The World of Aviation

Indonesian low cost carrier Lion Air took delivery of four Boeing 737-900ERs earlier in December, providing a rare opportunity to photograph three of the four aircraft together at Boeing’s 737 Customer Delivery Center at Boeing Field in Seattle. Lion Air was the 737-900ER launch customer, and currently has no fewer than 178 of the type

Both Airbus and Boeing announced orders for their single aisle airliners on December 23. Chile’s LAN Airlines placed a firm order for the purchase of 30 Airbus Family A320 aircraft, taking its total Airbus orders to over 100. “This investment ensures the company’s future growth and reaffirms LAN’s commitment to the development of commercial aviation

Regional Express announced on December 24 that it is quiting its Mackay to Townsville route from January 1 2010, and that it has launched a complaint with the ACCC against competitor QantasLink. Rex launched Mackay-Townsville services on October 1 2009, marking its re-entry to the Queensland market. However, the airline claims that in response to

Boeing announced on December 22 that it has acquired Alenia North America’s 50 per cent stake in Charleston, South Carolina, based 787 supplier Global Aeronautica. The acquisition will see Global Aeronautica, which completes subassembly on the centre sections of the 787 before they enter final assembly, become a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Charleston. Boeing

Ryanair has pulled out of talks with Boeing over a potential order for up to 200 737-800s, blaming Boeing for not offering attractive delivery conditions, although the carrier is not carrying out its threat to cancel aircraft already ordered. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement issued by the airline on December 18 that

The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) has launched legal action against Qantas over paying pilots employed by its New Zealand subsidiary Jetconnect less than mainline pilots. AIPA says that the strategic legal action is aimed at stopping Qantas from “undermining the spirit and intent of the Fair Work Act” by employing Jetconnect pilots to