AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*Boeing has completed 97% of 787 flight testing and its dedicated 6 aircraft test fleet is no longer flying for certification credit, said the Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Jim Albaugh today at the Paris air show. He said that Boeing has provided all but 120 of the 4300 submittals to the US FAA for certification of the 787, and reaffirmed 1st delivery guidance for the 1st aircraft to ANA in the 3rd quarter, 3.5 years behind schedule. The outstanding 3% of testing will focus on 787 systems functionality and reliability testing and extended operations evaluations, which will require 300 flight hours and will be conducted on ZA102, the 2nd production 787 and the 9th built overall. ZA001 will be on display at the Paris air show beginning tomorrow.

*Boeing has announced an order today at the Paris air show for 17 747-8 Intercontinentals from 2 unidentified customers, worth $5.4 billion at list prices. The order is made up of 15 of the type from 1 carrier and 2 additional aircraft from another. It increases the firm backlog of the 747-8I to 50, plus an additional 5 ordered by AIR CHINA, which are conditional on government approval.

*Bombardier has secured a top-tier carrier as the launch operator for its Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G-powered CSeries twinjet. The order, announced today during the Paris air show, for 10 CS100s plus 6 options is Bombardier's 3rd CSeries order this month, and represents its 6th customer for the 110/130-seat narrowbody. The new customer "has requested to remain unidentified at the present time", said Bombardier, which said that the operator is a "major network carrier".  Based on the list price for the CS100, the firm order is valued at $616 million.

*VIKING AIR LTD will announce a US$65-million contract at this week’s Paris Air Show to sell 12 Twin Otters to the government of Peru. For Viking, it marks the largest single order placed by a customer.  Peruvian officials are preparing to take possession of their 1st modern Twin Otter later this month. The remaining 11 planes in the order placed by Peru’s Ministry of Defence will be gradually filled by the end of 2014. The Otter was chosen as Pilots will be able to land the 19 seat plane on the floor of the Amazon jungle or on airstrips higher than 3000 metres.

*Scandinavian carrier SAS has continued its fleet replacement program with an order for 30 Airbus A320neos announced at the Paris air show today, with the option for a further 11 aircraft. The Neos will be powered by CFM's Leap-X1A engines. SAS is in the process of modernizing its fleet and is replacing its Copenhagen-based Boeing MD-80s with leased Airbus A320s. These in turn will be replaced by the A320neos from the 2nd half of 2016. Final delivery will be in 2019.

*Aircraft lessor GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) is ordering 60 Airbus A320neo twinjets with CFM International Leap powerplants. Airbus disclosed the agreement today during the Paris air show. The airframer said all 60 aircraft would be powered by Leap engines, and that it took the number of A320s ordered by GECAS to 390.

*Aircraft lessor GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has signed its 1st contract with ATR at the Paris air show, placing a firm order for 15 ATR 72-600 turboprops plus 15 options. 4 of the aircraft will be delivered in 2012 and 11 are scheduled for delivery in 2013. Deliveries of the 15 aircraft on option are planned to begin in 2014. GECAS said the lessor is "actively marketing" the aircraft and has already found 1 customer, the identity of which is not being revealed at this stage.

*Boeing and Air Lease have announced a deal at the Paris air show for up to 33 aircraft, which includes the lessor's 1st widebody orders. The agreement comprises 5 777-300ER and 4 787-9 widebodies, as well as 20 firm orders and four options for 737-800 narrowbodies. The 20 firm 737 orders include the exercising of 6 options from the lessor's 2010 737-800 order. No delivery schedule was disclosed.

*Passengers onboard a recent SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Paris, France, have called for an investigation into the conduct of the flight crew. According to media reports, the first class passengers became "alarmed," when they say smoke coming out of the cockpit. In interviews, several passengers said they were told by the cabin crew that the smoke was from the Captain smoking and that there was "nothing they could do about it". Both the carrier and Saudi officials are reportedly planning to investigate.

*Middle Eastern carrier SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES is ordering another 4 Airbus A330-300s, following an order for 8 placed 3 years ago. The carrier had placed options for 4 additional A330s when it made the original deal. It has already selected Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines for the previous 8, and the engine pact also covered another 4 A330s.

*Middle East carrier QATAR AIRWAYS placed an order for 6 more Boeing 777-300ERs at the Paris air show. The Doha-based carrier already operates 25 Boeing 777s, including 15 777-300ERs. It ordered 5 more 777s in April: 2 300ERs and 3 freighters. This latest order takes its total 777 commitments to 40. Meanwhile, the carrier, who is the launch customer for the Airbus A350-1000XWB variant, reacted to this weekend's news that the type will be delayed to 2017. “We have the largest A350 order of any airline” and the delay of the A350-1000 will “dent” our expansion plans the head of Qatar Airways said today. “It’s very disappointing to us and we hope the performance they are talking about today is the right information".

*AIR ASTANA has signed a deal for 2 Embraer 190 jets and taken options on 2 more. Under the deal, deliveries to the Kazakh carrier will begin in the 1st half of next year. In a statement, the carrier said: "The Embraer 190's range, efficiency and size are ideal to increase services on some highly frequented routes and to start new routes in central Asia, especially towards Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as southern Russia and Georgia".

*The 1st Airbus A380 for CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES has emerged from the paint shop at Airbus's Hamburg facilities and will have its cabin interior installed in the following days. The plane is the 1st of 5 A380s ordered by the carrier from Airbus. The delivery of the aircraft is scheduled in the 2nd half of this year. 

*Indonesian carrier SRIWIJAYA AIR has tentatively agreed to acquire up to 30 Embraer 190 regional jets, a deal disclosed today during the Paris air show. Embraer said the agreement comprised the acquisition of 20 E-190s with purchase rights for another 10. Jakarta-based Sriwijaya Air will fit the aircraft with 100 seats in a single-class layout. The ERJs will replace some narrowbodies currently in use and willl also be used to add new frequencies on domestic routes and opening new non-stop services.

*VIRGIN AUSTRALIA and TIGER AIRWAYS have begun cancelling flights as the ash cloud from a volcano in Chile returns to Australian airspace. Virgin suspended all Adelaide and Mildura flights for tomorrow, while Tiger Airways announced it was cancelling 8 flights, 4 between Sydney and Melbourne and 4 between Melbourne and Adelaide. A QANTAS spokeswoman said that while the Airline will have a better indication of the as cloud's impact tonight and early morning tomorrow, at this stage some early flights from Adelaide might be delayed. A JETSTAR spokeswoman said that while it received the same risk assessment from as Qantas, it flies to different destinations, and would be updating its flight schedule late tonight or early tomorrow morning. The current forecast suggests the ash plume will below 20000 feet over Adelaide and Mildura tomorrow. 

*PSA AIRLINES Flight 2596, a CRJ200 on service for US AIRWAYS, had to make an emergency landing at Washington National, yesterday, June 19, due to a bomb threat. While enroute from Dayton, Ohio, to Washington National, a female approached the ticket counter in Dayton, reporting to staff that a bomb was onboard Flight 2596. The CRJ was near National and was allowed to continue to land there, where they taxied to a remote stand. A search of the aircraft, passengers, luggage and cargo, failed to find any explosives. According to media reports, the female who reported the bomb in Dayton has a history of mental illness and was hospitalized.

*SKYWEST Flight 5584, a CRJ200 on service for UNITED AIRLINES, had to make an emergency diversion to Fresno, California, yesterday, June 19, due to cabin pressure problems. The aircraft landed safely and was removed from service for inspection. A replacement CRJ200 was dispatched to complete the flight from Los Angeles, California, to Boise, Idaho.

*SKY AIRLINES Flight 1722, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Dublin, Ireland, yesterday, June 19. While climbing thru 10000 feet, out of Dublin, the crew requested to descend to 8000 feet due to an unspecified problem with a window. They then requested return and the 737 safely landed back in Dublin, about 15 minutes after their initial departure. After 8 hours on the ground, the aircraft departed once again for Bodrum, Turkey, where it arrived without further incident.

*LUFTHANSA Flight 494, an A340, had to make an emergency landing in Calgary, AB, Canada, on Saturday, June 18, due to a hydraulic failure. The Airbus safely landed with Emergency Services in attendance and was removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*MAHAN AIR Flight 66, an A300, had to make an emergency landing in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday, June 18. The crew abandoned their approach into Tehran, reporting an unsafe gear indication. While circling to troubleshoot, the crew was able to lower and lock the gear using alternate gear extension. The Airbus went on to safely landed on its 2nd attempt. According to media reports, the runway had been foamed for the landing. The same A300, registration EP-MHA, had to make an emergency return to Mashad, Iran, the day before, Friday, June 17. The crew reported a hydraulic failure and return to Mashad, blowing 2 tires upon landing. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service, to complete the flight to Tehran. It is not known if the aircraft has been removed from service.