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This is a list of aviation-related events in 2018.
Orders and deliveries
Up from 763 in 2017, Boeing delivered 806 commercial jets in 2018, including 580 737s and 145 787s; and won 893 net orders valued at $143.7 billion: 675 737s and 218 widebodies including 109 787s and 51 777s.[1]
Airbus delivered 800 aircraft to 93 customers including 20 A220s (since July 2018), 626 A320s, 49 A330s, 93 A350XWBs and 12 A380s, 11% more than the 718 delivered in 2017; and received 747 net orders.[2]
Events
January
3 January
AeroVironment announces it will design and develop solar-powered high-altitude unmanned aircraft and ground control stations for a joint venture with Japanese telco SoftBank (95%) for $65 million.[3]
4 January
The first Airbus BelugaXL rolls off the assembly line, unpainted and without engines.[4]
5 January
The A321neo Cabin Flex rolls out before ground tests and first flight in the following weeks, it should be delivered in mid-2018 and the layout will become the A321neo default from 2020.[5]
9 January
Boeing announces it had won 912 net orders in 2017 for $134.8 billion at list prices including 745 737s, 94 787s and 60 777s, and delivered 763 airliners including 529 737s, 136 787s and 74 777s.[6]
China is set to order 184 Airbus A320 airliners, mainly for A320neo jets to be delivered to 13 airlines in 2019 and 2020, after French president Emmanuel Macron visited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.[9]
Airbus announces it received 1,109 net orders from 44 customers in 2017, and delivered 718 aircraft to 85 customers: 558 A320 Family (including 181 A320neo); 67 A330s; 78 A350 XWBs and 15 A380s.[11]
18 January
Airbus secures a preliminary agreement from Emirates for up to 36 A380s: 20 potentially firm orders and 16 options, to be delivered from 2020, valued at $16 billion at list prices.[12]
Following the Air Berlin insolvency, Austrian carrier Niki is sold to Laudamotion, controlled by former Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda, while IAG had previously tentatively acquired its assets for €20 million ($24 million) at the end of 2017 before the proceedings were re-opened.[14]
24 January
The revised NAL Saras-PTN1 with 14 seats instead of 19 and improved systems first flew from HAL Airport for 40 minutes, reaching 8,500 ft (2,600 m) and 145 kn (269 km/h) before 20 flights to freeze the production design.[15]
After in-flight failures of PW1100G turbofans with its high pressure compressor aft hub modified –apparently problems of its knife edge seal, the EASA and Airbus grounds some Airbus A320neo aircraft until they are fitted with spares.[22]
The first stretched A350-1000 is delivered to Qatar Airways, and will be introduced on its London Heathrow route on 24 February.[26]
A Dana AirMcDonnell Douglas MD-83, registered as 5N-SRI, veered off of the runway at Port-Harcourt international airport and into bushes during a night landing. There were no casualties[27] Both the airline and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria stated that the cause of the accident was inclement weather as there was torrential rain at the time of the landing.[28]
The 10,000th Boeing 737 is rolled-out, a MAX 8 destined for Southwest Airlines: continuously manufactured since 1967, over 4,600 orders are pending.[34]
The smallest 737 MAX 7 took off for its first flight from its Renton factory for three hours, reached 250 kn (460 km/h) and 25,000 ft (7,600 m), and landed in Moses Lake, WA, Boeing's flight test centre.[36]
20 March
Ryanair announces it will acquire - subject to EU Competition approval - 75% of Austrian airline Laudamotion, built from the assets of the former Niki including A320 airliners, for €50m plus €50m for year 1 start up and operating costs, aiming for profitability by year 3 and a fleet of 30.[37]
All Nippon Airways announces the integration of its two low cost carrier subsidiaries Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, starting in the second half of the FY2018 and to be completed by the end of FY2019 into Peach, planning over 50 aircraft beyond FY2020, up from 35 today, operating on more than 50 routes, up from 39 currently, and targeting a ¥150 (1.37) billion revenue and a 10% operating profit for FY2020.[40]
Founded in 1977 and once the largest provider of US Essential Air Service from 1992 to 2002, Great Lakes Airlines stopped scheduled passenger flights due to pilot shortage caused by US regulations requiring first officers to have 1,500 flight hours, up from 250 hours since 2013, leaving a fleet of 28 Beechcraft 1900Ds and six Embraer 120s, but continue to support Aerodynamics Inc. flights.[42]
29 March
A takeover bid of £8.1 billion ($11.4 billion), up from £7 billion initially in January, from turnaround specialist Melrose Industries for UK aerostructure specialist GKN is accepted by a majority of the later's shareholders, while Melrose aims for an over £10 billion market capitalisation.[43]
April
1 April
The 100th anniversary of the formation of Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 in the United Kingdom[44] it is the oldest independent air force in the world.[45]
Already a Boeing 737 Max 8 customer, Indian Jet Airways order 75 more, not disclosing the variant, valued at $7.2 to $9.7 billion before customary discounts.[47]
Adding to its previous order for 42, American Airlines orders 47 Boeing 787s, 22 -8s and 25 -9s, for over $12 billion at list prices.[51] American simultaneously cancels its 22 Airbus A350s order originally placed by US Airways.[52]
Boeing acquires aircraft parts manufacturer KLX, Inc for $3.2 billion, valuing it at $4.25 billion including $1 billion of net debt.[56] In over 15 countries, KLX sells $1.4 billion per year of fasteners and consumables within its 1 million items catalog, and will be integrated within Aviall with its 2,000 employees.[57]
Bombardier unveils its Global Express 5500 and 6500 developments expected to enter service at the end of 2019 with an optimized wing, a revamped cabin and new more efficient Rolls-Royce Pearl engines for better operating costs, performance and range.[69]
Boeing and Safran announce their 50-50 partnership to design, build and service APUs after regulatory and antitrust clearance in the second half of 2018.[72]
8 June
After having gained regulatory approval, Airbus and Bombardier announce that Airbus will get a majority stake of the CSeries on 1 July 2018, leaving its main operations in Mirabel, Québec as Bombardier will fund its cash shortfalls for up to US$610 million till 2021.[73]
Along a larger and modernised delivery centre, Airbus inaugurates its fourth Hamburg A320 production line, with two seven-axis robots to drill 80% of fuselage upper side holes, autonomous mobile tooling platforms and following Design Thinking principles.[75]
Rolls-Royce plc announces its restructuring, cutting 4,600 jobs to save £400m per year by 2020.[76] Two-thirds of the cuts will happen in Britain where 26,000 work including 15,700 at the Derby headquarters among 55,000 worldwide.[77]
19 June
FedEx orders 12 Boeing 767Fs to be delivered between June 2019 and May 2022 and 12 Boeing 777Fs to be delivered from June 2020 to May 2025, for a $6.6 billion list price.[78][importance?]
Ten days after taking control of the program, Airbus renames the Bombardier CSeries Airbus A220-100/300.[82]
Hours after its rebrand, jetBlue ordered 60 A220-300s to replace its 60 Embraer 190s from 2020 for $5.4 billion before customary discounts, with 60 options pending from 2025, a blow to Embraer which was marketing the E195-E2 to the carrier.[83]
Valencia-based Air Nostrum and Dublin-bound CityJet announce their cooperation to create the largest European regional airline, subject to regulatory approval, employing 2700 people and flying 94 aircraft including 30 CRJ1000 and 22 CRJ900, for a combined revenue of €700m with over 170,000 flights per year.[84]
A February agreement was formalized for two 747-8 at $3.9 billion to replace from December 2024 the two 747-200-based Air Force One VC-25A presidential aircraft delivered in 1991.[85]
Airbus announces its Zephyr S remained aloft for 25 days 23h 57min for its maiden flight from Arizona, nearly twice as long as the previous record flight of 14 days set by its predecessor.[92]
Utair Flight 579, a Boeing 737-800, registration VQ-BJI, on a flight from Vnukovo with 164 passengers and 6 crew, overran the runway and caught fire while landing in Sochi, injuring 18 people. One airport worker, suffered a heart attack and couldn't be revived.[100]
2 September
Within the Airbus Perlan Mission II, Jim Payne and Tim Gardner reached an altitude of 76,124 ft (23,203 m), surpassing the 73,737 ft (22,475 m) attained by Jerry Hoyt on 17 April 1989 in a Lockheed U-2: the highest subsonic flight.[101]
4 September
Boeing announces the KC-46 FAA certification.[102]
The Turkish Aerospace TAI T625 6 t (13,000 lb) MTOW helicopter makes a 10 min first flight from Ankara powered by two LHTEC CTS800s; the 165 kn (306km/h) max, 400 nmi (740km) range aircraft development began in 2010, certification including from EASA is targeted in 2020 and production from 2021.[104]
As it lacks funds to continue after 14 years, Northern European carrier Primera Air cease operations ahead of the winter season, after grounded aircraft and delivery delays led to flight cancellations, revenue loss and costly leases, exacerbated by low fares and high fuel costs.[117]
Embraer introduces the Praetor 500 and 600 business jets with 3,250 nmi and 3,900 nmi of range, to be certified in 2019.[121] Both have larger winglets, the 500 boosts the fuel capacity of the Legacy 450 while the 600 is based on the Legacy 500 with tanks on the fuselage belly and more powerful engines.[122]
Cypriot airline Cobalt Air ceases operations and cancels all flights.[124]
23 October
After 1,900 flight hours, the Embraer KC-390 received its Brazilian civil type certification, the first production aircraft will be delivered to the Brazilian Air Force in the first half 2019 and it should reach its military certification by the end of 2019.[125]
Icelandair Group announces a purchase agreement to acquire all shares of low-cost competitor WOW Air, subject to shareholder agreement.[128]
6 November
The shorter -800 variant of the A330neo makes its maiden flight.[129] The 4h 4min flight inaugurated a 350h test program aiming for a mid-2019 type certification and a first half of 2020 delivery to launch operator Kuwait Airways.[130]
A Boeing 747-400F, operating Sky Lease Cargo Flight 4854, overran the runway on landing at Nova Scotia airport, damaging the aircraft beyond repair and resulting in injuries for the crew. The accident was attributed to pilot fatigue.[132][importance?]
Air Astana Flight 1388 from Lisbon Alverca Airport loses flight control during takeoff. After one and a half hours in the air, the pilots manage to regain some control and make an emergency landing at Beja Airport. Earlier during the flight, the crew requested directions for an emergency landing on water. The Portuguese Air Force deploys F-16 fighter jets to communicate with the aircraft. Six crew members but no passengers are on board the flight.[134][importance?]Roll oscillations started immediately after takeoff, ailerons were behaving erratically and roll inputs were kept to a minimum: flight-data records suggest that commands resulted in an opposite responses, fly-by-wire in direct law improved the situation considerably but control remained difficult.[135]
21 November
First electroaerodynamic thrust ion plane test flight at MIT using ionic wind.[136]
22 November
Italian manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace requests to be placed into receivership after declaring itself insolvent as its restructuring plan failed, less than a year after its owner, Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala, injected €255 million ($308 million) and repurchased its bank debt, as the P.180 Avanti deliveries fell to four in 2018 from 30 in 2008.[137]
26 November
Leased from Avolon, the first Airbus A330neo-900 is delivered to TAP Air Portugal, featuring 298 seats: 34 full-flat business, 96 economy plus and 168 economy seats, and to be deployed from Portugal to the Americas and Africa.[138]
Air Berlin's insolvency administrator sues its former owner Etihad for 0.5 to 2 billion euros of damages caused by withdrawing its funding before the promised 18 months from April 2017.[149]
15 December
The first Boeing 737 is delivered, a MAX 8, to Air China, from the new Chinese completion center in Zhoushan, 20 months after construction of the 666,000 sq ft (61,900 m2) facility began in a joint venture with COMAC, as one third of 737 deliveries are going to Chinese customers and China should become the largest airliner market.[150]
17 December
A strategic partnership was announced for the Boeing-Embraer joint venture for airliners, subject to multiple approvals, while another joint venture to market the KC-390 will be owned for 51% by Embraer and 49% by Boeing, and will also need similar authorizations.[151]
SkyWest, Inc. sells Atlanta-based ExpressJet Airlines to KAir Enterprises-United Airlines joint venture ManaAir for $70 million, the transaction is expected to close in early 2019. A Continental Airlines subsidiary before 2002 and purchased by SkyWest in 2010, ExpressJet lost $302 million in 2016, $32.5 million in 2017, and $0.23 million in the third quarter of 2018. With 128 aircraft (105 Embraer ERJ-145s, 14 Bombardier CRJ700s and nine CRJ100/200s) ExpressJet operates regional services for United, and American Airlines until April 2019. Utah-based SkyWest will retain the CRJs, but will lease 20 CRJ200s to ExpressJet, which will operate 25 United-owned, 70-seat Embraer 175s.[154]
After 4,050 hours in 1,650 test flights, the Cessna Citation Longitude receives a provisional FAA type certification, allowing deliveries in early 2019.[157]
After being delivered in early December, the Bombardier Global 7500 enters service with 100 secured orders.[158]
21 December
The Airbus A319neo with CFM Leap-1A engines received a joint type certificate from the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).[159]
Safety review
The EASA reported 530 fatalities in 11 fatal accidents worldwide in 2018 for commercial air transport with large aircraft, up from 67 fatalities in 9 accidents in 2017.[160]
The Aviation Safety Network reported 556 fatalities in 15 accidents of commercial aircraft for at least 14 passengers or their cargo variants, excluding military aircraft.[161]
The IATA reported an accident rate of 1.35 per million flights, improving from 1.79 for the previous 5-year period, and 0.19 for jets, down from 0.29, with 11 fatal accidents with 523 fatalities for 4.3 billion passengers on 46.1 million flights.[162]
^"Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Sign Definitive Agreements to Strengthen Trans-Atlantic Partnership" (Press release). 15 May 2018. Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic
^"Boeing, Safran Agree to Design, Build and Service Auxiliary Power Units" (Press release). 4 June 2018. SafranArchived 24 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Boeing