Debrief

News briefs from across aviation

OEM News

Boeing has unveiled the first 777X static test aircraft at its Everett facility just outside Seattle. The first completed aircraft, a 777-9X, rolled out of the final assembly line over the weekend of September 8/9, images released by Boeing on social media showed. The aircraft will never fly. Instead, it will be used to test the structural limits of the airframe. Test flights were expected to begin in early 2019, with entry into service is scheduled for later in the year.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has moved a step closer to becoming the first new airline to receive a factory fresh Airbus A380 since Etihad Airways took its first of the type close to four years ago in December 2014. The Japanese carrier’s first of three A380s it has on order emerged from final assembly in late August, according to photos released by Airbus. The aircraft, which features the ANA tail, will undergo ground tests at Toulouse before being flown to Airbus’s Hamburg facility for cabin installation and painting. Thirteen airlines have the A380 in their fleet. In addition, Portugal-based HiFly has a second-hand A380 which it offers to airlines under lease.