Boeing in March improves aircraft orders and delivery pace
April 13, 2023
Boeing during March took orders for 60 aircraft and shipped 64, doubling its delivery pace compared with the previous month as the US airframer resumed shipments of 787 widebodies after completing quality reviews with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The manufacturer shipped 52 of its narrowbody 737 Max aircraft, seven 787s, a single 737NG-based P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol craft and 11 widebodies. Shipments of 12 Max jets each to Southwest Airlines and United Airlines marked the largest deliveries of the month, followed by Air Lease with seven and Ryanair with five. Undisclosed customers ordered 17 Max jets and eight 787s during March Japan Airlines placed the largest order for 21 Max aircraft that month, while Lufthansa ordered seven 787-9 widebodies and Eva Air ordered five 787-9s. The US FAA on 13 March cleared Boeing to resume deliveries of 787s. The FAA must still issue airworthiness certificates for each 787 prior to shipment, as it has done since Boeing resumed deliveries of the type in 2022 after a 10-month hiatus due to production issues. Net orders for Boeing during 2023 stand at 56 aircraft after the airframer factored in cancellations, conversions and the uncertainty of fulfilment. Boeing during March improved its order performance year on year compared with 53 aircraft during the same month the previous year and five in February 2023
India maintains Category 1 status following FAA audit
April 13, 2023
India's airlines have been cleared to continue growing their flights to the USA after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reaffirmed the country's Category 1 status under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.
India's Ministry of Civil Aviation states that the FAA conducted an audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in October 2021, with subsequent consultations and reviews having taken place in 2022. It was advised on 12 April that it continues to meet the standards required to maintain its Category 1 status. Under the IASA programme, the FAA regularly audits foreign aviation regulators against ICAO safety standards, with those that comply granted Category 1 status. This allows airlines from those countries to continue to operate or expand their services to the USA and to enter into codeshare agreements with US carriers. The Ministry adds that the determination " has come at a time when the Indian aviation is on a high growth trajectory and air carriers in India have major capacity induction and expansion plans." India was upgraded to Category 1 in 2015, having been relegated to Category 2 status in December 2012 after concerns were raised about the DGCA's level of safety oversight of the country's airlines. Airlines in Category 2 countries are not able to codeshare with US carriers nor add more flights there and are subject to additional inspections. Air India is currently the only Indian carrier to fly to the USA, operating 41 return flights per week between Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi to San Francisco, New York JFK, Newark, Chicago O'Hare and Washington-Dulles. Air India has signalled its intentions to add more flights to North America in the short-term and is in the process of adding more Boeing 777-300ERs and -200LRs to facilitate that expansion.
SkyUp extracts its final 737 from Ukraine
April 12, 2023
SkyUp Airlines has extracted its entire fleet from Ukraine after evacuating a Boeing 737-800 from Kiev. The Ukrainian airline says it ferried the narrowbody (registration UR-SQP) from Boryspil International airport to Romanian city Iasi on 4 April, a move, it says, that was taken "in the interests of the state". Fleets data shows that the aircraft (MSN 33029) is a 2006-vintage jet that is managed by Avolon and forms part of the collateral of its SAPA 2018-1 asset-backed securities issuance. SkyUp says the 189-seat jet was the only one remaining in Kiev after the Russian invasion began, with all other aircraft moved abroad in advance. The airline has been using a number of its aircraft in wet leasing services, charter, humanitarian, evacuation and special flights. In 2022, SkyUp Airlines performed 7,713 flights, transported more than 1.08 million passengers and generated almost UAH100 million ($2.72 million) in taxes to the Ukrainian state budget, it says.