Aerospace Diary

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS SriLankan Airlines is modernising and expanding its fleet with a mix of new Airbus and Boeing jets. [Photo: Neelam Mathews] May 8, 2014, 2:23 PM SriLankan Airlines appears poised to expand its reach into the neighboring Indian air transport market after becoming the 14th member of One World alliance late last month. The move is a boost to a country trying to bounce back after a 25-year civil war and makes SriLankan the first carrier from the Indian subcontinent to gain admission into a global airline alliance—ahead of rival operators in the far larger Indian market. The April 30 joining ceremony happened at Sri Lanka’s new Hambantota Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, serving the south and east coasts of the country. But it is hub operations out of the capital Colombo that carry the potential to feed One World traffic to and from Indian cities. “India is an extended home market for us,” said...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS June 20, 2013, 4:15 AM Qatar Airways  CEO  Akbar Al Baker is upbeat on the market, having ordered nine Boeing 777- 300ER s, valued at $2.8 billion (at list prices), of which seven are options. “When we say options, we always make them firm orders,” he said. “Options [simply] give us the flexibility of moving up delivery dates.” Al Baker said the new aircraft would allow the airline to open new long-haul routes to the  U.S.  Two of the new jets will be delivered in early 2014. Qatar Airways has ordered 60 787s, with the sixth delivery having flown directly from Seattle for the carrier’s Paris Air Show debut. Bakar told  AIN  that it was likely some of the orders could be changed to 787-900s. Magnanimous about the recent lithium-ion battery problems faced by the 787, he said it was unfair of the  FAA  to have grounded the airplanes. “A new a...