Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes on Thursday reported a 242m reais ($60.69m) Q3 loss, hit by problems affecting its Boeing 737 planes. Gol flies Boeing 737 planes exclusively, a strategy which can help to reduce costs. But this year it has exposed the company to Boeing’s woes, including the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, following two deadly crashes. The carrier says it expects its seven MAX planes will receive regulatory approval to resume flights in December, based on the guidance it has received from Boeing. US carriers do not expect to fly the MAX until 2020, according to their schedules. The Boeing fleet problems have reduced the benefit Gol received following the collapse of rival Avianca Brasil, following a failed bankruptcy restructuring. This has left Brazil’s domestic market with just three airlines. Gol said it had record revenues of 3.7b in the quarter but also reduced its profit forecast for the year to 0.90 reais per share, compared to a previous range of being 1.40 and 1.70 reais per share. In addition to the MAX groundings that began in March, Gol has also had to ground 11 older 737 NG planes because it discovered cracks on what is known as the “pickle fork” which attaches the fuselage to the wings. Those planes will be grounded for 45 days and the groundings began in early October, Gol said.<br/>
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VietJet Aviation has ordered 20 Airbus long-range A321XLR aircraft that the budget carrier hopes will support its international expansion as Vietnam’s aviation market heats up. VietJet expects the first aircraft to be delivered in 2023, it said in a statement on Thursday, adding that it will be the “first carrier in the world” to operate the new long-range version of the single-aisle A320neo family jets. Industry sources said VietJet would be among the first to put the XLR into service. Vietnam’s largest conglomerate in August applied to launch an airline next year, intensifying competition in one of the fastest-growing aviation markets. The sector includes Vietnam Airlines HVN.HM, Jetstar Pacific Airlines and Vietnam Air Services. The airline also signed a separate agreement in Toulouse, France, for two A320/A321 aircraft simulators. VietJet’s order book for Airbus aircraft now totals 186, the airline said. VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said Thursday’s order will “modernise VietJet’s fleet as we look to strongly grow our international flight network.”<br/>
Airbus is working to pin down an order for 100 narrow-body aircraft from Air Arabia that would be worth more than $10b at list prices, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A deal for the A320neo-series may come as early as November’s Dubai Air Show, they said, asking not to be named as the plans are private. Nothing has been finalised and Boeing isn’t yet out of the running, the people said, though Air Arabia is currently an Airbus operator and the US planemaker’s 737 Max narrow-body remains grounded after two fatal crashes. Air Arabia CEO Adel Ali said in February that he was considering a triple-digit jet deal with Airbus or Boeing to add destinations in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe. He said earlier this month that the purchase should be decided by January. The company already ranks as the biggest discount carrier in the Persian Gulf and North Africa.<br/>
French investigators suspect that a fire alarm on board a departing El Al Boeing 737-900ER was triggered by a lithium battery installed on a wheelchair. The alert occurred on 27 October as the aircraft was preparing to operate from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Tel Aviv. Investigation authority BEA says the aircraft had started rolling from the P1 apron and TA1 taxiway adjacent to Terminal 2A. "The crew used the fire extinguishers in the cargo hold," says the authority, after an alarm in the hold had been activated. Passengers were disembarked via stairs. BEA says the source of the alarm "seems to be" a wheelchair with a lithium battery. None of the occupants of the aircraft was injured.<br/>
Trans States Holdings has cancelled an order for up to 100 Mitsubishi SpaceJet aircraft, in the latest setback facing the Japanese manufacturer’s long-delayed regional jet program. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. (MAC) announced Oct. 31 that Trans States Holdings—parent company of three US-based regional airlines—has terminated its contract for 50 firm orders of the SpaceJet M90, which included purchase options for 50 more. Mitsubishi said in a statement the decision was made because the larger M90 variant does not comply with union scope clauses, which limit regional aircraft to 76 seats and maximum takeoff weight to less than 39,000 kg. While the 88-seat M90 does not comply with US regional carrier scope clauses, the 76-seat M100 does. MAC president Hisakazu Mizutani suggested in a statement that Trans States may consider replacing its canceled M90 order with an order for the M100, although he did not offer any details. When the two companies signed the contract for the M90 in October 2009—back when the aircraft was branded as the MRJ70—they had expected that scope clause restrictions on the larger variant would eventually be loosened, a prediction that has so far failed to materialize. <br/>