Aug 08 2012

Armavia stops operating Superjet and considers future

Armavia Sukhoi SuperjetArmavia on August 6th, 2012, announced that it had ceased operating the single example of the Sukhoi Superjet in its fleet and has indicated that it will not accept future deliveries because of issues with their aircraft.

The airline had previously delayed delivery of their second aircraft from the manufacturer. Armavia has publicly indicated that the reason for doing so is because of various technical problems with the aircraft they have received. Sukhoi has responded that the issue is not in the performance of the aircraft, but rather is the financial situation of Armavia itself.

Regardless of the reason for the dispute, Sukhoi notes that Armavia cannot simply return the Superjet that has been delivered, nor has Armavia apparently given notice to Sukhoi that it wishes to terminate their contract. Sukhoi did indicate that as far as they are concerned, the issue with Armavia is a matter of financing and placing of both Superjets in the airline’s fleet under a leasing agreement.

Armavia’s response is that the Superjets are not meeting their performance targets, maintenance costs are higher than promised, and as such the airline does not wish to be the test program for Sukhoi.

Both Armavia Superjets are currently parked at Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport and are not in service.

The aircraft in question are:

EK-95015     MSN 95007

EK-95016     MSN 95021

Armavia has indicated a willingness to consider aircraft from Western manufacturers to replace the Superjets in the future though no specific company has been mentioned.

Aug 02 2012

Skywest fleet changes with Delta announced

SkyWest LogoSkyWest Airlines announced plans on August 2nd, 2012 to remove from its fleet a total of 66 fifty-seat Bombardier CRJs and add 34 larger CRJ aircraft with seating capacity between 65 and 76 seats under an agreement with Delta Air Lines.

The additional aircraft will be five Bombardier CRJ700s and 29 CRJ900s, all of which SkyWest expects to take possession of by June of 2013. The plan is for the first dual-class aircraft to enter the fleet, and removal of the first CRJ200, to occur during August 2012. Removal of all of the 66 CRJ200s from Delta Connection service is to be completed by December 2015. Of the 66 CRJ100s and CRJ200s in SkyWest’s fleet, Delta financed 41 aircraft, which SkyWest can return at any time.  SkyWest financed the remaining 25 aircraft and must find other operators for them either in the Delta Connection system or with a new operator elsewhere.

SkyWest’s current agreement with Delta is scheduled to end in 2022.

Under a new contract, Delta must remove 218 of the 343 fifty-seat regional jets flying for the Delta Connection. With the announcement of the closure of Comair, and the removal of aircraft from the Skywest fleet, 82 of these aircraft have been identified.

Aug 01 2012

WestJet firms order for 45 DHC-8Q-400s

Westjet LogoBombardier  announced on August 1st, 2012 that the conditional order placed by WestJet for DHC-8Q-400s on May 1st, 2012, has been converted to a firm order for up to 45 DHC-8Q-Q400 NextGen aircraft. The airline’s order includes 20 firm aircraft and options on an additional 25.

WestJet plans to launch their new regional airline in the second half of 2013. The airline will be the fifth operator and fourth airline in Canada to operate the DHC-8Q-400.

Including WestJet’s order, Bombardier has booked firm orders for 454 Q400 and Q400 NextGen airliners and DHC-8Q-400s are in service with 40 operators in 30 countries, on six continents. DHC-8Q-400s have carried more than 227 million passengers and logged more than 3.5 million flight hours and over 3.8 million take-offs and landings in the program’s history.

Jul 31 2012

Conviasa purchases 6 Embraer 190 aircraft with 14 options

Conviasa LogoEmbraer announced on July 31, 2012 that Conviasa Airlines has purchased  six Embraer 190 jets and placed options for an additional 14 aircraft. First deliveries are scheduled to begin by the end of 2012. The aircraft will be configured with 104 seats in a single-class layout.