Aviation

Why LATAM retired its entire A350s fleet?

Why LATAM retired its entire A350s fleet? : LATAM Airline Group plans to retires its entire fleet of A350s immediately. LATAM is one of the largest airline in Latin America with fleet size of 303 aircraft.

LATAM Airline Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on May 26, 2020 due to economic problem by impact of the Covid-19 and in September 2019, Delta bought 20% stake in LATAM Airline for $1.9 billion. In January 2020, LATAM announced its leaves Oneworld alliance.

The airline originally ordered 22 A350s but half of those order cancelled in 2020, Delta committed to buy the A350 but later backed out and paid $62 million to undo the deal. LATAM have 11 A350s and its fleet’s average age is just 3.2 Years, according to Planespotters.net.

After this announcement of retiring its A350s, the LATAM will operate Boeing aircraft on all long haul routes. LATAM Brazil have 10 B777-300ER with average age of 10 years and 13 B767-300ER with average age of 8.4 years.

Instead of selling the older Boeing aircraft, LATAM came with a solution by returning its newest A350s to lessors under bankruptcy settlements.

Aviation

Boeing, Antonov to Collaborate on Defense Projects

– MOU represents Boeing’s commitment to work with Ukrainian industry

– Includes exploring opportunities for collaborating on in-country support of Unmanned Aerial Systems

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Boeing and Antonov Company to investigate potential collaboration on defense-related projects.

“We’re happy to keep collaborating with the Antonov Company to help Ukraine’s economic development and expansion,” stated Ted Colbert, CEO and president of Boeing Defence, Space, & Security.

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“This agreement demonstrates our ongoing efforts to find more opportunities to work with Ukrainian industry, which was underscored by our signing of the Ukrainian Defence Industry Compact earlier this year.”

The areas of potential collaboration identified in the agreement consist of training, logistical support and overhaul services for tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems utilized by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which includes the ScanEagle. In addition, the companies will also explore opportunities for Antonov to provide engineering support to Boeing.

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“A strong, innovative, and efficient defense industry is key to sustainable economic development and national security, and we are extremely excited to collaborate with Boeing,” said Ievhen Gavrylov, CEO of Antonov Company.

This agreement brings a whole new level of opportunity to implement the latest and most effective solutions – in addition to the possibility of future projects with Boeing in the aerospace and defense industry.”