After signing a contract with Airbus Germany earlier this year, Mahindra Aerostructures Pvt Ltd (MASPL) has inked another. The new one is a multi-year deal with Airbus Atlantic. The paperwork specifies that the Indian company, which has its production plant in Bengaluru, will manufacture and deliver components and small assemblies for the entire Airbus commercial aircraft family, including the A320 family. The contract, worth approximately USD 100 million, requires MASPL to supply nearly 2,300 varieties of metallic components to Airbus Atlantic in France.

MASPL and the Airbus Group have been doing business with each other since 2015. The former was also recognised as the “Best Performer” in the 2023 Airbus Supplier Quality Improvement Program awards.

Aviterra, a Dubai-based firm, has signed a purchase deal with PAL-V for more than 100 Liberty flying cars. The acquired vehicles will be deployed across the Middle East and Africa. Also, Aviterra has announced an investment in PAL-V alongside inking a partnership for the Middle East and Africa.

Liberty can take the road like a conventional car or, by utilising Aviterra’s services, can take off like an aircraft from a very short runway. The flying car in question has a seating capacity of two and has space for 80 litres of stuff. In drive mode, it can hit 100kmph from a standstill in less than 9 seconds and clock 160kmph at full stretch. The range is 1,315km.

In flying mode, which takes about five minutes to get ready, Liberty needs a 180m take-off roll. Its 200hp powerplant can help reach up to 180kmph and a maximum altitude of 11,000 ft. The maximum range is between 400-500km, with a maximum flying time of 4.3 hours.

PAL-V is establishing regional offices globally to propel its flying car business. These will also be hubs for sales, maintenance, flight training and assembly locations.

Both Airbus and Boeing have bagged orders for new aircraft from Japan Airlines (JAL). As part of its fleet renewal plan, Japan’s flag carrier will purchase 21 A350-900s and 11 A321neos from Airbus and 10 787-9 Dreamliners from Boeing. Simple math reveals the order for 42 new aircraft.

Of the 21 A350-900s, JAL plans to put 20 on international routes from FY2027 and 1 on domestic from FY2025. The latter will take the place of the aircraft that the airline lost in January 2024. The 787-9s from Boeing, however, will all serve the airline’s overseas network from FY2027. The single-aisle A321neos, ordered for the first time by the Japanese carrier, will strengthen the domestic network from FY2028. JAL also awaits the delivery of 21 Boeing 737-8s, which should join the fleet from FY2026.

In December last year, JAL took delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000.

NOTE: Photograph taken from the official Airbus Media Centre.

In a bid to retire the ageing aircraft and replace them with new and more efficient ones, Korean Air has confirmed that it will sign a contract with Airbus to purchase 33 A350 family jets. The split is 27 A330-1000s and 6 A350-900s. The whole deal is valued at USD 13.7 billion.

The new aircraft will also help as Korean Air completes the merger with Asiana Airlines. The A350-1000, the largest in the family, can seat between 350 and 410 passengers in a typical three-class configuration and cover up to 16,000km nonstop at full capacity. On the other hand, the A350-900 is about 7 metres shorter but still has space for 300-350 passengers in a three-class layout and can fly up to 15,370km nonstop.

The airline’s fleet modernisation stint will also include the introduction of 50 Airbus A321neos, 10 Boeing 787-9s, 20 Boeing 787-10s and 30 Boeing 737-8s. Earlier this week, Korea’s flag carrier also shared details about a busy summer season ahead.

Latvia’s airBaltic, which has an all-Airbus A220 fleet, has announced the addition of three new routes for the winter season 2024-2025. Starting October 28, three weekly flights will run between Riga and Madeira, Portugal. The ticket prices start at EUR 199. Then, from the following day, the Vilnius-Oslo Torp (Norway) service will go live, serving passengers on the route twice a week. Prices start at EUR 45. Lastly, the Tallinn-Kittilä (Finland) flights will begin on December 21. airBaltic will operate up to two weekly flights on this route, with ticket prices starting at EUR 89.

Besides those new routes, the carrier will increase the frequency of services from Riga to Stockholm, Prague, Tampere, and others. Also, more flights will be operated from its base in Tallinn to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Gran Canaria. From Vilnius, the airline will offer more flights to Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin, among others. Its other seasonal routes for the winter season, such as Riga–Ljubljana, Riga–Baku (November), Tallinn–Malta (November), Vilnius–Lisbon and Vilnius–Hamburg, will also be active.

Also Read: airBaltic Adds Two New Flights From Vilnius For Summer 2024