Friday April 2, 2010
Advanced composite maintenance services for airplane repair/rebuild purposes : Delta TechOps
Announcing a maintenance agreement with Skymark Airlines, read more : Delta TechOps
More Related Links »
Virgin Blue Group finalized a contract with Boeing for up to 105 737NGs, confirming and adding to a February MOU in a deal that is the biggest in the Australian company's 10-year history and the largest Boeing has landed in 18 months.
The agreement includes 50 firm 737-800s with options to convert orders to either the -700 or -900, plus 25 options and 30 purchase rights. Deliveries are scheduled to run from June 2011 through 2017 (ATWOnline, Feb. 25).
Blue said that a "significant percentage" of the aircraft are intended for replacement of its existing narrowbody fleet, which numbers approximately 52 737s, while the remainder will be deployed on new routes and to boost frequency where demand dictates.
Boeing listed just 40 of the 50 aircraft on its Orders and Deliveries website. A Boeing spokesperson told ATWOnline that the remaining 10 can be cancelled without penalty, "and as such, Boeing cannot count them as firm orders."
CEO Brett Godfrey noted that "securing this agreement now places Virgin Blue in a strong position to prepare for steady future growth as domestic and short-haul markets recover. It will also ensure a turnover of aircraft to maintain the youngest fleet of modern aircraft which is crucial for maintaining our commitment to ontime performance and the lowest cost base possible."
He added that the company "was fortunate to see the opportunity, and be in a position to take advantage of the downturn in the market as we did back in 2001, to secure a long-term future supply of aircraft on attractive commercial terms." He said Blue "expect to finalize our funding arrangements for these aircraft shortly."
The 737s will be delivered with Boeing's new Sky interior and a three-class economy layout featuring premium economy, standard economy and economy "lite" with a reduced seat pitch (ATWOnline, Sept. 22, 2009).
by Geoffrey Thomas and Christine Boynton
Advanced composite maintenance services for airplane repair/rebuild purposes : Delta TechOps
Announcing a maintenance agreement with Skymark Airlines, read more : Delta TechOps
More Related Links »
Virgin Blue Group finalized a contract with Boeing for up to 105 737NGs, confirming and adding to a February MOU in a deal that is the biggest in the Australian company's 10-year history and the largest Boeing has landed in 18 months.
The agreement includes 50 firm 737-800s with options to convert orders to either the -700 or -900, plus 25 options and 30 purchase rights. Deliveries are scheduled to run from June 2011 through 2017 (ATWOnline, Feb. 25).
Blue said that a "significant percentage" of the aircraft are intended for replacement of its existing narrowbody fleet, which numbers approximately 52 737s, while the remainder will be deployed on new routes and to boost frequency where demand dictates.
Boeing listed just 40 of the 50 aircraft on its Orders and Deliveries website. A Boeing spokesperson told ATWOnline that the remaining 10 can be cancelled without penalty, "and as such, Boeing cannot count them as firm orders."
CEO Brett Godfrey noted that "securing this agreement now places Virgin Blue in a strong position to prepare for steady future growth as domestic and short-haul markets recover. It will also ensure a turnover of aircraft to maintain the youngest fleet of modern aircraft which is crucial for maintaining our commitment to ontime performance and the lowest cost base possible."
He added that the company "was fortunate to see the opportunity, and be in a position to take advantage of the downturn in the market as we did back in 2001, to secure a long-term future supply of aircraft on attractive commercial terms." He said Blue "expect
The 737s will be delivered with Boeing's new Sky interior and a three-class economy layout featuring premium economy, standard economy and economy "lite" with a reduced seat pitch (ATWOnline, Sept. 22, 2009).
by Geoffrey Thomas and Christine Boynton
