VP-CSK B.737-8GG(BBJ2)(WL) Sky Prime Aviation Services Cn.34620 (ex.N852AK, N1786B)
P4-HSJ A 320-232(WL)(ACJ Prestige) Global Jet Aruba cn.5255 (ex.A7-HSJ, F-WWDO)
Paul Bannwarth
quarta-feira, 20 de novembro de 2024
AIRPORT - EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg,
VP-CSK B.737-8GG(BBJ2)(WL) Sky Prime Aviation Services Cn.34620 (ex.N852AK, N1786B)
P4-HSJ A 320-232(WL)(ACJ Prestige) Global Jet Aruba cn.5255 (ex.A7-HSJ, F-WWDO)
Etihad Airways to retrofit B777s, B787s amid delivery delays
Aircraft manufacturer delivery delays will result in Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) spending up to USD1 billion on cabin retrofits on around 50 aircraft, CEO Antonoaldo Neves has told Bloomberg.
The B787 and B777 fleets will get the cabin upgrades first, he said. According to ch-aviation fleets data, Etihad operates ten B787-10s, thirty-three B787-9s, and nine B777-300ERs. After that, the carrier will look at retrofitting the remainder of its widebodies except for its A380-800s. Currently, its only other widebody types are A350-1000s, of which it has five with a further 15 on order.
Etihad hopes to grow its fleet from its current 102 aircraft to around 150 within five years. Its orderbook includes one A320-200N, twenty A321-200NX(LR)s, fifteen A350-1000s, seven A350Fs, eight B777-8s, seventeen B777-9s, twenty B787-10s, and eight B787-9s. Recently, ch-aviation reported that Etihad was in "exploratory talks" with both Airbus and Boeing about a new large widebody order.
"We’re going to retrofit even the planes that don’t need a retrofit, but we believe it’s important for the airline to have consistency across the fleet," Neves said. The refurbs are part of the carrier's five-year USD7 billion investment plan that includes new aircraft, network changes, and new routes.
The retrofit programme will start towards the end of 2025, a delay Neves attributes to supply chain issues, particularly procuring business class seats and toilets. However, the entire aircraft cabin will be overhauled and include high-speed internet and a new inflight entertainment system.
The announcement about the retrofits came in the same week that Etihad confirmed after-tax earnings of AED1.4 billion dirhams (USD380 million) for the nine months to September 30, 2024, a 66% increase on the comparable 2023 period. “It underscores the effectiveness of our strategy and the strength of our growth trajectory,” said Neves.
CH Aviation
Photo: Ton Jochems - AMS
Southwest Airlines reduces expected MAX deliveries in 2025
“It’s too early to tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if our deliveries from Boeing in ‘25 are lower than we originally thought,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg, noting that Southwest’s current estimates are even more conservative than Boeing’s delivery forecasts.
Jordan expects Boeing will require up to two months to return to standard production rates following a seven-week machinist strike. To manage overstaffing in some areas, Southwest recently offered voluntary redundancies to ground staff and reduced hiring as the airline faces lower capacity due to the delayed aircraft deliveries.
According to Southwest’s third-quarter financial results, the company expects to receive seventy-three B737 MAX aircraft in 2025, including forty-four B737-7s, twenty-one B737-8s, and eight more planes of either type. However, the -7 variant has yet to receive the required certifications from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This revised delivery forecast reflects a decrease from the original 86 aircraft Southwest had anticipated for 2025 based on prior estimates from 2023. “The company will continue to closely monitor the ongoing aircraft delivery delays with Boeing and adjust expectations as needed,” a Southwest statement read.
In 2024, Southwest had 85 contractual deliveries, but it received 20 (all B737-8s) between January and October.
CH Aviation
Photo: Duncan Stewart
ROUTES - Air New Zealand mulls London return, gets Gatwick slots
"It’s not uncommon for airlines to apply for slots in new airports as part of this network review process," a spokesperson told ch-aviation. "London is one of those destinations New Zealand has a very special connection to and we continue to explore options.”
ACL data shows Air New Zealand had unsuccessfully applied for 420 slots at London Heathrow over the next northern summer season. It was not alone. The slot coordinator received requests for 28,909 slots and granted just 0.6% (181) of those. However, Air New Zealand was awarded 236 slots at Gatwick over the 2025 summer.
After quitting Heathrow in early 2020, Air New Zealand sold its daily slot pair to United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) in mid-2020. The service had operated from Auckland via Los Angeles International. While profitable, the route became less so after Air New Zealand swapped out its B747 product for its B777, which was less popular with passengers. Stiff competition on the Los Angeles-Heathrow leg also influenced the decision to drop the London flights.
Meanwhile, as reported in the NZ Herald, four of Air New Zealand's fourteen B787-9s are AOG, necessitating another round of schedule changes over the southern 2024/25 summer season. The airline attributed the unscheduled grounding of the fourth aircraft to "continued engine challenges." The carrier's B787s use Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. Air New Zealand has spread its latest schedule changes across its international network to minimise the impact on any one route.
Air New Zealand has just commenced a refurbishment of its B787-9 fleet and is planning a soft refurbishment of its B777-300ER fleet later this decade. The updated B787-9 aircraft will commence revenue flights in the first half of 2025. ch-aviation fleets data shows ZK-NZH (msn 37964) has ferried to Singapore Changi to undergo the first cabin refurbishment, ZK-NZG (msn 37963) and ZK-NZR (msn 65088) are both parked at Auckland, and ZK-NZK (msn 43217) is stored at Alice Springs.
The B787-9s and B777-300ERs comprise Air New Zealand's long-range fleet. However, neither type can fly from Auckland to London nonstop. Any restart, if it happens, will necessitate a refuelling stop somewhere. The airline's current network extends to New York JFK in the east and Singapore in the west.
CH Aviation
Photo: Duncan Stewart - LAX
domingo, 17 de novembro de 2024
sexta-feira, 15 de novembro de 2024
SPECIAL SCHEME - Vueling presents new Airbus A320 with Barça feminine livery
The new livery is featured on Vueling's Airbus A320, registration EC-LZN. Its creative design features Barcelona's colors and the slogan “Dream, Play, Fly,” reflecting the spirit of hard work that has taken the team to greater heights.
Photo: Vueling
It also features images of Aitana Bonmatí, the current female Ballon d'Or holder, as well as Alexia Putellas, Caroline Graham-Hansen, Salma Paralluelo, Maria León, and Patri Guijarro, all representin
the team. Many soccer teams have been featured on airline liveries, but the practice is more prevalent with the male squads.
NEW AIRLINE - Levu Air Cargo begins operations with A321F in Latin America
The new Brazilian airline leased 1 A321F from SmartLynx Airlines to operate in Brazil on behalf of DHL Express.
Levu Air Cargo is headquartered in Campinas, one of the main air hubs in Brazil. It also has bases in Recife, Belém and Manaus.
quinta-feira, 14 de novembro de 2024
Delivery delays to shrink Singapore Airlines Group fleet
Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) says it plans to have 204 aircraft in service across its two carriers, Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) and Scoot, by March 31, 2025 - a net loss of one aircraft compared to September 30, 2024. This is also five aircraft fewer than the group's May 2024 guidance, and it has blamed delivery delays for the shortfall.
In notes accompanying the release of its half-yearly results last week, Singapore Airlines expects to take delivery of one A350-900 by the end of March and will remove two B737-800s from the fleet in preparation for lease returns. Scoot has recently taken delivery of an E190-E2 and expects another two by the end of this financial year (March 31, 2025). However, the low-cost carrier will also remove three A320-200s from service by March in preparation for lease returns.
Speaking at a half-yearly briefing, Balagopal Kunduvara, vice president for financial services at the group, said the difference between actual deliveries and the May guidance was because of five aircraft due for delivery this financial year being reshuffled to deliver in 2025 or 2026.
The ch-aviation fleets module reveals that Singapore Airlines has outstanding orders for one A350-900, seven A350Fs, thirteen B737-8s, thirty-one B777-9s, and five B787-10s. Scoot has twelve A320-200Ns, six A321-200NX, two B787-8s, one B787-9, and five E190-E2s due. All up, SIA is expecting 83 aircraft and has a projected fleet capital expenditure of SGD2.3 billion Singapore dollars (USD1.72 billion) this financial year, rising to SGD4 billion (USD2.99 billion) over the next two financial years. Kunduvara said these figures are based on contracted positions with the manufacturers.
"We've seen Boeing talking in October about delivery of the B777X happening only in 2026," he said. "We can only determine the exact impact on our projections once we have certainty on the delivery positions."
CEO Goh Choon Phong said the B777X delivery delays were a factor in the recent decision to spend SGD1.1 billion (USD822 million) on cabin upgrades across forty-three A350-900s.
"We usually will have some messages from Boeing on their expectations," he said on the B777X delays. "The way we have been planning has always been to look at what Boeing tells us. We will plan for something that could potentially be worse than that and we will see what are the levers we could pull in order to make up for any capacity shortfall. We will continue to do that."
Separately, Scoot says its will start flights to three new destinations, including E2 flights to Phu Quoc from December 20, 2024, and Padang from January 6, 2025. A320-200 services to Shantou will begin on January 16. However, flights to Nanchang International will cease on February 14, 2025.
Ch Aviation
Air India Express fleet to grow despite Boeing delays
"As part of our fleet expansion, we will receive planes from Air India as there has been a slowdown in the deliveries of our Boeing aircraft," he said.
Air India has already handed over the first two A320s to its sister operator. Air India Express presently has 91 aircraft in its fleet, including twenty-five A320-200s, five A320-200Ns, thirty-five B737-8s, and twenty-six B737-800s. It also has 105 B737-8s and fifty B737-10s on order.
Recent industrial action at the aircraft manufacturer has further delayed the already-slowed B737 MAX deliveries to customers. While Singh did not say when the deliveries from Boeing will restart, he did say the Air India-supplied aircraft meant its fleet and network expansion plans would not be impacted.
Air India Express wants to grow its passenger traffic by over 50% within the next couple of years, relying on new routes, new destinations, and a bigger fleet to do so. The airline intends to fly to a total of 55 destinations by the end of March 2025, from 48 now. Apart from adding domestic routes, it will start flights to additional international airports.
Ch Aviation
Photo: Air India Express
ORDER - Lufthansa Group sells, leases back nine Eurowings A320/1neo
Global law firm Freshfields, which advised the German holding on the transaction, said the move had generated proceeds of over USD400 million for the group. Deals were closed between July and November 2024, and the proceeds will be used to finance Lufthansa Group's ongoing fleet renewal programme.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Eurowings operates seven A320-200Ns and five A321-200NX. The carrier's fleet also includes twenty-eight A319-100s, thirty-one A320-200s, and six A321-200s. Eurowings Europe (Malta) operates a further four A319s, nineteen A320-200s, and one A320-200N.
Ch Aviation
AIRCRAFT - COMAC scores orders for C909
During the first day of the Zhuhai Air Show, COMAC has announced orders from two airlines for the C909.
The HNA Group has ordered 40 C909s (formerly known as the ARJ21), which it will allocate to its Urumqi Air-subsidiary. Deliveries of the aircraft is expected to take place between 2025 and 2032. Today, Urumqi Air is operating a fleet of seven Boeing B737-800s. It also expects to take delivery of up to 60 C919s, an order the HNA Group agreed to with COMAC in 2023.
Colorful Guizhou Airlines also announced an order for the C909. In total, the airline has placed a firm order for 20 aircraft, with options on another ten. No delivery timeline has been communicated by either COMAC or Colorful Guizhou Airlines. Currently, the airline is flying with ten Airbus A320neos and nine Embraer ERJ190s.
Photo by HNA Group.
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