordable and sustainable connectivity.  The PW127XT offers 20% lower maintenance costs and 3% reduction in fuel consumption compared to ATR’s previous generation engine.

Having a mixed fleet of ATR 72 and 42 aircraft will also provide Maldivian with maximum flexibility and the capacity to constantly adjust to passenger demand.

Source: ATR, Picture ATR

                                           Textron Marks Delivery of 3,000th Caravan

Textron Aviation has delivered the 3,000th Cessna Caravan, the company announced on January 13.  The milestone aircraft, a Grand CaravanEX, was purchased by Azula Conecta, a subsidiary of Brazilian airline Azul, and will be based at Jundai Airport in Sao Paulo.

Employees and representatives from Azul Conecta attended the ceremony at Textron Aviation’s plant in Independence, Kansas, to mark the delivery.   “The Cessna Caravan’s versatility and reliability have made it the most popular aircraft in the utility turboprop category,” said Lannie O’Bannon, senior v-p of sales and flight operations at Textron Aviation.

Introduced by Cessna in 1985, the airplane offers low operating costs, with a short-takeoff capability in mountainous terrain and is designed for rugged utility use in remote areas.  Sales of the Caravan were also propelled by TedEx, whose initial order for 30 of the airplanes later swelled to 300.

“ The Grand Caravan EX will proudly fly the Brazilian skies and connect our 158 destinations, many of which are made possible by the aircraft’s utility & flexibility,” said Flavio Costa, chief technical officer of Azul & president of Azul Conecta.

Source: Textron Aviation, Picture Textron Aviation                                                                 

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

L3Harris SRVIR25 Receives Supplemental Type Certification For Installation and Economical Recorder Replacements On Boeing 737NG Aircraft

Operators of Boeing 737NGs can now take advantage of the latest generation flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders approval for retrofit.  In addition, the validation will allow carriers using Canadian-registered 737s to meet a safety mandate that comes into force this year.

• L3Harris Technologies has received supplemental type certification from The FAA And Transport Canada for installation of its SRVIVR25 A757 recorder on the Boeing narrowbody.  The same system is already standard equipment on the latest Airbus single-aisle aircraft.

Highlights of the SRVIVR25 A757:

. Provides technology upgrades and capabilities which extends the product lifecycle.

. Reduces maintenance costs and provides in-service recorder updates and fleet commonality.

. Exceeds current and future voice and light data recorder global mandates and recommendations

Source: L3Harris, Picture L3Harris

                            TUI Looks To Transition to Boeing 737 Max and 787 Fleets

TUI continues to plan for a full roll-over of its widebody fleet to Boeing 787s and its narrowbody fleet to Boeing 737 Max jetliners.  Unfortunately the progress of the Germany-based tourism group’s fleet renewal has slowed due to Max grounding, Covid-19 and Boeing’s struggle to deliver a steady stream of new aircraft.

“For us, right now, it is important that the MAX 10 gets certified and enters into service,” Marco Ciomperlik, chief airline officer of TUI Group, told AIN.  “But our main focus is of course to make further progress on the Max 8 deliveries.”

The Max8 and Max10 will constitute the group’s narrowbody fleet across its five subsidiaries, consisting of TUI Airways in the UK; TUI fly Belgium, TUI fly Netherlands, TUI fly Germany, and Sweden-based TUI fly Nordic.  The carriers operate from around 30 bases in Europe and fly customers to the group’s more than 400 hotels and 16 cruise ships in all major holiday destinations around the globe.

The TUI Group served 16.7 million customers in the financial year ending September 30, 2022, up 212 percent year-on year, of which most flew on TUI Airline’s own airplanes.  Load factor averaged well above 90 percent.

The TUI Group has acquired 72 Max jetliners and in 2018 converted 18 of the orders for the 737-8s to the Max 10s, becoming the first European operator to select the largest Max variant, which can seat up to 230 passengers in a single-class layout.

TUI Group has taken delivery of 37 Max 8s to replace its less fuel-efficient Next-Generation 737s.  TUI does not intend to change its strategy to source all its aircraft from Boeing, despite the several problems that have beset the U.S. airframer over recent years.  ”I think that for an airline our size, a single provider and one-type provider narrowbody fleet has its advantages, in terms of licensing, spare parts, commonality, pricing, and so on,” said Ciomperlik.

“ We know they have issues, but we have a long-standing relationship with them, of more than 50 years.We have been global or regional launch customers of every aircraft type since the 757.”

On the wide body side, the TUI Group plans for a uniform 787 fleet.  “ We have already phased out all out 757s and the four last 767-300ERs are slated to leave the fleet in the next two years,” noted Ciomperlik.   The company ordered 19 GEnx-1B powered Dreamliners, a mix of -8s and the larger-9s with 300 and 345 seats, respectively and has taken delivery of all of them.

Source: TUI Group,Picture TUI,AIN

                                            Australian LCC Startup Bonza Awarded AOC

Australian low-cost operator Bonza has been awarded its air operator’s certificate, paving the way for an imminent launch after lengthy delays.  In a Linkedin post on January 12, Bonza, Australian slang for excellent or first-rate, says it is working to launch ticket sales from its Sunshine Coast Hub.

It adds: “With the approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2023 is set to be even bigger year for domestic tourism.  We can’t wait to connect communities and in turn, stimulate new markets for Australia’s domestic tourism industry.”

Bonza, Australia’s first independent low-cost carrier in nearly a decade, is backed by Miami private equity firm 777 Partners, which also owns Canadian low-cost operator Flair Airlines.  The airline in August 2022 took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8, which came from 777 Partners’ order book.  It has three MAX 8s in its fleet.

Bonza touts a different operating model from other low-cost operators: point -to- point services from secondary cities in Australia, eschewing operations within the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Source: Bonza, Picture Bonza       

LATEST NEWS

• Uzbekistan Airways ordered 12 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft as part of a fleet modernization.

• Croatia Airlines is to take six new Airbus A220s from US lessor Air Lease, including a pair of A220-100s.

• Hawaiian Airlines has ordered two additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, bringing the airline’s firm order of the type to 12.

• air Baltic the Latvian national airline welcomed its 39th Airbus A220-300 jet to its fleet.

• Alaska Airlines operated its last revenue-generating A320 services on January 9th, with the final flight-operating to Victorville – taking place on the 10th.  The A320 joined Alaska’s fleet in 2018 following the tie-up with Virgin America.

• Skymark Airlines has confirmed an order for up to six Boeing Max aircraft to support its post-pandemic growth plans.  The carrier’s board approved the order during a January 18th meeting.

• Delta Air Lines has firmed up an order for a dozen more Airbus A220-300 aircraft, bringing the airline’s total firm order to 119 aircraft.

• Israeli Firm Elbit Systems is to supply the large main-deck door for the Boeing 777-8 freighter, under an aerostructures agreement with Boeing.

Sources: Air Lease, Hawaiian Airlines, Delta Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Alaska Airlines, FlightGlobal, Elbit Systems

AIR CARGO

                                         MSC Mediterranean Lauches Air Cargo Operations

MSC Mediterranean Shipping stepped into the air cargo industry on November 28, 2022, as its operating partner Atlas Air took delivery of a Boeing 777-200LRF Freighter, which Atlas Air will operate on behalf of MSC.

“We are delighted to see the first of our MSC-branded aircraft take to the skies and we are looking forward to start serving the market with our new air cargo solution,” Jannie Davel, vice-president of air cargo at MSC, said.

“We believe that MSC Air Cargo is developing from a solid foundation thanks to reliable on going support of our operating partner Atlas.”

The aircraft was delivered apart of a long-term aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance agreement between the Purchase, New York-based Atlas and MSC, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is the first of four new 777-200LRFs that Atlas will operate for MSC, which is eying an expansion into booming post-pandemic air cargo market, driven largely by high ocean shipping rates and the broad shift to online shopping.

“We are looking forward to this partnership with MSC, the world’s largest shipping company as they enter into air cargo,” says John Dietrich, Atlas’ Chief Executive.  “We are pleased that all four of our newly acquired 777-200LRFs are placed on a long-term basis with MSC, providing them with dedicated capacity to support their growth and expansion.”

The longest-range twin-engine freighter in the world, the 777-200LRF is capable of flights as far as 4,880nm (9038km).  Atlas expects the other three 777-200LRFs will be delivered throughout 2023.

Source: Atlas Air, MSC Mediterranean, Picture MSC Mediterranean

                        

Researched and Compiled by :

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor 

Contact – ekaplanian@yahoo.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian