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Greece-based AEGEAN Airlines has taken a delivery of its first Airbus A320neo aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.

GTF engines will provide the airline with the ability to reach further destinations which will benefit both passengers and Greek tourism, AEGEAN suggested. The engine has also demonstrated a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by 50% and fuel burn decreased by 16%, creating a more environmentally beneficial aircraft. 

The airline received the first aircraft in December 2019, part of an order for a minimum of 46 aircraft expected to be received by 2025. Until July 2020, AEGEAN is set to receive a total of six new aircraft reaching a fleet of 65 aircraft, adding 1.5 million seats to the network through the purchase. 

Along with the presentation of the new aircraft, AEGEAN revealed its new livery and branding which draws inspiration from the Greek landscape, architecture and heritage. Dimitris Gerogiannis, CEO of AEGEAN said, “The new livery represents a new AEGEAN and a platform to expand and refresh services for a better customer experience.”

The airline currently flies to 155 destinations in 44 countries. AEGEAN plans to use the A320neos on short to medium-haul flights from their base in Athens. The aircraft will commence service from 14 February across Europe, with the hope that more destinations will be within reach as more aircraft arrive. 

British Airways has revealed a new summer domestic route to Newquay. Due to start this summer the airline will operate flights from London Heathrow to Newquay for approximately two months. The 210 mile route is one of the shortest for BA and will be served by an Airbus A319.

The airline will operate the service from London to Newquay five days per week starting on 2 July. Flights will last until 7 August, which is just over two months. It’s viewed as an attempt to increase tourism in the Cornish destination. It will be the airline’s first new domestic route since the carrier launched flights to Inverness in 2016. British Airways said that return fares will start for as little as £90 in the economy cabin and £250 in the business cabin.

Speaking of the new route, Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances said: “We know that customers enjoy exploring the UK as much as they do going further afield, and Newquay has so much to offer, especially in the summer months.”

India regional airline Trujet expands its network with the addition to Bidar as an accessible destination on 7 February 2020.

Supporting the Regional Connectivity Scheme, 65% of Trujet’s flights are to regional airports. In four years, 24 destinations have been added to its network, creating routes to various Tiers within the country. Director of Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltd, Mr K V Pradeep, said, “We can truly claim to have answered, and continue to answer, the nation’s call to spread socio-economic growth to India.”

By making Bidar the 24^th stop in Trujet’s network, the airline provides easier and quicker connections for both locals and tourists. “We reached Bidar in just one hour 40 minutes, instead of 12 hours travel by bus,” said the chief minister of Karnataka, Mr Yeddyurappa.

Papua New Guinean airline (PNG) has ordered three ATR 42-600S Aircraft from ATR which will be the short take-off and landing version (STOL), ensuring the capability of taking-off and landing on runways as short as 800m in length.

The airline currently operates seven ATR 72-600s and will use the three new STOL aircraft to replace its current fleet of ageing STOL turboprops.

“Since incorporating the ATR 72-600 into our fleet PNG Air has gone from strength to strength,” said Paul Abbot, Chief Executive Officer of PNG Air. He added that the ATR 72-600 burns 40% less fuel and emits 40% less CO2 than a similar sized regional jet, further commenting, “the maintenance costs and commonality were hugely attractive.”

ATR highlighted that many current generations of STOL aircraft are reaching the end of their lifecycles, so it is “vital” to replace them in order to secure the connections they operate. With this order, PNG Air has ensured their passengers have continued accessibility to the communities that they reach.

“Without a viable STOL replacement PNG Air’s passengers would face significant challenges to their way of life,” commented ATR Chief Executive Office, Stefano Bortoli, adding, “As a successful airline PNG Air have shown that they understand the importance of these links to their passengers and the communities that they serve.”

Collins Aerospace Systems has announced its plan to invest in the developments of landing system facilities in Fort Worth, Spokane and Pueblo.

An increase in the demand for wheels, brakes and landing gear has led to a growth in the company’s Landing Systems business. The investment will lead to the creation of more than 100 jobs.

In Spokane, Washington, there are plans in the process to expand the current carbon brake manufacturing facility by 50%, creating 50 new jobs. 2021 will see the expansion of three more buildings.

A similar expansion in Pueblo, Colorado will also provide the community with work, adding 40,000 square feet to the existing site. This project began in 2015 and is due to be completed next year.

The new wheel and brake maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Fort Worth will be combined with the current landing gear operations run by Collins Aerospace. These adaptions are expected to bring the company closer to airline customers in the region.

“We are committed to investing in our business to better serve our customers,” commented Ajay Mahajan, VP, Landing Systems at Collins Aerospace.

It appears that barely a week goes by when, yet another story related to Boeing’s troubled 737 MAX makes the headlines. This is not the first time I have visited the subject, and I doubt it will be the last before the type re-enters widespread commercial service again. The latest incident to hit the MAX series follows a new software flaw that was discovered when a MAX was put through a series of manoeuvres during a recent flight test by Boeing pilots.

The latest issue relates to an indicator light in the cockpit which illuminates if there’s any kind of issue with the aircraft’s trim system. This advises the pilots to either lower or raise the nose of the aircraft, according to an unnamed source.

According to the aircraft manufacturer the light was turning on when it wasn’t meant to do so. “We are incorporating a change into the 737 MAX software prior to the fleet returning to service to ensure that this indicator light only illuminates as intended,” read a statement by Boeing.

It’s presumed that this minor issue will not delay the aircraft’s return to service, and operators have been made aware of the issue.

But, during the last few months, several issues have also been discovered on the jet. The first was a wiring issue that could have resulted in a short circuit and subsequently render the pilots unable to control the horizontal stabiliser of the MAX. A second issue was related to the onboard flight computers. When powered up, they check for any issues on the jet and the software glitch prevented them from running any kind of safety diagnostic.

At the end of January, Boeing issued an update to their estimated 737 MAX schedule, within this was an extended deadline of when the jet would return to commercial service – now pencilled in for mid-2020. It marks a major revision to Boeing’s original schedule which initially presumed the type to be back in the air at the end of 2019. This proved to be far too optimistic and this latest date shows signs of Boeing’s more cautious and conservative approach to the entire MAX issue.

Airbus recorded net orders for 274 commercial aircraft across its A220, A320 and A350 XWB product lines in January.

Airbus’ gross order total – before cancellations – was for 296 aircraft by the end of January. During this month, 31 deliveries were made from the A220, A320, A330 and A350 XWB families. The new business in January raised Airbus’ overall order total, since the company’s creation to 20,382 commercial aircraft.

The single-aisle business was led by two transactions with Spirit Airlines and the US-based Air Lease Corporation. Spirit Airlines finalised its purchase for 100 A320neo Family aircraft, involving 47 A319neo, 33 A320neo and 20 A321neo versions. Air Lease Corporation’s order for 102 aircraft consisted of 50 A220-300s, 25 A321neo and 27 A321XLRs (making the lessor a new customer for the extra-long-range version).

Other single-aisle transactions included orders from the Philippine-based low-cost airline Cebu Pacific for five A320neo aircraft and 10 A321XLRs, and the flag carrier of the Republic of Senegal, Air Senegal for eight A220-300s.

During the month, China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC) signed a purchase agreement for 40 A321neo aircraft, and BOC Aviation Limited also placed a firm order for 20 A320neo aircraft.

In this month, there were two repeat customers for widebody orders in the A350-900 configurations; Air France for 10 and Air Lease Corporation for one aircraft.

January single-aisle deliveries consisted of 26 A320 Family aircraft as well as two A220s. Additionally, three widebody aircraft (comprising two A350 XWBs in the A350-900 configuration and one A330neo) were delivered. The backlog of aircraft still to be delivered by the end of the month totalled 7,725.

A new delay has impacted Mitsubishi’s Spacejet programme, which means complete type certification for the jet won’t be completed this year. The Japanese aircraft manufacturer now says it can’t give a date as to when the aircraft will enter service, until a modified test aircraft has been fully prepared to start test flights in the US, later this year.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) revealed the sixth delay to the programme following a quarterly financial briefing. A spokesman for MHI said that the decision to push back the type certification follows multiple additional design changes to the 76-seat aircraft. He said that Mitsubishi now has “a baseline certifiable design that will allow us to achieve certification” while adding that “as we gain clarity as to the impact of these changes, it has become clear that we will not achieve certification in FY2020.”

It was in early 2017, Mitsubishi delayed the first of the aircraft that was then designated the MRJ90 from mid-2018 to mid-2020. This was due to revisions to the aircraft’s software in order to meet the revised certification requirements. The revised 2020 date means that the airliner is now seven years behind the original service entry date, which was set back when the programme first launched in 2008.

To date the only confirmed customer for the jet is Japan’s All Nippon Airways.

An Airbus A320 belonging to Syrian operator Cham Wings was forced to make an emergency landing due to Israeli airstrikes in Syria. The airliner inadvertently flew into the envelope of Syrian air defences as they were firing at the Israeli strike aircraft. The Airbus wasn’t hit in the incident and landed safely at Khmeimim Air Base near Damascus.

A Russian defence spokesperson accused the Israeli jets of using the A320 as a ‘shield’, stating “Israel’s general staff’s military operation in used a passenger jet as cover or to block the fire by Syrian missile systems is becoming a typical trait of the Israeli Air Force.

“Tel Aviv is perfectly aware of civilian flight routes and air activity around Damascus day and night, and such reckless missions prove that Israeli strategists could not care less about possible civilian casualties.”

The Russian defence ministry praised the quick actions of ATC in Damascus for getting the airliner out of harm’s way.