Boeing loses another 737 MAX customer

Full article on forbes.com

Tajikistan’s Somon Air has dropped plans to lease a Boeing 737 MAX, blaming uncertainty about the timeline for its re-entry to service and shattered public confidence in the model.

“The MAX has been put on hold,” chief executive Thomas Hallam told me, referring to a contract for a single leased unit that Air Lease Corporation (ALC) had been due to place with Somon this year.

The unit in question was purchased by the lessor, so the lease cancelation will not affect Boeing's orderbook.

However, it illustrates waning confidence in the MAX following two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that claimed 346 lives and led to a worldwide grounding of the new aircraft type. Boeing is widely perceived to have bungled its response to the crisis by downplaying the severity of problems with its flight control systems and pressuring America’s aviation regulator to keep the model flying even after the second crash...

EgyptAir set for restructuring as questions linger over 2016 crash

Full article on forbes.com

EgyptAir is aiming to reach a 100-strong fleet under a new plan led by chairman and chief executive Ahmed Adel, but the flag carrier appears no closer to explaining the loss of one of its planes in the Mediterranean Sea three years ago.

Speaking to me in Seoul, South Korea earlier this month, Adel said EgyptAir has finally “levelled off” after a series of political and security crises in its home nation. Tourism in the country was decimated by the 2011 revolution against President Hosni Mubarak and has struggled to recover in recent years, hampered by a military coup, the terrorist bombing of a Russian charter jet in Sinai, and the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804.

With Islamic State in decline across the region and Egypt’s government delivering stability at home, the flag carrier is now embarking on a “complete restructuring plan” aimed at returning to growth – albeit while providing few answers about the May 2016 disaster that claimed 66 lives...

Lebanon's MEA poised to become Airbus A321XLR launch customer

Full article on forbes.com

Lebanon’s flag carrier has thrown its weight behind Airbus’s widely anticipated A321XLR project and plans to become an early operator of the type if it launches in 2023 as expected.

“Middle East Airlines is one of the first launch customers of the 321XLR,” Mohamad El Hout, the airline’s chairman, told me during the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) this month...

Mutton dressed as lamb

Full article on economist.com

Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, has long defied conventional wisdom when it comes to branding. Its garish yellow and blue livery–much like its loud-mouthed chief executive, Michael O’Leary–is an assault on the senses. While other airlines try to woo passengers with sophisticated marketing, Ryanair slaps them in the face with its low prices. The strategy has served it well, appealing to a majority of short-haul flyers who prize cheap fares over other frills. Since last year, however, Ryanair has changed course. Rather than relying on just one brand, it is now diversifying...