European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Cebu Pacific of the Philippines have finalised a firm order for 70 A321neo aircraft, the largest in the A320neo family. Following this latest deal, the airline’s revised order book with Airbus stands at 94 A320neo family aircraft and seven A330neo aeroplanes.

The carrier presently operates 61 A320 family aircraft to serve its strong regional network and nine A330 widebodies on high-density routes in the region and to destinations in the Middle East.

The A321neo offers a 50 per cent reduction in noise and over 20 per cent savings in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to the previous-gen single-aisle jet.

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Aircraft lessor AerCap has found a new customer: Azerbaijan Airlines. The two parties have inked agreements under which the former will supply the latter with six narrowbody jets. Which ones? All are from the European manufacturer Airbus’ A320neo family, precisely three units each of the A320neo and A321neo. The six single-aisle aeroplanes will get their thrust from CFM LEAP engines. The jets should join the carrier’s fleet in 2026.

The new aircraft will strengthen the network and help Azerbaijan Airlines progress towards fleet modernisation.

NOTE: The image has been sourced from Azerbaijan Airlines’ official website.

Air India Group, now part of the Tata Group, is undergoing a massive transformation. In addition to revitalising the brand with a new fleet of aircraft and a fresh outlook on the end-to-end flying experience, the plans include reshaping operations of the four airlines part of the group. In short, merge Air India with Vistara to make a stronger global airline, and the same fate for the two low-cost carriers – Air India Express and AirAsia India. The merger of the latter two is now complete.

The merged entity will operate under the name Air India Express and have a unified airline code: IX. The whole merger process took less than a year to complete. It included blending operation manuals and transferring Air Operator Certificates. All this while, Air India Group worked closely with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. At the same time, the merger received support from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, among other key stakeholders.

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With the merger completed, Air India Express will continue to grow. The airline’s fleet has risen to 88 aircraft, and it continues to receive nearly four new aircraft every month. At this rate, the fleet size should touch 100 by the end of the current fiscal year. On the other hand, AirAsia India (AIX) has increased the route count from 74 to 171 while the passenger count has risen by 400 per cent since Tata Group came into the equation in 2022.

Serbia’s flag carrier, Air Serbia, has begun direct flights to Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China from its primary hub at Belgrade. An Airbus A330-200 widebody jet will ferry passengers to and fro twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. The inaugural flight – JU988 – took off from Belgrade at 00:20. It arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, approximately 28km from the city centre. The airport is also the primary airport in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

The link to Guangzhou becomes the airline’s second direct service to mainland China. The first was to Tianjin, a service which recommenced in December 2022.

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