The Week in brief
- BOC Aviation has leased five new A330-200 freighters on long-term contracts to Hainan Airlines. Yangtze River Express Airlines will operate the planes, which are slated for delivery in 2012 and 2013. According to the chairman of the HNA Group, Chen Feng, the company's capacity demands have been increasing on the strength of the worldwide economic rebound. BOC Aviation has a portfolio of 169 planes and 62 aircraft on order.
- Turkish Airlines has ordered 15 737s — 10 737-800s and five 737-900ERs — valued at more than $1.2 billion from Boeing. With this order, Boeing now has commitments from 14 customers for a total of 305 737-900ERs. The company says the ER, which was released in 2005, offers 6 percent lower operating costs per trip than comparable models.
- IndiGo has ordered 300 Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G engines to power its new order of 150 Airbus A320neo planes. The company has also been contracted to provide maintenance to the engines. "The PurePower engine's benefits will allow us to make dramatic improvements in environmental performance with reduced emissions and significant savings in fuel consumption," Aditya Ghosh, president of IndiGo, said in a statement.
- After a 37-year absence, Air France has relaunched flights to Phnom Penh in what it says are the first scheduled European flights to Cambodia. The carrier will fly a Airbus A340-300 into the city three times a week. In addition to a heavy passenger route, Air France sees the possibility of increased trade and will reserve space for 40 tonnes of cargo each week for the transportation of fresh produce, textiles and other goods between the two countries.
- Cathay Pacific will launch its third flight from New York JFK to Hong Kong on Monday. Starting in early May, the airline will ramp up services from thrice weekly to daily. The service will use Boeing 777-300ED planes.
