quinta-feira, 28 de junho de 2012

Air Seychelles adding ex-Jet Airways A330-200 shortly

Air Seychelles will shortly take delivery of its first ex-Jet Airways Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International A330-200 (c/n 751) to replace the various A330-200s wet-leased from parent Etihad Airways for its routes from Mahé to Abu Dhabi International and Johannesburg Oliver Reginald Tambo International .

Air Algérie wet-leases A330-200 from HiFly for the summer season


Air Algérie has wet-leased A330-200 CS-TQP (c/n 211) from Portuguese ACMI specialist HiFly for the summer season. It had wet-leased an A340-300 from HiFly in previous years and sees much higher demand in its main international market between France and Algeria during the summer months
Photo: Flying Photos

Seabird launching scheduled operations in Turkey this week

Seabird Airlines (Istanbul Atatürk/Yesilköy International  will launch scheduled flights on June 28 offering up to twice daily service from Istanbul Atatürk/Yesilköy International  to Alacati and four weekly flights to Bozcaada with its DHC-6. It plans to also operate between Alacati and Bodrum Milas three times weekly between mid-July and the end of September and to launch additional routes including flights to seaplane bases

EMBRAER DELIVERS FIRST E190 JETS TO THE UKRAINIAN AVIATION GROUP ALLIANCE


Embraer has delivered the first two EMBRAER 190 jets to the Ukrainian Aviation Group Alliance (UAG), in a ceremony at the manufacturer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The aircraft will be operated by Dniproavia, on behalf of AeroSvit, both of which are members of the UAG, mainly serving the airline’s international regional network from its Kiev Boryspil (KBP) hub. Three other E-Jets are scheduled for delivery by the end of the year.

UAG selected the E190 as part of the alliance's fleet replacement for older, narrow body jets, as it looks to right-size some routes and also develop its international regional network with new routes, and provide increased frequencies on others. The E190 will be configured in a dual-class layout with comfortable Elite seats.

“The E190 perfectly fits AeroSvit’s strategy of growing with the right capacity to access new markets and help it build a stronger and more competitive network,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, Embraer President, Commercial Aviation. “Kiev is geographically well-positioned and the E190 will provide them access to a wide range of cities and introduce high quality service to their customers.”

Currently, up to 20 ERJ 145s jets are in Dniproavia's fleet in Ukraine. The Kiev-based charter carrier and ACMI-provider, Windrose Aviation, also has one E195, which is wet-leased to UAG member carriers. Following delivery to UAG of all five new E190s, the Ukraine will be home to over 25 Embraer commercial aircraft.

Gregory Gurtovoy, AeroSvit Chairman, highlighted the mission of the new E190: “The aircraft will be operated by Dniproavia, on behalf of AeroSvit, and will serve to enhance our overall product offering and improve our operational efficiency. This is very important, in light of the soon-expected Open Skies agreement between the European Union and Ukraine. The E190s will also fly to destinations in the CIS and the Middle East, providing excellent passenger comfort, transit baggage capacity and range that will enable us to compete with both legacy and low-cost airlines. With our good experience in the E195 commercial use for UAG, I’m confident that the brand-new E190s will deliver even more exceptional performance.”

Since the E-Jets entered revenue service, in 2004, Embraer has delivered nearly 850 of them to more than 60 airlines from 42 countries around the world. The versatile 70 to 120-seat, four-aircraft family is flying with low cost airlines, on regional services and with mainline carriers. The E-Jets order book registered 1063 firm orders as of March 31, 2012.

 EMBRAER

Air Finland ceases operations


Air Finland (OF) ceased operations Tuesday, suspending all flights and leaving 1,000 passengers stranded, Finnish news agency STT reported.

OF CEO Mika Helenius said high fuel prices, overcapacity and a shortage of capital attributed to the decision, according to Finnish national broadcaster YLE.

The privately owned company, which began operations in 2002, served mainly leisure destinations from Finland to Turkey, Greece, Spain and Dubai. Its fleet comprised four Boeing 757-200s.

OF joins European carriers Malev, Spanair, Cirrus, Cimber Sterling, Skyway and Central Connect Airlines from the Czech Republic, which all ceased operations this year


quarta-feira, 27 de junho de 2012

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Makes Philadelphia Debut


The first all-new airliner of the 21st century, the Boeing [NYSE: BA] 787 Dreamliner, today landed at Philadelphia International Airport for its first visit to the city. On June 27, local officials, suppliers, media and Boeing employees will tour the aircraft to experience the airplane's many passenger-friendly features.

Made from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first midsize airplane capable of flying long range and will allow airlines to open new, nonstop routes preferred by the traveling public. As a result of its many innovative technologies, the airplane offers unparalleled operating economics, fuel efficiency and passenger comfort.
BOEING

SKY WORK - DHC8-Q400, HB-JIK

José Ramon Valero - PMI

IBERIA EXPRESS - A320-200

                                                                       EC-FGV
EC-FCB

José Ramon Valero - PMI

terça-feira, 26 de junho de 2012

First MAS A380 revealed in special livery


The first A380 for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was unveiled today bearing its special celebration livery, ahead of entry-into-service next week on the Kuala Lumpur-London route.
The livery was designed by MAS specifically for it its new A380 flagship and was applied post-delivery by Airbus in Toulouse.
Altogether MAS has ordered six A380s with a premium layout seating 494 passengers in three classes.
AIRBUS

Belle Air retires last MD-82, transfers ATR 72-500 from Belle Air Europe

Belle Air  has definitely retired its last MD-82 ZA-ARD (MSN 49104) which had already previously been stored at Tirana Rinas Mother Teresa. It currently operates two A320-200s, two A319-100 and one ATR 72-500. It will however also soon add the only ATR 72-500 I-LZAN (c/n 908) operated by its Italian sister carrier Belle Air Europe, Ancona Falconara

First EMB-170 being prepared for California Pacific Airlines

California Pacific Airlines is about to get its first ex-Cirrus Airlines EMB-170 currently being prepared at Kansas City International for the start-up planning regional services out of Carlsbad McClellan Palomar later this year.

Tri-M.G. takes delivery of first B737-300 freighter


Tri-M.G. Intra Asia Airlines has taken delivery of a first ex-Gestair Cargo B737-300(F) freighter that now complements its rather diverse fleet of one B727-100(F), one B727-200(F) and one B737-200(M) already operated on domestic and regional cargo routes.
Photo:TRI-M.G

AIR ITALY - B737-700, EI-IGT

José Ramon Valero - PMI

AIR EXPLORE - B737-400, OM-CEX

José Ramon Valero - PMI

segunda-feira, 25 de junho de 2012

First THAI A380 rolls out of paint shop - F-WWAO / HS-TUA

The first A380 for Thai Airways International (THAI) was rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Hamburg over the weekend, bearing the airline’s distinctive livery.
This marks the completion of the painting and cabin installation work on the aircraft, which will now enter a final phase of ground and flight tests in Hamburg. During this phase of production all cabin systems will be thoroughly tested, including air flow and air conditioning, lighting, galleys, lavatories, seats and in-flight entertainment. In parallel, Airbus will also undertake advanced general performance tests with the aircraft before it flies to Toulouse for preparation for delivery to the airline in the third quarter of the year.
THAI will become the ninth operator of the A380. The airline has firm orders for six A380s and will operate the aircraft on its premier routes from Bangkok to Europe.
AIRBUS

KOLAVIA - A321-200, EI-ETH

José Ramon Valero - PMI

TRANSAERO - B747-400, VQ-BKJ

José Ramon Valero - PMI

BALEAR CARGO - FK50, I-MLHT

José Ramon Valero - PMI

quinta-feira, 21 de junho de 2012

EUROLOT - DHC-8-400, SP-EQA

Ton Jochems - AMS

NATIONAL CARGO - B747-400F, N572CA

Ton Jochems - AMS

ORENAIR - B777-200ER, F-OMAY

Ton Jochems - AMS

Transaero Airlines and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft signed a firm contract on delivery of six Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft


In frame of the 16th Petersburg International Economic Forum JSC Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) and Transaero Airlines, the second largest Russian carrier, signed a contract on six Sukhoi Superjet 100/95B aircraft with ten options. The firm order is valued at 212.4 million USD at list prices. The deal could reach 566.4 million USD if options are converted into firm orders.



The contract was signed by Transaero Airlines General Director Olga Pleshakova and President of the United Aircraft Corporation Mikhail Pogosyan on behalf of SCAC.



The SSJ100 aircraft for Transaero will feature a comfortable two-class 90-seat layout (8 in business class and 82 in economy class). Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2015 and continue through 2017.



"Transaero Airlines deems it to be its duty to back the country's aircraft industry the success of which much depends on firm orders for the produced jetliners. The company made a decision to acquire the utmost modern Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft which is competitive with the foreign jetliners of the type. Those SSJ100 aircraft after being added to our fleet will take part in realization of a very ambitious challenge which Russian civil aviation faces - the development of affordable regional air transportation", said Transaero Airlines General Director Olga Pleshakova.



“Transaero Airlines is among the 50 largest air carriers in the world and ranks in the top five safest European airlines. Transaero’s selection marks the recognition of our product’s high quality and superior operating ability. I am convinced that the Sukhoi Superjet 100 will become an efficient tool that will be used by the airline in implementing its regional services development plan”, said Mikhail Pogosyan, President of the United Aircraft Corporation.



Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) is a 100 seat regional jet designed, developed and built by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), in partnership with Alenia Aermacchi. On May 19th 2008 SSJ100 successfully accomplished its first flight. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 cruises at a Maximum Operating Speed of Mach 0.81 and 40,000 feet. It takes off from a 1,731 meters runway in the basic range and 2,052 meters in the long range. The operating range for the basic version is 3,048 km and 4,578 km for the long range version. In January 2011, the SSJ100 obtained the Type Certificate by the Russian Certification Authority IAC AR. On April 19th 2011 first production SSJ100 was delivered to Armavia airlines (Armenia). In February 2012, the SSJ100 obtained the EASA Type Certificate. By the mid of June 2012 nine SSJ100s in service with Russian and Armenian carriers accumulated more than 9,000 flight hours in more than 4,600 revenue flights.
SUKHOI

Nordic Aviation Capital Orders Twelve Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen Aircraft to be Leased to Garuda Indonesia


·    Garuda Indonesia to operate up to 36 CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region

·    Outstanding value retention of the CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft, broad base of CRJ aircraft operators cited as positive factors for leasing company’s interests

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Aviation Capital A/S of Billund, Denmark has signed a firm purchase agreement for twelve CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft. Nordic Aviation Capital has confirmed that the aircraft will be leased to Garuda Indonesia, Bombardier’s previously announced launch customer for the CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region. Nordic Aviation Capital is one of the world’s largest lessors of regional aircraft, with a portfolio of over 160 turboprop and jet aircraft serving more than 30 customers in 20 countries.

Based on the list price of the CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft, the firm order is valued at approximately $595 million US.

“Nordic Aviation Capital’s order, as well as recent transactions undertaken by other third party financiers to provide CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft to Air Nostrum of Spain, illustrate that these aircraft present attractive financing and leasing opportunities for airlines and investors,” said Mike Arcamone, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

Garuda’s twelve leased CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft, plus six firm-ordered directly from Bombardier in February 2012, will result in a fleet of 18 CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft. Should the airline also convert the 18 options placed with Bombardier, its fleet of CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft would increase to 36. Based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta, Garuda Indonesia was established in January 1949. The airline currently operates a fleet of 92 commercial aircraft serving 31 domestic and 19 international destinations.

“Although it is a relatively new product, the Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft is performing extremely well with its current operators, delivering exceptional reliability and the lowest seat-mile costs in its market segment,” said Martin Moller, Chairman, Nordic Aviation Capital. “We are therefore delighted to be acquiring these high-quality assets and assisting Garuda Indonesia in carrying out its business plan.”

“The CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft’s superior economics, outstanding fuel economy and excellent passenger comfort ideally meet our requirement for 100-seat aircraft; and the acquisition of these twelve additional aircraft via Nordic Aviation Capital is integral to our network expansion from five regional hubs,” said Emirsyah Satar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Garuda Indonesia.

“The significant market potential and outstanding value retention of the CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft, as well as the broad base of CRJ aircraft operators around the world, are all positive factors contributing to the interest from leasing companies,” said Mairead Lavery, Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and Structured Finance, Bombardier Aerospace. “We are pleased to see that leasing companies such as Nordic Aviation Capital have recognized the outstanding in-service performance and reliability of the CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft.”

Including the order from Nordic Aviation Capital, Bombardier has recorded firm orders for 1,729 CRJ Series aircraft, with 1,665 delivered as of March 31, 2012. Worldwide, CRJ Series aircraft are in service with more than 60 airlines and more than 30 customers operate corporate variants of the aircraft. The aircraft are operating in over 50 countries, and on average, a CRJ aircraft takes off every ten seconds somewhere in the world.
BOMBARDIER

The first anniversary of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 commercial operations in Aeroflot


A year ago, on June 16, 2011 Aeroflot – Russian Airlines put its first Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft MSN 95008 in commercial operations. The SSJ100 aircraft named after the outstanding soviet pilot Mikhail Vodopyanov and received tail number RA-89001 successfully performed its first commercial flight on route Moscow – St Petersburg.

In 2011 Aeroflot received and put in operation three additional SSJ100 aircraft (MSN 95010 & RA-89002, MSN 95011 & RA-89003 and MSN 95012 & RA-89004) in August, November and December respectively. In 2012 four aircraft (MSN 95015 & RA-89007, MSN 95013 & RA-89005, MSN 95016 & RA-89008 and MSN 95014 & RA-89006) joined the airline’s fleet and started to perform revenue flights in January, March, April and May respectively. The acceptance of the ninth Aeroflot’s aircraft (MSN 95017 & RA-89009) will start in Komsomolsk-on-the Amur this week. In 2012 Aeroflot plans to receive five additional Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft.

By June 15, 2012 eight SSJ100s of Aeroflot accumulated 6,865 flight hours in 3,710 revenue flights and carried more than 220,000 passengers. Aeroflot’s SSJ100s performed scheduled flights from Moscow to 27 destinations in Russia (Anapa, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Nizhnevartovsk, Nizhnekamsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Perm, Samara, St Petersburg, Ufa and Chelyabinsk), Ukraine (Donetsk and Odessa), Belarus (Minsk) and Europe (Budapest, Bucharest, Vilnius, Dresden, Copenhagen, Krakow, Oslo, Sofia and Stockholm).

The best results in terms of monthly utilization were reached by aircraft MSN 95011 and MSN 95016 in May 2012 with a figure of 249 and 240 flight hours respectively. The biggest numbers of flights per month were performed by aircraft MSN 95010 and MSN 95008 in September and August 2011 and stood at 151 and 157 flights. The largest daily utilization reached 16 flight hours.

Aeroflot’s SSJ100 operations showed that the aircraft is able to efficiently serve both regional routes with the high frequency of departure and short haul routes. The SSJ100 of Aeroflot was able to perform three return flights per day, achieving daily utilization over than 10 flight hours.

“We are positive in evaluating the first year of our SSJ100 operations taking in account the fact that Aeroflot applied same rigid requirements to the technical condition of the new Russian airliner as to the Airbus and Boeing aircraft currently in its fleet. While the aircraft went through the initial phase of operations, we paid particular attention to its overall performance. Taking into account the high quality standards of Aeroflot, we believe that the work aimed at further improving the technical support efficiency conducted by SCAC and its partners will definitely lead to an expansion of the operational performance of our growing SSJ100 fleet in the near future”, noted Chief of the Aeroflot SSJ100 pilots team Evgeny Voronin.

“Sukhoi Superjet 100 is the new aircraft type, and we are satisfied with the results of the first year of operations of our aircraft with Aeroflot. These results achieved through joint efforts of Aeroflot, SCAC, SuperJet International and PowerJet sometimes exceeded those of many other new aircraft types in the first year of their commercial operations. For us it is important that the SSJ100 showed high safety rates for the new aircraft type and received positive feedback from Aeroflot pilots. We are continuously working on the enhancement of the production’s quality and range of services to our operators”, stressed President of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk.

Activities to establish and enhance the after-sales support system have been carried out during the first year of operations. Over the last six months the implementation of the monitoring system of operations allowed to minimize a number of issues related to the aircraft acceptance, to reduce of three times the notes to the operational documentation, to optimize the spare parts’ delivery time to 48 hours maximum and to heavily cut the troubleshooting time.

Training for the airline’s flightand technician staff for the SSJ100 aircraft is an important field to be focused on. The whole training is accomplished by SuperJet International, the joint venture between Alenia Aermacchi and Sukhoi Holding, by the Training Center in Zhukovsky by applying the international aviation and safety standards. Up to date and since the beginning of the training courses in February 2011 47 AFL crews (94 pilots including 42 pilots without previous “glass cockpit” experience), 24 flight attendant-instructors and 118 engineering technical specialists (94 in 2011 and 24 in 2012) were trained. Within the end of 2012 additional 16 AFL flight crews and around 40 AFL technicians will be trained.

A Full Flight Simulator (FFS) will be delivered to the Aeroflot training center in Sheremetyevo in October 2012.
SUKHOI

Transaero Airlines firms up order for four A380s

First A380 customer in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe
Transaero Airlines, Russia’s second largest airline, has completed a purchase agreement with Airbus for four A380 aircraft. The agreement was signed today by Olga Pleshakova, Transaero Airlines CEO and Christopher Buckley, Airbus’ Executive Vice President Europe, Asia and the Pacific on the first day of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. This order follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in October 2011. The deal will be financed with the support of VEB Leasing.
Transaero becomes the first customer for the A380 in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe. The Russian carrier plans to start operations with the A380 on its long-range network of high density routes from Moscow. The aircraft will feature a three class cabin layout, seating about 700 passengers. Transaero will announce the engine selection soon.
”Our airline, with its strong innovation culture, will be the first in Russia to fly the A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft. I am sure that the operation of the A380 will stimulate the development of Russia’s aviation sector, in particular, its ground infrastructure. In addition, our passengers will benefit from the completely new air travel experience that the A380 offers with its spacious, comfortable cabin, for their long-haul flights.” said Olga Pleshakova, Transaero Airlines CEO.
“We are delighted to welcome Transaero as our new A380 customer,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “We are confident that this most efficient aircraft will enable the airline to cope with the traffic growth in Russia and offer its passengers unrivalled levels of comfort on board,” he added.
Transaero Airlines launched its services in November 1991, and currently serves more than 130 routes all over the world.
Since entering service in 2007 the eco-efficient A380 has exceeded all expectations, flying more people further at lower cost (over 23 million passengers up to date). The spacious, quiet cabin and the smooth ride have made the aircraft a favourite with passengers. This has resulted in higher than average load factors and increased profitability on A380 flights, providing airlines with a key competitive advantage wherever they operate the type. With 100 flights per day, the A380 is becoming a familiar sight at airports across the globe. The A380 fleet transports one million passengers each month and performs a takeoff or landing every eight minutes.
Including today’s orders for four A380 from Transaero, the total A380 order book stands at 257 aircraft from 20 customers worldwide. To date, Airbus has delivered 77 aircraft to eight customers
AIRBUS

quarta-feira, 20 de junho de 2012

LIVINGSTON - A320-200, EI-ERH

José Ramon Valero - PMI

TUIFLY NORDIC - B767-300W, SE-RFS

José Ramon Valero - PMI

AIR EUROPA - B737-800, EC-JHL


José Ramon Valero - PMI

GERMANIA - A319-100, D-ASTC

José Ramon Valero - PMI

MONARCH - A320-200, G-MRJK

José Ramon Valero - PMI

JET2 - B737-300, G-GDFK

José Ramon Valero - PMI