5DREAMLINERS FOR KOREAN START UP
A new South Korean airline called Air Premia has ordered five Boeing 787-9s. The first three will be delivered in 2020 as the airline starts operations, with the carrier planning to add more Dreamliners and double its initial fleet within five years of operation. Air Premia describes itself as a hybrid carrier focused on medium and long-haul routes of more than six hours’ duration. It plans to fly to Los Angeles, San Jose, Honolulu, Vancouver, Munich or Berlin and Cairns. Its 787-9s will be configured with 309 seats, comprising 56 premium economy and 253 economy. Mark Broadbent
8A380 CANCELLATIONS
Qantas has formally cancelled the eight remaining A380s it had on order. The Australian carrier flies 12 super jumbos and for years has said the additional aircraft, ordered back in 2006, were not part of its future fleet and network plans. The cancellation has been included in Airbus’ latest orders and deliveries figures. It is a further loss of orders for the super jumbo after recent cancellations by Air France, Virgin Atlantic and Hong Kong Airlines. Mark Broadbent
1AIR SENEGAL A330NEO
Airbus has flown Air Senegal’s first A330-900neo (F-WWCM, future 9H-SZN, msn 1910) to Dakar ahead of its official delivery. The aircraft flew from Toulouse on 31 January as part of an event attended by president Macky Sall. The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered aircraft then returned to France ahead of its official delivery in the coming weeks, when it will be deployed on the Paris–Dakar route. Until then, passengers will fly the route using an A340 (9H-SUN) wet-leased from Hi Fly Malta. The A330neo, named Casamance, is configured in a three-class layout with 32 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats and 237 economy seats. It is the first A330neo to be based in Africa, joining the relatively young Air Senegal, which was launched in 2016. It began operations in 2018 with A319-100s and ATR 72-600s and has ordered two A330neos. Guy Martin
9MORE SKYWEST EMBRAERS
Skywest has topped up its Embraer E175 fleet by ordering nine more examples of the regional jet. The first will be delivered later in 2019. The E175s will be configured with 76 seats. Skywest has now ordered 158 E175s, making it one of the largest customers for that version of the first-generation E-Jet in the United States. Embraer has sold 565 examples of the E175 to carriers there since January 2013, the manufacturer now describing the aircraft as “the backbone of the regional aviation market in the US”. Mark Broadbent
