China Airlines, which was scheduled to take delivery of its first Airbus A350 XWB in July, has been informed by the European manufacturer its first aircraft will now arrive at the end of September. Airbus said the delivery delay is the result of a backlog of aircraft ready to enter cabin completion stations on the final assembly line, according to a China Airlines statement. China Airlines previously said it expected delivery of its first aircraft in July to launch nonstop flights from Taipei to European destinations from December 2016. Airbus has expressed apologies to China Airlines and has assured the SkyTeam member it does not expect any further changes to the delivery schedule.<br/>
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Garuda Indonesia is in no hurry to finalise a multibillion-dollar order of as many as 250 aircraft, saying the sluggish global economy will give it more leeway in negotiations with Airbus Group and Boeing. Decisions by other airlines to push back purchases amid tough operating conditions give Garuda more breathing space, President Director Arif Wibowo said Tuesday. The order is part of the flag carrier’s plan to nearly triple its revenue to $10b by 2020. “It’s a buyers’ market right now, so I think we have one or two years to see their response,” said Wibowo, 49. “A number of airlines have decided to reschedule their aircraft deliveries, so we have to be tactical in dealing with these two major suppliers.” Southeast Asian carriers may need to push back delivery of aircraft after a decade of economic growth and optimism about a surge in air travel prompted them to order hundreds of jets, Tony Tyler, CEO of the IATA, said in February. Garuda has bucked that trend, with its share price surging 56% this year after a turnaround in the carrier’s financial results and its inclusion in the MSCI Indonesia Index of mid- to large-cap equities. Garuda has “no appetite” for the A380 superjumbo from Airbus, a plane that would only fit airlines with specific needs, Wibowo said. Wibowo, who’s been president director since December 2014, said Garuda is completely unhedged in terms of its oil needs at the moment and would only start hedging if the jet fuel price rises to 47.7 cents per liter. The Singapore jet fuel price was 30 cents a liter at the end of April.<br/>
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will phase out its final Fokker 70 on Oct. 29, 2017, ending 20 years of service. KLM began flying F70s in 1996 and, with a current fleet of 14 aircraft, it is the biggest user of the Dutch-manufactured twinjet. However, the Fokker fleet is now 20 years old, with each aircraft having performed around 38,000 flight hours. As a result, KLM is replacing them with more cost-efficient Embraer E175s and E190s. KLM took delivery of its first E190 in December 2008 and launched E175 operations in April this year. After KLM receives all its E-Jets in 2018, the fleet will comprise 17 E175s and 30 E190s, making it the largest Embraer operator in Europe.<br/>