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Delta Air Lines has asked Bombardier to guarantee all 75 CS100s ordered in April 2016 will be assembled in Mobile, Alabama, instead of Canada, a top airline executive says. The request puts further pressure on Bombardier’s plan to open a second final assembly line in Mobile after consummating a deal with Airbus to take a majority ownership stake in the CSeries programme. Negotiations between Delta and Bombardier remain ongoing and could conclude as early as January, Bombardier officials said in testimony at a US International Trade Commission hearing Dec 18. Delta does not have rights under the existing contract to refuse delivery of CS100s from Mirabel, but that part of the agreement has been reopened in ongoing talks with Bombardier, says a Delta executive. <br/>

KLM is aiming to refit its fleet of Airbus A330s with a new business class cabin by Oct 2018, joining its Boeing 777s and 747s that have already been upgraded. KLM announced Tuesday it completed work on its first A330-300, fitting the aircraft with a new world business class cabin. Features of the interior include 206cm lie-flat beds, in-seat power, improved privacy and an 18-in high-definition IFE screen. “The cabin refit for the remaining 20% of KLM’s fleet will be completed by the end of 2018. In addition to the new design, there will be full-flat seats and a new inflight entertainment system,” KLM said. Work has already begun on the remaining 4 A330-300 cabins, which will be completed in July 2018. A further 8 A330-200s will undergo the retrofit before Oct 2018. <br/>