SEATTLE, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Ethiopian Airlines today announced an order for five Boeing 777-200LR (Longer Range) airplanes. In doing so, Ethiopian Airlines becomes the first African carrier to order and operate the ultra-long-range 777-200LR model. Ethiopian was the first African carrier to order the 787 Dreamliner, ordering 10 in 2005.
The order is valued at $1.3 billion based on list price. General Electric GE90-115 engines power the 777-200LR.
Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the carrier is investing in the additional airplanes to expand its fleet and broaden its network. Ethiopian Airlines will use the 777-200LR to fly to new long-haul nonstop markets such as Washington, D.C. and Beijing.
“The 777-200LR is the only airplane in the world that offers the range and efficiency Ethiopian needs to serve long-haul markets and further position Addis Ababa as a strategic hub for East Africa,” said Ihssane Mounir, vice president of Sales for Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean.
Ethiopian Airlines is currently an all-Boeing operator. With the exception of the 747, it has operated every heritage Boeing commercial airplane since the 707.
“As one of the premier airlines in Africa and around the world, Ethiopian has long used Boeing airplanes as a tool for achieving its business goals,” Mounir said. “The strategic long-range feature of the 777-200LR will again help Ethiopian expand its network and will be a perfect complement to its 787s.”
“The Boeing 777 will be integral as we bring our business to the next level,” said Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Officer Ato Girma Wake. “Boeing has been an important and valued partner to Ethiopian for many, many years. This order reinforces the deep ties between our two companies.”
Ethiopian currently operates a fleet of six 737s, nine 757s, 10 767s and one MD-11BCF, with a second MD-11BCF due to arrive in August. It has 10 787s on order.
Source: Boeing
A ceremony today at Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] Fort Worth plant marked the rollout of the U.S. Navy’s first-ever stealth fighter, the F-35C Lightning II. The aircraft will enable the Navy to possess 5th generation fighter capabilities at sea, extending America’s reach and reducing the timeline from threat to response.
Top Navy leadership, signal flags and a crowd of employees, including reserve and retired Navy personnel, were on hand to celebrate the strike fighter’s unveiling. Adm. Gary Roughead, the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations, welcomed the new aircraft to the fleet.
“The JSF will show the world that our Sailors will never be in a fair fight because this airplane will top anything that comes its way,” Roughead said of the F-35. “It will give our Sailors and pilots the tactical and technical advantage in the skies, and it will relieve our aircraft as they age out.”
Tom Burbage, a former Navy test pilot and the executive vice president and general manager of F-35 Program Integration for Lockheed Martin, thanked Navy leadership for being fully engaged in the F-35’s development and “actively working to define joint and coalition tactics that will exploit this platform in ways we’ve never envisioned. We at Lockheed Martin are both proud and humbled by the trust the U.S. Navy has placed with us to lead the development and introduction of the Navy’s newest stealthy, supersonic strike fighter.”
The first F-35C, known as CF-1, will undergo a wide-ranging series of ground tests before its first flight, scheduled for late 2009. CF-1 is the ninth F-35 test aircraft to be rolled out, and joins a fleet of F-35A (conventional takeoff and landing) and F-35B (short takeoff/vertical landing) variants that have logged more than 100 flights.
The F-35C is on schedule to meet the Navy’s Initial Operational Capability in 2015, and represents a leap in technology and capability over existing fighters, combining stealth with supersonic speed and high agility. The Lightning II employs the most powerful and comprehensive sensor package ever incorporated into a fighter.
The F-35C possesses uncompromised carrier suitability and low-maintenance stealth materials designed for long-term durability in the carrier environment. The Lightning II’s operational and support costs are forecast to be lower than those of the fighters it will replace.
The F-35 and F-22 are the world’s only 5th generation fighters, uniquely characterized by a combination of advanced stealth with supersonic speed and high agility, sensor fusion, network-enabled capabilities and advanced sustainment. The F-35 is a supersonic, multi-role, 5th generation strike fighter. Three F-35 variants derived from a common design, developed together and using the same sustainment infrastructure worldwide, will replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 nations initially, making the Lightning II the most cost-effective fighter program in history.
Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136.
Source: Lockheed Martin
400-member race crew and 400 tonnes of material
SALZBURG, Austria – Moving the Red Bull Air Race around the world is no easy task. Although the entire infrastructure – from the airplanes and hangars to the pylons and race tower – can be built up and then disassembled like clockwork over a three-week period, there are countless behind-the-scenes challenges involved in orchestrating the transport of 15 pilots, their planes and their teams, as well as a 400-member race crew and the 400 tonnes of material that keep the logistics team constantly on their toes.
Whether those challenges include contingency plans to cope with pirates in the Indian Ocean or ensuring that all the international customs requirements in the world’s major ports and airports are fulfilled, the highly motivated logistics team is on a tireless mission to move the entire race from country to country and from continent to continent as safely, as efficiently, as inexpensively and as environmentally friendly as possible.
No arenas, no stadiums, no venues, no grandstands
It’s a Herculean task by any measure and one that is made even more astonishing if you consider that there are no existing arenas, no stadiums, no venues nor grandstands for the races – in other words: the entire racing and spectator infrastructure is packed up and moved from location to location, and the grounds that are used have to be restored to their pre-race serenity within days. The team has the ambitious goal of even improving the area where races are held; in fact, Monument Valley now has a small tarmac runway instead of the short bumpy dirty runway it had before, thanks to the Red Bull Air Race.
“It’s extremely exciting but at the same time extremely challenging to find the best and most creative way to coordinate all these massive and complex transport flows,” said Christof Reichl, Logistics Manager for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. “We’re always looking for ways to improve logistics. The race gets bigger each year and so do the challenges. But that’s what makes it all the more satisfying: Getting everything to where it belongs when it’s needed, and then sitting back and watching the crowds enjoy the racing. When you see the happy looks on their faces, you know that it’s all worthwhile.”
Sea, air and rail freight
Sea freight is used to transport as much of the equipment as possible for both cost and environmental reasons, although relying on air freight for inter-continental movements is sometimes unavoidable for the disassembled race planes or the electronic and television broadcasting equipment. But aside from the planes and other one-of-a-kind pieces of equipment that have to be delivered to every race location, there are two complete sets of most of the infrastructure materials. That makes it possible to ship by sea freight from location to location in their respective parts of the world in time.
Rail freight, rather than trucking, was also used for the first time this year in transporting the 400 tonnes of infrastructure from San Diego, the second race of the season, to Windsor, Ontario in Canada for the third race of the year five weeks later on June 13/14. The 15 teams ferried their own racing planes cross-country by air from San Diego to Windsor – the same method of transport for the planes between races in Europe. Otherwise, the planes are disassembled into about 3 major pieces for overseas transports (fuselage, wing box, tail box). The wings are removed and placed in eight-metre long boxes that resemble giant guitar cases. The rudders and horizontal stabilizers from the tail structure are put in separate padded cases. Most of the electronics and components such as the instrument panel and fuel tank are removed in conjunction with removing the wing. The stripped down six-metre long fuselage is strapped to a pallet. It takes about six hours to take the planes apart and about 18 hours to put them back together again.
Save costs and protect the environment
“We’re always trying to find a better way to save costs and protect the environment,” said Stefan Brauneis, Logistics Co-ordinator for the Red Bull Air Race. “Even though there is more material every year our goal is to do it better all the time. We added about 30 tonnes of material with the increase in the number of pilots from 12 to 15. We moved everything by rail from San Diego to Windsor and were able to cut costs and CO2 emissions by about 10 percent. If we had used trucks, the material would have arrived in Windsor sooner and it would have had to have been stored somewhere, which would have added to the costs. We packed everything into 53-foot rail containers in San Diego and because that all went a bit slower everything arrived in Windsor just in time. It worked out very well.”
Shipping 71 containers from Windsor to Budapest
Moving the race between continents – from Abu Dhabi in Asia to North America and then to Europe – is more complicated. This year the material, including the disassembled planes, was shipped in 71 containers from Windsor to the next race in Budapest on August 19/20. Because of the nine-week gap between races there was enough time to ship everything, eliminating the need to air lift (in 2008 the planes, the most precious cargo of the race, were airlifted to Europe). The planes may only weigh about 540 kg each but with the teams’ equipment the amount rises to about 15 tonnes airlifted. This year the entire race in 71 sea-freight containers is due to arrive in the port of Bremerhaven in mid-July, Brauneis said. In addition the Red Bull Air Race B105 helicopter is placed on two 20-ft air-freight pallets and is flown across the Atlantic with 25 special air-freight containers on a commercial Boeing 747. There was also a truck-load full of race infrastructure equipment set up on the U.S. side of the Detroit river for the June 13/14 race that had to first be brought back to Windsor for packing in containers. Brauneis said the Red Bull Air Race is always looking for ways to reduce emissions and it aims to be carbon neutral in the near future by off-setting emissions to fight climate change. “Protecting the environment is a really important aspect,” said Brauneis. “We’re always looking for ways to use as few trucks as possible, not only to cut costs but also emissions.”
The airport and the racing venue
There are two main areas where the infrastructure is set up for each race: the so-called “Red Bull Air Race Airport” at a nearby airfield where the hangars are put up and the pilots are based with their teams; and the racing venue itself, where the tower, communications centre, media centre, High Flyer’s Lounge and Race Club hospitality lounges, and water operations including portable barges and Air Gate pylons are set up – as well as the scores of stands and giant video screens for the public viewing areas.
14 days before the race until 6 days after it is over
The work on site begins 14 days before race day when the first 150 crew members arrive, and working with additional assistance hired locally, they reassemble the two-storey mobile communications centre, complete with high-speed internet connectivity and power. That’s where about 50 people coordinating the broadcast and communications will be working on race day and it takes two to three days to put together. After that the 25-metre-high and 35-tonne race control tower, where about 25 officials will be working on race day, is put up. “Once it’s built, the tower is as sturdy as a four-storey house,” Brauneis said. The hangars at the airport and the scores of other buildings are assembled in a series of fluid steps after that. The majority of structures are already erected before the bulk of the crew begins to arrive about four to six days before the race. What is astonishing is how quickly and smoothly it is all put together by the indefatigable teams. The work has multiplied as the race has grown from about 100 staff five years ago to around 400 now.
“There’s been incredible growth in the last five years,” said Brauneis, who along with other members of the logistics team, is among the first to arrive at the venue 14 days before the race and last to leave six days after it is over. “And the crew members are incredibly motivated. They work very long hours every day. They’re always flexible, always ready to spring in and fix or put together whatever’s necessary. I’m always impressed by their dedication. Everyone’s aware that they’re part of something special and that brings out the best in everyone.”
Source: REDBULLAIRRACES
Marietta, Ga., July 29th, 2009 — Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been awarded an $821 million maintenance, repair, and overhaul contract for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) P-3 Orion fleet. The contract is for a base period of one year, with nine additional one-year options. CBP currently operates 16 P-3s, updated with a suite of modern surveillance sensors oriented towards conducting homeland security missions.
We are extremely proud to support Customs and Border Protection’s homeland security missions, and honored by the trust and confidence that CBP has placed with Lockheed Martin to maintain this critical capability,” said Ray Burick, Lockheed Martin vice president of P-3 programs. “The Customs P-3s have a mission that is unique within the P-3 community. It is our privilege to lend our efforts to support that mission.”
Work on the contract will be performed at multiple facilities. The operational portion – aircraft launch and recovery, daily maintenance, short-term phase maintenance, and minor modifications – will be performed by Lockheed Martin personnel at CBP operational sites. Depot maintenance will be performed primarily at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, S.C., facility.
“The Customs and Border Protection program is a great example of the benefits of effective government/industry partnerships,” said Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin executive vice president for Global Sustainment. “Our priority is to provide all of our customers with integrated life-cycle solutions that ensure operational effectiveness and readiness at best value.”
In April 2008, CBP contracted with Lockheed Martin under the P-3 Aircraft Service Life Extension Program (ASLEP), ordering up to 14 all-new production wing life extension kits. To date, CBP has placed firm orders for six life extension kits. ASLEP is the only P-3 life extension program validated by the OEM to extend P-3 service life 20-25 years, equating to 15,000 additional flight hours. A total of 47 ASLEP kits have been ordered from five P-3 operators which include Norway, CBP, the U.S. Navy, Canada and Taiwan.
Source: Lockheed Martin
SEATTLE, July 30, 2009 – The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Navy today formally unveiled the service’s newest maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, during a ceremony at the Boeing facility in Renton, Wash.
A derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800, the P-8A is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations.
“The P-8A Poseidon will equip the U.S. Navy with the most advanced multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft in the world,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. “The Poseidon is also the latest in a decades-long Boeing tradition of working closely with the Navy and other customers to deliver a wide range of platforms that meet their most critical mission requirements, including commercial-derivative military planes, fighters, rotorcraft, and attack, electronic warfare and unmanned aircraft.”
As the replacement for the Navy’s P-3C Orion aircraft, the P-8A will provide greater payload capacity, significant growth potential, unprecedented flexibility and interoperability, and advanced mission systems, software and communications.
“The P-8A program is an outstanding example of evolutionary acquisition at work,” said Capt. Mike Moran, U.S. Navy Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft program manager. “The team has worked hard to stay on schedule and within cost in this development effort, and we all should be extremely proud of the results.”
The P-8A is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aviation. The team currently is assembling and testing the first five P-8As as part of the program’s System Development and Demonstration contract, awarded in 2004.
The integrated Navy/Boeing team will begin formal flight testing of the P-8A later this year. The Navy plans to purchase 117 P-8As, and initial operational capability is planned for 2013.
Source: Boeing
SEATTLE, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced today the completion of the acquisition of the business and operations conducted by Vought Aircraft Industries at its South Carolina facility, where a key structure for the 787 Dreamliner is built. The acquisition agreement was announced originally on July 7.
The newly acquired facility, located in North Charleston, will be called Boeing Charleston. Boeing Charleston will be managed by the 787 program as a wholly owned subsidiary. Boeing Charleston will continue to perform fabrication, assembly and systems installation for 787 aft fuselage sections, which are made primarily of composite materials.
Forward-Looking Information Is Subject to Risk and Uncertainty
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Source: Boeing
With newest Boeing 777-300ER, Emirates becomes world’s largest 777 airline operator
EVERETT, Wash., July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) delivered Emirates’ 78th 777 yesterday, the airline’s 45th 777-300ER (Extended Range). The Dubai-based carrier is now the world’s largest operator of the 777 and the only airline to operate every model type, with an additional nine 777-200s, 12 777-300s, 10 777-200LRs (Longer Range) and two 777 Freighters in its fleet.
Emirates also has an additional 28 Boeing 777s on order, valued at more than $7 billion at current list prices. The airlines’ latest 777-300ER, shown here at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. prior to departure for its home base in Dubai, is configured for long-haul operations.
“The 777 is an excellent aircraft in terms of operating economics, and importantly, the new technologies incorporated within enable us to fit it out with the latest onboard systems and passenger amenities,” said Tim Clark, president Emirates Airlines. “Emirates is committed to maintaining a young and modern fleet, which enhances our passengers’ comfort and safety and also makes our aircraft some of the most environmentally-friendly in the skies.”
Emirates received its first Boeing 777 in 1996. The airline recently completed an upgrade program on all its 777s that equipped the airplanes with Emirates’ award-winning ICE (Information, Communication, Entertainment) system, offering passengers in every cabin up to 1,000 channels of on-demand entertainment.
“The 777 is the world’s most successful twin-engine, long-haul airplane and Emirates has contributed significantly to the 777 program’s success, both in becoming the now largest 777 airline customer and through its continued feedback on quality step improvements we’ve made to the airplane,” said Marty Bentrott, vice president of Sales for the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “With suppliers around the world contributing to and benefitting from 777 production, Emirates’ investment toward building the world’s largest Boeing 777 fleet has played a role in maintaining and strengthening the global aviation manufacturing industry.”
Source: Boeing
ST. LOUIS, July 30, 2009 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] in June delivered the first four Harpoon Block II missiles equipped with a redesigned Guidance Control Unit (GCU), which provides growth capabilities and resolves obsolescence issues. The missiles were delivered to the U.S. Navy for transfer to two Foreign Military Sales customers.
The new GCU, which controls most of the missiles’ functions, incorporates a Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to improve GPS security. In addition, the GCU can accommodate possible future implementation of a data link for network centric operation.
Boeing began developing this GCU in 2007 to provide a common guidance system for Block II and future versions of the Harpoon missile. All new Harpoon missiles will incorporate the redesigned GCU.
“Boeing’s investment in developing a new, more robust GCU positions the Harpoon program to meet our customers’ needs for many years to come,” said Steve Morrow, Naval Weapon Systems program director for Boeing. “With this upgrade, Harpoon continues to adapt and evolve to meet our customers’ requirements.”
Boeing has delivered more than 7,100 Harpoon missiles to the United States and 28 allied navies and is scheduled to deliver an additional 31 missiles this year.
Harpoon Block II executes both anti-ship and land-strike missions. The 500-pound blast fragmentation warhead delivers lethal firepower against a variety of land-based targets, including coastal defense sites, surface-to-air missile sites, exposed aircraft, port/industrial facilities and ships in port.
Source: Boeing
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., July 29, 2009 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that it plans to bid as prime contractor for the Exploration Ground Launch Services (EGLS) program to provide ground systems integration and launch operations for Constellation, NASA’s next-generation space-exploration initiative.
EGLS will cover ground processing, assembly, testing, integration, launch and recovery services for Constellation’s Ares launch vehicles and Orion spacecraft.
“We will bring innovative approaches, decades of experience and best-of-industry elements to supporting NASA as the United States transitions from the space shuttle program to Constellation,” said John Elbon, Boeing vice president and EGLS team leader. “Cost-effective practices, proven in our space, defense and commercial airplane programs, will enable efficient and safe operations.”
Current Boeing support for NASA includes serving as prime contractor on the Checkout, Assembly and Payload Processing Services and International Space Station programs and as major subcontractor on the Space Shuttle Program. The company has received contracts from NASA to provide the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the vehicle’s instrument unit avionics.
Final proposals for EGLS are due Oct. 26 and NASA is expected to award the contract in April 2010.
Source: Boeing
ST. LOUIS, July 28, 2009 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and SkyHook International Inc. today announced that the design of the SkyHook Heavy Lift Vehicle (HLV) has reached the configuration freeze milestone, meaning the aircraft’s overall performance and layout have been established.
Boeing and SkyHook have worked on the SkyHook HLV’s structural and systems design and its concept of operations since July 2008, resulting in the following improvements:
- the addition of a three-piece tail for enhanced maneuverability
- integration of lifting and thrusting propulsion systems
- improved aerodynamics for increased payload capacity and range.
“Boeing’s Advanced Rotorcraft Systems team and our industry partner, SkyHook International Inc., are extremely pleased with the progress on the engineering of the aircraft,” said Kenneth Laubsch, SkyHook program manager for Boeing. “We all sense that we are part of something revolutionary in the advancement of this extraordinary technology, and the aerospace industry in general.”
The next major program milestone will be Detailed Design in 2011, which centers on the design, analysis and specification of all hardware, software and related aircraft and ground support systems interfaces.
“The SkyHook HLV technology is like nothing that has ever existed. We anticipate that the operational capability of this aircraft will allow SkyHook’s customers to radically change the way they resupply and operate in remote regions, especially the north,” said Rob Mayfield, director of SkyHook. “In the oil and gas industry, there are significant pressures on cost, speed, safety, and environmental impact, and the SkyHook HLV represents solutions to each of these challenges in various applications.”
SkyHook is designed to carry 80,000-pound (40-ton) sling loads up to 200 nautical miles without refueling — a capability that is not currently available, but is desired by several industries, including oil exploration and mining operations in the Canadian Arctic and Alaska, as well as companies operating in remote locations in South America, Europe and Africa.
Boeing is designing and will fabricate a production SkyHook HLV prototype at its Rotorcraft Systems facility in Ridley Park, Pa. The new aircraft will enter commercial service after it is certified by Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The first SkyHook HLV aircraft is scheduled to fly in 2014.
Source: Boeing
ST. LOUIS, July 28, 2009 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced it has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the cockpits of the service’s fleet of 59 KC-10 Extender tanker/transport aircraft. The proposal covers engineering and manufacturing development, production and installation of the KC-10 Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) modification.
CNS/ATM uses a systems approach to improve pilot awareness, streamline tasks, and otherwise enhance safety in a high-technology environment.
“This upgrade will allow the fleet to retain worldwide access to airspace in compliance with Global Air Traffic Management requirements,” said Boeing KC-10 Program Director Mike Wright. “Boeing believes it has a strong proposal, given the success of the company’s (K) DC-10 Cockpit Upgrade Program (CUP) for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). The CUP modification offers an affordable, proven solution for other aircraft, including the KC-10.”
Boeing works with the RNLAF and partner Fokker Services on CUP, which includes a new flight-management system, display system and improved communications — all components of the CNS/ATM configuration. Boeing and Fokker Services are performing the modification on two (K) DC-10 air refueling tankers and one DC-10 transport at a Fokker Services facility in the Netherlands, where the program’s ground testing certification is two thirds complete. Flight-test certification and delivery of the first aircraft are scheduled to take place this fall.
Airbus today delivered the 1000th aircraft from the A330/A340 Family. The aircraft, an A330-300, was handed over to Thai Airways International (THAI) at a special ceremony in Toulouse. In attendance was a delegation from Thailand led by Air Chief Marshal Narongsak Sangapong, Acting President of THAI, plus representatives from the engine manufacturers and major equipment suppliers, as well as some 100 Airbus staff currently working on the programme.
Speaking at the ceremony, Tom Williams, Airbus Executive Vice President Programmes, said: “When the A330/A340 Family first entered service in 1993 it set a new standard in the mid-size widebody market. Today, the product line remains the benchmark for in-service aircraft in this category, offering airlines a proven range of models optimised for medium, long and very long haul operations.”
“We are extremely proud that the 1000th aircraft from this product is being delivered in the colours of THAI, which is one of Airbus’ longest standing customers and currently operates a fleet including both the A330 and the A340.”
Air Chief Marshal Narongsak Sangapong, said: “We are pleased to be taking delivery of the 1000th aircraft from this modern and efficient Airbus product line, which forms a major element of our fleet today. With these aircraft we are able to offer our passengers the highest levels of comfort, while also benefiting from the operational flexibility to operate the aircraft both on long range and regional services.”
With today’s delivery, THAI increases its in-service A330/A340 fleet to a total of 25 aircraft, comprising 15 A330-300s, four A340-500s and six A340-600s. The airline also operates a fleet of 17 A300-600Rs on its regional network.
Since the first aircraft from the A330/A340 Family was delivered in 1993, the product line has become the most successful mid-size widebody programme ever, with 1,406 firm orders from 103 customers worldwide. Today, aircraft from the family are flying with 100 operators worldwide and the world fleet has accumulated more than 27 million flight hours in over 5 million revenue flights.
Source: Airbus
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