Qatar Airways has taken delivery of its first four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. It has a total of 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on order, which will join the existing fleet of 30 smaller Boeing 787-8 The brand new 787-9 jets departed on their joint delivery flights from Boeing’s production site in Everett, Washington, on Thursday evening. Besides the Boeing 787 aircraft type, the carrier has Boeing 777 as well as Airbus A330, A350 and A380 wide-body jets in its fleet. Qatar Airways has Boeing 777-8, 777-9 and 26 more 787-9 aircraft on order. Furthermore, additional Airbus A350s are scheduled to join the fleet. Picture credit: Flight Radar 24

Air France have announced the resumption of flight to the west African city of Monrovia in Liberia. The Flight scheduled to resume from 20th April, 2020 on a frequency of five weekly flights operated by Airbus A330-300 with a capacity of 224 seats. Air France will serve Monrovia as a continuation of service to Bamako (Mali) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, and directly on Tuesdays and Fridays before joining Bamako.Thanks to this new route between Monrovia and Bamako, Air France will operate five additional flights to Mali (12 flights in total), representing a 63% increase in capacity compared to last year. For the 2020 summer season, Air France will serve 35 destinations in Africa and 280 weekly flights. In total, the Air France-KLM group will operate more than 500 weekly flights to 49 destinations in Africa. Monrovia is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, Monrovia had a population of over 1 million inhab

Boeing has delivered the last ever Boeing 737 ‘Next Generation’ (NG) to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The Boeing 737-8K2 is registered as PH-BCL, and flew from the production facility in Seattle to Amsterdam. The aircraft carries Line Number 7,542 and joins KLM’s 737NG fleet made up of 16 -700, 31 -800 and five -900 aircraft. The 737NG is the precursor to the troubled 737 MAX which is currently grounded worldwide, with production due to be suspended in January. Four versions, the 737-600, -700, -800 and -900 are part of the Boeing 737NG program, with over 7,000 deliveries in total. Almost 5,000 Boeing 737-800 series aircraft have been built, making it the most prolific variant of Boeing’s only single aisle airliner family currently in production. The very first version of the 737, the 737-100, first flew in 1967. Since then, the US-American aircraft manufacturer has continued development of the plane, with the 737NG being the third generation. As it stands, no more commercial Boe

Philippines budget carrier Cebu Pacific is finishing the year on a srong note as the airline have confirmed  deal for 15 Airbus A320neo family jets worth US$2 billion at list prices.The deal includes up to 10 of the long-range A321XLR planes launched this year that have proven popular with airlines. This year 2019 have seen Cebu Pacific pursue a vigorous fleet renewal initiative. The budget carrier signed a provisional deal for 15 A320neo family planes during the Paris Air Show in June. Furthermore, in November, the budget carrier finalised the purchase of 16 larger A330neo jets worth US$4.8 billion at list prices. According to Cebu Pacific, the planes will be delivered between 2021 and 2024.The carrier plans to phase out older aircraft, meaning it will have an all next-generation fleet of Airbus jets in five years. The airline currently boost of an average fleet of five years of age, one of the youngest in the world.

Philippines low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific has joined IATA, becoming the second carrier from the country to be part of the trade association.Cebu Pacific says IATA membership will help it “gain access to expertise and learnings” about best practices and innovation. In a statement to Mark the occasion, Cebu Pacific chief Lance Gokongwei adds: “Moreover, we will also be able to share our own operational experience and contribute to further developing the airline industry as a whole.” Cebu Pacific joins a growing number of low-cost carriers added to the IATA fold.The budget airline currently flies 121 routes, with more than 2,600 weekly flights. Cirium fleets data indicates the carrier operates 54 aircraft, including a mix of A320 family jets and A330s, and has 44 aircraft on orders. IATA in a statement noted the low-cost carrier has achieved full compliance with its’ Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), which assesses a carrier’s operational management and control systems. Inter

Africa's largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines has launched its inaugural flight to Houston, Texas United States of America. In a statement to flag off the inaugural flight in Lome Togo, the Airlines Vice President, Marketing, Rahel Assefa, assured passengers of exciting journey of safety and comfort on the new route. Ethiopian airline service to Houston will operate from Addis Ababa via Lome in Togo with a Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft. Passengers withing the west african sub region in cities like Lagos, Accra etc can connect to Lome directly via Asky airline and then the onward journey to Houston. The thrice weekly service will depart Addis Ababa on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Houston departures are on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.The flight will depart Addis Ababa after a stop in Lome and a long transatlantic flight; the aircraft will touch down in Houston the next day. Passengers on board of the inaugural flight were welcomed with special gifts to mark

United Airlines launched a historic flight: UA 1122, the only nonstop route from North America to Cape Town,  departing from Newark Liberty International Airport USA. "If you've flown to Cape Town before, you've probably had to connect through Johannesburg or through Europe, and this flight being able to go from Newark, New Jersey, to Cape Town will save nearly eight hours round-trip," Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of international network, said on Sunday at the flight's departure gate, which was decked out for the ribbon-cutting celebration with balloons, dancers, and wine from South Africa. "That's one full day back." It also means new one-stop access to Cape Town for more than 80 U.S. cities, which formerly had only multi-city flights available that could take some 35 hours one-way. Clocking in at about 14 hours heading to Cape Town and 16 hours back to Newark, the new 7,817-mile flight ranks among United's longest a

A Jetstar plane an Airbus A320 aircraft which was Tokyo-bound  got stuck at the grassy portion of the runway following a mishap during takeoff early Saturday morning December 14 in Manila Philippines. As a result of the incident, some incoming flights were diverted to nearby Clark International Airport north of the airport.The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said in a statement that all 140 passengers and crew onboard the Jetstar Japan plane were safe. In a statement, CAAP said that based on the initial report, an Airbus 320 Jetstar plane bound for Tokyo "experienced Runway 13/31 excursion upon making 180 degrees turn for departure" at 2:33 am on Saturday  "and got stuck at the grassy portion of the runway." The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that while the plane was preparing for takeoff, it "overshot the turn causing the front and right landing gears to veer towards the RSA (runway safety area) leaving the fron

Congo Airways have signed a firm order for two E175 aircraft, with purchase rights for a further two. The deal has a total value of USD 194.4 million at current list prices with all purchase rights exercised, and will be added to Embraer's 2019 fourth quarter backlog. In a statement to Mark the occasion, Desire Bantu, CEO of Congo Airways said, "These new jets will replace our current turboprop offering and allow us to serve routes both within the Democratic Republic of Congo, and regionally to West, Central, and Southern Africa, from our hub in Kinshasa. We will now have the flexibility and the right sized aircraft to serve our market, which is growing so rapidly an additional order may be required, for which the E2 is a particularly compelling option." Furthermore, Raul Villaron, Vice President Sales, Africa and Middle East, Embraer Commercial Aviation, said, "It's great to welcome another airline to the Embraer family of operators, especially in Africa

Air Asia have taken delivery of it's first Airbus A321neo aircraft. Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier ordered a total of 353 A321neo jets, each with 236 seats, 50 more than the older generation A320. The A321neo also burns 20 percent less fuel consumption. The A321neo can fly 5.5 hours, 1 hour longer than the A320, which will allow AirAsia to expand to more destinations in China, Thailand and Australia while carrying larger passengers which is great for revenue. Sporting multi-color livery with the phrase "3,2,1 take off", AirAsia's new A321neo jet can carry 5 tons or 40 percent more cargo than older generations.Arranged in a single class layout, the aircraft's 18-inch wide seats feature contoured backrests, mobile and tablet PC holders, and USB charging ports. Rokki WiFi will equip the jet with inflight entertainment and up to 10mbps internet. Air traffic in Asia-Pacific quadrupled to some 1.6 billion passengers last year from 400 million, the