Last flight for Philippine Airlines 747

Philippine Airlines is phasing out the Boeing 747. On Monday, 1 September, its last Boeing 747-400 will arrive for the last time at Ninoy Aquino International Airport near Manila. The aircraft comes from San Francisco and will receive a water-cannon salute.

787 makes Xiamen Airlines widebody operator

Chinese airline Xiamen Airlines received its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner on 29 August. The aircraft is the first widebody airliner in the airline's fleet. Xiamen Airlines becomes the third Chinese airline to operate the 787. It will use the Dreamliner for international expansion. The airline will fly the 787 on long-haul routes from its Fujian province base to Europe, North America and Australia.

Two 747-8Fs delivered to Silk Way Airlines

Boeing delivered two 747-8F Freighters to Silk Way Airlines, a cargo airline from Azerbaijan. The first aircraft was handed over last week, the second on 28 August.

First Boeing 787 for Royal Jordanian

Boeing delivered the first 787 Dreamliner in the colours of Royal Jordanian Airlines on 27 August. Royal Jordanian acquired the airplane through leasing company AerCap and it is the second airline in the Middle East to operate the 787 after Qatar Airways.

Last KLM MD-11 flight nears

Times are difficult for the older widebody airliners. Not only many Boeing 747s and Airbus A300s are withdrawn from service, but also McDonnell Douglas MD-11s. Only one airline still flies this three-engined widebody on passenger services and that is KLM. But this will not last long. On October 25 the MD-11 will make its last flight for the Dutch carrier.

New airline colours on Dreamliners

Production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner seems to make good progress. That means that 787s with the tails of a growing number of airlines are rolling out of the factory. Photographs of them can be found on the internet. Examples are Virgin Atlantic, Avianca and Xiamen Airlines.

Avianca:

What a Beauty! <3 :D Avianca's first #Boeing 787 Dreamliner! :D #Aviation #Avgeek @boeing787tweets @Boeing787_news pic.twitter.com/imQxJm2yq5
— Vaibhav Shah (@Aviation_Freak) 16 augustus 2014

Japan chooses 777-300ER to replace VIP 747s

The government of Japan has decided to replace two Boeing 747-400 VIP aircraft by two Boeing 777-300ERs as government and VIP aircraft (Very Important Persons). That is reported by Japanese media.

On the back of a 747 forever

Space Center Houston's Space Shuttle replica Independence today reached its final destination atop the original Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Boeing 747 (SCA-905). The aircraft and simulated spacecraft tandem will remain on display at NASA's Houston facility where many millions of tourists will be able to visit it in the future.

Cathay to phase out A340s and 747s

Hong Kong's all-widebody-operator Cathay Pacific is to phase out part of its fleet of Boeing 747-400s and all of its A340-300s in 2016 and 2017, as part of its fleet renewal plan. The airline announced that it intends to sell six of its B747-400Fs back to Boeing with four of them already parked. Four passenger 747-400s are also to be retired with two of them having been withdrawn from service this month.

ALC leases two more 777-300ERs to KLM

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) announced long term lease agreements with Dutch airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for two additional new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2016 and early 2017.

Airbus A350 ends world tour

The Airbus A350-900 has completed a series of route proving trials to fourteen cities worldwide over the past three weeks. According to Airbus the new airliner has successfully demonstrated that it is ready for airline operations.

Finnair will be first European A350-operator

Finnair is to be the first European operator of the Airbus A350 XWB, which will become the backbone of its longhaul fleet. The first A350-destinations out of Helsinki will be Shanghai, Bangkok and Beijing in late 2015, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in 2016. The airline has 11 firm orders and 8 options for A350 aircraft.

Taipei Taoyuan Airport readies gates for A380

If the Airbus A380 will ever become a sales success, than it must at least be made possible to fly it to more airports. Taipei Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan understands this very well. The airport is going to renovate two boarding gates in Terminal 2 to accommodate handling of the megajet.

Singapore Airlines with A380 to Auckland

Singapore Airlines will deploy the Airbus A380 megajet on its flights to Auckland in New Zealand from 27 October 2014. The 471-seat aircraft will perform flight SQ285 every day, departing Singapore at 20:50 hours and arriving in Auckland at 11:45 hours the following day.

Who is selling the most widebody jets?

Who is selling the most widebodies? Boeing or Airbus? The two aircraft manufacturers are, as often, quarelling about who sold the most aircraft. The fuss is about this year's sales total so far. Boeing is in a very good mood, because it sold 324 aircraft in July only. It has never had a month that it sold so many planes.

BH Air takes delivery of AirbusA330

The Bulgarian holiday airline BH Air (Balkan Holidays Air) has taken delivery of an Airbus A330. It is of the A330-200 version and according to the airline it will be flying between Sofia and the USA. The airline earlier asked approval for flights to New York JFK and Chicago O'Hare. The airline so far operated only smaller Airbus aircraft types: A319 and A320. The A330 (LZ-AWA) is leased from AerCap.(Photo: BH Air)

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LATAM orders 27 Airbus A350-900 widebodies

The LATAM Airlines Group (LAN and TAM), the biggest airline in South America, said it has ordered 27 Airbus A350-900 widebody jetliners. Delivery will take place between December 2015 and 2019. TAM will be the first airline in the Americas to operate the aircraft.

Air France with Airbus A380 to Miami

Starting December 1, 2014, Air France makes Miami in Florida (United States) a new destination for the Airbus A380. Air France wants to attract customers seeking for a winter-sun break.

Saudia 747 swerves from runway in Manila

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Boeing 747 of Saudi Arabian Airlines has swerved off the runway on Tuesday at Manila Anternational Airport.

United upgrades to bigger Dreamliners

United Airlines has converted seven Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner orders to the larger 787-10. The airline still had eight 787-8s on order, but now there is just one to go, which will be handed over to United later this year. United will have a total of 12 787-8s then.

Museum restores first ever Jumbo Jet

The Boeing 747 test aircraft was the first ever widebody airliner in the air. The aircraft dubbed 'The City of Everett' (RA001) took off for the first time on February 9, 1969. It still exists. It is part of the collection of the Museum of Flight in Seattle, one of biggest air and space museums in the world. However, the aircraft, parked in the open air, is not in a good condition. But the museum is working hard to restore it.

Thai says goodbye to Airbus A300

Thai Airways made its last Airbus A300 flight on July 31, after 37 years of service with the airline. The aircraft flew between Khon Kaen and Bangkok. Thai took delivery of its first A300 in October 1977, an A300B4.

Boeing delivers 500th 777-300ER

This week, on July 29, Boeing delivered the 500th 777-300ER built, to Emirates. It took Boeing only ten years to build that number of aircraft. The -300ER is the best-selling version of the Triple Seven.

The 777-300ER program was launched in the year 2000 with an order for ten aircraft from Air France. On February 24, 2003, the -300ER took off for its maiden flight, and it was certified by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) on March 16, 2004. Air France received its first aircraft on April 29, 2004.

What price a Boeing widebody jet?

Want to buy an aircraft? A widebody aircraft in particular? What do you think how much that costs? Boeing recently adapted its catalogue prices 3.1 per cent upwards, and that is almost twice the level of price "correction" last year.

You go for the biggest and most advanced? Boeing's most expensive jet is the 777-9X twin-engined airliner (see image). That costs 388.7 million dollar (290 million euro). If you prefer a four-engined 747-8I Intercontinental with more engines and more space, then you pay less, "only" 367.8 million dollar.

A350s and A330s replace Iberia A340s

International Airlines Group (IAG - British Airways, Iberia, Vueling) has converted eight Airbus A350-900 options into firm orders for Iberia. The airline becomes a new customer for the fast-selling A350XWB Family.