ILFC last week announced the following lease deals and deliveries with 21 airline customers: Two new A330-200s to Garuda Indonesia for 84 and 86 months respectively, one new 777-300ER to V Australia for 148 months, one used 737-500 to Aerosvit for five years, one used 737-300 to Sharjah-based AVE.com for five years, one used 747-400F to Air Atlanta Icelandic for 54 months, two used A320-200s to Moscow Vnukovo-based Avianova for 58 and 59 months respectively, one used 757-200ER to Madrid-based charter carrier Mint Airways for four years, one used 737-800 to Sun Country Airlines for 51 mo

Turkey's MNG Airlines doubled its commitment to the A330-200F, placing an order for two more of the type in a move that Airbus said revealed the carrier's intent to "expand its network as the freighter market gradually rebounds." MNG placed an order for two -200Fs in 2007. The Istanbul Ataturk-based carrier launched operations in November 1997 and currently operates eight A300B4-200Fs, seven F27s and one Challenger CL-601, according to its website.

Lufthansa took delivery of its first E-195 that will be operated by its CityLine subsidiary. LH took over an order for 30 E-Jets by Swiss International Air Lines when it acquired the carrier (ATWOnline, April 18, 2007). The first six are flying with Air Dolomiti (ATWOnline, Jan. 23). The new E-195 is configured for 116 passengers in two classes with a moveable divider. It will be based in Munich.

Boeing said it has started making the upper wing join area fix on the first flight test 787 and the static test Dreamliner to address the structural weakness identified in June that led to the program's latest delay. The manufacturer said in August that first flight "is expected by the end of 2009" with first delivery to launch customer ANA pushed back to the 2010 fourth quarter, and insisted that the wing join area modification is relatively simple (ATWOnline, Aug. 28).

China expects to secure the launch customer(s) for the new C919 large commercial aircraft sometime in the first half of 2010, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Marketing Director Chen Jin told reporters at this week's Aviation Expo/China event in Beijing. "A lot of airlines and aircraft leasing companies have applied to be the launch customer for the C919, but since launch customers can get a favorable price, the number of launch customers is limited," Chen said. He said the initial order could number as many as 90 aircraft.