Aircraft News - Asia / Pacific

AirGuide Business, Jan 14, 2008

Jan 14, 2008

UAE, India compete for aircraft maintenance contracts. The United Arab Emirates and India are competing to win aircraft maintenance work, demonstrating how growth in aviation is stimulating the global economy. Jan 7, 2008

All Nippon Airways, Mitsubishi Regional Jets

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Considering Mitsubishi Regional Jets. All Nippon Airways and some affiliated airlines are looking at buying about 30 regional jets made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Jiji news agency reported on Wednesday. Mitsubishi Heavy has said it aims to sell 1,000 regional passenger jets over the next 20 to 30 years, grabbing one-fifth of expected new demand in a market dominated by Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer. Jan 9, 2008

All Nippon Airways, Mitsubishi Regional Jets

All Nippon Airways spokesman Toshiki Yamamoto said the airline was studying possible regional jet purchases from various perspectives such as cost and capacity, but nothing had been decided. All Nippon currently only operates regional jets made by Bombardier. Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman Hideo Ikuno declined to comment. Overall, Mitsubishi Heavy plans to spend about JPY150 billion yen (USD$1.4 billion) on the project, dubbed Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), which will seat 70 to 90 passengers. It will make a final decision on the launch this spring and hopes to start operating the jets in 2012. Jiji said Mitsubishi Heavy, Japan's biggest heavy machinery maker, needs to secure orders for 350 jets for the project to be viable. Jan 9, 2008

AVIC Commercial Aircraft

AVIC Commercial Aircraft AVIC I, parent of Xi'an Aircraft International Corporation, is developer of the ARJ21 regional jet. AVIC II's Hafei Aviation Industry makes the ERJ-145 regional jet in partnership with Brazil's Embraer. China unveiled the 90 seat ARJ21-700, its first domestically developed regional jet, late last month and the plane is due for its first test flight this spring. But China's long-term goal is to make large passenger jets with more than 150 seats, or freighters capable of handling more than 100 tonnes of cargo, to give it a presence in the global commercial jet market. Jan 7, 2008

AVIC Commercial Aircraft

China To Establish Company To Build Large Jets. China will set up a company to develop and build large commercial jets early this year as it tries to reduce its reliance on and Airbus, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. A project leader and a chief designer will be appointed to the firm before the end of March, Xinhua quoted Huang Qiang, secretary general of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defence, as saying. Huang did not disclose further details, but Chinese media said this month that China would restructure its two state aircraft makers, AVIC I and AVIC II, primarily so they could pool resources to build large aircraft. Details of the restructuring are still being discussed at the central government level, but it is expected to involve merging some of the two firms' assets. Jan 7, 2008

Lion Air, Boeing

Lion Air has 122 Boeing 737-900ERs on order and also plans to establish an operation in Thailand with four aircraft. According to Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's Derek Sadubin, the Lion Air is interested in investing in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Philippines and plans to spend $50-$100 million in each venture, with funding to come from both internal and external sources. Lion is receiving Boeing 737-900ERs at a rate of one per month through 2014. Jan 11, 2008

Lion Air, Boeing

Lion Air has Australian plans. Australian aviation regulatory authorities are going to come under the spotlight after Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air announced its plans to launch domestic operations in Australia with six Boeing 737-900ERs. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, the airline has "reportedly reached agreement with an Australian company to take a 49% stake and base six aircraft in Australia." However, with Indonesia's poor safety record and bans on international flights to both the US and EU, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority will come under scrutiny as it works on approving operations for an Indonesian airline based in Australia. Jan 11, 2008

Mitsubishi Regional Jets, Pratt & Whitney

Mitsubishi Heavy announced in October it had picked Pratt & Whitney to supply engines for the new regional passenger jet. Mitsubishi's new jet, which will be the first regional jet to adopt composite materials for its airframe on a significant scale, is part of a larger effort by Japan to develop aircraft that are quieter and more fuel-efficient. Jan 9, 2008

Qantas Airways, Boeing

Qantas Airways Executive General Manager John Borghetti said in a statement that the airline had checked the systems and equipment on all 30 of its Boeing 747-400 aircraft and "the entire fleet had been cleared to fly". Borghetti dismissed as "unhelpful" speculation by engineers, pilots, commentators and airline union officials about whether the power loss could have been disastrous if it happened further out over sea. Qantas has one of the aviation world's best safety records. Jan 11, 2008