Aircalin has taken delivery of its first of two Airbus A330-900 at a delivery ceremony in Toulouse, France, with the second aircraft joining the fleet later in 2019, replacing its existing two A330s. Aircalin is also a customer for the A320neo and will replace its existing two A320s to become an operator of two A330-900s and two A320neos. Aircalin’s A330neos are configured in a comfortable three-class layout with 291 seats or 25 more seats than its existing smaller A330-200s. These include 26 business, 244 economy and for the first time, premium economy with 21 seats. The A330neos will boost capacity and nonstop connectivity between the French Pacific Island territory and markets in Japan, Australia and the Pacific Islands nations, cutting fuel burn by 25% per seat (compared with previous generation competitors) and providing passengers with the latest standards in cabin comfort. These routes provide essential links to tourism as well as business traffic, which are essential to the New Caledonia economy.

Source: World Airline News

Garuda Indonesia is optimistic that it will not breach key debt covenants as its financial situation is looking stronger this year.
The carrier says that after it restated its 2018 financial results, its capital level for the year fell to $730 million, forcing it to seek a waiver from Export Development Canada for breaching the $800 million minimum required under a debt covenant. The loan aided its acquisition of Bombardier CRJ 1000s and caps the carrier's debt-to-equity ratio at 2.5x.

During the first quarter of 2019, however, its capital level rose to $791 million. It has not yet disclosed its accounts for the second quarter. Finance director Fuad Rizal was also quoted in a 27 July CNN Indonesia article as saying that other creditors have agreed to the debt covenant proposals the airline had made, without providing any other details. Under its restated 2018 results, Garuda reported a full year operating loss of $139 million, instead of the $101 million operating profit disclosed in April.

Source: FlightGlobal

The Air France-KLM Board of Directors has approved several strategic decisions concerning the development of the Air France fleet, following a meeting on July 30, 2019. These decisions reflect the Group’s focus on simplification. Making the fleet more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircrafts with a significantly reduced environmental footprint is key to achieving leading industry margins. Firm order for 60 A220-300s, with 30 options and 30 acquisition rights, which will gradually replace Air France’s A318 and A319 fleet
Retirement of the 10 A380s from the Air France fleet by 2022, and study of the replacement of A380s by new generation aircraft. This aircraft will enable Air France to reduce its environmental footprint. The A220-300 generates 20% less CO2 emissions than the comparable aircraft in its class and is twice as quiet. With a capacity of 150 seats and an operating range of 2,300 nautical miles, the A220-300 is perfectly suited to replace the A318 and A319 on the Air France short- and medium-haul network. This aircraft will allow the company to increase its competitiveness by reducing its cost per seat by more than 10% compared to the aircraft it will replace. Finally, its entry into the Air France fleet will contribute to the continuous improvement of the customer experience, thanks to seats offering more space, larger cabin baggage storage compartments, wide aisles and WiFi on board.

Source: World Airline News