ALL THINGS BOEING

                   Boeing, USAF Formalizes E-7A Contract With Boeing

The US Air Force has formalized $2.6 billion contract with Boeing for a pair of E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) prototypes.  The contract, awarded under a “rapid prototype program,” will see two operationally representative assets delivered in the government’s 2028 financial year.

“This agreement is a significant win for our warfighters, paving the way for ensuring the air force’s ability to prove advanced airborne moving target indication in the coming years,” says Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

The rapid prototyping effort will see specific USA mission systems integrated into the aircraft, which is based on the 737-700 airliner.  The systems will meet USAF requirements and ensure interoperability with allies that already field the type.  Existing operators of the E-7 are Australia, Turkey, and South Korea, while the UK is also acquiring the AEW&C platform.  The USAF plans to obtain 26 examples of the types, which will replace the obsolescent E-3A.

“Global operators are proving that the E-7 AEW&C is a critical node for air superiority in the modern battlespace,” says Boeing’s E-7 program manager Stu Voboril.  As part of efforts to prepare for the arrival of the new jets, USAF personnel have been embedded with Royal Australian Air Force E-7A crews.

Source: Boeing, Picture Boeing

             Boeing Returns to Lead Top 100 Aerospace Companies

The upper end of the latest Top 100 ranking of aerospace businesses by revenue has an old familiar feel. Boeing and Airbus head the table with RTX and Lockheed Martin in their wakes.  The big two airframers fought it out for prime spot for most of the previous decade, but the collapse in the airline market during the pandemic saw Lockheed and post-merger RTX each emerge as aeropause’s largest player in subsequent surveys.

The US airframer’s return to peak position might seem surprising given depth of its financial, industrial, reputational woes. However, its sales success only tells part of the story.  Boeing’s revenues rose by about a sixth in 2023, but it remained in operational loss—albeit much less than its $3.5 billion deficit in 2022.

Source: FlightGlobal,FlightGlobal                   

ALL THINGS AIRBUS

             KLM Takes Delivery of its First Airbus A321neo Aircraft

On August 27, 2024 Dutch national carrier KLM, member of the Air France-KLM Group, has taken delivery of its first A321neo as part of their fleet modernization with the latest generation aircraft.  The newly delivered A321neo for KLM seats 227 passengers in two-class layout.

The cabin features Airbus’ Airspace cabin with XL bins.  The larger bins provide 60% more luggage capacity for more relaxed boarding experience for passengers and cabin crew.  In addition, USB-C ports are available for passengers at every seat, and the latest lighting system enhances the overall passenger experience.

The A321neo is the largest member of of Airbus’ best selling A320neo Family, offering range and performance.  Equipped with shark lets and powered by new generation CFM International LEAP-1A engines, the A321neo brings a 505 noise footprint reduction and at least 20% fuel savings and CO2 reduction compared to previous generation single-aisle aircraft, while maximizing passenger comfort in the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky. Today, more than 6,400 A321neo aircraft have been ordered by more than 90 customers across the globe.

Source: Airbus, picture Airbus    

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

                            Global 7500 Amassing Speed Records

Bombardier’s Global 7500 has been rapidly racking up speed records, topping 50 of them in less than 50 weeks.  The ultra-long-range aircraft has established records from Miami to Sao Paulo, Tokyo to Las Angeles, Jeddah to London Bahrain.

The 10 fastest new records averaged a speed of more than 1,000 km/h Bombardier reported.  Top speed of the Global 7500 is Mach 0.925, and the aircraft has a baseline range of 7,700 nm.  As speed records have accrued, the in-service fleet continues to expand with now close to 200 delivered. Collectively, the fleet has logged more than 180,000 flying hours.

Meanwhile,Bombardier continues to progress on its even speedier Global 8000 successor that can fly at Mach 0.94.  Announced in 2022, the Global 8000 will have an 8,000-nm range and cabin altitude of less than 2,900 feet while flying at FL410.  The Montreal-based airframer is planning service entry in 2025.

Source: Bombardier, Picture Bombardier

            Gulfstream Achieves First Flight of G400 Business Jet

Gulfstream successfully completed first flight of its new G400 business jet with a nearly 3 hour sortie starting  and ending at Savannah Hilton Head International airport in Georgia.  During the first flight, the G400 reached a speed of Mach 0.85 and an altitude of 41,000ft burning a blend of sustainable aviation fuel and conventional jet fuel.  “The completion of the first flight marks a significant milestone for the G400,” says Mark Burns, Gulfstream’s president.

“It demonstrates, yet again, the maturity of Gulfstream’s new aircraft programs and the advantages created by the intentionally designed commonalities shared across our next-generation fleet.”  The type will be available in 11 or 12 passenger cabin configurations.  Gulfstream’s family of next-generation business jets also includes, the G500, G600, the flagship G700 and ultra-long-range G800.

Source: Glfstream, Picture Gulfstream

                                                                       

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

                  Red Sea Airlines Marks its Second Anniversary

Red Sea Airlines marked the second anniversary of starting operations on September 2nd, with plans to expand its current fleet of three Boeing 737-800s to five early next year.  The airline is primarily a leisure carrier and has tapped into the rapidly growing market in Central Asia, the airline’s director of ground operations, Ahmed Mohamed El-Gendy said.

“Demand there is so high.  Whenever I open a flight, tour operators from there book all the seats.  Because we are a low-cost carrier, we can give them a competitive price.” The airline is operating from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan & Tajikistan, as well as from the Caucasus—Armenia—and Eastern Europe,Romania and Moldova.

At present, western European destinations are largely in Germany and Italy, but the company plans to expand its route map in that region when its new aircraft arrive.  The company’s primary destinations for inbound tourists are Harghada and Sharm El Sheikh, on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.

“We are fully loaded to the east and want to go more to the west and middle East,” said El-Gendy.  The company will be able to handle the extra demand when the two new 737-800s, being acquired on lease purchase, arrive in the first quarter of 2025.

Source: Red Sea Airlines.     

Emirates Purchase Five A380s From Channel Island Leasing Firm

Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is to purchase five more Airbus A380s from an investment company once their lease period expires later this year.  Emirates is to pay $40 million for each aircraft, according to the Channel Islands-based investment company Doric Nimrod Air Two.  The leases are set to expire over the course of October 1 to November 3.

Doric Nimrod Air Two, which is located in Guernsey, purchased seven A380s in 2011, all fitted with Engine Alliance GP200 powerplants and leased to Emirates for 12 years.

Two of these have already been sold to Emirates in a transaction carried out last year.  The five remaining aircraft  carry MSNs 105, 106, 107, 109 and 110.  With its purpose complete, Doric Nimrod Air Two will be liquidated it says, once payment to shareholders is completed around early 2025.

Source: FlightGlobal

                       ANA’s Emissions-Reducing Aeroshark Film

All Nippon Airways has applied the low-drag AeroShark surface film on a single Boeing 777 freighter, becoming the second Asian operator to use the oil on its aircraft.  EVA Air  is the first Asian carrier to apply the low-drag AeroShark surface film on its fleet of Boeing 777 freighters.  The first 777F with AeroShark film( JA771F) entered service on the third of September, operating a flight from Tokyo Narita to Chicago.

ANA adds that it intends to apply the film on a passenger 777-300ER(JA796A), which will enter service early next year.  ANA worked with AeroShark developer Lufthansa Technik for the application of the film on its 777F.

ANA is the second Asian carrier with the AeroShark film on its 777s.  Fellow Star Alliance member EVA Air announced in late August it would be coating its 777Fs with the film, with the first example to enter service in September.  So far, the film has been installed on aircraft operating in the Lufthansa Group: a sole 747-400, all 12 777-300ERs operated by Swiss International Air Lines, and four 777Fs that fly for Lufthansa Cargo.  Work has also begun on applying the film to four Austrian Airlines 777-200ERs.

Source: Lufthansa Technik          

LATEST NEWS

• Boeing in August delivered its highest monthly total of 737 Max jets to China since the Covid-19 pandemic overturned the airline industry.

• August deliveries included 32 737 Max jets, with Ryanair leading the way with six aircraft, followed by India with four, and three each to Southwest Airlines,United Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines.Other Chinese Customers to take aircraft in eluded Shandong Airlines,China Southern Airlines, and Shenzhen Airlines.  During the eight months ended on August 31st, Boeing handed over to customers 258 aircraft— 201 737s, 14 767s, 32 787s and 11 777s.

• Airbus in August delivered 47 aircraft, including 36 A320neo-family jets, five A350s, five A220s and a single A330. During the eight months ending August 31st delivered 447 aircraft.

• Oman Air has received the first of three Boeing 787-9 aircraft scheduled for this year. Part of an existing order, which includes eight more aircraft in 2027.

• WestJet Airlines plans to add three more leased Boeing Max 8s to its fleet, for a total of nine of the type added in the past six month.

• Airbus faces a tough task to hit delivery target amid lingering parts shortages, ongoing shortages of engines, cabin components and other parts have left Airbus challenged to hit its 2024 delivery goal, meaning the company need to quickly ramp output to hit the target.  That is according to Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury who, on September 10, said the manufacturer faces a big challenge for the last four months of the year.  Airbus in June had reset its 2024 delivery target to 770 aircraft-an average of 64 jets monthly- down from a previous goal of 800.

• Icelandair has shown off its first Airbus aircraft, an A321LR which has been painted in the carrier’s colors in Hamburg.

• KlasJet, a private and corporate jet charter company, will increase its capacity in the Middle East with the placement of an additional Boeing 737 in Saudi Arabia.  KlasJet currently operates six 737s for VIP charter services as well as seven next-generation aircraft.

Sources: Boeing, Airbus, FlightGlobal, Oman Air, WestJet, Icelandair

                                                             AIR CARGO    

         CMA CGM Air Cargo Launches Transpacific Route

CMA CGM Air Cargo has started a new transpacific route between Hong Kong International Airport(HKG) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) using its recently delivered third Boeing 777-200 freighter operated by Atlas Air.

The first commercial flight took place on August 25, connecting HKG to ORD with a technical stop at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport(ANC).  On the westbound leg, the aircraft operates from ORD to HKG via Inchon International Airport(ICN) in Seoul.  Two additional 777-200F are also due to be delivered to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)-based CMA CGM Air Cargo with next year.

A second 777-200F will be received in the fourth quarter of 2024 and will be deployed on a transpacific route, connecting mainland China to North America.  A third 777F will also be delivered in 2025 to give CMA CGM Air Cargo a total of five 777Fs.

Source: CMA CGM Air Cargo, picture CMA CGM Air

        Atlas Air to Add Three Boeing 747-8 Freighters To Fleet

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings,Inc announced on August 22 that it will be adding three Boeing 747-8 freighters to its fleet to meet the strong global demand for dedicated large widebody airfreight capacity, particularly for cross-border e-commerce shipping.  The three additional 747-8Fs, secured through long-term finance lease agreements with BOC Aviation, are expected to enter service late in the third quarter of 2024.

“Atlas is the world’s largest operator of Boeing 747 Freighters aircraft and we are thrilled to expand our widebody fleet with these three 747-8Fs, following the four 747-400Fs we acquired and placed with customers under long-term agreements earlier this year,” said Michael Steen, Atlas Air Worldwide Chief Executive Officer.

“Our growth in this aircraft type underscores Atlas’ commitment to the 747-freighter platform and the value it provides our customers, including significant payload capacity and unique nose-loading capability.”

Source : Atlas Air Worldwide

        Asiana Acquires Two ex-China Airlines 747 Freighters

China Airlines has sold two Boeing 747-400 freighters to South Korean operator Asiana Airlines.  The deal, brokered by Aviation Management Solutions, is valued at more than $51 million dollars according to stock exchange filings.  Asiana says it is purchasing the jets to replace its fleet of aging freighters to enhance punctuality.

The two aircraft bear the MSNS 30768 and 30765, according to Aviation Management Solutions. Cirium fleets data shows that MSN30768 has been registered N111VL and was formerly B-18711.  It was delivered to Taiwanese operator in 2002.

Meanwhile, MSN30765 was formerly B-18708, which has been re-registered as N132VL.  China Airlines operated the freighter between 2001 and 2024, according  to fleets data.  Both freighters are powered by GE aerospace CF6 engines and are currently in storage at Victorville in California.

The acquisition comes as Asiana prepares to divest its cargo business in the lead-up to its merger with compatriot Korean Air.  On August 7, Korean said it had signed a basic business sale agreement with Air Inchon for the acquisition of the cargo business.

Source: FlightGlobal, Cirium fleets data, picture China Airlines

                         

Researched and Compiled by :

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor 

Contact – ekaplanian@yahoo.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian