Civil Aviation News

Posts Tagged ‘Airbus’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Boeing scored its first orders at the Dubai Airshow on Tuesday with requests for 11 737-800 jetliners, while the United Arab Emirates military inked two defense deals with European manufacturers.

The UAE armed forces requests from Sweden’s Saab and Switzerland’s Pilatus covers aerial radar and training aircraft worth about $725 million.

Boeing had lagged on commercial orders behind European rival Airbus, which announced deals every day since the show began Sunday. Airbus picked up a handful of additional orders of its own Tuesday, including one for planes that will break occupancy records for packing well over 800 passengers in.

Marty Bentrott, Boeing senior vice president in charge of sales for the region, called Tuesday’s pair of deals “a great success,” but downplayed the timing of the announcement by reiterating Boeing’s position that it doesn’t save up orders to roll out at airshows.

“It just so happened that we had recent success with two customers,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “They were in a position that they were comfortable in announcing, so the timing was right.”

The orders added some competitive flair to a muted dealmaking climate at this year’s event.

Airbus’ first announcement of the show, the Middle East’s biggest, was little more than a formal signing ceremony for an order that effectively had been sealed months earlier. The company’s latest two orders were for just two planes each.

For both manufacturers, the Dubai event has lacked the blockbuster numbers of the last show two years ago — a reflection both of the slumping aviation market and the staggering backlog of existing plane orders from fast-growing carriers in the oil-rich Gulf region.

Organizers say the 2007 Dubai Airshow saw $155 billion worth of deals. Analysts expect manufacturers to score only a fraction of that amount this time around.

“We went into this show very open-minded that, given the current market environment, we were not going to see a lot of order activity. And we haven’t,” Bentrott said. “We just haven’t seen the numbers. And Airbus hasn’t seen the numbers either.”

Both of Chicago-based Boeing’s orders came from airlines backed by the Algerian government.

Seven of the planes will be used by the North African country’s national flag carrier Air Algerie, eventually bringing the airline’s 737 fleet to 22 planes.

Tassili Airlines ordered the other four 737s. That carrier is fully owned by Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach, which plans to use the planes to transport employees and cargo to work sites.

Boeing did not provide a value for the deal. The workhorse planes sell for between $72.5 million and $81 million at list prices, but buyers typically negotiate discounts, particularly in tough financial times.

Bentrott said he did not expect Boeing to announce additional “significant orders” between now and the end of the show.

Boeing’s main competitor Airbus also added to its order tally at the show with a pair of relatively small deals.

The Toulouse, France-based company said it got orders from Air Austral for two “high density” Airbus A380s that each will be packed by about 840 seats — easily the most passengers to fly in a single airplane. It valued each plane at $330 million to $335 million at list prices.

The airline, based on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, plans to offer only economy class on the planes for flights between the territory and Paris.

Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy stressed that such a full plane would not be unsafe or feel excessively cramped.

“The passenger on board this airplane will have a bigger, more comfortable seat than he will have on a smaller airplane flying the same route,” he said after signing the deal.

He acknowledged, however, that he has not flown long-haul on such a plane because Airbus has never flight-tested the 10-seat-abreast configuration.

Airbus also signed orders with Nepal Airlines for an A320 and an A330 plane. The airline said it has options for six additional aircraft.

The Nepal Airlines deal, valued at $250 million, is Airbus’ fourth order at the show.

Also Tuesday, Embraer said it sold five 175 regional jets to Oman Air in the Brazilian plane maker’s only deal of the show. Embraer valued the deal at $177.5 million.

The UAE defense deal with Saab calls for two of its model 340 “early warning” aircraft. The turboprop planes, which will be delivered in the second half of 2010 and early 2011, are designed to detect friendly and hostile aircraft over a wide area.

The Emirates also agreed to buy 25 PC-21 turboprop planes and other equipment from Swiss plane maker Pilatus Aircraft to train pilots in advanced aircraft systems.

In recent years, the Emirates has emerged as one of the world’s biggest buyers of arms. Defense spending could top $100 billion across the wider Middle East annually by 2014, according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan.

DUBAI - Another five-month delay in the the delivery of Airbus A380s is expected to hit growth at Emirates in 2010, the airline’s president Tim Clark said, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Wednesday.

“Some of our route expansion plans will be impacted due to a further delay in the delivery of A380s. We wanted to put them back on the New York route, but that will be delayed by at least six months,” he said at the World Travel Market expo, the newspaper reported.

He said Emirates, the Middle East’s largest carrier, will have 15 A380s by the end of 2010 instead of a planned 20.

“However, despite this, we are projected to take (delivery) of 22 aircraft worth $3 billion within this financial year.”

Emirates said in September it expects to redeploy the A380, the world’s biggest passenger aircraft, on its New York route in the first half of next year as travel demand picks up.

It had replaced the double-decker aircraft with a smaller Boeing plane in June, less than a year after launching its first A380 on the New York route, citing weak travel in the economic downturn.

Clark also told the World Travel Market the airline could beat full-year forecasts.

“When the crisis hit, we started taking stock of the situation. Although we maintain a lean operation, we discovered space where we could save costs,” he said.

“From our suppliers, we saved some 400 million dirhams and maximised efficiencies across the airline. In addition to these cost-cutting measures, we were greeted by a drastic fall in oil prices. However, for the full year we expect to beat forecasts and could make more than 20 percent growth in profits.”

Direct routings to reduce CO2 emissions, shorten flight times , and open new routes.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved all Airbus A330 models for ETOPS (Extended-Range Operations for two-engined aircraft) beyond 180 minutes.

“This award makes the A330 the first aircraft type to receive such approval, either from EASA or the FAA. The new capability will be available as a customer-selectable option which extends the diversion distance potentially up to 1,700 nm. This distance corresponds to a maximum ETOPS diversion time for the A330 of approximately 240 minutes (at one-engine-inoperative speed under standard conditions).

Operators with two-engined aircraft who choose this option will now be able to serve new routes which are presently not flown within the existing ETOPS rules (i.e. up to 180 minutes diversion time). For the A330, examples include new routes over South Atlantic Ocean, Mid- and South Pacific Ocean, and Mid-Indian Ocean. Operators flying on existing routes will benefit from the new regulation, since it will allow them to fly more directly and eco-efficiently. Some estimates show a fuel saving potential of up to 10 percent for some long range routes (with consequent reductions in CO2 emissions).

The granting of this latest ETOPS extension, to around 1,700nm and 240 minutes, has been made possible in part due to the proven reliability and robust systems of the aircraft and its engines, as demonstrated over 14 million A330 flight hours and 3.5 million flights.

ETOPS, is an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rule permitting two-engined commercial aircraft operators to fly routes that are up to a specified flying time from the nearest airport. Since 1995 all Airbus A330 models have been approved by EASA and FAA for ETOPS up to 180 minutes, and with this they have since accumulated more than five million ETOPS flight hours in more than 800,000 ETOPS flights.

Today Airbus has won more than 1,000 orders for the A330 and more than 600 are in service worldwide with more than 80 customers and operators.

Founded in France in 1979, Action Against Hunger is recognised as one of the most important humanitarian organisations combating hunger and malnutrition worldwide. It is an issue that affects approximately one billion people across the globe, with most lacking access to clean water leading to disease and malnutrition, and remains the largest single contributor to child mortality.  Today’s delivery of water purification equipment, more than 50 cubic metres, the equivalent of two 20 standard sea freight containers, to the non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) Dubai base is central to its efforts.

Airbus has launched its new Sharklet large wingtip devices, specially designed to enhance the eco-efficiency and payload-range performance of the A320 Family. Offered as a forward-fit option, Sharklets are expected to result in at least 3.5 percent reduced fuelburn over longer sectors, corresponding to an annual CO2 reduction of around 700 tonnes per aircraft. The A320 will be the first model fitted with Sharklets, which will be delivered around the end of 2012, to be followed by the other A320 Family models from 2013. Air New Zealand is the launch customer for the Sharklets which are specified for its future A320 fleet.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Rob Fyfe commented: “Air New Zealand recently decided to move to an all A320 fleet for narrow-body operations on domestic and short-haul international routes. The new Sharklets will enable our Airbus fleet to benefit from lower fuel burn and carbon emissions, both across Air New Zealand’s domestic network and especially on the longer trans-Tasman sectors.”

Airbus Chief Operating Officer  Customers, John Leahy said: The eco-efficient A320 Family just keeps getting better. We are delighted that Air New Zealand recognises that our single-aisle Family will remain the most profitable product in its class for years to come. He added: Sharklets are not just part of Airbus’ response to addressing environmental issues and rising fuel costs, but they also enhance aircraft overall performance.

It should be noted that the 3.5 percent efficiency improvement with Sharklets will be additional to the already positive effect of the A320 classic wingtip fence. Payload-range benefits include either a revenue payload increase of around 500kg or an additional 100nm range at the original payload. The Sharklet installation also keeps the A320 Family within the ICAO Class C (wingspan less than 36m) and will result in higher available takeoff weights, notably from obstacle-limited runways. Moreover, where runway performance is not limiting, operators should profit from a reduction in average takeoff thrust (with consequent savings in engine maintenance costs by around two percent), while communities will also appreciate even lower takeoff noise. Other benefits are the enhanced climb performance and higher initial cruise altitude.

This latest development has been part of the larger continuous improvement programme for the A320 Family which is supported by an annual investment in excess of 100 million euros each year. To this end, Airbus has conducted a thorough campaign over several years to evaluate improved large aerodynamic devices  not only using Airbus company-owned A320 test aircraft, but also with its advanced computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) simulation-tools.

Ethiopian Airlines has today ordered 12 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, bringing total orders for the A350 XWB family to 505, not even three years after launch of the programme.

UK engineering firm Rolls-Royce says it has won orders to make $2bn(£1.2bn) of aircraft engines to power Airbus planes for Air China and Ethiopian Airlines.

The orders were announced on the first day of the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

The $1.5bn Air China order involves providing Trent 700 engines to power 20 A330 aircraft that will be delivered from 2011.

And the $480m Ethiopian order covers Trent XWB engines for 12 A350-900 XWB planes that will begin service in 2017.

It came after Ethiopian Airlines announced a $3bn aircraft order with Airbus.

The airline made an initial draft request for the dozen extra-wide bodied A350-900s in July and confirmed the deal at the air show, the biggest in the Middle East.

Best-selling engines

Airlines have been hit hard during the recession, so the order for engines is welcome news for Rolls-Royce, which has factories in Derby and Bristol making engines, and one in Sunderland making aero-engine components.

In addition, the Rolls-Royce Inchinnan factory, which opened in October 2004 close to Glasgow Airport, also manufactures aeroplane engine components.

The Ethiopian order means Rolls-Royce has sold more than 1,000 of its best-selling XWB engines.

The firm has said the XWB is the most fuel efficient and environmentally sensitive large engine design on the market, with fuel efficiency ratings 28% higher than pre-Trent generation engines.

In the summer the firm said it was on track to meet its full-year financial targets, but warned that delays on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 wide-body programmes had added an element of uncertainty.

However, the delays have created more demand for existing wide-body products, where it has a strong position.