02 Jan 2018

USA Aviation Industry Newsletter 2 January

Airbus, Indigo Partners finalize orders for 430 A320neo Family aircraft Airbus announced 28 December that it had finalized agreements with Indigo Partners and its four portfolio airlines for the purchase of 430 additional A320neo Family aircraft for ultra-low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines (United States), JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary). The signed purchase agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding among the parties announced at the Dubai Air Show last month. The 430-aircraft order is made up of 274 A320neos and 156 A321neos worth $49.5 billion at list prices. Airlines in the Indigo Partners family had previous placed orders for a total of 427 A320 Family aircraft. Boeing and Royal Air Maroc Announce Orders for Four 787 Dreamliners Boeing and Royal Air Maroc (RAM) 27 December announced orders for (4) 787-9 Dreamliners – valued at $1.1 billion at list prices – that will enable Morocco's flag carrier to expand international service. The orders, previously listed as unidentified on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website, include two 787s purchased in December 2016 and two purchased this month. Royal Air Maroc, which has already taken delivery of five 787-8s, will grow its fleet of fuel-efficient 787s to a total of nine aircraft. Frontier confirms order for 134 A320neo Family aircraft Frontier Airlines has signed a firm order for 100 A320neo and 34 A321neo aircraft. The order is part of the $49.5 billion, 430-plane deal with Indigo Partners announced at the 2017 Dubai Airshow. Besides the Frontier order, an additional 296 A320neo Family aircraft are being ordered by Indigo’s other portfolio airlines: JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary). “Today’s signing of the firm order for 134 aircraft brings our current orderbook to 199 aircraft and further strengthens our long-standing relationship with Airbus,” said Barry Biffle, president and chief executive officer for Frontier Airlines. “The A320 Family aircraft paves the way for us to continue to grow and modernize our fleet while helping us deliver on our mission to provide affordable travel across America." Parker Aerospace Awarded Contract to Provide Emirates’ 777X Hydraulic Pumps Parker Aerospace announced 25 December a pump call-out agreement with Emirates for its 777X aircraft. Emirates is the launch customer of the new Boeing aircraft with an order book of 150 777X, one of the single largest aircraft orders by value in the history of US commercial aviation. Parker will provide the hydraulic engine-driven pump and AC motor pump on the fleet of 777X wide-body airplanes. Emirates, currently the largest operator of the Boeing 777 aircraft, expects to take delivery of the first 777X in 2020. Royal Air Maroc selects GEnx engines to power additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners Royal Air Maroc (RAM) chose the GEnx-1B engine to power its two additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners. This order brings the airline's GEnx-powered 787 Dreamliner fleet to seven aircraft. The engine order is valued at more than $100 million (USD) list price. UIA received a brand new Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft Ukraine International Airlines enhanced its fleet with a brand new Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft manufactured at Boeing facilities in Seattle. Therefore, the leading Ukraine’s carrier has successfully completed its 2017 fleet renewal and expansion program. The aircraft passed an official registration procedure in Ukraine and received the UR-UIA registration number. The aircraft accommodates 186 passengers in two-class seating configuration. UIA expects to operate the new Boeing 737-800 NG across its medium-haul route network. Thursday, December 28, the UR-UIA is scheduled to operate the first flight under PS code between Kiev and Amsterdam. U.S. airlines reduced Caribbean capacity by 10% in December With portions of the Caribbean still struggling to recover from massive hits by hurricanes Irma and Maria in September, U.S.-based airlines flew nearly 10% fewer seats to the region in December than they had a year earlier. According to the airline data analytics company OAG, the most-damaged Caribbean islands are all experiencing substantial drops in airlift this winter. Capacity to Puerto Rico was down 28.2% year over year in December. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, it was down 47.2%. Dutch St. Maarten, where the airport has been forced to move into temporary facilities while the terminal is rebuilt, saw a decrease of 62.4%. Acumen Aviation © 2 January All Rights Reserved.