Page 8 - AAA JULY - AUGUST 2016 Online Magazine

COVER STORY

LEFT: The Airbus A320neo
family has received a total of
4568 orders, while the Boeing
737 MAX across all variants
has notched up 3213 orders
(information for both types
accurate as of 31 May)

OPPOSITE PAGE: The maiden
flight of Embraer’s E190-E2, saw
the airplane being flown up to a
speed of Mach 0.82 and a height
of 41,000 feet

support staff, engineers and administration overwhelmingly in favour of the MAX8. the A320neo. Qatar was the launch customer
personnel based at the Mirabel CRC. Boeing managed to garner more orders for the NEo, having placed orders for 50 (34
Bombardier has taken onboard the in the period from 31 December 2014 to A320neos and 16 A321neos) and expected
Government of Québec as an equity 31 May 2016; adding 141 orders for the delivery of its first aircraft in December 2015.
partner in the C Series aircraft program, as MAX compared to Airbus’ 97 for the NEo. Qatar was to have received five A320neos
announced earlier in the year. A U.S.$1 billion Developmental flight testing for the new by June and as many as 10 by the end of this
investment will be made by the Government 737MAX is now progressing rapidly and in year. Lufthansa’s CEo Carsten Spohr also
of Quebec into the newly created, C Series a first for the MAX flight test program, the announced in March that the airline would
Aircraft Limited Partnership (the “CSALP”), entire MAX test fleet of four aircraft were delay taking delivery of its second A320neo
of which a 50.5 per cent equity stake will in the air at the same time on 7 June. The test due to engine related issues. Lufthansa is
be held by Bombardier and the rest by examples have also received different paint scheduled to receive five more NEos in 2016.
Investissement Québec. The monies will be schemes; Boeing livery for test aircraft No.1 To clear the air on the performance of the
disbursed in two U.S.$500 million tranches, and No.4, while ‘Light’ livery adorns aircraft PW1100G-JM engine, Pratt & Whitney, issued a
the first on June 30, 2016 and the second No.2 and No.3. Launch customer, Southwest statement in June, asserting that the engine,
on September 1, 2016. The infusion funds Airlines is expected to take delivery of its “Is fully certified and meets performance and
are vital to Bombardier’s efforts to achieve first 737MAX in the third quarter of 2017. The contract specifications, delivering 16 per cent
cash flow breakeven in 2018 and as a result only engine choice for the 737MAX Family better fuel efficiency, 50 percent reduction in
of the investment, “The strategic, financial is CFM International’s LEAP-1B engine, overall emissions, and 75 per cent reduction in
and operational headquarters for the CSALP, continuing the Boeing tradition of selecting noise footprint while yielding a better than 99
along with the assembly, manufacturing, CFM as the engine supplier for the 737 per cent reliability rate.”
engineering services and research and Family since 1984. The 737MAX is expected The newest operator of the A320neo and
development activities of the CSALP, will to better fuel-efficiency of the earliest the third in the world to commence revenue
remain in the Province of Québec for at least Next-Generation 737s that entered service operations with the type is Indian low-cost
20 years,” Bombardier announced. decades ago by 20 per cent and that of the carrier (LCC) GoAir, which took delivery
newest Next-Generation 737s in operation of the first of 72 A320neos it has on order
Boeing 737MAX and A320neo today by 14 per cent. on 2 June. GoAir has an existing fleet of 19
As of 31 May this year, Airbus’ A320neo As of 31 May, Airbus had delivered seven A320s. The first aircraft has been acquired
family and Boeing’s 737 MAX range have A320neos to Lufthansa, IndiGo and GoAir via the sale and leaseback through SMBC
cumulatively achieved an astounding 7781 combined. In June, Qatar Airways CEo, Akbar Aviation Capital. The aircraft is configured
orders. Airbus has racked up a total of Al Baker announced the cancellation of the Airbus Spaceflex cabin configuration
4568 orders for the NEo as compared to delivery of the airline’s first A320neo, after with 186 seats. Revenue operations with the
3213 for the MAX (as on May 31, across all repeated delays related to the delivery of A320neo, commenced on 9 June. “With the
variants). The order split for the aircraft the aircraft. The delays appear to be a result induction of the first of our 72 NEo aircraft on
variants are: A319neo (58), A320neo (3385) of Qatar’s concerns with Pratt & Whitney’s order, we have reached a fleet strength of 20
and A321neo (1125), while 737MAX orders are (PW) Pure Power PW1100G-JM engines on aircraft. With this expansion, we will be able to
8 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE JULY/ AUGUST 2016 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA