Tag: AIRBUS

Airbus Working to Improve A220 Autothrottle Design

Aviation Week reported that Airbus is “working on improving the A220’s autothrottle design, after several reports of crew errors that could have led to a tail strike or more serious incidents.” The aircraft’s autopilot “will be modified, too.” In the meantime, procedures “are temporarily added in the takeoff phase.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Wizz Air Orders 75 More A321neos

Aviation Week reports that Wizz Air shareholders attending the carrier’s annual general meeting “have voted in favor of buying a further 75 Airbus A321neo family aircraft.” The firm order “takes Wizz Air’s total order for the largest variant of the Airbus single-aisle family to 434.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription publication)

Senior Forecasts Strong Second Half as Demand Increases

Reuters reports that Senior “forecast a strong second half of the year on Monday, after adjusted profits for the first six months doubled, propelled by easing supply chain issues in its aircraft parts business and strong demand in the auto and power unit.” Customers for the engineering firm include The Boeing Company and Airbus, with Senior “benefiting from planemakers ramping up production to meet booming air travel demand.” First half adjusted profits for Senior “doubled to 17.6 million pounds ($22.62 million) on a reported basis.” A statement from the company read, “Planned aircraft build rate increases should lead to higher sales in H2 with supply chain challenges enduring but anticipated to be less severe towards the end of the year.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Airbus Deliveries Reportedly Up 6% for First Half of 2023

Reuters reports industry sources indicated on Thursday that Airbus deliveries “increased by 6% in the first half of the year to reach 316 aircraft. … The European planemaker delivered 72 planes in June, up 20% from 60 in the same month last year and up from 63 in May this year, they added. Airbus, which is targeting 720 deliveries for the year, declined to comment ahead of the publication of data on Friday.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Airbus Outsells Boeing as Both Rack Up Huge Order Totals in Paris

Bloomberg reports that at the Paris Air Show, Airbus came in ahead of The Boeing Company “in the closely watched contest for airplane orders thanks to a massive haul from India that highlights Asia’s growing importance to aircraft demand.” Airbus’ order totals included a “record-setting deal for 500 narrowbody jets from low-cost carrier Indigo, the biggest airline in the world’s most populous country.”
Full Story (Bloomberg)

Airbus Seeing New Materials Shortages Emerge in Aerospace Supply Chain

Aviation Week reports that “Airbus is seeing new materials shortages emerge in the aerospace supply chain as other issues that have dominated in recent months begin to settle down.” Airbus Chief Operating Officer Alberto Gutierrez told ShowNews at the Paris Air Show that there are “new difficulties with raw materials, particularly aerospace steel.” According to Aviation Week, “steel is used in some aircraft parts that are exposed to particularly strong forces, such as the landing gear, and it is also used in castings and forgings.” Gutierrez said that the lead time for steel orders “used to be eight months – now it is 20 months.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Demand for Freighters Expected in Years to Come

Aviation Week reports that Airbus is predicting that shippers “will need 560 widebody freighters of more than 80-ton capacity from 202-41. Boeing expects demand for 515 widebody freighters over the same period.” Although much of this demand will reportedly “be satisfied by new-make cargo aircraft…new ventures are moving steadily toward converting Boeing 777s to meet the requirements for heavy cargo aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Comlux Delivers First Completed ACJ TwoTwenty to Five Hotels

Aviation International News reports that Comlux delivered the first completed ACJ TwoTwenty to launch customer Five Hotels and Resorts. Airbus Corporate Jets partnered with Comlux in 2020 “to bring the executive variant of the Airbus 220 single-aisle airliner to the business aviation market.” Comlux is “designing and installing the interiors on the first 16 of the TwoTwenty; at least 10 have been ordered to date.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Indigo Partners Warns that Supply Chain Challenges Could Last Until 2028

Aviation Week reports that Indigo Partners is warning “that aircraft supply chain issues could be prolonged as far out as 2028, which could cause challenges for airlines worldwide.” The company’s managing partner, William Franke, spoke at the CAPA Americas Aviation Summit in Ontario, California, on Wednesday and warned of the extended possibility of supply changes affecting the global aerospace industry.
Full Story (Aviation Week)