Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur) and Air Lease Corporation (ALC) (Los Angeles) today (September 10), in a joint statement, stated the carrierย has signed a contractย to lease four Airbus A350-900s from ALC. The A350sย will be delivered between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of 2018.
Malaysia Airlines also has the option to lease another two Airbus A350s and two A330s, according to the joint statement.
The new aircraft are likely to replace the older Boeing 777-200s.
Herre is the statement:
Today Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) and Air Lease Corporation signed long-term lease agreements for four (4) new Airbus A350-900s. The transaction also includes a lease option for two additional A350-900s and two A330-900neo aircraft.
Powered by two Rolls Royce Trent XWB-84 engines, the A350-900 aircraft are from ALCโs order book with Airbus and will be delivered between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of 2018.
Malaysia Airlines CEO Christoph Mueller said, โWe are excited to have this aircraft as part of our fleet. The A350 is the most technologically advanced aircraft and we are confident that it will deliver exceptional passenger comfort and improve the overall efficiency of our fleet.We are very pleased to partner with Air Lease Corporation on this strategic transaction,โ
โALC is honored to welcome Malaysia Airlines Berhad as our newest valued customer. We are confident that these aircraft will maximize Malaysia Airlinesโ operations to help grow its business while simultaneously reducing its operating costs and emissions,โ said Steven F. Udvar-Hรกzy, Air Lease Corporationโs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. โALC looks forward to building a strong long-term relationship with Malaysia Airlines Berhad in the future,โ he added.
International Airlines Group (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London) has signed a firm order for 31 Airbus aircraft, which includes 11 wide-body aircraft (eight A350-900s, three A330-200s) and 20 A320neos.
The A350s and A330s are slated for Iberiaโs fleet modernization and to open new long-haul routes, and the A320neos will be allocated to the groupโs airlines for fleet replacement.
With this latest order for 31 aircraft IAG and its airlines have ordered a total of nearly 450 aircraft from Airbus. IAGโs airlines British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, between them operate nearly every aircraft in Airbusโ product range from the smallest single aisle A318 to the worldโs largest wide-body A380.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. The new Airbus A330-200s for Iberia will replace the aging Airbus A340-300s and compliment the pictured Airbus A330-300s. Iberia is due to take delivery of its first Airbus A330-200 in December 2015.ย Iberia’s Airbus A330-302 EC-MAA (msn 1515) approaches the runway at Miami International Airport.
Airbus (Toulouse)ย kicked off the U.S. leg of its tour of the Americas by arriving in Atlanta yesterday. The demo tour features a flight test version of the A350-900 XWB, which Airbus is showing off to investors and airlines in Atlanta, Newark, Chicago (O’Hare) and Milwaukee before the general public can experience the A350 XWB at EAAโs AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
While it is was in Atlanta, Delta Air Lines employees toured the aircraft, familiarizing themselves with its layout and features. For many of them it will be their first opportunity to get a closer look at what will become the newest member of its fleet in 2017, when Delta accepts the first delivery of its 25 A350 XWBs. Delta currently operates Airbus A319, A320 and A330 aircraft, with additional outstanding orders for each type.
The A350-900 that is in the U.S. this week is a flight test aircraft featuring a two-class cabin. It seats 42 in lie-flat, business-class seats, which are four abreast, and 210 economy-class seats. For passengers, the aircraft will provide new levels of comfort, with extra space in all classes. It features wider panoramic windows, larger overhead stowage compartments and the latest in-flight entertainment and connectivity.
Copyright Photo: Eurospot/AirlinersGallery.com. The pictured Airbus A350-941 F-WWCF (msn 002) in the Caron Fiber livery is the tour aircraft.
Airbus (Toulouse) is bringing the new Airbus A350-900 on a tour of the Americas. The A350-900 XWB, arrived in Sao PauloโGuarulhos International Airport, officially kicking off the aircraftโs Americas Demo Tour.
The Demo Tour will continue taking flight test aircraft msn 002 to other major airports in Latin America, stopping in Campinas, Brazil and Bogota, Colombia before heading to the United States.
Senior Airline representatives from TAM, the A350 XWBโs launch customer in the Americas, as well as personnel from other Latin American airlines, government officials and media, boarded msn 002 for a static display and demonstration flight over Sao Paulo.
LATAM Airlines Group, made up of LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines, has ordered 27 A350-900s. Synergy Aerospace, Aviancaโs main shareholder and owner of Avianca Brasil, has ordered 10 A350 XWB.
The A350-900 that was displayed in Sao Paulo is an Airbus flight test aircraft fitted with a two class cabin with 42 lie-flat business class seats in a four abreast configuration and 210 economy-class seats set at nine abreast. The aircraft is also fitted with special on-board flight test equipment.
With more than 950 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 500, 27 customers operate nearly 600 Airbus aircraft throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In May, Airbus celebrated its 500th aircraft delivery in Latin America.
Copyright Photo: Olivier Gregoire/AirlinersGallery.com. The pictured Airbus A350-941 F-WWCF 9msn 002) in the Carbon Fiber livery is the Americas tour aircraft.
Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong) in February 2016 is due to take delivery of its first new Airbus A350-900 XWB. Airbus has released this update and photo of A350-941 F-WZFX (msn 029 currently under construction at the Toulouse assembly plant:
Assembly of the first A350-900 for Cathay Pacific Airways is progressing well at Airbusโ A350 XWB Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. Following the fuselage section joining phase, the wings, the horizontal and vertical tailplane as well as tail cone have been joined to the fuselage. Following this, the aircraft will move to the next assembly station for structural completion, ground testing and start of cabin installation.
The aircraft is scheduled for delivery early next year and will be the first of 48 A350 XWBs acquired by Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacificโs A350 XWB fleet will include 22 A350-900s and 26 of the larger A350-1000s, for operation on long- and medium-haul services.
The A350 XWB has been especially successful in the Asia-Pacific region, where 11 major airlines have ordered a total of 244 aircraft out of the 781 total ordered so far. Cathay Pacific represents one fifth of the A350 XWB total orders from Asia-Pacific.
Vietnam Airlines (Hanoi) has become the second airline in the world to operate the all-new Airbus A350-900 XWB, following a special ceremony in Toulouse today (June 30).
The A350-900 aircraft was delivered to global lessor AerCap on lease to the airline for operation on long haul routes and is scheduled to arrive in Hanoi tomorrow. Altogether, Vietnam Airlines is set to acquire 14 A350-900 XWBs, including 10 ordered from Airbus and four from lessors.
Vietnam Airlines will inaugurate commercial service with the A350-900 XWB later this week, initially on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh domestic sector and then on nonstop flights from Hanoi to Paris (CDG). The aircraft is configured with a premium three class layout, with 29 seats that convert to full flat beds in Business Class, 45 seats in Premium Economy and 231 in Economy. In addition to more personal space in all classes, the aircraft features the latest in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems throughout.
Vietnam Airlinesโ new A350-900 XWB will join an existing Airbus fleet of 59 aircraft flying with the carrier, comprising 49 A321s and 10 A330s.
AerCap is Airbusโ largest customer, and has ordered a cumulative total of 945 Airbus aircraft over the years. These include firm orders for a total of 20 A350 XWBs.
To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 781 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 40 customers worldwide, already making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever. The aircraft handed over today is the fifth A350 XWB to be delivered, following the typeโs entry into commercial service with its first operator earlier this year.
Vietnam Airlines is also taking delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, an unique situation for an airline introducing two new types at the same time.
Photos: Airbus/Master Films-P. Masclet. Airbus A350-941 VN-A886 (msn 014) in pictured in flight in the updated 2014 livery.
Air Lease Corporation (ALC) (Los Angeles) today at the 51st International Paris Air Show announced a firm order for additional Airbus widebody and single-aisle aircraft (1 A350-900, 1 A321ceo and 3 A320ceo).
Including todayโs announcement, ALCโs fast growing portfolio of Airbus aircraft stands at a total of 262, of which 66 are widebodies (15 A330ceo, 25 A330neo, 21 A350-900, 5 A350-1000) and 196 are single-aisles (30 A320ceo, 31 A320neo, 26 A321ceo, 109 A321neo).
Garuda Indonesia (Jakarta) continues to show its intent to order new airliners, now with both Airbus and Boeing. Following the Boeing intent, the carrier has now signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Airbus for the purchase of 30 A350-900 XWB aircraft.
Garuda Indonesia plans to use the A350-900 XWB to develop its medium and long haul network, with the aircraft offering the ability to fly non-stop from Jakarta or Bali to Europe.
The A350 XWB has been especially successful in the Asia-Pacific region, where airlines have ordered a total of 244 aircraft, representing almost a third of the 780 orders recorded so far worldwide.
Video from Aviation Week:ย Aviation Week chief aircraft evaluation editor Fred George flew left seat in Airbusโs new big twin, the A350, with Airbus chief test pilot Peter Chandler in the right seat and Christian Norden on the jump seat as safety pilot.
Yes, itโs that time of year again. The International Paris Air Show returns. 106 years old and 50 shows on, number 51 is here and it promises to be another great show.
For those who donโt know, the Paris Air Show is a bi-annual event, with the Farnborough Air Show filling in the gap year, in which aircraft manufacturers from around the world, both civil and military, showcase their latest and greatest models to potential buyers and the viewing public; that is the ones that can afford to go. But donโt worry, if you can’t attend, World Airline News will be giving you day to day coverage of the new aircraft orders that are due to come in next week.
Here is a preview of what is to come.
Weโll start with the “home team”. Airbus comes to the show with a line up of commercial aircraft. With its A319, A320, A380 and A350-900 XWB all being on the static display, the Toulouse-based manufacturer will also fly its long-haul aircraft, surprisingly all in the grey and burgundy livery of Qatar Airways (below).
Above Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross/AirlinersGallery.com. Qatar Airways Airbus A350-941 A7-ALA (msn 006) is seen at Frankfurt, its first destination from Doha.
The A319 and A320 aircraft are not part of Airbusโ official roster, with both showcasing Qatarโs all business class cabin and the A320 displaying the Doha-based airlineโs newly upgraded cabins including its 180-degree lie flat-beds, new 15.4 inch smart monitors and touch-screen remote control handsets as well as power, USB ports and connectivity for smart devices in Business Class.
Last time around, Airbus secured $68.7 billion worth of business for a total of 466 aircraft, which shows the resilience of the commercial aviation industry. The deals comprise Memorandum of Understanding agreements (MOUs) for 225 aircraft worth $29.4 billion and firm purchase orders for 241 aircraft worth $39.3 billion. The previous time around, the A350 was a brand new airliner and only made a cameo visit, flying briefly over Le Bourget Airport as a treat to the public. This time itโs goes into next week with three of new type in service with Qatar Airways and others soon to be delivered to Vietnam Airlines, Finnair and TAM respectively.
Video above: Airbus. Before the show, Airbus is featuring the first Airbus A330 delivery to Tunisair. More videos are expected next week.
For the A380, it may be “make or break” time. With orders for the Super Jumbo slowing down (none in the past year) and also with the delaying and deferring of delivery dates by some customers, Airbus will be hoping to attract new orders for their double-decker giant or more from their established customers. Airbus is reported to be looking at a revamp of the aircraft towards the end of this year. Could an A380neo or sharklet equipped variant be in the cards for next week? Seems a bit desperate in my opinion. The aircraft isnโt 10 years old yet. It took the rest of Airbusโ in service aircraft 27 years (A320) and 24 years (A330 – expected neo introduction) to introduce a major upgrade to its DNA. Either the A380 takes off again or it doesnโt (pun intended).
Airbus will also be looking to get some firm orders for itโs newest project, the A330neo. Since being launched at the Farnborough Air Show last year the new wide-body only has seven customers in Avolon, AirAsia X, Delta Air Lines, CIT Group, ALC, Hawaiian Airlines and TransAsia Airways. Other guaranteed orders will be for the Airbusโ A320 and A320neo types, with the latter due to have its first delivery by October of this year with Qatar Airways.
Above Copyright Photo: Royal S. King/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner VN-A861 (msn 35151) arrives back at Paine Field near Everett, Washington in Vietnam Airlines colors after a test flight.
The other side of the aviation coin, U.S. manufacturer Boeing comes to the show with three of itโs aircraft: The Boeing 777-300 ER (in China Airlines livery) and both variants of the 787 Dreamliner. The 787-9 makes itโs Paris debut in the colors of Vietnam Airlines (above), with the aircraft set to join the carrier soon after it leaves the show.
Photo Above: Boeing. Boeing 777-36N ER N5017Q (msn 43980) lands at Le Bourget Airport today. It will eventually become B-18002 for China Airlines.
As previously reported, the aircraft manufacturer released this stunning practice video (above).
The other two aircraft will be in the livery of China Airlines and guess whose colors the other is wearing? If you didnโt guess Qatar Airways, you need to keep up with the latest trends. Qatar Airways is really stealing the show this time around.
Boeing recently released figures predicting a demand for 38,050 new airplanes over the next 20 years, an increase of 3.5 percent from last year’s forecast. As we previously reported, Boeing released its annual Current Market Outlook (CMO) on June 11, estimating the total value of those new airplanes at $5.6 trillion.
Do the manufacturers stack up potential orders and MOUs prior to the show to release them during the show? The “numbers game” is important to the manufacturers.
Last time around in Paris, Boeing fell to second place with firm and provisional orders for 442 aircraft valued at more than $66 billion, narrowly behind Airbus. That was the year Boeing launched the 787-10 and 777X projects and will be hoping to rack up huge orders for their new long-haulers; with the stretched Dreamliner only having seven customers in ALC, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, International Airlines Group/British Airways, Etihad Airways, ANA-All Nippon Airways and GECAS.
Image above: Boeing. Qatar Airways also has placed an order for the new 777X.
The 777X is doing just as well with only six customers in Lufthansa, Etihad, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and ANA.
Boeingโs narrow-bodies are another miss for the show but you can guarantee an order for the 737NG and 737 MAX will be flying in (again, pun intended) and most likely carrying Boeingโs orders.
Another big miss for the show is the Boeing 747-8. The type is in the same situation as the A380, with orders slowing down and production most likely set to slow down once more from the current 1.5 aircraft per month. Itโs quite surprising the manufacturer isnโt trying to advertise their โSky Queenโ to the best of their ability.
The eye catchers of the show are, without a doubt, Bombardier. Trying to steal Qatar Airwaysโ thunder by bringing along their CRJ1000 variant for the third show running, the Q400 NextGen and both of itโs CSeries family: the CS100 and the CS300, are both making their Farnborough debuts and are being included in the flying display.
Video above: Bombardier. The first CS100 in Swiss livery heads to Paris.
The first delivery of the CSeries Family will be to Swiss International Air Lines. The first copy is due to happen next year, and the CS100 will pay a visit to Zurich shortly after the show as a sample of whatโs to come for the Lufthansa subsidiary. The CS300 will also visit Bombardierโs Belfast facility on June 19 where Bombardierโs employees and partners eagerly await the arrival of the first CS300 aircraft. It will mark the first time the CSeries aircraft and its Belfast-produced wing will fly on site. Last time around, Le Bourget Airport wasnโt a happy hunting ground for the Canadians, with the CSeries failing to capture a single aircraft order, the CRJ only capturing one order from Arik Air, and the Q400 only securing orders from Alaska Airlines (Horizon Air) and Arik Air. Bombardier will hope for a major improvement ย and for this year to be more like Farnborough of last year, where a total of 74 orders were captured.
Video above: The Bombardier CS300 ferries to Le Bourget Airport.
Video above: The Q400 in Falcon Aviation livery heads to Paris.
Video above: The CRJ manufacturing at the Montreal Mirabel plant.
The rest of the major players: ATR, Embraer and Sukhoi, will display one aircraft each. With the Brazilians displaying their ERJ 135, the French-Italians showing off their ATR 72-600 in the colors of Air New Zealand Link, and the Russians exhibiting the Superjet 100 in the colors of Interjet, marking the second anniversary of the first aircraft being delivered to the airline.
For ATR itโs more of the same, marketing their ATR 42 and 72 products. Le Bourget 2013 went down as the best show in ATRโs history, with the turboprop manufacturer announcing orders for 173 planes, including 83 firm orders, with the total value of the contracts exceeding $4.1billion; creating a new record for them. Unless theyโre planning a shock reveal of the ATR 42/72-700/800/900, it will be business as usual.
Video above: The building of Lion Group’s 50th ATR 72-600.
For Embraer they will hope 2015 is just as good for them as Paris 2013 was. Two years ago, the E-Jets E2 was officially launched and they were the standout performers of the show, taking Day 1 by storm with the E2 dominating the orders when they announced the sale of over 300 customers, with the majority belonging to SkyWest Airlines and ILFC, and the rest going to unnamed customers around the world. For them, it is a case of gaining more orders for the E2 and maybe current generation of E-Jets.
Video above: Embraer. Embraer E2 – The Power of 2.
Sukhoi displayed this Superjet 100 at the previous Paris Air Show. Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss.
For Sukhoi, itโs the same situation. 2013 only got the SuperJet one order from Ilyushin Finance, with two of those aircraft going to VLM at some point next year. They will hope to go one better than the big zero they got last year at Farnborough.
The non-flying aircraft of the show: the Irkut MC-21 and the COMAC C919, may bring in a few orders at the show but only time will tell.
The Financial Times told us not to expect much from this year’s aviation event; but donโt let that deter you from keeping up to date on proceedings at Le Bourget Airport. Weโll be watching in anticipation and ready to update you on anything and everything. Nous vous verrons la semaine prochaine.
Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.
Video below: Boeing. Boeing is celebrating its historic relationship with the United Kingdom prior to the show:
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