Air Canada said yesterday that that it has "received a commitment" from GE Japan Corp. for a senior secured term loan facility of "up to $170.5 million" that will allow it to finance "a portion of the purchase price" for 16 aircraft that it currently leases and operates. The leased aircraft comprise 12 A319s and four 767-300ERs. It said it plans to buy eight of the A319s and the 767s next year and four of the A319s in 2012.

TAM yesterday signed an MOU with Airbus at the Berlin Air Show for 20 new A320 family aircraft and five additional A350-900s. If finalized, the deal would bring TAM's total number of A320 family aircraft on order for future delivery to 64 and its A350 orders to 27. It also has three A330-200s on order. The five A350-900s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. TAM did not select an engine for the 20 A320s.

Emirates' ambitions to build Dubai into "a central gateway to worldwide air travel" took another major step forward yesterday as it ordered 32 additional A380svalued at $11.5 billion at list prices, the single biggest order for the aircraft to date and bringing EK's total orders for the type to 90. The order agreement was signed in a ceremony yesterday at the Berlin Air Show witnessed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EK Chairman and CEO Ahmed bin SaeedAl-Maktoumand Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders.

EasyJet will start trialing a new technology called AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector) that it hopes will minimize future disruptions from volcanic activity. The system is "essentially a weather radar for ash" and uses infrared devices fitted on the aircraft's tail fin to provide images of ash clouds up to 100 km. ahead at altitudes of 5,000-50,000 ft. The images are sent to both the pilot and the airline's flight control center and will allow for adjustments to the aircraft's flight path to avoid any volcanic ash.