Aircraft News - Europe.

May 21, 2007

Air Via

AJ Walter said Bulgarian charter carrier Air Via signed a power-by-the-hour contract covering an A320. May 17, 2007

Airbus

Airbus Confirms Raising A320 Output. Airbus said that it would raise production of its A320 family of passenger airliners, helped by a new factory in China, and may also increase output of A330/A340 models. In a statement, Airbus said it would raise A320 output to 40 planes a month by end 2009 from a current production level of 32. Airbus officials have previously said the change was planned due to strong demand. May 17, 2007

Airbus, AerCap

AerCap, the Dutch aircraft lessor, signed a firm order with Airbus yesterday for an additional 10 A330-200s valued at $1.6 billion, bringing to 30 the number of the type it has on order. "Since AerCap ordered 20 new [A330-200s] in December last year, we have already lined up customers for 13 out of the 20 aircraft," CEO Klaus Heinemann said. "The order for an additional 10 aircraft will help us to further expand our portfolio in the attractive market for modern, smaller widebody aircraft." May 15, 2007

Airbus, EADS

Forgeard Is Airbus 'Scapegoat' - Publicis Chief A close ally of former EADS chief Noel Forgeard denied on Wednesday the French government had intervened to secure him a hefty pay-off and said Forgeard was a scapegoat for woes at planemaker Airbus. May 16, 2007

Boeing, Martinair, Singapore Technologies Aerospace

Singapore Technologies Aerospace's SAS Component subsidiary was selected by Martinair to continue its support of the airline's six Boeing 767s under its material supply program for another three years in a deal valued at [euro]18 million ($24.3 million). May 17, 2007

Boeing, TUI

Boeing Gets USD$4.7 Bln Order From German Travel Group TUI. Boeing said it has received orders for 11 787-8 Dreamliners and 50 Next-Generation 737s from German shipping and tourism group TUI. The orders, valued at about USD$4.7 billion at list prices, were previously recorded on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries web site as unidentified. May 17, 2007

CFM International

CFM President Eric Bachelet reiterated his confidence that Pratt & Whitney's initiative to develop replacement parts for CFM 56-3 engines will not affect its business. "We don't fear competition, we're used to it, We've [been] competing for 30 years and we're continuously adding value. We have invested $1.5 billion in upgrading the technology and customers know this." He also maintained that CFM is not interested in launching a similar initiative to produce replacement parts for its competitor's engines. "We are very clear: We will not do that," he said. "We do not think it is the right thing to do because we do not know their engines. We invest in our own product line and keep adding value to it." May 15, 2007

Finnair, Aeroflot

Finnair said it will sell the last two MD-11s it owns to Aeroflot. The aircraft will be transferred in November 2008 and July 2009. Value of the sale is at least [euro]30 million ($40.6 million). Finnair operates seven MD-11s, five of which are under leasing agreements that expire by the end of 2010, when it plans to have retired all MD-11s and operate a long-haul fleet of A330s and A340s. May 16, 2007

Lufthansa, Bombardier

Lufthansa confirmed its order for 15 Bombardier CRJ900s, valued at $584 million, plus 15 purchase rights. It announced its commitment last month. The order increases to 109 the number of firm orders placed by Lufthansa and its regional partners for CRJs and brings to 196 the total number of CRJ900s sold, including a firm order placed last week by Tatarstan Airlines for six plus four options. May 17, 2007

Lufthansa Systems, Spanair

Lufthansa Systems said Spanair will implement its ProfitLine/Yield Rembrandt solution to optimize further its revenue management processes. It also said KLM extended its existing contract to support its flight planning processes with Lido OC for an additional five years. KLM also selected the Lido module LinTop to calculate single-point takeoff performances, replacing the paper-based charts it previously used. May 16, 2007

Pegasus, Terra Firma

European equity firm buys Pegasus aircraft leasing business Pegasus Aviation Finance has sold its aircraft leasing business to the European private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners for $5.2 billion. Terra Firma will combine the business with its AWAS unit, giving it a combined fleet of more than 300 planes. May 14, 2007

Terra Firma, Pegasus Aviation Finance

Terra Firma, a European private equity firm, added to its portfolio of operating lease companies with the purchase of San Francisco-based Pegasus Aviation Finance. Price was not disclosed. Sellers were investment funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and Pegasus senior management. Last year, Terra Firma acquired AWAS from Morgan Stanley for $2.5 billion in cash plus the assumption of liabilities. Terra Firma Chief Executive Guy Hands said the purchase of Pegasus "builds on our initial AWAS acquisition and will significantly strengthen our worldwide position within the aircraft leasing sector." Pegasus owns 82 aircraft and manages 94 others. It has 37 aircraft on order including the 787. AWAS leases 134 aircraft to 72 airlines, according to Terra Firma. May 14, 2007

ZZ

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May 14, 2007