When China unveiled an historic order for its first large commercial jetliner at a national air show in 2010, Western journalists were kept away, and only local media were allowed to witness a major turning point in China's aviation ambitions. The COMAC C919 jet is expected to stage its maiden flight in the coming weeks, and foreign media and potential buyers will be invited in force - illustrating how Beijing is adjusting to competition for a slice of global jet sales worth $2t over the next 20 years. But after three years of delays and almost a decade in development, China's answer to the Boeing 737 and its state-owned designers face a daunting phase: selling the jet abroad in a market dominated by Boeing and Airbus. "They will be trying to compete on price against people who are building aircraft at a much faster pace and with more experience, so there's a risk of getting bled dry," said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst at Virginia-based Teal Group. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has some cards to play: its plane has Western engines and avionics coupled with a new design; it's rolling out a pilot training program, expanding international staff and has strong, behind-the-scenes backing from Beijing, industry executives say. And though still unproven, COMAC could be the single biggest threat over the coming decades to the dominance of Boeing and Airbus, both in China's own huge aviation market and, longer-term, overseas. The C919 is the first step to this.<br/>
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Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, the Middle East’s biggest plane-leasing company, propelled itself into the top ranks of global players with a multi-billion dollar agreement to buy Dublin-based AWAS Aviation Capital from UK private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners. The transaction will swell DAE’s fleet to 394 aircraft valued at more than $14b with the addition of 263 jets that AWAS owns, manages or has on order, the Dubai-based company said Monday. While terms weren’t disclosed, Terra Firma spent E5.68b on AWAS, according to its website. The deal extends a consolidation spree in leasing that last year saw China’s HNA Group agree to buy CIT Group Inc.’s aviation unit for $10b to expand its Avolon Holdings arm. While DAE will rank after HNA and market leaders General Electric Co. and AerCap Holdings NV by fleet value, it joins the next tier alongside BBAM LLC, SMBC Aviation Capital of Japan, China’s BOC Aviation Ltd. and ICBC Financial Leasing Co., and Steven Udvar-Hazy’s Air Lease Corp.<br/>
New Zealand is considering restrictions on laptops and other large electronic devices on flights from some Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East, the country's prime minister said Monday. The new rules would follow similar measures introduced last month by the United States, Britain, and Australia.<br/>The New Zealand leader elaborated on comments made by transport minister Simon Bridges, who said Sunday that the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) "is assessing the evidence to determine what is appropriate." PM Bill English said that the aviation agency was considering the issue and would make a decision on whether to restrict large electronic items on flights from the Middle East independently of the government. "A number of our security partners put those arrangements in place. With this particular proposition there's a balance between inconvenience for passengers, many of whom live off their laptop on the one hand, but on the other hand it’s making sure that the flying is safe," English said.<br/>
Jet services could end to some regions if a court ruling forces the aviation watchdog to change its decision making, New Zealand's airports are warning. The New Zealand Airports Association has written to Transport Minister Simon Bridges seeking an urgent law change to prevent a court decision from requiring the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to remove cost from its calculations of whether longer safety areas are practicable. In February the Court of Appeal ordered the director of civil aviation, Graeme Harris, to change the way he determines whether runway safety areas are acceptable. The order came after the Airline Pilots' Association challenged the CAA's finding for Wellington Airport's safety area in its proposed runway extension. The Court of Appeal said the CAA should not consider cost as a substantial factor in determining whether a longer RESA is practicable. In a letter to Bridges on March 14, released under the Official Information Act, the NZ Airports Association said the decision could have a "pronounced" impact on New Zealand's air services.<br/>