Turkish Airlines and US lessor Air Lease each appear to have trimmed their commitments to the passenger Airbus A350, the airframer’s full-year backlog figures show. The Turkish flag-carrier has cut three A350-900s from its backlog, reducing the number to 20. Air Lease has also dropped a pair of A350-900s as well as a pair of the larger A350-1000. The lessor has newly-ordered seven A350 freighters, however, which raises the company’s net commitment to the A350 family by three, to 33 aircraft. Air Lease has taken delivery of 17 A350s – comprising 12 -900s and five -1000s – while Turkish Airlines has received five -900s. Airbus has secured overall orders for 917 A350s including seven A350 freighters.<br/>
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South African Airways has confirmed a default judgement in Zambia that resulted in an unsuccessful attempt at seizing one of its aircraft in Lusaka recently. “SAA acknowledges the default judgement, but the matter is sub judice and further details cannot be disclosed,” spokesperson Vimla Maistry said. Fin24 reported that a Zambian court in March 2020 had granted Zambian citizen Joseph Moyo an order of execution against SAA in compensation for trauma he had suffered during a flight between Livingstone, Zambia and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, South Africa on August 3, 2019. Moyo, who uses a wheelchair, claimed he had soiled himself because he could not use the bathroom on the flight. As a result of the incident, he had missed his connecting flight from Johannesburg to the United States the next day and had to pay for a hotel room in Johannesburg for three days. On his return trip from the US on August 26, 2019, SAA also had lost a bag containing a medical machine. At the time when the default court order was granted, SAA was in business rescue, effectively suspending all legal proceedings against it, Fin24 reported. On December 20, 2021, bailiffs using an extended writ of execution attempted to attach one of SAA's aircraft in Lusaka, but reportedly were prevented from doing so by the Zambia Airports Corporation.<br/>
Singapore Airlines is aiming to raise US$500m to US$750m in a US dollar bond deal, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The airline has mandated banks to work on the transaction and will start briefings with investors about the deal on Tuesday, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed. Citigroup and DBS are leading the transaction, with BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered as book runners, the term sheet showed. The deal is classified as Reg S, which means the bonds can only be purchased by investors outside of the United States.<br/>
Passengers on Singapore Airlines flights can look forward to more restful trips in future, should a newly created lab succeed in its research. Over the next few years, SIA and researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) will work together to study the optimal time to wake up flight passengers for meals, among other initiatives. This could even pave the way for personalised meal times based on the individual passenger's sleep cycle. This redefining of passenger air travel experience is among key objectives the SIA-NUS Digital Aviation Corporate Laboratory will seek to achieve. The research facility was launched on Monday. It cost S$45m and was jointly set up by SIA and NUS, and is supported by the National Research Foundation. A mock-up cabin that can simulate in-flight air conditions has been set up at the facility, such that research on how passengers rest during flights can be carried out accurately. The mock-up includes both business and economy class seats. Participants to be recruited for an upcoming research study at the lab will stay in the cabin for six hours or more, as they would during long-haul flights. Various sensors installed in the cabin will track their facial expression, heart rate, posture and sleep stages. The new lab will also aim to improve pilot and cabin crew training through technology. To this end, a cockpit simulator has been set up at the facility to develop a new augmented reality/virtual reality training system for pilots. If successful, the new system will allow pilots to refresh their skills even from their homes and reduce their dependence on training simulators, which are both expensive and not many in number.<br/>