ALL THINGS BOEING

          Boeing to Set up 737-800 Freighter Conversion Line in Jordan

Boeing is to establish a new 737-800 freighter conversion line in the Middle East, in co-operation with the Jordanian-based maintenance firm Joramco.  Amman-based Joramco is a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates leasing firm Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.

“We continue to look for opportunities to bring freighter conversion capacity closer to our customers,” says Boeing commercial programs vice-president of converted freighters Mike Doellefeld.  He says the agreement with Joramco “reflects the potential of a growing region”.  Joramco’s location makes it suitable to deliver freighters to operators in Europe, Africa and the CIS as well as the Middle East.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise acquired Joramco in 2016 and says revenues at the company have since more than doubled.  It expects to have 22 maintenance lines by the end of next year.  “This latest agreement underpins our commitment, and we look forward to continuing to deepen our relationship with Boeing as well as developing new product offerings for Joramco’s global customer base,” says DAE chief Firoz Tarapore.

Source: Boeing, Picture Boeing

August Orders and Deliveries

Boeing took in 45 gross orders in August, with the month’s sales activity dominated by leasing companies, which accounted for 38 of the total.  The figure includes a 25-strong 737 Max 8 commitment from SMBC Aviation Capital, a deal for 13 of the type from Aviation Capital Group.SMBC’s order brings the company’s Max order to 81 aircraft.

Boeing also booked orders for seven Dreamliners from two unidentified customers, it disclosed on September 12th.  It had two order cancellations from unidentified customers, taking the net order figure for the month to 43.

Deliveries during August also slid once against 35 aircraft, down from 43 units handed over in July.  Shipments in August included 22 737 Max jets, one of which was a Boeing Business jet, an 11-unit decline on the previous month’s narrowbody total.

Southwest Airlines took the largest number of MAX jets during the month, adding seven aircraft to its fleet, followed by United airlines with five.   Aercap took three examples, American Airlines took two, and Gol, Alaska Airlines, Aviation Finance & Leasing and BOC Aviation took one each.

For the year so far, Boeing has delivered 271 737s against a full-year target of 400-450. A few production issue, disclosed last month, may change that number, however.  It would need to deliver 33 to 45 737s each month through end-2023 to hit its goal.

Boeing also shipped 13 widebodies last month: five 767s including three KC-46 military tankers, three 777Fs and five 787s.  The Dreamliner jets went to EVA Air, JAL’s low-cost subsidiary Zipair Tokyo, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways And Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Boeing closed August with 4,971 aircraft in its backlog, up from 4,928 aircraft in July.

Source: Boeing, Picture Boeing

                      

ALL THINGS AIRBUS

                    Airbus Opens Pulse Line in Hamburg for A321XLR

Airbus has formally opened a facility in Hamburg for equipping the aft fuselage sections for the new long-range A321XLR.  The sections will be fitted with various electrical and mechanical systems, floor panels, windows and other features.  Airbus says they will travel on an automated pulse line comprising eight sections in the new hanger facility, known as building H259, enabling up to eight fuselage sections to be fitted simultaneously.

The aft sections of the A321XLR have been designed to accommodate the large rear fuel tank and associated systems which give the twinjet its long-range capacity.

Once the fuselage sections have been completed and tested in the facility, they will be transferred to the Hamburg Finkenwerder final assembly line.

“The hanger with a full range of state-of-art technologies for operations and manufacturing, such as automated logistics, fully digital systems, and test stations that can output the status of each fuselage section—both in terms of logistics and resources—at any time,” says Airbus.

Airbus is intending to ramp-up production of A320neo-family aircraft to 75 per month in 2026, and has been modernizing and digitalizing its industrial systems to support this rate rise.  The new facility will be able to handle eight aft fuselages simultaneously.

Source: Airbus.

Airbus Orders & Deliveries in August

Airbus delivered 52 aircraft to 34 customers in August and received 117 new orders for the month amid a strengthening market for narrow and Wide-bodies.  In total, the deliveries today for the year stand at 433 for 77 different customers.

Turkish Airlines announced a new order for 10 additional A350-900 aircraft, taking its total for the type to 40 .  Wizz Air also signed a firm contact for additional 75 A321neo Family aircraft earlier in August.

Source: Airbus      

    

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

    Bombardier Reveals Cockpit Updates for Global Business Jets

Bombardier has rolled out program for in-service Global-series large-cabin business jets that includes equipping the jets with a “ combined vision system”.  The so-called “Advanced Avionics Upgrade” is now available as an aftermarket modification for in-service Globals that have Bombardier’s “Vision” flight deck, which is supplied by Collins Aerospace says Bombardier.

The Montreal company is offering the update for Global 5000s, 5500s, 6000s and 6500s.  It already offers the features in new-production 5500s and 6500s.  Bombardier is offering the updates to in-service types including its 5,900nm ( 10,927km)-range Global 5500.

The “new avionics software enhancement…boasts the latest technology to enhance situational awareness and offer advanced visualization features,” Bombardier says.  The company will perform the avionics modifications at its service center in Wichita.

The Updates also include improvements to the jet’s head-up displays, primary flight displays and synthetic vision systems and better messaging feature within the avionics’ engine indicating and crew alerting system”, Bombardier adds.

Source: Bombardier, picture Bombardier

              GulfStream Bumps G-700’s Range to Up to,7,700nm

Business jet maker Gulfstream has bumped up the advertised maximum speed and range of its in development large-cabin G700, a move coming as the company works to get the delayed jet across the certification goalpost.

On September 5, Gulfstream said it added 250nm(463km) to the G700’s maximum specified range when flying at Mach 0.85, bringing the figure from 7,500nm to 7,750nm.

Similarly, it now says the G700, when flying at Mach 0.90, can cover 6,650nm-also 250nm more than previously advertised.  The company adjusted the figures in response to the jet’s performance during the tape’s ongoing certification flight-test campaign.

The Rolls-Royce Pearl 700-powered G700’s new advertised maximum operating speed is M0.935, up from M0.925.  The aircraft’s certification program has already been delayed several times by Gulfstream. The company now aims to complete the process with the Federal Aviation Administration by year end.  Gulfstream executives have repeatedly said that the FAA’s strict requirements have made for a longer certification process.

Source: Gulfstream, Picture Gulfstream                                                                                                 

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

         ANA to Deploy High-Density 787-10s on Domestic Flights

For the first time All Nippon Airways will operate Boeing 787-10s on its domestic network, with the type progressively replacing 777s that will be phased out.  In a network update issued on August 22, the Star Alliance carrier says the -10s will first operate flights between Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Fukuoka, as well as Sapporo, from February 2024.

The 787-10s will be configured to seat 429 passengers in two cases: 28 in ‘ Premium’ class and 401 in economy class.  It is the second highest seat seat count in an ANA domestic jet, after the 777-300, which has 514 seats in two classes. ANA’s domestic 787-8s and -9s seat between 335 and 395 passengers.

ANA says it will take delivery of the remaining 11 aircraft likely to be domestic- configured examples by fiscal 2026, which starts on April 1, 2026.  By 2030, parent company ANA Holdings expects to have at least 100 787s by 2030 or 35% of the group’s total fleet.

Source: ANA, Picture ANA

              P&W Geared Turbofan Issue will Ground A320neos

Airlines will need to remove hundreds of Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan (GTF) engines from the wings of Airbus neo-family jets by the end of 2024 to inspect for defective high-pressure turbine and compressor discs.

P&W parent company RTX revealed the scope of the issue on September 11, which it says will cost it over $3 billion.  It centers on a previously disclosed defect involving a “rare condition in powdered metal used to manufacture certain engine parts”.  The issue is sure to further disrupt an airline industry already struggling with shortages of engines and maintenance capacity.

Raytheon Technologies Corp(RTX) says 600 -700 PW1100G engines must be removed from A320neos and inspected between now and 2026.  That figure is “beyond(P&W’s) shop visit forecast entering 2023”.  Of those inspections, the majority will be completed this year and early next.

RTX “expects a significant increase in aircraft-on-ground levels for GTF powered A320 new fleet throughout 2024-2026”, it adds.

MTU Aero Engines which owns 18% of the GTF program says the problem will result in “an average of 350 aircraft-on-ground in the period 2024 to 2026”.  RTX says it planned $3.5 billion third-quarter charge reflects P&W’s 51% ownership stake in the GTF program.  The US aerospace conglomerate expects the problem will erase $3-3.5 billion in profit over “several years”.

Sources: P&W, RTX, MTU Aero Engines

                                Saab Extends 787 Door Pact

Saab has extended its agreement with Boeing covering the manufacture of parts for the latter’s 787 program.  Originally signed in 2004, the contract sees the Swedish firm supply composite large cargo doors, bulk cargo doors and access doors to its US partner.  Since the program started,Saab has delivered more than 1,100 door chipsets for the Dreamliner.

“With this contract extension we continue to be a proud partner to Boeing on the successful 787 program, one of the world’s best-selling widebody aircraft,” says Lars Tossman, head of Saab’s aeronautics business unit.

Source: FlightGlobal, Picture American Airlines

          Hawaiian Launches Ticket Sales for Boeing 787 Flights

Hawaiian Airlines has begun selling tickets for flights on its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, set to be delivered to Honolulu-based carrier in January.  The airline said on September 6th that flights on the new type are scheduled to begin on April 15,2024 between San Francisco and Honolulu.  On May 14th, 2024, it will introduce the aircraft on select flights to Los Angeles, and between Los Angeles and Maui on May 15, 2024.

Hawaiian has ordered 12 examples of the 787-9 model with deliveries of those aircraft scheduled through 2027.

“We are eager to get out and it will be in service in early part of next year,” chief executive Peter Ingram told FlightGlobal in August.  ”We expect to have four by early part of 2025.”

The total order of 12 will be a combination of growth for our airline swell as starting replacement of the A330-200s, although we intend to operate them in parallel for a period of time,” he added.

Source: Hawaiian Airlines, FlightGlobal, Picture Hawaiian Airlines            

LATEST NEWS

• Thai Vietjet Vietnam low-cost carrier Vietjet Air has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with USA’s Carlyle Group for $550 million in funding for future 737 Max deliveries, with the first 12 examples going to Thai Vietjet in 2024.

• Air India Express the low-cost subsidiary of Air India has received its first Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The airline plans to take delivery of a total of 20 Max aircraft by the end of 2023.

• Vietnam Airlines announced on September 11th that the carrier has selected the 737 Max family to expand its single-aisle fleet, with a commitment to order 50 737 Max 8 airplanes.

• Avolon Irish-based lessor has firm order for 20 Airbus Airbus A330neos, and is converting 50 A320 neos in its backlog to the larger A321neo.

• Aviation Capital Group has ordered 13 more Boeing 737 Max in a deal that brings the aircraft lessor’s total outstanding 737 orders for 47.

• Airbus delivers its 50th A220 from its Mobile manufacturing facility the plane was delivered to Breeze Airways.

• Air Baltic the Latvian National airline took delivery of its 43rd Airbus A220-300 jet on September 2nd.

• Air NewZealand signs for two ATR 72-600s and took options for two more.

• Ryanair is expanding in Amman, Jordan, confirming the five year heavy maintenance agreement with Joramco.

Sources: Airbus, FlightGlobal, AirBaltic, Ryanair, Avolon, Vietnam Airlines

                                         AIR CARGO

  Mammoth Progresses with First 777-200LR Freighter Conversion

US modification specialist Mammoth Freighters is progressing with its prototype Boeing 777-200LR conversion for freight carrier Cargojet Airways.  The company has shown the aircraft undergoing mid-panel removal, in the left aft side where the main freight door will be installed.  This airframe(N105DN), powered by General Electric GE90 engines, was originally delivered to Delta Air Lines in 2009.

Mammoth unveiled its 777-200LR and-300ER conversion programs in 2021, and disclosed Cargojet as the launch customer for the -200LR modification in November the same year. The converted aircraft is designated the 777-200LRMF.

Cargojet placed an initial order for two aircraft with options for two more well as a pair of -300ERMFs.

Mammoth stated that N705DN-MSN29742-would be the conformity aircraft for certification and the first delivered to the carrier.  Cargojet disclosed in its half-year financial release, covering the six months to 30 June, that it had signed agreements for conversion of four 777-200s with the first delivery expected in the first quarter of 2024.

The remaining aircraft are scheduled to arrive in the second and third quarters of 2024, and first quarter of 2025.  Mammoth also has 777-200LRMF conversion agreements with DHL Express, while AviaAM Leasing signed as launch customer for the 777-3000ERMF.

Source: Mammoth Freighters, Picture Mammoth Freighters

      

                         

Researched and Compiled by :

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor 

Contact – ekaplanian@yahoo.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian