- The row between Airbus and Qatar Airways escalated. The airframer has cancelled Qatar’s order for 50 A321neos, “in accordance with our rights,” a spokesman confirmed. The two companies have been sparring over Qatar’s fleet of A350s, which the Doha-based carrier says suffer from unacceptable paint issues, a charge Airbus denies. Qatar is seeking more than $600 million from Airbus in compensation through the courts.
- Boeing’s 737 Max took another step in its slow return to the sky in China and Indonesia, two of the last hold outs since the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was the first to re-certify the jet in November 2020. China Southern and Hainan Airlines both flew Maxes on test flights in China on January 21, and Lion Air — one of the airline’s that suffered a fatal Max crash that led to the type’s nearly two-year grounding — flew a 737-8 on a test flight over Indonesia the same day, according to Flightradar24.
- Startup Breeze Airways will introduce its first Airbus A220s on passenger flights on May 4. The aircraft, which Breeze will eventually uses on longer routes, will initially operate on six routes from Tampa: Akron-Canton, Charleston, Louisville, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, and Richmond. Breeze took delivery of its first of 80 A220-300s in December.
- Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has placed two Boeing 737 Maxes with Icelandair. The Icelandic carrier will take delivery of the 737-8s under long-term leases this spring, and plans to fly 14 737 Max aircraft this summer. With the deal, DAE has placed all of the 10 remaining 737 Maxes it has on order with the balance going to Aeromexico under a deal unveiled in July.
- UK startup Flypop, which aims to begin flying low-cost flights to “secondary cities” in South Asia this summer, has started with cargo. The carrier took delivery of its second Airbus A330, which it is now using a freighter until passenger operations start later this year.
Edward Russell
January 24th, 2022