by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 30, 2015 | Featured, Fleet Update, Lufthansa |
In a mild surprise, Airbus announced that it has postponed the delivery of the first A320neo (New Engine Option) for a few weeks in order to smooth out a few issues with the Pratt and Whitney engines being used on the aircraft. Airbus is calling the reason for the delay ‘technical complexities’ while Pratt and Whitney refers to the delay as ‘documentation issues’. I do know that one point of contention was the start-up time for each engine. According to LH sources, the engines have an unusually long start-up time of 2.5 to 3.5 minutes. This is believed to be part of the reason for the delivery delay.
Airbus has not provided any specific target date for delivery.
Initially, Qatar was to receive the first A320 but opted out of the delivery due to engine concerns. That opened the door for LH to become the first operator of the A320 but apparently they too are not satisfied with the issues surrounding the engines thus the delay.
Lufthansa had planned to unveil the A320 on its Frankfurt – Hamburg route on January 6 . These plans have now obviously been canceled and no new launch date has been established.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 23, 2015 | 777, Featured, Fleet Update, Swiss |
SWISS is inching closer and closer to taking delivery of their first Boeing 777 aircraft in January.
With her out of final assembly, she is being prepped for paint and according to Matt of PaineAirport.com, she’s scheduled to be ferried to Portland, Oregon on December 23. Once at PDX, she’ll spend a few days getting her white and red and will be brought back to Paine Field for final preparations ahead of a January delivery.
Matt was generous to share some of his photos showing HB-JNA in Paine Field over the last last few days:
LX-JNA takes the runway for her Maiden Flight on December 15.
And just a few minutes ago, he shared this photo of JNA being prepared for her flight to ‘PDX’ tomorrow:
If all goes well and to schedule with her delivery, she’ll debut on intra-European routes in February so that crews have a chance to acclimate to their newest aircraft before it is assigned to long haul routes. Ultimately 9 777 will serve in the LX fleet.
You may want to follow Matt on Twitter (@mattcawby) for regular updates on the newest aircraft coming out of the Boeing factory in Everett!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 22, 2015 | D-AQUI, Featured, Fleet Update, Ju52 |
Earlier today, Lufthansa confirmed that the wonderful classic airliner, the Ju52, has been grounded indefinitely while it undergoes serious repairs.
During normal inspections, it was discovered that ‘Tante Ju’ had a central stringer break within her fuselage which will require a serious amount of work to repair and restore. This was also the reason that the aircraft’s 2015 schedule was cut short.
At this point time, it is unknown how long the aircraft will be out of commission and no timeline has been speculated for her return. Ticket sales for next season have been suspended until she is certified to return to service.
Hopefully the capable team at Lufthansa Technik will get her in the air sooner than later.
