American Airlines to buy up to 70 CRJ900 NextGen regional jets

by Devesh Agarwal

CGI of CRJ900 NextGen in American Eagle livery.

Bombardier Aerospace of Canada and American Airlines Group Inc., of Fort Worth, Texas have signed a firm purchase agreement to acquire 30 CRJ900 NextGen aircraft along with options on an additional 40 aircraft.

Based on the list price for the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft, the firm order contract is valued at approximately US$1.42 billion and could increase to approximately US$3.38 billion if the 40 options are converted into firm orders.

American Airlines becomes the first customer to acquire the newest version of regional jet which has an improved fuel burn of four per cent with the “NextGen” package enhancements. Improvement to the aircraft’s engines and ongoing weight reduction initiatives, which include upgraded avionics, will offer a further reduction of up to 1.5 per cent.

Including the American Airlines order announced today, Bombardier has recorded firm orders for 1,812 CRJ Series aircraft, including 339 CRJ900 and CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. Worldwide, CRJ Series aircraft are in service with more than 60 airlines and more than 30 customers operate corporate variants of the aircraft.

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MASwings welcomes second new twin Otter Viking Series 400

By BA Staff

Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary MASwings Sdn. Bhd. today took delivery of its second out of six orders for the Twin Otter DHC6-400 from Viking Air Ltd of Canada. The ceremonious handover was graced by the Right Honorable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada in recognition of strong international cooperation between Malaysia and Canada.

Courtesy of Malaysia Airlines

The aircraft bearing serial no. 883 and Malaysian registration: 9M-SSB arrived at Hangar 5 of Malaysia Airlines Engineering Complex at Kuala Lumpur international airport (KLIA).

Speaking at the event, Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari expressed his excitement with the delivery of the second aircraft within the course of two months:

“The new DHC6-400 not only allows MASwings to provide improved and additional services to the rural areas in Sarawak and Sabah, but it is capable of offering full freighter services. The aircraft can also be fitted with a stretcher kit for medical evacuation. The purchase of these state of-the-art aircraft demonstrates MASwings’ full commitment in providing air linkage for the people in the rural community, connecting them to Sabah, Sarawak and beyond.”

The new DHC6-400 aircraft is fitted with the most advanced flight avionics system in its class. With a new full glass cockpit, auto-flight system, dual global positioning navigation system, coupled with satellite communication system, the new DHC6-400 raises the safety and operational bar of MASwings to a higher level.

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WestJet orders 65 Boeing 737 MAX

by Vinay Bhaskara

Image Credit: Boeing

Canadian low cost carrier (LCC) WestJet announced today that it has signed a letter of intent (LoI) to purchase 65 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft (40 737 MAX 8 and 25 737 MAX 7) from Boeing, in a deal worth $6.3 billion at list prices.

Deliveries of the 737 MAX will commence from September of 2017, and the order marks a net addition of 50 frames to WestJet's order book, as 15 of the orders have been converted from existing WestJet orders for the Boeing 737NG. WestJet currently operates a fleet of 107 aircraft (103 Boeing 737 NG and 4 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprops operated for regional subsidiary WestJet Encore), with 123 more on order (65x 737 MAX, 42x remaining 737 NG, and 16 more Q400s for Encore).

WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky had this to say about the order

We are proud to continue our long-standing relationship with Boeing and are thrilled that we will be among the first North American airlines to fly the new 737 MAX in its first year of commercial operation. This pending order reinforces our strategy of maintaining the flexibility in our fleet plan while enabling us to introduce new fuel-efficient technology and enhance our inflight guest experience... Our strong balance sheet allows us the opportunity to support our low-cost business model and contribute to our profitable growth through the renewal of our fleet with a lower operating cost aircraft. 

Said Brad McMullen, Vice-President of North America Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes:

We are pleased to see that the 737 MAX will continue the tradition of supporting WestJet's vision to be one of the most successful international airlines in the world. The 737 MAX's efficiency, reliability and passenger amenities will be a successful combination with WestJet's famous customer service.

WestJet expects that a definitive purchase agreement will be signed before 30th September 2013.

The order from WestJet marks a victory for Boeing in the ever heated competition with rival Airbus' A320neo, though an expected one (given WestJet's large fleet of 737NGs). The order brings the 737 MAX to a solid 1,602 purchase commitment (1498 firm orders, 104 MoUs). But the MAX still lags behind the A320neo, which has racked up a massive 2,455 purchase commitments to date (2380 firm, 75 MoU - albeit having been offere for a full year longer than the 737 MAX).

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Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian increase baggage allowance between USA/Canada and India

Member airlines of the "Lufthansa Group" -- Deutsche Lufthansa Airlines, Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, have increased their baggage allowance on trips between USA/Canada and India to TWO checked bags each weighing up to 23 Kgs.

As per the website

Free Baggage Allowance UPDATE

For tickets issued on or after February 17th, 2012, the free baggage allowance for Lufthansa origins and destinations in USA, Canada and India for economy class has been increased to 2 checked pieces.

Allowance: Economy Class, 2 checked pieces (each weighing upto 23 Kgs) permitted free of charge.

Origin: Chennai/Bangalore/Mumbai/New Delhi/Pune (not valid on feeder flights within India)

Destination: only Lufthansa US/Canada gateways (no connecting flights within US/Canada)

Travel must be via Europe

Valid for flights operated and Marketed by: Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss Airlines.

Itineraries/tickets that include other carriers the free baggage allowance defaults to 1 free checked piece.

Quite clearly the competition from the three major Gulf carriers, Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad is forcing the European airline group to loosen its stringent policies.

It is important to note that this applies only to flights operated by group members. Lufthansa has significant code share flights operated by fellow Star Alliance members like United Airlines, and this liberal baggage allowance will not apply.

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