Virgin Atlantic Airways makes firm order for 10 Airbus A330 jets

September 23rd, 2009 EASA issues warning for Airbus instrumentBERLIN — The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued a safety warning for an instrument to measure air speed that is used on Airbus A330 and A340 jets. The directive in effect from Wednesday says malfunctions have been reported in the instruments, known as pitot probes.

July 30th, 2009 French begin new search for Air France black boxesPARIS — A French oceanographic survey ship has begun scanning the Atlantic Ocean floor, a new phase in the hunt for Air France Flight 447's black boxes now that they are no longer emitting signals, investigators said Thursday. The Airbus 330 crashed into the Atlantic en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, killing all 228 people onboard.

July 29th, 2009 Ethiopian Airlines aims to buy 12 Airbus A350 XWBsPARIS — Airbus says Ethiopian Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding to buy 12 of its Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The A350-900s have an average list price of $241 million, giving the deal an estimated potential value of $2.9 billion.

July 27th, 2009 Saudi Arabia orders 3 Airbus tankersPARIS — The Saudi Arabian Air Force has ordered three Airbus tanker aircraft for use in air-to-air refulling missions, Airbus parent company EADS said in a statement Monday. The order comes in addition to the first three A330 tankers that Saudi Arabia ordered in 2008.

July 3rd, 2009 PARIS - The Air France flight that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean last month, killing all 228 people on board plunged vertically from the sky so suddenly that passengers and crew on board did not even have time to inflate their life jackets. The Telegraph quoted investigators as saying that the Airbus "descended vertically" and dropped 35,000 feet in a matter of seconds, hitting the water in its exact flying position.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Private carrier Jet Airways Monday inducted two Boeing 737 aircraft into its fleet. The two 135-seat aircraft would formally start operations July 7 and connect metros with smaller cities, the airline said in a statement.

June 18th, 2009 Airbus signs order for 50 jets with Wizz AirLE BOURGET, France — Airbus says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Central and Eastern European low-cost carrier Wizz Air for the sale of 50 A320 single aisle jets. The deal is expected to become a firm order shortly, Airbus' John Leahy said at a press briefing Thursday.

June 16th, 2009 Vietnam Airlines orders 16 Airbus A320 jetsLE BOURGET, France — Airbus announced two firm orders from Vietnam Airlines and Philippines low-cost airline Cebu Pacific worth $1.8 billion on Tuesday, giving the European airline a boost at the Paris Air Show, which is overshadowed by recession and a slumping industry. Airbus said Vietnam Airlines has ordered 16 Airbus A321 single-aisle jets worth $1.4 billion and pledged to buy two more A350-XWB planes.

June 16th, 2009 Asian, low-cost airlines boost Airbus at air showLE BOURGET, France — Asian and low-cost airlines defied worries about the global recession and placed dozens of orders with Airbus at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday, in sharp contrast to rival Boeing, which reported no new sales. Planemakers at the world's biggest air show are trying to coax airlines and governments to open their pocketbooks and buy more aircraft despite plunging passenger loads and revenues.

June 15th, 2009 Boeing upbeat, Airbus wins order at Paris Air ShowLE BOURGET, France — A defiant Boeing said Monday the aviation industry's troubles may be ending, while Airbus kicked off the race for plane orders at this year's Paris Air Show, clouded by rainy skies, recession and the unexplained crash of Air France Flight 447. With the global aviation industry facing unprecedented losses and falling revenue, no one attending the 100th anniversary of the world's first and largest air show was expecting Airbus or Boeing to unveil the raft of new jet orders that have been a staple of the event over the past four years.

June 15th, 2009 Rolls Royce gets $1.5B order with Gulf AirLE BOURGET, France — Rolls-Royce PLC said Monday it has signed a $1.5 billion order with Gulf Air to supply engines for the Bahrain-based airline's new Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft. The British aircraft engine manufacturer will supply Trent 700EP engines to power 20 Airbus A330 aircraft, with deliveries beginning in 2012, Rolls Royce said in a statement released at the Paris Air Show.

June 10th, 2009 PARIS/SAO PAULO - Air France has replaced two of three airspeed sensors on its entire fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 jets, according to a media report Wednesday. The carrier replaced two out of three Pitot tubes on each of the planes early Wednesday after a trade union urged pilots not to fly the planes until the changes had been carried out, the La Tribune newspaper reported.

June 9th, 2009 Airline chiefs dismiss safety fears over A330 jetsKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Several airline chiefs dismissed safety fears over the Airbus A330 on Tuesday, saying they were confident of the plane's reliability despite last week's Air France jet crash. Emirates airlines President Tim Clark said the Dubai-based company has a fleet of 29 A330-200 planes that have been flying since 1998.

June 9th, 2009 union: All Air France jets have new speed monitorsPARIS — A spokesman for a pilots' union says all Air France jets taking off now have been equipped with two new-generation speed sensors. The so-called Pitot tubes on the outside of an aircaft are under suspicion in the crash of Air France Flight 447 into the Atlantic Ocean.

June 1st, 2009 A glance at the Airbus A330-200Some details about the Airbus A330-200 jets, after one disappeared Monday en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. — According to the Aviation Safety Network, there has not been a fatal accident for this type of plane since a 1994 test flight blamed on the type of the test and its execution by the crew.