DWS Aviation

Air Arabia, the low-cost airline based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has signed a contract with the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Industrie for 10 additional, single-aisle A320 aircraft to serve its new hub in Casablanca, Morocco.

BOC Aviation, the aircraft-leasing division of Bank of China, one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People’s Republic of China, has placed additional orders with Airbus Industrie for 20 aircraft of the Airbus A320 family.

Aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus Industrie has opened a final assembly line for its A320 aircraft in Tianjin in northern China. The new facility is the first of its kind built by Airbus outside Europe.

The new double-decker Airbus A380 from Emirates has touched down in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This is part of a number of exclusive tours of the aircraft that have been planned for the United States. 

Aimed at supporting the expansion of its international route network, Dubai-based international airline Emirates has bought a total of 60 wide-bodied aircraft. A letter of intent was signed by Emirates with Airbus for 30 Airbus A330-300s and 30 Airbus A350 XWBs.

The gateway to the Heathrow Airport has a new attraction. A giant model of an Airbus A380 has been installed at the spot, courtesy Emirates Airline.

Singapore Airlines, the national airline of Singapore, has taken delivery of its 5th Airbus A380 Superjumbo.

Air One, the airline based in Rome, Italy, has ordered 24 aircraft from Airbus Industrie, the aircraft-manufacturing consortium based in Toulouse, France.

JetBlue Airways, partly owned by Deutsche Lufthansa AG of Germany, has said it deferred deliveries of 21 Airbus A320 jets. This has been done with a view to slowing down further the airline’s expansion in the midst of enormously high prices of jet fuel. 

The phenomenal rise in the prices of fuel is sweeping each and every sector of the aviation, the aircraft-making companies included. Airlines are reining in spending as they face losses that may total $40 billion in 2008.