ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS TO BE THE FIRST TO FLY 787-9

ANA will become the first carrier in the world to operate the Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

After taking delivery at Boeing’s Everett factory on 27 July, the aircraft will be flown to Tokyo, arriving in 29 July, says ANA in a statement.

Airbus

The aircraft will initially be deployed on domestic routes, although the carrier did not provide details of specific destinations.

In a domestic configuration, ANA’s -9s are equipped with 395 seats, of which 18 are in business class and 377 in economy. It's -8s have just 335 seats.

AirTeamImages

Prior to launching commercial services with the new airliner, ANA will operate a special commemorative flight with Japanese and American schoolchildren.

ANA adds that the 787-9’s fuel economy is superior to that of the -8, and 23% better than the 767-300ER. This, coupled with 20% more seating and better cargo capacity, will help cut operating costs.

AirTeamImages

ANA, which was the launch customer of the -8 in 2011, has orderered 80 787s. Of these 36 are -8s (with 28 already delivered) and 44 -9s.

The carrier’s 787 fleet is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.

Air New Zealand, which recently received its first 787-9, will commence using the type in October.

FLIGHT AH517 LOST RADAR CONTACT

Search teams are continuing to look for the missing Boeing MD-83 operated by Spanish carrierSwiftair on behalf of Air Algerie.

Swiftair says search teams have so far not located the aircraft. The MD-83, with registration EC-LTV, lost radar contact after departing Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso for Algiers earlier today.

Operating flight AH5017, the MD-83 had departed at 01:17UTC and was due to arrive in Algiers at 05:10UTC.

Six crew members and 110 passengers were on board the aircraft, which was built in August 1996 and is powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines.

Of the 110 passengers, 50 are French nationals, says Swiftair. The remaining passengers are from Burkina Faso (24 passengers), Lebanon (eight), Algeria (six), Canada (five), Germany (four),Luxembourg (two); and one passenger each from Mali, Belgium, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ukraine, Romania and Switzerland. Three passengers are of unconfirmed nationality, says Swiftair. All six crew members - two pilots and four cabin crew - are of Spanish nationality.

• Ten people survived a crash landing Wednesday that killed 48 other passengers as their plane failed to reach the runway on a Taiwanese holiday island hit hard by a typhoon. The TransAsia Airways plane was trying to make an emergency landing in stormy weather.

• The FAA earlier this week barred U.S. flights into and out of Ben Gurion International in Tel Aviv, Israel. (The ban was lifted late Wednesday.) The agency stopped flights after a rocket was reported near the airport.

Reports today that an Air Algerie flight with 116 people aboard has gone missing comes amid a spate of bad aviation news. Although the crashes may have come a few days apart, industry experts say that's nothing more than a coincidence and thatair travel remains safe.

• Exactly one week ago, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in a rebel-held area of eastern Ukraine. Flight 17, carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members, crashed after being hit by what U.S. officials suspect was a surface-to-air missile launched from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

• The downing of the plane was the second tragedy to strike the airline in recent months. The disappearance of Flight 370 on March 8 remains a mystery. The plane was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It vanished with 239 passengers and crew aboard. Despite massive search efforts, the plane's whereabouts remain unknown.