20 Nov 2017

China Aviation Industry Newsletter 20 November

Air China Takes Delivery of First A320neo Powered by PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ Engine Pratt & Whitney announced Air China has taken delivery of its first A320neo family aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney's PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engine. This aircraft is the first A320neo to be delivered to a Chinese operator from the Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin, China. The delivery comes after Pratt & Whitney recently announced a definitive agreement with Air China Limited and Shenzhen Airlines for 60 A320neo family aircraft, powered by the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine. The contract with Air China includes a 15-year EngineWise™ Fleet Management Program. ATR Says China Market Looks Promising In the year since Christian Scherer became CEO of French-Italian turboprop aircraft manufacturer ATR, the company has realized a good run of business. As of November 8, the OEM held firm orders for 119 aircraft, for at least 80 estimated deliveries in the year. Read interview here BOC Aviation Delivers fifth Airbus A321-200 to Finnair BOC Aviation delivered the fifth of six Airbus A321-200 aircraft to Finnair. This aircraft is from the Company's existing order book. BOC Aviation Delivers second Boeing 737-800 to Pobeda Airlines BOC Aviation delivered the third of eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft to Pobeda Airlines. This aircraft is from the Company's existing order book. CDB Aviation Confirms Order With Airbus For 90 A320neo Family Aircraft CDB Aviation announced 15 November that it has confirmed an order for 90 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft during the 2017 Dubai Airshow. The lessor’s order book now comprises a total of 90 A320neo Family aircraft, including 32 A321neo and 58 A320neo aircraft. The agreement was reached in two steps: an original purchase agreement signed in 2014 for 45 A320neo Family aircraft, which remained undisclosed to date; and the firming up of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for an additional 30 A320neo and 15 A321neo aircraft announced at the Le Bourget Paris Airshow in June 2017. Ethiopian Airlines names latest airplane B787-9 in honor of Chinese capital Ethiopian Airlines announced it has named its latest airplane Boeing 787-9 in honor of China's capital city, Beijing. The airline decided to name the aircraft after Beijing to emphasize its historical presence in the Chinese aviation market dating back to 1973. China is the largest national market for Ethiopian Airlines which currently flies to five Chinese destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Gama Aviation Partners with China Aircraft Services Gama Aviation Hutchison (Hong Kong] announced a collaboration with China Aircraft Services Ltd.’s (CASL) facility at Hong Kong International Airport for business jet maintenance services as a general sales agent. The collaboration exclusively permits Gama Aviation to sell CASL’s business jet maintenance services in Asia. CASL has already acquired FAA and Cayman maintenance approvals for the Gulfstream G350/450, G550 and G650/650ER, as well as for the Bombardier Global family. Bermudan and Hong Kong civil aviation department approvals are expected shortly. ICBC Leasing places $1.1 Bilion order for CFM LEAP-1 Engines U.S. President Trump and China President Xi Jinping, witnessed the signing of an agreement between ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and CFM International for the purchase of 80 LEAP-1B engines to power 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Yi Huiman, chairman of ICBC and John Rice, vice chairman of CFM parent company GE, signed the agreement. The engine order is valued at nearly $1.1 billion U.S. at list price and ICBC Leasing is scheduled to begin taking delivery in 2018.   The airplanes were previously announced as part of a Chinese block buy. Korean Air Predicts Gradual Recovery In China Korean Air expects to see demand on its China routes start to rebound in the fourth quarter, following a thaw in the political tensions that have severely dented traffic flows between the two countries reported Aviation Daily. PM meets Chinese aircraft leasing delegation Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has had talks in Hong Kong with the China Aircraft Leasing Group (CALC). The two sides discussed possible collaboration and investment opportunities, the government said, without elaboration. China Aircraft Leasing Group is the biggest aircraft lessor in China and is also involved in aircraft disassembling and recycling. Acumen Aviation © 20 November All Rights Reserved.