Fleet

Article • Fleet

FAA Re-Certifies B737 MAX, Other Regulators Need More Time

The FAA has approved the B737 MAX to fly again, ending a 20-month grounding in the wake of two fatal accidents, but Boeing's best-selling aircraft will be limited to the U.S. for now. In a break with the past, regulators...

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Article • Fleet

Lessors Optimistic About Recovery

Four major leasing companies — AerCap, Air Lease, Aircastle, and Fly — held their Q3 earnings calls last week. And all four sounded optimistic, particularly beyond this winter. They cited developments like Pfizer’s extremely positive vaccine results, the near-complete recovery...

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Article • Fleet

Airbus, Boeing Report Diminished Deliveries

Airbus noted that although traffic had begun to recover slightly, new viral outbreaks and ever-changing travel restrictions have resulted in airlines paring back. The inability to forecast the future is one reason why the airframer, which first withdrew its full-year...

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Article • Fleet

Southwest Floats an Airbus Possibility

Southwest came the closest yet to stating that it might buy something other than B737s. Not that it’s ready to place an order with Airbus tomorrow. But it does have a large fleet of B737-700s to replace and needs to...

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Article • Fleet

Could China Have a Winner With the C919?

Allegiant, speaking last week at the Boyd Group's International Aviation Forecast Summit in Cincinnati, is seeing more strength in demand recently, Bloomberg reported. The LCC, which has barely cut any capacity throughout the pandemic, is also getting inundated with calls...

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Article • Fleet

Alaska on the Verge for More MAXs

A boost for Boeing? Alaska Airlines, Reuters reports, might be on the verge of a new B737 MAX order. It has fewer than 40 on order currently, which isn’t enough to meet its longterm replacement needs. The airline still flies...

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Article • Fleet

MAX Tests Continue, and REX Plans its Fleet

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson (a former Delta pilot) took a B737 MAX for a test flight last week and said although he thought the aircraft had come a long way, more needs to be done before it can be re-certified....

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Article • Fleet

Airbus Slashes Production

Delta, a much bigger Airbus customer than either American or United, wants to defer at least 40 deliveries scheduled for this year, Bloomberg reports. Discussions are in progress. The airline is indeed a prolific Airbus buyer, ordering A350s, A330 NEOs,...

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Article • Fleet

Congressional Panel Faults Boeing, FAA Missteps for MAX Accidents

A scathing report from the U.S. House of Representatives said Boeing’s “faulty technical assumptions” and the FAA's “grossly insufficient oversight” were responsible for the B737 MAX operating with flawed flight control software, resulting in the Lion Air and Ethiopian accidents. The report,...

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Article • Fleet

ANZ Grounds B777 Fleet till September ’21

Air New Zealand is grounding its fleet of seven B777-300s and eight B777-200s until September 2021, the carrier said. Recovery from the Covid pandemic is taking longer than expected, and it remains uncertain when longhaul traffic will return to pre-pandemic...

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Article • Fleet

Boeing Books Firm Order

It’s a small pebble in oceans of cancellations and deferrals. But Boeing gladly booked a firm order for two B737 MAX 8s. The buyer is Enter Air, a Polish charter airline that launched in 2010. It’s taking options to buy...

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Article • Fleet

Lessors Are Surprisingly Calm in this Crisis

Financially strong aircraft lessors appear more or less relaxed about the airline industry’s epic meltdown. Count Air Lease Corp. (ALC) among them, feeling reassured by early signs of recovery, by stabilizing airline balance sheets thanks to prodigious public aid, and...

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