The Boeing Company says the first flight of its much-awaited Boeing 787 jetliner, nicknamed the Dreamliner, is very likely in late December 2009, and the Dreamliner will be delivered to the first customers at the end of 2010.

Airbus Industrie is likely to put off delivery of one or two of the 13 Airbus A380 Superjumbo aircraft, earlier scheduled for 2009, till January 2010.

The Model 162 SkyCatcher, the light sport aircraft of the Cessna Aircraft Company, has been test-flown.

The Boeing Company, the major aircraft-manufacturer based in the United States, has decided to cut 90 jobs within a week.

Aircraft manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC), headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, the United States, has posted a net post-tax loss of $139.9 million for the 12 months ending December 31, 2008.

Airbus Industrie, based in Toulouse, France, and a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), has signed an agreement with a group of Chinese industrial partners to set up a joint-venture manufacturing centre in Harbin, China, to make carbon-fibre composite parts as well as components for the Airbus A350XWB and Airbus A320 family.

According to the announcement made by the Bombardier Aerospace, Malaysia’s coast guard agency, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement agency (MMEA) received the first of the 2 Bombardier 415MP amphibious planes, which were ordered by the Malaysian government last year. The Malaysian government is the launch customer in Asia for the specialized Bombardier 415MP aircraft.

Rolls-Royce, the United Kingdom-based manufacturer of aircraft engines, has announced that it is planning to reduce its global workforce by up to 2,000 “to cope with the global downturn and delays to the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380.”

Despite economic uncertainty in the United States and some other parts of the world, it has been forecast that the worldwide market for business jets will continue to grow over the next 10 years, accounting for $300 billion in sales.

Eclipse Aviation, manufacturer of the world’s first very light jet (VLJ), has announced that the supervisory board of the Russian State Bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) has approved the construction of a factory in Ulyanovsk in Russia to assemble the Eclipse 500 jet.

Fuji Heavy Industries has delayed the development of its new business jet, the Subaru Jet, for a few years.

ICON Aircraft revealed the ICON A5 amphibious personal sport plane at the AirVenture 2008 event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The full-scale test prototype of the ICON A5 was displayed at the event.

Eclipse Aviation, manufacturer of the world’s first very light jet (VLJ), has announced that it will start taking orders for the Eclipse 400 single-engine jet, a production version of the Eclipse Concept Jet first exhibited at the EAA AirVenture 2007.

China has opened an aviation company, backed by the government, to manufacture large commercial jets.