Garuda Orders Bombardier CRJ1000 Jets

Garuda Indonesia will go ahead with a plan to boost its fleet size to 154 aircraft from 89 in three years, despite the threat of overcapacity arising from rival Lion Air's large order, its chief executive said. The remarks came after the Indonesian flag carrier signed a USD$1.32 billion deal to purchase 6 Bombardier CRJ1000 aircraft and lease another 12 from Nordic Aviation Capital plus an option to purchase additional 18 aircraft."They have their business model, they have their targets, it is up to them. But we have our own business plan," chief executive Emirsyah Satar told reporters at the Singapore Airshow. On Tuesday, Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air firmed up an order for 230 short-haul 737 jets from Boeing, making it the largest-ever commercial order received by the US plane maker. Lion Air's deal is worth about USD$22 billion based on the list price. Garuda said it will receive five aircraft in the fourth quarter of this year and the order was part of Garuda's plan to expand its fleet size over the next three years. The aircraft will be used to serve short and medium-range routes from its domestic hubs.

Spicejet upbeat

Indian budget carrier SpiceJet does not need to raise capital to fund its aircraft purchases from Bombardier, its chief executive said on Friday.
SpiceJet in November agreed to buy up to 30 Nextgen turboprop aircraft from Bombardier for about USD$915 million. The initial order was for 15 planes.
The company, India's most profitable airline, will fund the purchase through cash in hand and credit, Neil Mills said in an interview. "From our point of view, we are looking at predominantly export credit funding... We are posting profits, options for funding have grown," Mills said. "We are not looking at additional capital raising in the short term." he added. Mills said he expects the company to grow "well beyond" the industry average of 14-16 percent over the next 12-18 months, and load factor to exceed 80 percent in FY11. SpiceJet will add 13 new planes to its current fleet of 25 planes in 2011, Mills said. "I think budget airlines will grow at a big proportion. We are not only growing at the market pace, we are actually outpacing that." SpiceJet, which operates two international routes as of now, may add one or two more by summer, Mills said. "We are not looking too far away from  India. going International is not a prime focus of our business," Mills said.

FlightSafety Intl to provide Flybe with their new simulators

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and the UK’s Number One Domestic carrier, has confirmed that it has selected US-based FlightSafety International to provide two state-of-the-art full flight simulators for its new Training Academy, namely for the Bombardier Q400 and Embraer E-Jet 170/190 aircraft, the Q400 sim being the first to arrive next month.

The simulators will be situated at the new Flybe Training Academy located at Exeter International Airport and will be equipped with FlightSafety’s industry leading VITAL X Visual System and electric motion and control loading technology. They will not only be used to train Flybe’s own pilots but, in a cooperative marketing agreement, also provide other Q400 and E-Jet operators with the opportunity to purchase surplus simulator hours on site. Prior to the E-Jet sim being installed in early 2012, FlightSafety will be providing Flybe with Embraer 170/190 training services at its facilities in Amsterdam and at Paris Le Bourget airport.

The new Flybe Training Academy will offer a wide range of Pilot, Technical, Cabin Crew, Customer Service and Aviation Support courses to airlines across the world, as well as a range of non-aviation training to other individuals and organisations. Apart from the flight simulator complex, it will incorporate Cabin Door trainers, 25 purpose-built classrooms and an integrated Apprentice workshop that will allow Flybe to offer an increased range of training to third party customers.

GE Capital services buys 40 B737's

GE Capital Aviation Services says it has ordered 40 Boeing 737-800 planes for $3 billion at list prices.

The deal announced at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday follows orders for other Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft from Emirates airline and newly created leasing company Air Lease Corp. — raising hopes the aviation market is improving after a two-year downturn.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says his company has ordered three business jets from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. In a press conference Monday, he announced an order for two Global 5000 aircraft and a last minute addition a Challenger 605. The deal is worth $122 million at list prices, although airlines often negotiate substantial discounts. Al Baker says Qatar Airways is still talking to Bombardier about buying its C-Series commercial jet, but was not able to conclude a deal at the airshow.