Airbus wants Emirates to pull forward deliveries of new A380 superjumbos to help it fill a gap after 2019 that could undermine the sustainability of the struggling aircraft. Sir Tim Clark, president of the carrier, said that the aircraft maker was seeking a pledge from Emirates “to place orders possibly over that time line which gives them the certainty that their production line will be sustained”. The two sides are locked in negotiations over a US$15b order for the aircraft after a last minute hitch scuppered the planned announcement of a deal for more than 36 passenger jets Sunday. Its fate is critical to Emirates’ expansion plans, but also to Airbus which has invested billions in the programme. The Dubai govt is demanding a guarantee that Airbus will maintain production for 10 to 15 years after it receives the last of its current orders for the superjumbo in 2022.<br/>
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Emirates revealed an updated “suites” first-class product that gives fliers up to 40-square-feet of space and seats that convert into lie-flat beds and come with sliding privacy doors. Emirates will add the new first-class seats to its new Boeing 777-300ER jets still on order. The new suites cabin will be installed in a 1-1-1 configuration, lowering the density from Emirates’ current 1-2-1 layout on the airline's Boeing 777s that feature a comparable suites cabin. It will debut Dec 1 on flights between its Dubai hub and airports serving Brussels and Geneva. The update continues something of a premium-cabin arms race among the world’s high-end carriers. It was less than two weeks ago that SIA rolled out its own new first-class suites for its Airbus A380 jets.<br/>
Air Arabia has signed a lease agreement for six Airbus A321neo Long Range aircraft with Air Lease. The A321s, to be delivered to the Sharjah-based carrier from 2019, will be supplied in a 215-seat single class layout. “We continue to witness growth in passenger traffic across our hubs,” Air Arabia group CE Adel Al Ali said. “The addition of A321neo Long Range aircraft allow us to expand our service to longer range destinations and helps offer more flexibility in our existing high density routes.” The A321LR has the longest range of the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, 7,400 km.<br/>
Golden Falcon Aviation, the exclusive aircraft provider of the new Kuwait-based Wataniya Airways, has signed an MOU for 25 Airbus A320neo family aircraft at the Dubai Air Show. Wataniya Airways resumed operations in July 2017 with a fleet of two A320ceo aircraft serving several destinations in the Middle East and Europe from its home base in Kuwait. Chairman Ali Al Fouzan said the A320neo family “will offer our customers the most comfortable and modern cabins with 18-in. wide seats while ensuring profitability and efficiency. The addition of the aircraft will enable us to further strengthen our network as we continue to serve our valued customers.”<br/>
Spirit suddenly is giving the big four domestic carriers something to really worry about. The carrier finished October with 87.1% of its flights arriving on time, putting Spirit ahead of even top performer Delta with 86.3%. Spirit’s performance was also nearly 3 percentage points better than that of United and more than 3 percentage points better than Southwest. In an industry where on-time performance is important to many consumers, Spirit is suddenly performing at a remarkably high level. Spirit has big expansion plans, planning to add 125 new routes and 60 new aircraft over the next five years, ensuring the carrier will continue to be a threat to the four major domestic carriers for some time to come.<br/>
Southwest's new 737 Max jets will offer the latest and greatest in flying efficiency from Boeing -- at least once all the kinks are worked out. In its first month of flying, the 10 Max planes in Southwest's fleet ranked behind its more seasoned aircraft for on-time performance. While the hiccups weren't serious, they served as a reminder of the challenges in putting a new aircraft into commercial service. The smallest details can add minutes: The Max nose gear is eight inches taller, so ramp workers have to fetch a step stool to connect the plane to ground power at the gate. The jet bridge has to be readjusted to eliminate gap. And new procedures are needed for everything from pre-flight checks to parking the plane. Airlines will be watching Southwest's experience carefully, because tardiness at the gate can boost costs.<br/>
Alaska Airlines says it will discontinue daily flights between Los Angeles and Havana, Cuba, after demand dropped amid new Trump administration restrictions on Cuba travel. The airline said Tuesday the last flight is planned for Jan 22. The airline says about 80% of passengers visited under a US allowance for individual educational travel and that changes to US policy last week eliminated that allowance. When airlines started the flights last year as part of the Obama administration policy, they reconnected most Americans to an island that had been cut off by a 55-year-old trade embargo on Cuba and formal ban on US citizens engaging in tourism on the island. The Trump administration has rolled back some of the changes as the president attempts to show he’s taking action to prevent US dollars from helping prop up the Cuban government.<br/>
Canada’s Air Transat unveiled a new livery Nov 13 as the leisure carrier celebrated its 30th anniversary. The new livery reflects “the recent evolution of the Transat brand image and remains faithful to the company’s promise: to brighten the everyday with the joy of vacations.” The airline launched Nov 14, 1987 with a Montreal-Acapulco flight. Transat’s star symbol is displayed on the tail and the rear side fuselage and also on the wingtips. The design uses touches of grey, a nod to Air Transat’s first livery, which features gradated shades of blue. Air Transat operates to 60 destinations, carrying more than 4.5m passengers every year to places including Canada, the US, Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean.<br/>
No-frills airline group AirAsia is taking a bolder move to strengthen its brand identity within Asean. The group Tuesday unveiled an aircraft with colourful livery showcasing designs inspired by textiles, architecture, art and nature from all 10 Asean nations with the tagline "I Love Asean". All aircraft of sister airlines registered in Asean, including those in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will carry the Asean emblem set in a red circle with 11 yellow paddy or rice stalks drawn in the middle. These form part of AirAsia's new Asean-themed initiatives focused on education, talent development and the economy, to foster greater association of its brand with the region of about 640m people.<br/>