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Tag: airbus

  • Bamboo Airways inks deal for 26 Airbus aircraft

    Bamboo Airways inks deal for 26 Airbus aircraft

    Private airline Bamboo Airways will buy 26 new narrow-body Airbus aircraft as it expands operations. The value of the deal is $6.3 billion, based on list price, chairman Trinh Van Quyet told. With the previous order of 24 aircraft of the same model last year, the airline has ordered 50 in total.

    Quyet said that the first of the A321Neo planes will be delivered in 2022.

    Bamboo Airways had previously said that it was considering purchasing 25 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded internationally after two deadly crashes within a space of five months.

    Last month, Bamboo Airways had inked a deal with Boeing for 10 wide-body 787-9 Dreamliners worth almost $3 billion.

    Starting this year, the airline operates 17 domestic flight routes. It plans to start international flights next month, with Japan, Singapore and South Korea mentioned as possible destinations.

    It also plans to fly to Europe in June and directly to the U.S. by the end of this year or early next year.

    Bamboo Airways is one of five airlines operating in Vietnam. The others are state-owned Vietnam Airlines, budget airline Vietjet, low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific and Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO).

    Local airlines served almost 50 million passengers last year, up 10 percent from 2017.

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  • AirAsia X Wants To Launch Airbus Flights To Europe

    AirAsia X Wants To Launch Airbus Flights To Europe

    AirAsia X is looking to launch flights to Europe using the Airbus A330neo. Flights could commence as soon as 2019, with the airline keen to reenter the market as quickly as possible.

    AirAsia X previously operated flights to Europe, but suspended these flights back in 2012. Now, it seems that the airline is ready to restart these flights. AirAsia X have 100 A330neo aircraft on order, with deliveries due to start later this year. As well as eyeing European service for these new planes, they may also look to start flying to the US too.

  • AirAsia buys Irish leasing units; Citilink Indonesia bid rejected

    AirAsia buys Irish leasing units; Citilink Indonesia bid rejected

    Asia Aviation Capital Ltd (AACL), the aircraft leasing unit of AirAsia Group Bhd, has acquired four newly incorporated companies in Ireland. AirAsia said in a stock exchange filing that AACL — its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary — had acquired the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Merah Aviation Asset Holding Two Ltd, Merah Aviation Asset Holding Three Ltd, Merah Aviation Asset Holding Four Ltd, and Merah Aviation Asset Holding Five Ltd.

    AirAsia said the four Merah Aviation companies were incorporated under the laws of Ireland on Wednesday for the purpose of owning, leasing and/or financing of aircraft. Each of Merah Aviation has issued and paid-up share capital of US$1 (RM4.09).

    In a separate matter, the Jakarta Post reported yesterday that AirAsia Indonesia’s proposal to acquire low-cost carrier (LCC) Citilink Indonesia had been rejected by Garuda Indonesia, quoting Garuda president director Ari Askhara.

    Citilink is a subsidiary of Garuda, according to the Jakarta Post report that is based on a report.  Ari was quoted as claiming that “Citilink is doing better than AirAsia, even under Garuda’s new management”.

    He said there are no internal talks within Garuda and no order from shareholders to sell Citilink. He also said Garuda has not received an official proposal from AirAsia Indonesia to buy Citilink.

    Though he conceded that talks had taken place between Garuda and AirAsia, he gave assurance that they were about possible cooperation, not acquisition.

    The report came after AirAsia Indonesia president director Dendy Kurniawan said on Monday the company was interested in acquiring Citilink because of the similarities between the two LCCs.

    “Both are LCCs. We are strong in international routes, while they (Citilink) are strong domestically. We have also a similar rating of pilots and cabin crew members.

    “We are interested. If Citilink’s shareholders welcome our offer, we will thank God. But if not, it is no problem,” Dendy said, adding that both LCCs operate Airbus aircraft.

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  • Vietjet to finalize $6.5 billion Airbus order: sources

    Vietjet to finalize $6.5 billion Airbus order: sources

    Vietjet is set to finalize a $6.5 billion jet order with Airbus ​during a visit to Hanoi by French PM Edouard Philippe on Friday. The order for 50 A321neo jets is part of an aggressive investment in the Vietnamese fast-growing budget carrier Vietjet’s fleet that has provided lucrative business for both Europe’s Airbus and its U.S. rival Boeing.

    It is also a boost for Airbus as it seeks to turn a raft of provisional orders put together at July’s Farnborough Airshow into hard revenues, narrowing a gap against Boeing this year.

    The deal is the biggest economic component of an official visit to Vietnam by Philippe from Nov. 2-4, during which he will oversee deals with French firms and hold talks with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, people familiar with the matter said.

    Airbus and Vietjet both declined to comment.

    Vietnam and France also signed an agreement in September to expand defense collaboration, although details are scant.

    VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said this week that Vietjet plans to maintain an average fleet age of just three years to keep fuel and maintenance costs low.

    It placed provisional orders for the A321neo jets and 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets in Farnborough and has been negotiating to firm them up, with deliveries expected between 2020 and 2025.

    The formal signing, to take place on Friday, will help to dispel doubts over the substance of deals announced in Farnborough, which was marked by a rash of vague or incomplete order announcements.

    Finalizing such deals can involve tough negotiations as airlines try to squeeze out last-minute concessions.

    However, finance industry sources have expressed concerns about a glut of orders in Southeast Asia from airlines like Vietjet, Malaysia’s AirAsia and Lion Air of Indonesia and question whether all of the several hundreds of planes on order from the Asian low-cost carriers will actually be delivered.

    Vietjet told the Airline Economics conference in Hong Kong this week that low-cost airlines have a relatively low market position in Vietnam, and that those most successful in driving down unit costs would ride out any downturn in the market.

    Vietnam’s expansion has also been peppered with trade sensitivities as Vietjet – which says it enjoys government support – juggled Airbus and Boeing procurements: a strategy also designed to win bigger discounts.

    Two years ago, Boeing upstaged Airbus by clinching an order for 100 737s during a visit by then-U.S. President Barack Obama.

    Until then, VietJet had only bought from Airbus, including an order for 92 jets in 2013.

    Philippe’s visit is the latest example of Western leaders beating a path to Asia’s low-cost carriers, whose orders have secured thousands of manufacturing jobs, trade experts said.

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  • Vietjet signs $1.24 bln financing deal for new Airbus planes

    Vietjet signs $1.24 bln financing deal for new Airbus planes

    Vietjet signed a financing agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Ltd and France-based BNP Paribas Bank to finance the carrier’s acquisition of up to five new aircraft worth $614 million at list price, it said in a statement.

    Vietjet also signed a memorandum of understanding valued at $625 million for financing and future ownership of five other aircraft at list prices with France-based banking group Natixis and some Japanese equity underwriters, it said.

    The acquisition of the aircraft is part of a contract signed earlier with Airbus and includes A321neo aircraft, Vietjet said, adding all aircraft financed on Wednesday will be delivered in the last quarter of 2018 or early next year.

    “These deals will greatly contribute to Vietjet’s plan for fleet expansion and network growth in the coming time,” said Vietjet Vice President Dinh Viet Phuong.

    In July, Vietjet placed provisional order to buy 50 A321neo Airbus aircraft worth $6.5 billion at list prices while it also struck a deal for 100 Boeing passenger jets worth almost $13 billion at list prices.

    Vietjet, Vietnam’s biggest private airline, currently operates 60 Airbus aircraft with more than 385 flights daily within Vietnam and to countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.

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  • AirAsia X inks conditional amendment agreement with Airbus for additional 34 aircraft

    AirAsia X inks conditional amendment agreement with Airbus for additional 34 aircraft

    AirAsia X Bhd has entered into a conditional amendment agreement with Airbus S.A.S for the purchase and delivery of an additional 34 A330-900neo aircraft pursuant to the A330-300 purchase agreement dated June 14, 2007.

    This comes after the low-cost long-haul carrier announced yesterday that it had placed an order of 100 Airbus A330neo widebody aircraft.

    AirAsia X said that the aircraft will be delivered between October 2019 and the second half of year 2028.

    The aircraft will each be fitted with a set of two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-72 engines.

    The group said the rationale for entering into the conditional agreement is to seek additional aircraft for its operational growth and also for aircraft replacement in respect of current aircraft on lease, which will be returned to the respective lessors within the next 10 years.

    “The new generation aircraft provide many benefits including greater fuel efficiencies, lower operating costs, enhanced customer comfort and importantly, greater range capability enabling non-stop services to new international markets, namely Europe and the US.”

    It added that the additional delivery of the aircraft also provide opportunities for the group to operate from other hubs in Malaysia such as Penang and Kota Kinabalu.

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  • AirAsia X won’t buy “too expensive” Airbus A350

    AirAsia X won’t buy “too expensive” Airbus A350

    AirAsia X group co-chief executive Tony Fernandes has thrown the carrier’s order for 10 Airbus A350-900s into doubt.

    Speaking in a Facebook video he says, “The A350 is not an aircraft we will buy. Too expensive. Fares would go up.”

    AirAsia X is understood to have been eyeing an order for additional A350s or Boeing 787s to complement its fleet of A330-300s, and 66 on-order A330-900s.

    Its 10 A350-900s on order are scheduled to start delivering in 2019, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.

    In the same video, however, Fernandes also appeared to throw cold water on a return to flying to London, saying that there were “no plans” to resume services to the UK capital.

    His comments appear to contradict comments from carrier’s head of network and regulatory Venggatarao Niadu, who recently indicated that the carrier would look to expand its network to Europe and the United States “in about 2019”.

    AirAsia X previously flew from Kuala Lumpur to London and Paris using A340s, but those routes were dropped in 2012.

    Airbus indicates that an A350-900 costs around $317 million at list prices.

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  • Singapore Airlines locks in daily Airbus A350 for Melbourne

    Singapore Airlines locks in daily Airbus A350 for Melbourne

    Singapore Airlines is locking in its advanced Airbus A350 jet for a year-round schedule between Melbourne and Singapore starting May 11, 2017.

    The sleek jetliner has made a number of short-term appearances on the route, but later this year it’ll be running daily as Melbourne-Singapore flight SQ208 and the SQ207 return leg.

    Travellers at the pointy end can relax in the Star Alliance member’s latest business class seat, evolved from that of the  Boeing 777-300ER flagship.

    It’s an “evolutionary, not revolutionary” approach, reported AusBT’s Suzanne Wu from one of the first SQ A350 flights – “and that’s not a bad thing. Not a whole lot was broke, so not a whole lot needed fixing.”

    Melbourne’s SQ218/SQ217 is also running on an A350 until June 30, after which it will revert to the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

    Asian rival Cathay Pacific already has one Airbus A350 on the Melbourne-Hong Kong route as CX104/105, with a second slotting into CX134/135 from October 29, while Thai Airways says its own on-again off-again Melbourne A350 flights should launch before the year’s end.

    April sees Singapore Airlines celebrate 50 years of flying to Australia, and is tipped to debut its newest Airbus A380 – fitted with next-generation first class suites and business class seats – on the Singapore-Sydney route in October 2017.

    The redesigned first class suites will be fewer in number – down the current superjumbo’s 12 to between six and eight – but much larger in footprint, and have been relocated to the upper deck.

    Next year will see Singapore Airlines restart direct flights between Singapore and the USA, with both New York and Los Angeles in line for an ultra-long range version of the A350 dubbed the A350ULR.

    This long-legged jet will carry all-new business class seats compared to the Melbourne A350, but only around 170 seats – some 80 less than the airline’s regular A350-900s – in order to minimise fuel burn and maximise range for the 18-19 hour journey.

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  • Citilink’s first new Airbus A320neo arrives in Indonesia

    Citilink’s first new Airbus A320neo arrives in Indonesia

    Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost subsidiary, Citilink, has begun welcoming a new fleet of Airbus A320 new engine option (neo) aircraft from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.

    Citilink has ordered 35 aircraft from the European manufacturer since it developed the new version in 2012. The 180-passenger capacity A320neo will join 45 aircraft of the previous model, the A320 current engine option (ceo), which Citilink already owns.

    The delivery will be completed by 2021. This year, Citilink will receive five aircraft.

    “We will use them for medium-length routes like to Eastern Indonesia, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to Shanghai,” Citilink acting president director and finance director Mega Satria said during the welcome ceremony at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia Workshop in Cengkareng, Banten, on Friday.

    According to Airbus data, the A320neo features two engine options, Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM and CFM International’s LEAP-1A. Citilink’s aircraft use the latter. Along with improvements to airframe and winglets, fuel efficiency has been increased by 15 percent compared to the A320ceo.

    As of January, Airbus had received 5,069 orders of the new aircraft since it began production in January 2016. German airline Lufthansa was the first to receive one on Jan. 20 last year.

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  • China Airlines Becomes 9th A350 Operator

    China Airlines Becomes 9th A350 Operator

    The carrier, which has 13 more on order, is the ninth airline operator of the new type.

    China Airlines will deploy the first A350 on regional routes such as Taipei-Hong Kong for crew familiarization towards the end of October 2016, before flying it to Amsterdam, Vienna and Rome from January 2017.

    According to the airline, it expects to receive three more A350s by the end of the year, with the other 10 scheduled to be delivered during the next two years.

    Airbus had originally planned to deliver the first frame to China Airlines in July 2016, but pushed it back due to production delays.

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  • Garuda Indonesia to receive 14 Airbus A330neo jets

    Garuda Indonesia to receive 14 Airbus A330neo jets

    Garuda Indonesia has confirmed an order with Airbus for the purchase of 14 A330-900neo, the new re-engined version of the best-selling A330 widebody airliner, to support the company’s growth and business expansion in the future.

    The deal was signed at a ceremony in London in the presence of the President of Indonesia, His Excellency Joko Widodo and British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP.

    Garuda Indonesia plans to use the A330neo to develop its medium and long haul network, with the aircraft offering cutting edge technology along with more efficient operations. The order replaces and extends an existing order for seven A330-300 aircraft, and the A330neo will be delivered from 2019 onwards.

    “We are pleased to announce that we continue our long-standing relationship with Airbus. Both Garuda Indonesia and Airbus fully understand the aim of the deal as a long-term strategy to win the global challenge,” said Arif Wibowo, CEO of Garuda Indonesia.

    Arif explained, “The A330neo represents a more-efficient future for Garuda Indonesia. This order restructuring is believed to support our continued commitment to deliver the most modern, comfortable and excellent air travel service to all customers as well as to strengthen the sustained positive growth and business expansion of the company.

    “Furthermore, we are confident that this latest technology aircraft will support us to compete better in the industry.”

    Prime Minister David Cameron said: “This deal underlines the increasing importance of our ties with Indonesia – a fast growing economy and set to become the seventh largest in the world by 2030.

    “We are the fifth biggest investor in Indonesia and our relationship has more untapped potential. We want to encourage more British businesses to seize on these opportunities and we will continue to support them by banging the drum for British skills and expertise.”
    Airbus Chief Operating Officer Tom Williams said: “We are delighted to welcome Garuda Indonesia as a new customer for the A330neo.

    “The A330neo will bring a range of benefits from unbeatable operating economics including significant reductions in fuel consumption, lower maintenance costs and extended range capability. The aircraft will have Airbus’ all new Airspace cabin which will ensure the A330 continues to be a benchmark for passengers and airlines alike.”

    The deal is the latest milestone in a long standing partnership dating back more than 30 years, when the airline took delivery of its first Airbus A300.

    The A330-800neo and the A330-900neo are two new members of the Airbus Widebody Family with first deliveries scheduled to start in Q4 2017. The A330neo incorporates latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, aerodynamic enhancements and new cabin features. Benefitting from the unbeatable economics, versatility and high reliability of the A330, the A330neo reduces fuel consumption by 14% per seat, making it the most cost efficient, long range widebody aircraft on the market.

    In addition to greater fuel savings, A330neo operators will also benefit from a range increase of up to 400 nautical miles and all the operational commonality advantages of the Airbus Family.

  • Garuda Indonesia orders up to 30 Airbus jets

    Garuda Indonesia orders up to 30 Airbus jets

    Garuda Indonesia airline is on a buying spree at the Paris Air Show.

    Airbus announced Monday that the Indonesian flagship carrier signed a letter of intent for 30 wide-body A350 jets, which could serve routes from Jakarta or Bali to Europe. If confirmed, the order would be worth up to $9 billion at list prices, though airlines usually negotiate discounts.

    Earlier Monday, Boeing announced a tentative order by Garuda Indonesia for up to 60 jets.

    Asian carriers are expected to dominate global aircraft demand over the next two decades, with Boeing estimating that roughly two out of every five new planes will head to Asia.