IndiGo signs MoU for 180 A320 family aircraft

Indian airline IndiGo signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the purchase of 180 Airbus A320 aircraft, the order consists of 30 "regular" A320 aircraft and 150 A320neo aircraft making IndiGo the first A320neo customer.

IndiGo has an existing order of 61 aircraft and operates 39 A320's at the moment.

An engine manufacturer for the A320neo has to be selected at this moment, the airline can choose between the Leap-X by CFM and the PurePower pw1100g by Pratt & Whitney. Looking at the size of the order both manufacturers will probably be offering huge discounts on the engines to secure the order.

Picture by: Airbus via www.luchtvaartfoto.nl

Asiana Airlines orders 6 A380s

The South Korean airline Asiana and Airbus announced an order for 6 A380 aircraft on January 6th.

The aircraft are planned for delivery in 2014 and will be dispatched on Asiana's premium routes to Europe and the USA.

The type of engine selected is still unknown at the moment.

Asiana's order for the superjumbo jet is the first announced since a Qantas Airways A380 was involved in an uncontained engine failure during a Singapore-Sydney flight on 4 November.

EasyJet orders 15 extra A320s

British low-cost carrier easyJet announced an order for 15 additional A320 jets to be added to the current order of the company. Furthermore the airline converted 20 current A319 orders in to larger A320s and secured production options for 33 A320 family aircraft.

The 15 new aircraft are scheduled for delivery from 2012 to 2014.

China Eastern orders 50 A320 family jets

After some silent holidays finally some news again.

According to www.flightglobal.com the Chinese airline China Eastern has announced an order for 50 new Airbus A320 jets. The new aircraft will be delivered from 2012 to 2015.

At the moment it is still unknown what type of engine has been chosen and if the aircraft will be equiped with the new "Sharklets".

LAN Airlines Firms Up Order for 50 Airbus A320-Family Jets

LAN Airlines of Chile firmed up it's memorandum of understanding for the order of 50 Airbus A320 family jets which the airline had announced at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow.

The order includes both the A320 and A321 a new aircraft in the LAN fleet, the aircraft will be fitted with the new large wingtip devices for the A320 family called Sharklets.

These Sharklets will enhance the eco-efficiency and payload/range performance and are part of the continuous improvement program for the A320, the Sharklets are expected to enter service with Air New Zealand at the end of 2012.

LAN will start receiving the Sharklet equiped A320s in 2013.

Airbus confident in A350 schedule

Looking at the lessons learned from the setbacks from the A380 and B787 Airbus strives to address any development issues before the start of the A350 final assembly scheduled for late 2011.

Airbus says it will succeed in carrying it's next generation long-haul aircraft, the A350XWB by avoiding the problems repeatedly encountered by Boeing with the B787 Dreamliner, now late by nearly three years.

The Airbus management at the headquarters in Toulouse displays it's confidence in the program.

"There are situations in a program of this type with a totally new aircraft with many new technological firsts" said Fabrice Bregier, CEO of Airbus. "We can not rule out everything, but we do everything to solve any development problems before the plane goes into production."

Airbus has delayed the pace of the program by two months to perform all possible tests on the wing junction with the fuselage to ensure it was strong enough. Unlike Boeing where this problem was discovered on the assembly line in Everett in the United States where many manufactured parts (the wing-fuselage junction in particular) produced in Japan and Italy did not meet the specifications set by Boeing.

"The A350 has made a great leap forward," said Tom Enders, Airbus President, despite the schedule slip of delivery by six months, from first to second half of 2013. According to the management, "the problem is not to lose a few months but to ensure that at each stage the maturity is there."

Airbus says it has learned from the disappointments of the A380 program and wants to avoid the sam mistakes for the A350. "We switched teams because we want to know the truth, they must inform us of problems so we can anticipate, react and adjust as they are identified and not when it's too late."

Airbus has started the pre-assembly of pieces that will then be delivered to Nantes Saint-Nazaire and Hamburg where the pre assembly of entire sections is planned from spring 2011 or later. Final assembly of the first aircraft is expected to begin late 2011 in Toulouse.

The target of Airbus is to deliver the first aircraft of more than 550 total ordered to launch customer Qatar Airways in the second half of 2013.

Source: www.lefigaro.fr

Airbus signs MoU with Chinese authorities on cooperation in ATM

Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese air traffic management authorities on air traffic management cooperation.

According to the MoU signed by Airbus and the Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Airbus will assist ATMB with the introduction and implementation of new ATM technologies and best practices in China, and will share its experience in Europe with ATMB for the development of future ATM systems in China. The MoU is signed by Wang Liya, Director General of CAAC ATMB and Eric Stefanello, Senior Vice President of Airbus in charge of air traffic management.

Within the MoU framework, Airbus will support ATMB in advanced R&D, the validation and deployment of new ATM technologies, and training. Airbus will also act as a coordinator in terms of extended expertise from some of the ATM players, including Quovadis, Cassidian and German air navigation service provider Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS).

Airbus will support ATMB in 16 potential areas of cooperation identified by ATMB, including R&D, concept and technology validation, support to deployment, airspace design and training. As the first step, five concrete projects have been selected and agreed by both parties to be implemented for the 2010-2012 period, which will pave the way for the long-term cooperation between the two sides.

“CAAC is making efforts to build modernised ATM systems, which will help to improve air transport efficiency in China and contribute to the global air transport industry. The cooperation between CAAC ATMB and Airbus will help us draw on the experience of other regions to develop our future ATM systems, which will be more integrated with global systems,” said WANG Liya, Director General of CAAC ATMB.

“With the MoU, Airbus has expanded its cooperation with China’s civil aviation into a new area. Global interoperability of air traffic management systems, in particular between the future ATM system in China and SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) is key for the air transport industry, and strengthening cooperation between Europe and China will support global interoperability,” said Laurence Barron, President of Airbus China.

A modernised ATM system will bring benefits in terms of operational efficiency and eco-efficiency by reducing flight delays, saving aircraft fuel consumption and reducing CO2 emissions .

Source: www.airbus.com