JetBlue Airways said it was postponing delivery of 13 aircraft scheduled for 2019 and 2020, and had swapped its 2018 Airbus order of A321neos to 11 A321ceos, which have an earlier engine design. In its Q1 earnings call, JetBlue said it was deferring eight aircraft from 2019 to 2023 and five aircraft from 2020 to 2024. Deliveries of Pratt & Whitney engines have been disrupted by various technical problems, forcing Airbus to replace some A320neo jets with the earlier model to keep production lines flowing smoothly. It has made extra copies of the earlier type available for airlines that want them. Differences in fuel performance are less obvious when planes fly shorter routes. One expert said as many as 72 of the new Pratt engines have been taken off the wings of A320neo aircraft for inspection or repairs since entering service. <br/>
unaligned
The chairman and CEO of Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates said Tuesday he "can't dig into somebody's mind" to understand why the US instituted a ban on laptops and other personal electronics in carry-on luggage from 10 cities in Muslim-majority countries. However, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said he believes US President Donald Trump is a businessman who "wouldn't want to affect American business" in his decisions. Sheikh Ahmed's careful phrasing mirrored that of his rival, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker, the day before at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai. The exhibition last year featured a stand by the luxury hotel chain bearing the new American president's name, but this year the company apparently decided not to take part. Sheikh Ahmed didn't mince words, however, when describing what he thought after watching the video of a United Express passenger being forced off a flight. "Those people who dealt with it, they should be more professional," he said. "That is something that should not be acceptable." Sheikh Ahmed also acknowledged the challenges facing the global aviation industry, saying Emirates was considering so-called premium economy seats, planned on launching a new first-class "product" this year and was looking at other measures. <br/>
Emirates on Tuesday renewed marketing agreements with Mauritius and Seychelles by extending the memorandums of understanding it has with the tourism board of each country. The carrier said various joint activities will be developed under the agreements, such as the attendance of tourism trade shows and fairs, trade familiarisation trips, product presentations and workshops. “Our relationships with Mauritius and Seychelles is very important to us. Our joint activities have been fruitful, and this can be demonstrated by the fact that we operate a double-daily service to both destinations — the Mauritius route being served by an Emirates A380,” said Orhan Abbass, Emirates’ senior VP commercial operations for Africa.<br/>