The final phase of Bombardier’s aviation business restructuring is approaching the finish line. The company announced today a definitive agreement to sell its aerostructures business to Spirit AeroSystems. The deal includes facilities in Belfast, Casablanca and Dallas. Spirit will pay $500 million in cash and assume liabilities in excess of $700 million as part of the deal.
Airbus
Norwegian’s Russian dalliance could open new Asian markets thanks to the SSJ100
It is no secret that Norwegian wants access to fly across northern Russia. The trans-Siberian routes open up opportunities in North Asia, including Japan, China and Korea. And the Russians know this. The country is a notoriously tough negotiator when it comes to gaining access to those routes. Some might even claim extortionate. Oh, and the country has a maligned small airplane that it would like to see selling better, perhaps flying more outside of its home carriers. What are the odds??
IndiGo signs for 300 more A320neo aircraft
India’s largest domestic carrier plans to continue it meteoric growth pace. The carrier announced an order for 300 more A320neo family aircraft. This latest order contains a mix of A320neo, A321neo and A321XLR planes. With the new order the carrier’s total book with Airbus reaches 730 frames.
Live from the CRJ550: PaxEx Update 25 Oct 2019
United’s newest aircraft type takes flight this week and the CRJ550 interior really is as special as the company has been hyping. Airbus orders and Boeing delays plus some fancy new wifi and upgraded airports on the horizon. Another busy PaxEx week.
Norwegian scores a funding boost from China
Norwegian found $1.5bn to help cover short-term aircraft costs thanks to a Chinese partner. The deal dramatically reduces CapEx for the next four years, an important win as the company seeks to shore up its books.
Spirit picks Airbus–again–for a significant fleet boost
Spirit Airlines has big growth plans on its mind. The carrier announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus today to add 100 A320neo family aircraft to its order book, more than doubling the fleet by 2027.
Some Sunrise skepticism
Over the weekend Qantas brought another 787-9 home to its fleet in Sydney. But this was not a normal delivery flight. Project Sunrise is coming, and maybe it shouldn’t.
Sunrise Stretch: PaxEx Update 2019-10-18
The beginnings of Project Sunrise and extra leg room for the Kiwis. Plus more wifi (maybe) coming in China and another loyalty top tier moves further away.
Get these stories and more in this week’s PaxEx Update.
Lufthansa Technik dives in to the Chinese inflight connectivity market
Announcements related to inflight connectivity in China are hard to process. Vendors continue to sign agreements and push out releases but forward progress in terms of getting hardware on planes remains stalled. This week Lufthansa Technik (LHT) joined the field with an announcement of an offering for airlines in China. But, like the others, it is unclear what the timeline for implementation will be or where things will go from here.
British Airways, Airbus helping to develop lighter premium cabin seats
Another UK-based, F1-inspired aircraft seating company?? It isn’t a formal business yet, but this consortium signed on a few big names this week, including British Airways and Airbus, to help develop new premium cabin offerings for airlines.