Airbus A350 XWB is airworthy

Airbus has received type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the A350-900 today. Certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to follow shortly.

First Boeing 747-8I delivered to Air China

Boeing has delivered the first 747-8 Intercontinental to Air China on Monday. The airplane is the first of seven 747-8 Intercontinentals Air China has on order.

Air China has been operating 747s since the 1980s and the aircraft type has played an important role in the development of Air China's international network.

Air China also has 15 787-9 Dreamliners on order. In the last three years the airline has received 20 777-300ERs.(Photo: Boeing)

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Etihad shows new livery on Boeing 787

Etihad Airways has unveiled its new 'Facets of Abu Dhabi' livery on the airline's first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft was rolled out of the Boeing paint shop in Everett today. The 787 will play a key role in Etihad Airways' fleet and network expansion plans.

Air Berlin cancels Boeing 787 order

Air Berlin names it "fleet harmonization", but it is simply the cancellation of an order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. First delivery of an Air Berlin 787 was planned for late 2015. The German airline has also cancelled orders for 18 Boeing 737 narrowbodies.

Airbus A380 shows new Etihad livery

We knew already about the tail, which is really beautiful, and now we can see how the whole aircraft looks like: the Airbus A380 in the colours of Etihad Airways. Must say: in my humble opinion the tail is more beautiful than the rest of the aircraft. But maybe that is a matter of taste.
The new livery can be seen on Twitter:

There it is! @EtihadAirways' first Airbus A380! pic.twitter.com/xcrhXu9LDY
— Tom Warners (@SchipholSpot) 25 september 2014

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First Boeing 777-300ER for China Eastern

Boeing today delivered the first Boeing 777-300ER to China Eastern Airlines. The aircraft is the first of 20 777-300ERs China Eastern has on order. The new airplane is also the first with a new livery for the airline, with much white and an updated logo - a swallow consisting of two capital letters, C and E, which represent the carrier’s name.

Iberia to become new A330-200 operator

IAG has decided to convert eight previously announced Airbus A330-200 options into firm orders for Spain’s flag carrier Iberia. The airline will become a new operator of the A330-200.

Qantas retires Boeing 767

Not only the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet is taken out of service with the airlines, the 767 is under pressure too. Qantas is going to phase out its Boeing 767s and puts them in the desert where they will be stripped for parts.

First A380 for Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 on Tuesday 16 September. The aircraft was handed over at a ceremony in Hamburg, to Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive. Qatar has ten A380 aircraft on order.

787 production goes on

What is going on at the Boeing 787 production line?
The second Dreamliner for Air New Zealand is flying:

The second 787 for @FlyAirNZ / @AIRNZUSA flew today -- in the white livery via @krislhull pic.twitter.com/OTS5d1QTJ5
— Airline Reporter (@AirlineReporter) 14 september 2014

KLM offers MD-11 Farewell Flights

KLM offers three "MD-11 farewell flights" on eleven-eleven (11-11 = 11 November). Booking is possible from 11.11 hrs (CET Central European Time) today (Tuesday 16 september). How to book will be published via KLM's social media channels. Price per seat: 111 euro.

KLM is the only airline still flying the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on passenger flights, until late October.

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20 years of Belugas in the air

Airbus is this week celebrating the maiden flight on 13 September 1994 of the Beluga cargo aircraft, named after the white whale because of its remarkable shape. The five aircraft transport aircraft component parts between Airbus’ European manufacturing sites.

British Airways with A380 to San Francisco

British Airways is going to deploy the Airbus A380 on its London Heathrow to San Francisco International service from April 2015.

SFO is BA’s third US A380-destination, after Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Other A380-operators at San Francisco are Lufthansa and Air France (in summer only). Emirates starts A380-flights in December.

The BA A380s offers room to 469 passengers, with 14 suites in first, 97 seats in business, 55 in premium economy and 303 in economy.

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Boeings "Broken Dreams" on Al Jazeera

Tonight Al Jazeera television network starts broadcasting a documentary about problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, named 'Broken Dreams'. Al Jazeera reports extensively about the well-known lithum-ion battery-problems with the Boeing 787, for which the aircraft was grounded for a three month period. But it also gives attention to other problems.

ANZ performs last Boeing 747 flight

Air New Zealand's will make its last passenger flight with a Boeing 747 this week. The airline operates still only one aircraft, ZK-NBV. It will depart for San Francisco on Wednesday and arrive in Auckland on Friday.

Hainan Airlines to Paris with Airbus 330

Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines has launched a new service from Hangzhou via Xi'an, to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport this week. The French capital is Hainan Airlines' fifth route to Europe.

Boeing delivers 787-9 to United

United Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and now may name itself "the first airline in North America to fly both the 787-8 and 787-9."

Earlier this year, United announced it will fly the airplane on what will become the longest 787 route: nonstop service between Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia.

United now operates 11 787 Dreamliners with an additional 54 on order, including the 787-10.

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Air France-KLM to phase out Martinair MD-11s

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is going to leave the fleet of Martinair next year. Martinair is part of the Air France-KLM Group, which will halve the number of dedicated freighters in the fleet, as it announced today. Air France keeps two Boeing 777Fs and KLM/Martinair three Boeing 747-400F aircraft.

Transaero: no 787s but more 747s

The Russian carrier Transaero Airlines has converted an outstanding order for four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners into four Boeing 747-8I aircraft. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2015. The airline already had four 747-8s on order.

Qatar Airways with Boeing 787 to Vienna

Today, 1 September, Qatar Airways has introduced the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Doha-Vienna route. The route was previously flown with much smaller Airbus A320 aircraft. Qatar Airways is the first airline with scheduled 787 flights to Vienna.

The 787 flies to Vienna Schechat Airport every day. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the flights depart from Doha at 08:35 hrs and arrive in Vienna at 13:25 hrs. Departure from Vienna is at 16:15 hrs and arrival in Doha at 22:35 hrs.

On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays the 787s depart Doha at 01:50 hrs and arrive in Vienna at 06:40 hrs. Departure time at Vienna is 11:45 hrs, with arrival in Doha at 18:05 hrs.

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Emirates flies Airbus A380 to Frankfurt

Today, Emirates added its 30th Airbus A380 destination: Frankfurt. The airline has 51 A380s in its fleet now. The arrival of Emirates A380s at Frankfurt seems bad news for Lufthansa. But it is not bad news for Germany, according to an Emirates statement, which says that it is the largest A380 customer with 89 more aircraft pending delivery, "a share of the A380 programme which alone is estimated to support approximately 12,000 direct German jobs."