767 Tanker makes first test flight

Boeing and the U.S. Air Force say to have made a successful first flight with the KC-46 tanker aircraft. The plane, a Boeing 767-2C, took off from Paine Field, Washington for a three hours and 32 minutes flight.

Azerbaijan receives first Boeing 787

Azerbaijan Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner today. The national airline of Azerbaijan becomes the first airline in the Commonwealth of Independent States to operate the 787.

Avolon firms up A330neo order

The Dublin-based, global aircraft leasing firm Avolon has firmed up an earlier announced contract for 15 Airbus A330neo aircraft.

Avolon became one of the launch customers of the A330neo after signing its initial commitment in July 2014 at the Farnborough International Airshow. The number of firm orders for the A330neo is now well over one hundred aircraft. (Image: Airbus)

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Kuwait Airways finalises 777-300ER deal

Boeing and Kuwait Airways have finalized a recently announced order for 10 777-300ERs (Extended Range).

"Kuwait Airways has plans to renew its fleet as well as expand its operations and the 777-300ER is a perfect airplane for our strategy," said Rasha Al Roumi, Kuwait Airways CEO. (Image: Boeing)

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Qatar receives first Airbus A350XWB

Airbus has delivered the first A350 XWB to launch customer Qatar Airways on 22 December. It is the first A350 of 80 ordered by the airline.

From mid-January the aircraft will begin flying to Frankfurt. As soon as more aircraft are delivered, Qatar Airways will fly them to the United States, Asia and more destinations in Europe. At the end of November 2014, the A350 XWB had won 778 orders from 41 customers worldwide.

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Hawaiian finalises A330-800neo order

Hawaiian Airlines has finalised an order for six Airbus A330-800neo aircraft for which it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in July of this year.

FirstBoing 787 for Avianca

Colombian airline Avianca has taken delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner, which it intends to fly on routes to Europe, North America and across South America.

Avianca's Boeing 787-8 will carry 28 passengers in business class and 222 in economy class. The airline has 15 aircraft on order.

To date, 58 customers have ordered 1,055 787s, making the Dreamliner the fastest-selling twin-aisle airplane in Boeing history.

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Etihad receives first Airbus A380

Today, Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi has taken delivery of the first of ten Airbus A380 super jumbo's. Etihad is the thirteenth airline to operate the A380, and the aircraft is the 150th A380 delivered by Airbus.

With the aircraft Etihad intends to boost capacity on several of its busiest routes. Etihad’s A380 seats 498 passengers in four "living spaces", including two VIP passengers in The Residence by Etihad (a three-room cabin in the sky), nine in the First Apartments, 70 in the Business Studio, and 417 in Economy SmartSeats.

Etihad’s first A380 will make its debut on the popular London Heathrow route, from Abu Dhabi International Airport, in December. By the end of 2015, Etihad Airways will have five A380s in operation, with plans to introduce the aircraft on the airline’s Sydney and New York JFK routes.

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AirAsia X orders 55 A330neo aircraft

AirAsia X, the long haul affiliate of Asia’s largest low cost airline, has placed a firm order with Airbus for 55 A330neo aircraft. This is the largest single order to date for the A330 Family.

AirAsia X already was the biggest A330 airline customer worldwide. It has now ordered a total of 91 aircraft. The announcement covers the firming up of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for 50 A330neo signed during the Farnborough Air Show in July 2014, plus an additional five aircraft. Deliveries of the newly-ordered aircraft will begin in 2018.

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Airbus: upgrade or stop A380 Superjumbo

Airbus will have to install more seats in the A380 and at some moment have to decide whether to upgrade the A380 with new engines or stop production of the Superjumbo.

On Wednesday Airbus Chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm was quoted in the media that Airbus might decide to stop production at the end of the decennium. According to Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier today the A380 will break even during the next few years and that the aircraft manufacturer will have to decide between an upgrade or production stop.

First delivery of A350 delayed

The delivery of the first Airbus A350 XWB to Qatar Airways, planned for 13 December, has been delayed.

The carrier said in a statement: "Qatar Airways announces that the Airbus A350 aircraft ceremonial transfer of title has been postponed until further notice." The airline didn't give a reason for the delay, but delays are far from unusual for first deliveries to Qatar Airways. The airline was also very critical before accepting its first Airbus A380, recently, and this resulted in a three-month delay. The reason for the A380-delay were concerns about the quality of the cabin interior.

Qatar Airways has ordered 80 A350s: 43 -900s and 37 -1000s. (Photo: Airbus)

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Airbus A330-200s for long-haul Eurowings

Lufthansa launches a new low-cost long-haul airline under the Eurowings brand. The renewed subsidiary airline will start operations in late 2015 from Cologne/Bonn Airport. Lufthansa will lease up to seven Airbus A330-200 aircraft for the new operation.

First delivery of A350 on 13 December

The first delivery of the Airbus A350 to Qatar Airways is scheduled for 13 December. The official handover will take place in Toulouse, France.

Qatar Airways, the global launch customer for the A350, has ordered a total of 80 A350 XWB Family aircraft, including 43 A350-900s and 37 of the longer-fuselage A350-1000.

The carrier plans to commence commercial service with the A350 XWB between its Hamad International Airport hub in Doha, Qatar, and Frankfurt, Germany, in January.

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Finnair orders extra Airbus A350s

Finnair has ordered eight additional A350-900s. The airline has now a total of 19 A350-900s on order. In 2007 Finnair became a launch customer of the A350 when it placed an order for 11 A350-900s, including an option for a further eight.

The airline currently operates a mix of 15 Airbus A330s and A340s, which fly long-haul routes to Asia and America from its Helsinki hub. Finnair will be the first European airline in autumn 2015 to receive the new Airbus widebody jet. Finnair’s A350 XWBs will seat 297 passengers in a two class configuration. (Image: Airbus)

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CIT firms up A330neo order

Aircraft leasing company CIT Aerospace has firmed up its order for 15 A330-900neo aircraft. CIT became one of the launch customers of the A330neo after signing its initial agreement in July 2014, at the Farnborough International Airshow. CIT also ordered five A321ceo narrowbody aircraft. (Image: Airbus)

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Airbus A330 MRTT for French air force

The French government has announced an order for twelve Airbus A330 multirole tanker and transport aircraft for its military services.

The first aircraft will be delivered in 2018, the second in 2019 and then two per year until the order is complete. The aircraft will replace obsolete Boeing C-135FR tankers in use since the 1960s.

Main task of the A330 MRTT is in-flight refueling of other aircraft. Air forces already using the A330 tanker-transport version, are those of the UK, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

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Kuwait Airways wants Boeing 777-300ER

Kuwait Airways has announced the intention to purchase 10 Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range) aircraft.

Boeing responds that it "appreciates the start of a new partnership with Kuwait Airways", but first wants to finalise the deal before it will post the order on its Orders & Deliveries website.

Kuwait Airways currently flies fifteen widebody aircraft, including two 777-200ERs, one 747-400, four Airbus A340s, three A310s and five A300s.

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Delta orders 50 Airbus widebodies

The champagne glasses in Toulouse, Hamburg and other places with Airbus-plants can be filled. Delta Air Lines has placed a firm order for 50 new Airbus widebody aircraft: 25 A350-900 XWB and 25 A330-900neo aircraft.

The A330neo jets will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and the Trent XWB will power the A350 XWBs.

Airbus launches A330 Beluga

Airbus has launched the development and production of five new Beluga aircraft. The new Belugas will be based on the A330 with a large re-use of existing components and equipment.
The first of the five new Belugas will enter in service in mid-2019. The existing Beluga fleet will operate in parallel, and will be progressively retired through to 2025.

Boeing starts ecoDemonstrator 787 tests

The ecoDemonstrator Boeing 787 has begun flights to test more than 25 new technologies aimed at improving aviation's environmental performance through every phase of flight. The Boeing ecoDemonstrator Program is intended to accelerate the testing, refinement and use of new technologies and methods that can improve efficiency and reduce noise. This new round of testing, using 787 Dreamliner ZA004, will evaluate software and connectivity technologies related to operational efficiency; remote sensors to reduce wiring; aerodynamic and flight control improvements for greater fuel efficiency, and icephobic wing coatings to reduce ice accumulation.

Airbus A350 XWB makes Asian tour

An Airbus A350-900 has taken off from Toulouse for an 11-day demo tour in Asia. Airbus is going to show its newest airliner in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

The Asian Demo Tour follows the completion of the A350-900 flight test campaign which recently led to the EASA and FAA type certification. The tour is performed by test aircraft MSN5, which has a fully functional cabin (42 business class and 223 economy class seats).

Airbus A350-900 receives FAA Type Certificate

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Type Certification for the Airbus A350-900 on 12 November. The certification follows the A350-900 Type Certification awarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 30 September.

The A350-900’s respective FAA and EASA certification awards come after Airbus successfully finished a stringent programme of certification trials. A fleet of five test A350-900 aircraft completed the certification flight test campaign, on time, in more than 2,600 flight test hours.

At the end of October 2014, the A350 XWB had won 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide.

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Air Canada orders extra Boeing 777-300ERs

Air Canada has ordered two additional 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes. The order was previously listed as unidentified on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website.

Air Canada currently operates 23 777s, including 17 777-300ERs and six 777-200LRs (Long Range).

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787 Dreamliner to Museum of Flight

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is already ripe for the museum. The US aircraft manufacturer donates the third Dreamliner built to the Museum of Flight, located at nearby Boeing Field in Seattle, on Saturday 8 November.

The Museum organises a complete "Dreamliner Day" on Saturday around its newest treasure. The aircraft will be placed in the museum's Air Park, where it joins aircraft types like Concorde, Constellation, Boeing 747, Boeing 727, Boeing 737, an ex-presidential Boeing 707 and a Lockheed Super Constellation.

787s for American and Scoot take shape

More and more airlines start flying with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Airlines which are going to fly the newest Boeing airliner soon, are American Airlines and Scoot from Singapore, as can be concluded from video's and pictures on Twitter.

Youtube: Scoot's 1st Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Time-lapse video http://t.co/cvkzEZUllf
— Boeing 787 Fanpage (@Boeing787_news) 4 november 2014

First Vietnam A350 rolls out of assembly hall

The first Airbus A350 XWB for Vietnam Airlines, to be leased from AerCap, has just moved to station 30 at the Roger Béteille Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. This new milestone marks the completion of some of the major airframe assembly as well as the successful first electrical power-on. In station 30, the aircraft will now undergo ground tests, while the cabin installation initiated in the previous station (station 40) will be continued.

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100th Boeing 777-300ER for Emirates

Emirates Airline has taken delivery of its 100th Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range). Emirates has now 142 777s in operation and is the only airline in the world to operate all 777 variants.

KLM performs final MD-11 flights

On Sunday morning, 26 October, the two final scheduled passenger flights with McDonnell Douglas MD-11 widebodies are expected to arrive at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The flights are performed by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the only airline still operating the MD-11 in the passenger transport role.

The first flight is scheduled for arrival at 5.45 a.m. local time, coming from Toronto. The second flight, from Montreal, the very last scheduled MD-11 passenger flight, should touch the concrete of one of Schiphol's runways around 6.35 hr.

SF Airlines orders Boeing 767BCFs

The Chinese courier company SF Airlines (ShunFeng Airlines) has placed an order for an undisclosed number of Boeing 767-300ER passenger-to-freighter conversions (Boeing Converted Freighters). SF Airlines, a subsidiary of Shenzhen Airlines, will accept its first redelivered 767 in the second half of 2015.

SF Airlines is building op a fleet of narrow- and widebody freighters to expand its network. At the moment it has seven Boeing 737 Classics and eight 757 freighters in service. The 767BCF offers the company intercontinental range capability. (Photo: SF Airlines)

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Common type rating pilot training for A350 and A330

European and US civil aviation authorities have approved common type rating pilot training on the Airbus A350 XWB and A330 widebody jetliners.

The approval means that pilots who are qualified and current on the A330 can already commence their preparations to take the A350 XWB’s controls by undergoing "differences training" only.

Airbus slows down A330 production

Airbus has decided to slow down the production rate for the A330 from the current rate of ten to nine aircraft a month in the fourth quarter of 2015 as it transitions towards the A330neo.

Since 2013, Airbus has been building ten A330 Family aircraft each month, the industry’s highest ever production rate for this aircraft size category.

First Qatar Airways A350 makes maiden flight

The Airbus A350-900 XWB for launch customer Qatar Airways has completed its maiden flight today.

Qatar Airways will receive the aircraft before the end of the year, says Airbus. The airline has 80 A350s on order, including 43 A350-900 and 37 of the larger A350-1000.

At the end of September 2014, the A350 XWB had won 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide. (Photo: Airbus)

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EASA certifies A350 for 'Beyond 180min' ETOPS

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the Airbus A350-900 XWB for ETOPS (Extended-range Twin engine aircraft Operations) ‘Beyond 180 minutes’ diversion time. According to Airbus the A350 XWB is the first new airliner ever to receive such a level of ETOPS approval prior to entry into service (EIS). The FAA’s respective ETOPS certification of the A350 is expected soon.

Virgin Atlantic receives first Boeing 787

Virgin Atlantic Airways has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The airline is the European launch customer for the stretched version of the 787. Virgin Atlantic's first 787-9 touched down at London's Gatwick Airport today following a more than 7,400 km (4,000 nm) nonstop flight from Paine Field in Everett, Washington.