Indonesia’s Lion Air on Thursday inked a firm contract for another 27 ATR 72-600s, raising its order total for the new Franco-Italian turboprops to 40 and making it the manufacturer’s largest customer for ATR 72s. Regional subsidiary Wings Air already operates 16 ATR 72-500s and awaits delivery on four more. Deliveries of Lion Air’s first ATR 72-600 will start in November and run into 2015, Wings Air chairman and Lion Air president Pak Ruski Kirana told a packed assemblage of reporters and officials at the ATR stand. ATR places the value of this latest order at $610 million.
More Stories from Singapore 2012
February 15, 2012, 10:50 PM
Boeing Commercial Aviation Services announced here at the show yesterday that it had rebranded its entire service and support offering as Boeing “Edge.” This will cover material services, fleet service, flight services and information services, said the company.
February 15, 2012, 10:35 PM
Kuwait-based lessor Alafco has announced the selection of the CFM Leap-1A engine for the 35 Airbus A320neos that it ordered here at the show on Tuesday. Aircraft delivery is scheduled between 2019 and 2021. For CFM, the deal is valued at $840 million at list prices. Alafco said it planned to grow its portfolio to 100 airplanes “over the next few years.”
February 15, 2012, 10:30 PM
Lockheed Martin is offering to reduce the price of the C-130J Hercules by stripping out some of the more expensive systems. The U.S.-built airlifter is facing new competition later this decade, when Embraer’s yet-to-fly KC-390 becomes available.
February 15, 2012, 10:25 PM
BOC Aviation has converted four options for V2500 engines to power Airbus A320s. The deal was announced by International Aero Engines yesterday, with the OEM confirming that its turbofans will power the leasing group’s 100th A320 delivery to South African Airways.
BOC, which is a Singapore-based subsidiary of the Bank of China, has so far ordered a total of 24 A320s and has options for another 16.
February 15, 2012, 10:15 PM
Gulfstream Aerospace yesterday announced plans to establish a business jet service center in China. Gulfstream Beijing will be a joint venture with Beijing Capital Airlines (Deer Jet) and Grand China Aviation Technik (GCAT) at Beijing Capital International Airport.
Hainan Airlines Group subsidiary Deer Jet is China’s largest business jet charter provider. Its fleet includes 26 Gulfstream aircraft. GCAT, another Hainan subsidiary, offers aircraft repair, maintenance, and overhaul services.
February 15, 2012, 10:10 PM
Fokker Services Asia has agreed to join ATR’s maintenance, repair and overhaul network. The company has just opened a new facility in Singapore and will use this to support Southeast Asian operators of ATR’s twin turboprop regional airliners.
ATR has some 250 aircraft operating in the Asia Pacific region and another 80 on order. It is expected to announce more new business from the region at the Singapore Airshow today.
February 15, 2012, 9:45 PM
Mitsubishi Aircraft will decide within “a few months” the extent to which a “rescheduling” of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet could affect the timing of first flight of the 92-seat MRJ90, officially still scheduled to occur this year. Speaking at the Singapore Airshow yesterday, the Japanese firm’s director of marketing Yugo Fukuhara confirmed the delay, but would not offer any details about the reasons.
February 15, 2012, 9:30 PM
Lockheed Martin agreed at the show this week to forge a teaming agreement with PT CMI Teknologi to pursue the NASRI (National Airspace Surveillance–Republic of Indonesia) program. This NASRI project seeks to greatly enhance the Indonesian military’s ability to maintain air sovereignty over the country’s widely spread territory, which includes 17,000-plus islands.
February 15, 2012, 9:15 PM
Garuda Indonesia has become the Asian launch customer for 18 Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft valued at a list price of $1.32 billion. The deal is a major boost for the Canadian airframer, which had been struggling to keep production of the 100-seater viable.
The carrier will receive five aircraft this year, a mix of direct buys and leased, with all 18 to be delivered by 2015, CEO Emirsyah Satar said. The aircraft will be in a two-class configuration.
Following the deal, Bombardier has designated GMF Aero Asia as its authorized service center for CRJ 1000s in Asia.
February 15, 2012, 9:00 PM
Lockheed Martin yesterday unveiled a new version of the evergreen F-16 Fighting Falcon designated the F-16V. The new moniker is derived from the fighter’s long-standing unofficial nickname: Viper. It will apply to existing aircraft that are upgraded with AESA radars, and new builds. The F-16V will also include a new mission computer and cockpit display.
February 15, 2012, 8:45 PM
Aircraft broker Jetcraft is calling on banks to work more collaboratively with the business aviation industry to support growth in the sector. According to Jahid Fazal-Karim, shareholder and board member of the U.S.-based company, it has been increasingly difficult to obtain credit because of the worldwide economic downturn. Only high-net-worth individuals or companies that are asset rich, such as AAA-rated entities are able to secure loans to buy aircraft.
February 15, 2012, 8:35 PM
Liebherr-Aerospace is to provide the landing gear and air management system for China’s Comac C919 airliner, the Franco-German equipment manufacturer announced on Wednesday. Under the contract signed at the Singapore Airshow with the Shanghai-based airframer, Liebherr’s Lindenberg, Germany, site will develop, supply and service the landing gear. For development and production, it has formed a joint venture with Avic subsidiary Landing-Gear Advanced Manufacturing Co., based in Changsha, province of Hunan.
February 15, 2012, 8:30 PM
The Roulettes are flying the flag for Australia at this year’s Singapore Air Show. Six Pilatus PC-9/A turboprop trainers are looping and swooping above Changi, flown by instructor pilots from the Central Flying School of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at East Sale in Victoria. They are led by Sqn. Ldr. Steve Baker, in his sixth season with the team and a veteran with almost 5,000 flying hours.
February 15, 2012, 8:15 PM
The Farnborough International Airshow (July 9-15, 2012) is shaping up to be not just bigger than the 2010 event but also better, according to exhibitions and events director Amanda Stainer, “with exciting new features that will captivate [attendees’] imaginations.” Exhibit areas are already 95 percent sold out, she said. Contributing to the excitement surrounding this year’s airshow are preparations for the 2012 London Olympic Game (July 27 to August 12).
February 15, 2012, 8:15 PM
Airbus CEO and EADS boss-in-waiting Tom Enders said at the show yesterday that the Asia Pacific accounted for half of Airbus’s order intake in 2011. Enders was delivering an exceptionally optimistic outlook for the region during the company’s opening Singapore Airshow press conference.
February 15, 2012, 8:15 PM
Airbus CEO and EADS boss-in-waiting Tom Enders said at the show yesterday that the Asia Pacific accounted for half of Airbus’s order intake in 2011. Enders was delivering an exceptionally optimistic outlook for the region during the company’s opening Singapore Airshow press conference.
February 15, 2012, 8:00 PM
Weak airline profits are increasing pricing pressure on the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. That’s a big challenge–but by no means the only one–facing MRO providers in 2012, the Year of the Dragon, according to Lufthansa Technik chairman August Henningsen. “We’re happy we’re in a growth market, not a shrinking one,” he told a press conference in Singapore yesterday.
February 15, 2012, 7:35 PM
Raytheon has just conducted a successful trial of its Griffin B forward-launch small precision weapon. The test demonstrated the weapon’s capability to defend a forward operating base (FOB). The Griffin was fired from a fixed Wedge launcher against target coordinates more than 2.5 miles away provided by sensors mounted on a tethered aerostat, of the type that are typically raised to protect Army FOBs. The Griffin A aft-launch version is in service with the U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Harvest Hawk aircraft and the Air Force’s MC-130W Dragon Spear.
February 15, 2012, 7:30 PM
Over two decades have passed since the laser-guided version of Raytheon’s AGM-65 missile left production but, due to emerging requirements, the “laser Maverick” is back.
