Overview
It’s been an Airbus week in the Asia-Pacific. On Wednesday, the company officially broke ground on its Tianjin A330 completion and delivery centre, which will complement its A320 Final Assembly Line in the Chinese port city. The same day, in Toulouse, Airbus handed over the first of 67 A350s to Singapore Airlines (SIA). SIA is the fifth airline to operate the A350. It was also all good news at AirAsia, AirAsia X and Turkish Airlines, where all three carriers posted robust fourth quarter profits. At press time, the industry is awaiting updates on the newly-found aircraft debris off Mozambique, likely to be a part of missing MH370’s horizontal stabilizer.
Airbus showcases China partnerships with new Tianjin A330 CDC Read More »
News
Malaysia: New debris likely from MH370
Malaysian transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai, has said on his official Twitter feed that “based on early reports,” there is a “high possibility” the debris found off the coast of Mozambique last weekend “belongs to a 777”. Read More »
News
SIA accepts maiden A350 and raises stake in Tigerair to 95.6%
On Wednesday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) became an operator of the A350XWB when it accepted delivery of its first airplane of the type in Toulouse. Read More »
News
Turkish posts $1.69 billion profit and seals Royal Brunei code share agreement
Turkish Airlines exceeded analysts’ expectations when it reported a net profit of $1.1 billion for the full-year to December 31, up from $845 million in 2014, and surpassing the billion dollar mark for the first time in its history. Read More »
News
AirAsia and AirAsia X return to profit
Shares of Malaysian AirAsia and AirAsia X (AAX) climbed to an eight-month high this week after the budget carriers posted better than expected results and showed clearer signs of executing turnarounds. Read More »
News
Emirates adds Yangon, Oman leases extra B787s and SAUDIA awaits A330R
An Emirates Airline A380 flew into the record books on Wednesday when it landed in Auckland after completing the world’s longest direct commercial flight. Read More »
News
Air China is scheduled to receive the first of 15-on-order GE GEnx-1B-powered B787-9s on May 5, China Aviation Daily has reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. Read More »
News
“Gentlemen’s agreement” between Bregier and Al Baker
Airbus president and CEO, Fabrice Bregier, while in China this week, told media the manufacturer is confident it will deliver a “very reliable” Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered A320neo to former launch customer, Qatar Airways, by mid-year. Read More »
People
China Southern names new chairman
Guangzhou’s China Southern Airlines has appointed vice transport minister, Wang Changshun, as its new chairman, after the former chairman, Si Xianmin, was dismissed in November following “serious violations of discipline” – a Chinese euphemism for corruption. Read More »
Short Takes
LESSORS: Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has reported a record net profit of $508 million for 2015, a 15.8% improvement over the previous year, as revenues increased 16.4% year-on-year to $1.2 billion. Read More »
