Qatar Airways has been told by Airbus it will receive its first A350-1000 aircraft before the end of the year, the airline's CE said Wednesday. Qatar Airways is the launch customer of Europe's largest twin-engined passenger jet and is scheduled to receive its first of 37 on order this year. The airline, one of the Middle East's largest, has axed orders for four of the smaller A350-900s and in the past rejected aircraft over what it said were quality issues. "Airbus has assured us we would receive our airplanes, though late, but we will receive it before the end of the year," Qatar Airways CE Akbar al-Baker said. An Airbus spokesman confirmed that the company planned to deliver the first A350-1000 to Qatar Airways this year. Qatar Airways, which has a reputation for being demanding when reviewing aircraft for quality before delivery, ordered 80 A350s, including those now canceled, and currently has 19 A350-900s in its fleet. Al-Baker has in the past described the relationship with Airbus as strained over aircraft and delivery issues. Qatar Airways is also renegotiating its 50 jet single aisle A320neo order, which also includes A319 and A321 versions, after first rejecting delivery of the aircraft in December 2015 over what it said were performance issues.<br/>
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Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, Brazil's largest domestic airline, reported a Q2 net loss of 406.3m reais ($129.9m), down from a net profit of 309.5m reais a year earlier, according to a securities filing Wednesday. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 25.4mi reais, compared to a negative result of 171.4m reais in Q2 last year.<br/>
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said on Thursday its outlook had brightened thanks to a surge in business confidence which drove a return in corporate traffic, as it reported a smaller annual net loss after a year of cost-cutting. In positive signs not only for Virgin but also Qantas, Virgin Australia CE John Borghetti said the corporate market had improved in Q4 and had maintained the momentum in the current quarter. "Business confidence seems to be running ahead of consumer confidence. That kind of translates to what we’ve seen in the last quarter or so. Business travel seems to have picked up more than leisure travel," he said. The statutory net loss after tax for the year to June 30 was A$185.8m, compared with a net loss of A$224.7m a year ago. Borghetti said the airline, partly owned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, was ahead of schedule on its cost-cutting program and was increasing its targeted savings by A$50m to A$350m a year. In a separate statement, Virgin said it had received authorization from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for its alliance with HNA Aviation, Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express for a five-year term.<br/>
Virgin Australia is planning to equip its core fleet of Boeing 737s, 777s and Airbus A330s with in-flight wi-fi connectivity by the second half of 2019. The carrier says that trials of Gogo’s 2Ku connectivity system on one of its 737-800s has proven successful, and a wider rollout across the fleet will commence in October. It is targeting to have all of its 777-300ERs and the majority of its 737s fitted with the system by the end of 2018, with the A330-200s to be completed by H2 2019. Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that the carrier operates five 777s, 79 737NGs and six A330s. It also has 40 737 Max aircraft on order, which will start to deliver from late 2019. Virgin group CE John Borghetti says that the rollout will see more than 90% of its fleet equipped with wi-fi. “Virgin Australia will offer a base level of free wi-fi to all of our guests on domestic flights and become the only Australian airline to offer wi-fi on international flights,” he adds. Virgin’s system uses Ku-band satellite operated by Australian telecommunications company Optus. It has previously said that international services will rely on satellites operated by SES and Intelsat.<br/>
Emirates' revamped NZ$4m lounge has taken to the skies. The latest makeover of the lounge, inspired by private yacht cabins, modernises the lounge. The 21sq m space accommodates up to 26 first-class and business-class customers on the A380. Emirates' new lounge aboard the double-decker super jumbo has made its operational debut on a flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, marking the ninth anniversary of the airline's A380 service. Emirates has been operating A380 aircraft to New Zealand since 2009 and all four daily New Zealand flights are now served by A380s. The onboard lounge was introduced on scheduled flights in August on a service between Dubai and New York in 2008, and has since become a mainstay of Emirates' A380 aircraft, which fly to 48 destinations.<br/>