777X DELAYS - A220 NEWS | Aviation News

Hello and welcome back to another one of the regular aviation news recap blogs. Lots of little things have happened in recent days and as the week comes to a close I thought why not bring it all together in this recap. Today’s blog features news surrounding the Boeing 777X and delays it's now facing when it comes to delivery, a specific route restarting, and a whole lot more! Beginning with a rather intriguing story that's with Qatar Airways who recently took delivery of three brand new A350-1000 aircraft, however, these deliveries were a tiny bit different from what you might imagine. Before I explain that area, following the delivery of these 3 more A350s   the airline has officially welcomed on a total of 50+ Airbus A350s, this is between both the -900   and the -1000. The exact total stands at 52. These delivery flights though essentially flew up to the  United Kingdom, totally avoiding the usual flight path you’d see them go on if they were headed to   Doha, which would be straightforward. There’s a really interesting article by Aviation24 you can find in the sources area but these jets flew this way thanks to a leasing contract that essentially needed these jets to fly over the United Kingdom at some point, it’s absolutely mental to think this would be in a contract but it’s completely true! Moving across to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific who recently announced a major restructuring plan which included the closure of Cathay Dragon. 

However, the airline also has a number of aircraft coming into its operations in the future it including the Boeing 777x, Boeing’s latest wide-body aircraft currently in the process of being certified. Following the global pandemic loads of questions surrounded whether or not the 777X would still be required with some airlines.   Cathay Pacific was originally meant to welcome on their Boeing 777-9s from 2021   through to 2024, Boeing though recently announced that they wouldn’t be delivering the type to customers till at least 2022. With those changes already being announced we’ve now been given the news Cathay plans on delaying beyond 2025 quoting that we won't see them in the next 5 years with the airline. This isn’t exactly what I’d say is a shock, Cathay is in a position where it’s safe to say they’re fighting for their survival within the industry, and welcoming on an aircraft like the 777X, even in 2022 wouldn’t be the best course of action for them in the future. Remember the world’s longest flight, yep that mammoth Singapore to New York flight that we saw launched not that long ago using the A350ULR! Well, there’s been a slight change to the end destination of this service. 

It’s nothing major but given the current aviation industry,   I thought it might be cool to mention it at the very least. The new service has been shifted from  Newark to JFK, Singapore Airlines describes the reasoning behind their decision as this Operating to JFK International Airport would allow Singapore Airlines to better accommodate a mix of passenger and cargo traffic on its services to New York in the current operating climate. SIA’s non-stop services to New York would also be supported by the growing number of transfer passengers who can now transit via Singapore’s Changi Airport. The service will resume on the 9th of   November this year will fly on Mondays Wednesdays and Saturdays. The adjustments will see the A350   sitting on the ground in JFK for almost two days. You might have heard me there mention the A350 and not the A350ULR, that's because the second change is that Singapore will utilize a standard A350-900   with 253 seats made up of 42 business class seats, 24 in premium economy, and finally in the economy.   On the A350ULR which is specifically designed for these long services, there is no economy,   in fact, the standard economy is essentially known as premium economy on the A350ULR   which priced out a number of people from taking the service in the first place and explained at times the drop off in passenger demand for the Singapore to Newark service pre-pandemic. Moving across to Airbus and the A220. 

As briefly covered when I discussed Delta news, Airbus delivered their very first U.S assembled A220 from their Alabama plant to Delta. For Airbus,   this highlights the importance of them achieving their goal of becoming a global aircraft producer within the United States, a location where they personally believed the A220 would thrive.   The Chairman and CEO of Airbus America commented on the delivery and milestone going on say The delivery of the first U.S.-built A220-300 is a historic moment that highlights Airbus’ growing industrial footprint in North America and makes us all extremely proud. We look forward to seeing passengers delighted by the experience of traveling onboard this brand new A220-300 proudly built in Mobile, Alabama. A220 production started in Alabama back in August of 2019 with the inaugural flight coming in June of 2020.   Airbus will continue building A220s in this plant and hope that once the global pandemic clears the demand continues to grow for the aircraft series and more U.S based customers or at the very least those in close proximity will be willing to plunge and order the type. Handing over the first U.S-assembled aircraft to a U.S.-based customer is a real point of pride for the   A220 program,” said Philippe Balducci, leading the A220 program. “This delivery is the first of many to come and shows the strong collaborative spirit between the A220 Programme teams globally If you have any thoughts on the topic that I covered in this blog do not hesitate to comment on them down below in the comments and as always thank you very much for the continued support. It is greatly appreciated. I look forward to seeing you all in the next blog and like always please continue to do your best to stay safe during these trying times and while the blog aren’t always on positive topics I hope at the very least they can give you something to look forward too on a regular basis as I do certainly enjoy making them for you!