Bombardier Inc. is extending the range of its marquee business jet to 7,700 nautical miles, unseating the Gulfstream G650 as the long-distance champ of the private-aircraft industry.

The 300-mile improvement for the Global 7000 means the plane will be able to whisk passengers from New York to Hong Kong, or Singapore to San Francisco, Bombardier said in a statement Sunday. A flight-test program with five aircraft has demonstrated the added reach, the company said.

The extra range gives Bombardier bragging rights over the G650 on flying distance as well as size, both of which are crucial selling points for the well-heeled customers who buy the planes. Bombardier chief executive officer Alain Bellemare is counting on the Global 7000 to generate the lion’s share of his targeted $3.5-billion increase in annual sales of private jets by 2020 — a key component of his turnaround plan for the debt-laden company.

“There’s a significant, almost endless desire for more range, more luxury and more space among business-jet buyers,” said David Tyerman, an analyst at Cormark Securities. “We saw that with the G650, and the Global 7000 takes it yet another step further. Every time a manufacturer comes out with a product that’s more capable, there seems to be a market that we didn’t know existed.”

Luxury battle

Flight testing now exceeds 1,800 hours for the Global 7000 and the plane has reached a top speed of Mach 0.995, just short of the sound barrier, Bombardier said Sunday. The aircraft, with a sticker price of $72.8 million, is sold out through 2021, according to the company.

The Montreal-based manufacturer still has a long way to go as it tries to catch up to the coveted G650, which lists for $69.4 million and has dominated the upper echelon of corporate jets since its debut five years ago. Gulfstream, a unit of Falls Church, Va.-based General Dynamics Corp., has delivered 300 of the planes.

Bombardier announced plans in November to hire about 1,000 people to work on the Global 7000 at its Montreal completion centre. The company is still looking to fill about 500 of the jobs. The jet is assembled at Bombardier’s Downsview factory in Toronto.

Canada’s biggest aerospace company invested $1 billion last year alone in developing and producing the Global 7000, with total cost of the project amounting to “a few billion dollars,” Bellemare said in an interview in December.

by Frederic Tomesco and Thomas Black </s> MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 04/15/18 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Bombardier is proud to reveal that its marquee Global 7000 business jet, having completed multiple long-range flights around the world, now boasts an outstanding range of 7,700 nautical miles, connecting more city pairs than any other business aircraft.

"We are thrilled to offer this extended range to our loyal customers, who are the driving force behind our engineering feats and who will soon own an aircraft that simply has no peer," said David Coleal, President, Bombardier Business Aircraft. "Not only are we standing by our commitment to begin delivering Global 7000 aircraft this year, we are exceeding expectations along the way."

The new 7,700-nautical-mile baseline range will be a feature on the Global 7000 aircraft for all existing and future customers. This enhanced performance will come at no additional cost to customers.

The Global 7000 aircraft, the most spacious and longest range business jet ever built, is on track to enter service during the second half of 2018. The flight test program is progressing to plan, with all five test vehicles in flight. The flight test program, which began in November 2016, has completed more than 1,800 hours of flight testing and is currently finalizing certification for the aircraft.

With a maximum operating range of 7,700 nautical miles, the Global 7000 aircraft can fly farther than any other business jet. The aircraft was widely publicized as being able to connect some of the world's most expansive city pairings, including such routes as New York to Shanghai, and Singapore to Seattle. Today, Bombardier can confirm that with its extended range, the Global 7000 aircraft is the only business aircraft that can connect New York to Hong Kong, and Singapore to San Francisco.(i)

The success of the Global 7000 flight test program speaks to the spirit of innovation at Bombardier, and to the hard work that has resulted in significant milestones along this aircraft's journey toward entering service.

Just five months into testing, this high-speed aircraft set a record as the largest business jet to operate so close to the sound barrier, reaching a milestone top speed of Mach 0.995.

And while the Global 7000 flight test vehicles are outperforming expectations in the skies, interior completions work on our customer aircraft is well under way at Bombardier's state-of-the-art facilities in Montreal.

With its four true living spaces, the Global 7000 aircraft is unique among business jets in spaciousness, luxurious comfort and design flexibility. Its leading-edge cabin entertainment system, coupled with ultra-fast connection speeds via Ka-band, allows passengers to stream high-definition content and enjoy a reliable entertainment experience. The Global 7000 aircraft's modern and multi-functional kitchen features unprecedented storage space for an exceptional dining experience.

With over 69,500 employees across four business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, Bombardier posted revenues of $16.2 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier. </s> "China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) has signed with Airbus a General Terms Agreement (GTA) for the purchase of a total of 140 aircraft. The agreement comprises of 100 A320 Family aircraft and 40 A350 XWB Family aircraft, reflecting the strong demand of Chinese airlines in all market segments including domestic, low cost, regional and international long haul," Airbus said in a statement.

The agreement was signed in Berlin by Airbus CEO Tom Enders and Executive Vice President of CAS Sun Bo in the presence of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The deal value is undisclosed, but market experts estimated it at 20 billion euros ($22.8 billion), based on list prices.

According to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast 2017-2036, the world’s passenger aircraft fleet above 100 seats is set to more than double in the next 20 years to over 40,000 planes amid 4.4-percent average annual increase in traffic driven by emerging markets like China.

The Airbus A320 series of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners was launched in 1988. Since then, such planes had carried more than 11.5 billion passengers in 103 million flights. It is produced in four sizes (A318, A319, A320 & A321) seating 100-240 passengers.

The Airbus A350 XWB Family features long-range twin-engine wide-body jet airliners able to carry 280-366 passengers. The planes boast carbon-fibre fuselage and wings, new fuel-effective Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine, as well as capability of performing flights of up to 19 hours. </s> LONDON — The never-ending drama from the 787 Dreamliner seems to have taken another turn for the worse today after British carriers Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have been told to make sure that their flight paths always keep their planes within one hour of an airport. This announcement today has come after only a few months ago when Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic were two of many airlines had to report excessive corrosion in their Dreamliner engines.

READ MORE: Rolls-Royce Announces Further Issues with Trent 1000s

This issue, however, is not new. The first report of the excessive wear in the engines was made by ANA All Nippon Airways back in 2016 when they found that their engines had corroded turbine blades, since then there have been multiple reports of issues with the engines which once saw an Air New Zealand 787 have to turn back after the pilots reported issues with the engine and had to shut it down mid-flight, the engines in question are the Trent 100 engines which are also used to power some 787-9 aircraft.

Boeing has been extensively investigating the engines with Rolls Royce ever since the first reports of the issue and they had already in 2016 created a replacement program with ANA in which Rolls Royce covered the costs. On Friday Rolls Royce said they were working to repair the engines and problem but said that the issue may not be fully fixed until 2022.

So what does this mean? Well, it means that flight plans will need to be changed. Virgin Atlantic will now need to change their Transatlantic routes which could see flight times to some of their destinations like Boston increase from 7 hours 15 minutes up to 8 hours.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said: “All airlines flying twin-engine aircraft have a requirement to be within 60 minutes of a diversion airfield. This can be varied under regulation depending on route requirements and regulatory approvals. There’s currently an industry-wide shortage of Trent 1000 engines, which is impacting airlines around the world. In order to avoid disrupting our customers, we have added additional aircraft to our fleet, including four A330-200s. We always fully comply with all safety requirements and don’t anticipate any impact to our services.”

READ MORE: Mandatory Inspection On All Boeing 737 Engines Following Southwest Incident

British Airways have said however that they are unlikely to be affected massively by this decision as they said that many of their 787-9 Dreamliners are allowed to fly within 3 hours of the nearest airport while others can go no further than 140 minutes away from a runway.

In a statement from a spokesman for BA said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we would never operate an aircraft if it was unsafe to do so. Like other airlines around the world, we are carrying out detailed precautionary inspections on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on some of our Boeing 787-9s to ensure we meet all the relevant regulatory requirements. Our Flight Planning teams have enormous experience in managing flight paths on our global network every day and always ensure we meet the relevant safety regulations.”

READ MORE: JetBlue Selects Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) Engines to Power Its Airbus A320neo Family Aircraft

It would appear that the engine issues have an end in sight but only time will tell how these problems will continue to affect not only the airlines that use them but Boeing and Rolls Royce alike, with airlines having to spend more money on a plane that was supposed to save them money. While we wait to see how these changes will be brought in it will be interesting to see if the changes affect the sales or for now the current orders of the 787-9 Dreamliners until the engine issues are fixed. </s> Airbus completed the maiden flight of its massive new BelugaXL transport aircraft on Thursday, debuting the plane in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 near the company’s headquarters in Toulouse, France.

Airbus’s oddly shaped jet – named for its resemblance to the whale of the same name – is the first of five that Airbus expects to build by 2023. The jets will be used to phase out the existing BelugaST models that the company uses to shuttle large aircraft pieces to its assembly centers.

The first flight of the new AirbusXL took off from the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in France at 2:24 p.m. local time, flying for 4 hours and 11 minutes before returning to land at the same airport.

Next up for the plane is a 10-months of flight testing that should lead to the BelugaXL’s certification. If all goes as planned, Airbus hopes to put the first BelugaXL into service sometime next year.

The BelugaST that the "XL" will replace is technically the Airbus A300-600ST, a heavily modified version of Airbus’ now-discontinued A300 model. It initially was called the Super Transporter in the 1990s when it began to phase out an earlier transport model dubbed the "Super Guppy." Eventually the A300-600ST took on the name of the whale many say it resembles.

ARCHIVES: World's strangest-looking airplane? A closer look at the Airbus 'Beluga'

The plane is used by European jetmaker Airbus to ferry aircraft and extra-large cargo. It's especially useful for the company in moving large plane parts from its production facilities to its assembly lines.

The BelugaST is capable of holding the wings of an A340 widebody. It also is capable of transporting the fuselage section of Airbus' newest widebody jet, the A350. Such oversized parts would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible, to fit into typical transport aircraft.

Airbus created its supersize BelugaST by cutting the top section off one of its Airbus A300 widebody jet models and then adding a bubble-shaped additional fuselage to the airframe. The A300 is no longer in production, something that helped lead to the even-bigger BelugaXL.

The new XL was developed by making similar modifications to Airbus’ current A330-200 freighter widebody.

Once it's certified, the XL will begin to take over missions now performed with the ST. Airbus says the transport aircraft will operate from 11 destinations as the company’s method of transporting large aircraft components to assembly centers.

Boeing, of course, has its own special transport plane for flying oversized items. Boeing's is a modified 747, which was designed largely to transport pieces of the Dreamliner — which explains the "Dreamlifter" name that Boeing gave to its equivalent of Beluga. </s> THERE’S still no word on whether pigs can fly — but you aren’t going mad if you spot a whale soaring past your window anytime soon because Airbus’s Beluga XL aircraft — nicknamed the “whale in the sky” has taken off for the first time.

It took off from Toulouse Airport in France this morning for its maiden flight.

A crowd of more than 10,000 people, mostly employees and subcontractors of the European aircraft manufacturer, applauded as it took to the skies.

Airbus staff waved flags as the Beluga prepared for its test flight.

The plane has been designed to move oversized aircraft components and has an extra 30 per cent capacity on the current Beluga planes that it will replace.

This new plane is six metres longer and a metre wider, which means it can carry two A350 XWB plane wings instead of one.

This extra space in the “bubble section” and the new lowered cockpit — which makes space for a main deck with direct cargo loading capabilities — is what gives the plane its unique appearance.

In a nod to its whale-like shape, Airbus have painted a whale’s mouth and eyes on the side of the nose.

The plane, which weighs 125 tonnes, can carry up to 53 tonnes in the hold for a distance of more than 4,000 kilometres.

To power such a heavy aircraft, there are two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 Turbofan engines — both with a thrust of 316 kN.

The Beluga XL program was launched in November 2014, with this oversized transporter to be used for carrying complete sections of Airbus aircraft from different production sites around Europe to the final assembly lines in Toulouse, France and Hamburg, Germany.

Tim Orr, head of branding at Airbus, said: “The six designs we proposed for consideration by employees respected our brand identity while running from the conventional to the unconventional, even adding a touch of fun.”

There will be five of the whale-shaped planes put into service in the future.

This article was originally published in The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission. </s> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Middle East’s largest airline, Emirates, announced Thursday it struck a deal with Airbus to buy 20 A380 aircraft with the option to buy 16 more in a deal worth $16 billion, throwing a lifeline to the European-made double-decker jumbo jets.

The Dubai-based Emirates already has 101 A380s in its fleet and 41 more on order, making it the largest operator of the jumbo jet.

“This new order underscores Airbus’ commitment to produce the A380 at least for another ten years,” said Airbus chief salesman John Leahy.

Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the order “will provide stability to the A380 production line.”

Al Maktoum and Leahy made the comments in a statement after the deal was signed in Dubai on Thursday morning.

Emirates, which is owned by the Dubai government in the United Arab Emirates, said the additional A380s will be delivered to the airliner from 2020 onwards and that some of the new A380s will be used as fleet replacements.

Leahy had warned only three days earlier that if the company couldn’t work out a deal with Emirates, it would have to shut down the superjumbo’s production line. Airbus has spent years and billions developing the double-decker jumbo jet, even as skeptics questioned whether it could generate enough demand to justify its cost and the bigger runways it requires.

An Airbus A380 has a list price of $445.6 million, but airlines and manufacturers often negotiate lower prices.

Airbus delivered just 15 of the planes last year, and aims to deliver 12 more this year.

Leahy told reporters Monday that Emirates is the only airline with the ability to commit to a minimum of six planes a year for a minimum of eight to 10 years, or what is needed to make the Airbus program viable.

“It’s positive news for both sides,” airline analyst John Strickland of JLS Consulting said. “The A380 is critical to Emirates’ hub-and-growth strategy and equally the airline is key to Airbus’ continuation of the program. It will be a great relief to Airbus to have secured this order, but they have to work aggressively to secure orders from other airlines too now.”

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the deal reflects Emirates’ commitment to advancing “Dubai’s vision to grow further as a world-class destination and aviation hub.” Dubai’s main airport, where Emirates is based, is among the busiest in the world with more than 80 million travelers passing through in 2016.

Airbus tweeted news of the deal, saying it was “glad to announce” Emirates’ commitment to the A380.

At Dubai’s biennial Air Show in November, Airbus suffered an embarrassment when it was scheduled to announce it had a struck a deal with Emirates for its A380, only to see Boeing sit on the podium with the airline and sign a $15.1 billion deal.

Emirates’ fleet relies solely on the Airbus 380 and the Boeing 777 for its flights. </s> Emirates Airline on Thursday announced a $16 billion deal for up to 36 more Airbus SE (AIR.FR) A380 superjumbos, extending a lifeline to the European plane maker's struggling flagship program that was at risk of production ending had a deal not materialized.

Emirates Airline, the biggest customer for the double-decker A380, and Airbus had been in talks for months about the top-up purchase that brings the Dubai-based carrier's commitment to the world's largest jetliner to up to 178 planes. The two companies were close to signing an agreement in November at the Dubai Air Show, but Emirates walked away from the table wanting firmer commitments to the program from Airbus .

Airbus sales chief John Leahy on Monday warned that "if we can't work out a deal with Emirates, there is no choice but to shut down the program."

"This order will provide stability to the A380 production line," Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement. Some of the planes from this order will be used to replace A380s already in service, he said.

Emirates now accounts for more than half of all A380s ordered if it exercises all options, punctuating the Toulouse, France-based plane maker's dependence on the airline.?

Even with the deal, Airbus is reducing output of the A380 amid otherwise slack demand. Airbus produced 15 A380s last year and plans to hand over only 12 this year.

The bleak outlook for the A380 was punctuated late last year when the first of the jets, once operated by Singapore Airlines, was placed in long-term storage after the airline opted not to extend its initial lease period. The carrier is the second biggest A380 customer, having ordered 24.

Air France-KLM SA (AF.FR) and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) are among other carriers to have cut orders for the plane. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. has never introduced the model despite ordering six and Malaysia Airlines is phasing out its six though it is trying to rent them to others.

For Mr. Leahy, who is retiring from Airbus this year after a career spanning more than 30 years during which has sold more than 15,000 planes, the deal is a final coup. "This new order underscores Airbus's commitment to produce the A380 at least for another ten years, he said. Mr. Leahy said he was "convinced more orders will follow Emirates's example and that this great aircraft will be built well into the 2030s."

Airbus has long promised huge demand for the A380 that costs $445.6 million each at list price, though airlines typically get discounts. The airplane has been popular with passengers, but airlines have been cautious to embrace it, worried about filling the aircraft that can seat more than 600 passengers.

Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier earlier this week said production could fall as low as 6 planes a year. The company once had ambitions to build around 60 a year.

Emirates said it was considering engine options. Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) and the joint venture of General Electric Co. (GE) and Pratt & Whitney offer A380 engines. </s> So much for the 737 MAX hangover.

After a quiet Day 1 at the Paris Air Show, Boeing announced a trio of deals Wednesday that stunned the aviation sector. The aircraft manufacturer has new orders lined up from airline customers on three continents for its widebody 787 Dreamliner and its beleaguered narrowbody 737 MAX.

The deal haul carries a potential value of $31.8 billion if you go by list prices. (There are always discounts). Analysts had been voicing concern about the poor early showing for Boeing at the biennial show, the most prestigious in the industry, chalking up the slow deal flow to the woes of its workhorse model, the 737 MAX. On the eve of the show, CEO Dennis Muilenburg told the press Boeing had no timetable for the 737 MAX to take to the skies again. The global fleet of roughly 400 has been grounded since the fatal March crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

The announcement of yesterday’s deal with International Airlines Group couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. IAG, the sixth largest airline group in the world with carriers such as Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, signed a letter of intent to buy 200 737 MAX planes, carrying a list price of $24 billion. Boeing shares skyrocketed more than 5 percent on Tuesday.

At a press conference, IAG CEO Willie Walsh, shrugged off the plane’s uncertain future. “We’re partnering with the Boeing brand,” he said. “That’s the brand that I’m doing business with. That’s the brand that I’ve worked with for years. And it’s a brand that I trust.”

Sitting beside him, Kevin McAllister, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, looked as if he wanted to hug Walsh. “We can’t thank you enough for the confidence you place in the 737 MAX family, and in all of us,” he replied, beaming.

Industry observers point out that it’s a fairly safe hedge for IAG as deliveries aren’t planned until 2023 and 2027, which should give Boeing plenty of time to work through the flight trials and inspections regulators around the world are demanding. Boeing also announced separate deals with Korean Air and Air Lease Corporation on the delivery of 787 Dreamliners worth a combined $7.8 billion at list price.

Boeing rival Airbus stole the show on Day 1 when it said Air Lease Corp. had ordered 27 of its new longer-range, narrow-body model, the A321XLR. While the price tag was less of an eye-catcher, that deal may be the most significant commercial aviation news of the Paris Air Show. There’s huge global demand for narrow-body, long-range aircrafts like A321XLR. The new Airbus model has a range of 4,700 nautical miles with 30% less fuel-burn per seat, an important industry metric.

This morning, Airbus added Australia’s Qantas to its customer list for the new long-distance aircraft. Qantas and Airbus announced a deal for 10 new A321XLR models, part of a 36-plane deal. Airbus’s shares took a nice jump on Monday as news came in from Le Bourget air field, north of Paris. The stock was down this morning.

Analysts, meanwhile, are still hoping to hear more about Boeing’s answer to the A321XLR.

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Bombardier announces an increase in range for the Global 7000 business aircraft to 7,700 nautical miles, surpassing the Gulfstream G650 as the longest-range private jet.