Category: Top Stories

Boeing and Emirates have finalized a purchase agreement for 30 787-9 Dreamliner airplanes. The agreement, signed at the Dubai Airshow, culminates discussions between the two companies on the best 787 Dreamliner model to meet the requirements of one of the world’s leading airlines. Emirates had previously signed an initial agreement for the larger 787-10 variant. In officially selecting the 787-9 today, Emirates adds a medium-sized widebody airplane to complement the airline’s larger 777 aircraft. Both airplane families lead their respective category for superior range and fuel efficiency. As part of the agreement, Emirates will update a portion of its large Read more

After two relatively quiet days for Boeing at the Dubai Airshow, the U.S. planemaker has announced that Kazakhstan flag-carrying airline Air Astana has signed a letter of intent for an order of 30 737 MAX8 jets for its low-cost subsidiary FlyAristan, while a further undisclosed carrier has signed a firm order for ten 737 MAX7s and ten 737 MAX10 jets. No indication has been given as to what discounts were obtained, though at book price the deals are worth approximately US$6 billion. This is good news for Boeing considering the 737 MAX has been grounded since March and is unlikely Read more

After a quiet first day for aircraft orders, the second day of the Dubai Airshow saw Airbus triumph over long-time rival planemaker Boeing with two megadeals worth a total US$30 billion. However, Boeing received a “vote of support” for its beleaguered 737 MAX with an order for ten more of the aircraft from Turkish carrier SunExpress, the scheduled and chartered passenger 50:50 joint venture airline between Lufthansa Group and Turkish Airlines. The first of the two massive Airbus deals was with Emirates Airline (Emirates) for 50 350-900 wide-body aircraft valued at US$16 billion at list price. Emirates is looking to Read more

Virgin Galactic unveiled its Future Astronaut Readiness Program at the global headquarters of Under Armour, who are providing the spacesuits for all Virgin Galactic’s customers. A number of Future astronauts, who will be among the first to participate in space flight with Virgin Galactic, were in attendance and underwent guidance and instruction from a number of key team members, as well as carrying out certain flight preparation activities. For those in attendance, the most exciting part of the experience was being fitted for their personal space suits, which will then be ready for them when they venture into space. All Read more

Embraer and KLM Cityhopper have signed a firm order for 21 E195-E2 aircraft, plus 14 purchase rights. The 21 firm positions will be acquired via operating leases from Embraer lessor partners Aircastle and ICBC Aviation Leasing. The order was previously announced as a Letter of Intent for 15 firm orders with 20 purchase rights at the Paris Air Show earlier this year. With all purchase rights exercised, the deal would have a value of US$2.48 billion. The aircraft for this order will come from the existing backlogs of lessors Aircastle and ICBC Aviation Leasing; each providing KLM with 11 and Read more

Colorful Guizhou Airlines has finalized a 12-year Rate-Per-Flight-Hour (RPFH) agreement for LEAP-1A engines that will power the airline’s future fleet of up to 35 Airbus A320neo aircraft, along with five spare engines. The agreement is valued at approximately US$1.0 billion at list price. The contract was signed in conjunction with French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to China. RPFH agreements are part of CFM’s portfolio of flexible aftermarket support offerings. Under the terms of the agreement, CFM Services guarantees maintenance costs for the airlines LEAP-1A engines on a dollar-per-engine flight-hour basis. Established in June 2015, Colorful Guizhou Airlines is one Read more