OEM, MRO & Leasing news

US budget carrier Allegiant Air (G4/AAY) has bucked the recent single-aisle trend by placing an order for 50 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, despite being an all-airbus fleet operator currently. The order will come as welcome news to Boeing and it is likely that Allegient Air received significant incentives from the [read more]

Qatar Airways has said it has launched legal proceedings against Airbus in UK Courts in a dispute about the damage it claims is being caused to its A350 aircraft by a defect. The action follows a move last week by Airbus to get an independent legal assessment of the damage [read more]

Dublin headquartered Emerald Airlines (EA/EAI) is set to commence services for Aer Lingus Regional 10 months ahead of schedule. The newest Irish airline will operate routes under a franchise agreement using leased ATR72-600 aircraft and takes over many of the routes left unserved when Stobart Air shutdown. Emerald says it [read more]

In a major blow to Boeing, Air France-KLM has placed an order for 100 narrowbody aircraft with rival Airbus. The order for Airbus A320neo and A321neo is part of the fleet replacement plan for medium-haul aircraft at KLM and Transavia, both traditionally Boeing airlines. Air France also has the rights [read more]

Singapore Airlines has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Airbus for seven Airbus A350F cargo aircraft to replace the airline’s ageing Boeing 747-400F aircraft. The A350F is a purpose-built freighter variant of the popular Airbus A350 airline which the airline already operates and the letter is a sign of [read more]

Airbus has confirmed it is seeking independent legal assessment of the Airbus A350 paint issue which Airbus says is being subject to ‘mischaracterization’ by ‘one of its customers’. Although not naming the customer directly, Qatar Airways is the customer that has been driving this issue which has resulted in a [read more]

Flybe has reached another milestone in its bid to bring the airline back to the skies by appointing Assured Aviation Services as its ground handling agent at Birmingham Airport. The deal will see 100 local jobs being created for the Warwickshire based company who handle all Flybe’s ground requirements from [read more]

Concern has been raised over early skin degradation on Airbus A350 models after a problem first reported by Qatar Airways has resulted in them grounding 20 of their 53 A350 aircraft. The issue has been visualised by external paint cracking, particularly around areas where external probes join the fuselage. Other [read more]