Airbus

Airbus on Monday celebrated the delivery of its 12,000th aircraft in its 50-year history. The aircraft was an A220-100, assembled in Mirabel, Canada and handed over to US-based Delta Air Lines.

The aircraft is the 12th A220 delivered to date to Delta Air Lines since the carrier received its first A220 in October 2018. The A220 started scheduled service with Delta in February 2019. Delta is the first US airline to operate the A220 and is the largest A220 customer, with a firm order for 90 aircraft.

Airbus delivered its first aircraft, an A300B2 to Air France, back in 1974. In 2010, Airbus handed over its 6,000th aircraft, 36 years after its first. The pace has continued to accelerate, taking Airbus just nine years to double that number to reach the 12,000th Airbus aircraft delivery on Monday.

Finnair

Finnair and China Southern have agreed on a new codeshare partnership starting on June 1. The cooperation includes the Finnair route between Guangzhou and Helsinki and selected China Southern destinations in China. 

The new codeshare partnership adds five new destinations to Finnair's network in China, and customers will be able to connect with China Southern from Guangzhou to Changsha, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Sanya, Wenzhou, Xiamen and Xi'an.

In addition, China Southern code CZ will be added to Finnair flights from Helsinki to several popular destinations in Europe, including Amsterdam, Billund, Copenhagen, Goteborg, London, Paris, Riga and Stockholm. 

The new codeshare flights can be booked from May 21 onward.

IATA

The first quarter of 2019 saw deterioration in demand, yields and profitability indicators compared with Q1 of 2018, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a report on Tuesday. 

The demand outcomes for both passenger and, especially, freight touched multi-year lows, and yields for both market segments were lower than their level the previous year. 

Profits were also weaker than in the same period last year, the report said. 

However, the industry is expecting conditions to improve over the coming twelve months. Notably, more than 75 percent of respondents expect passenger demand to improve in the year ahead, although higher input costs remain a key concern in an environment where only around 40 percent expect to see higher yields. 

Profits are expected to be higher than in the past year, although the level of optimism eased a little this quarter, the report said. 

Despite the challenges in Q1, almost 50 percent of respondents indicated that they had increased employment and only 7 percent had reduced their workforce.

Aviation Expo China

Beijing is expected to hold Aviation Expo China from September 18 to 20, featuring more than 300 exhibitors from 11 countries and regions including the US, Ireland, the UK, Italy, Canada and Ukraine.

Small and medium-sized aerospace companies will be among the main participants, the organizer said on Wednesday. The show will focus on achievements such as aero-engines and gas turbines, advanced manufacturing, and civil aircraft materials, and the aviation engine and gas turbine industry will also participate.