Runway Girl
• Becca Alkema
ORIX Aviation has agreed to acquire AerFin, a specialist in buying, selling, leasing and repairing aircraft, engines and parts. The transaction expands ORIX’s presence in the aviation aftermarket and brings AerFin’s trading, leasing and repair activities under the Japanese financial group’s aviation platform.
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Elevate Jet is moving all of its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations from Salt Lake City to Florida and plans to establish a second base in Texas. The private aviation company cited access to a deeper workforce, favorable tax policies and a business-friendly regulatory environment for the expansion.
ORIX Aviation has agreed to acquire AerFin, a specialist in buying, selling, leasing and repairing aircraft, engines and parts. The transaction expands ORIX’s presence in the aviation aftermarket and brings AerFin’s trading, leasing and repair activities under the Japanese financial group’s aviation platform.
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A chemical incident that halted production at a GKN Aerospace plant south of Los Angeles has intensified a global shortage of cockpit and cabin windows. Boeing, airlines and maintenance providers are limiting replacements to essential cases as lead times lengthen and prices rise across multiple aircraft programs.
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ORIX Aviation has agreed to acquire UK-based AerFin from its current private equity owners in a transaction valued at approximately $640 million, expected to close by year-end. The deal adds aircraft, engine and component trading, leasing, repair and end-of-life services to ORIX’s asset-management platform.
Thai Airways International plans to sign a 50-year lease on Aug. 4, 2026, for a 210-rai, or 336,000-square-meter, site at Thailand’s Utapao airport. The lease will take effect Sept. 1, establishing the contractual basis for the airline’s planned MRO presence at the facility.
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Air India is introducing its new Boeing 787-9 cabin on Delhi–Toronto flights, adding Mumbai–Toronto service and 4,400 monthly Canada seats while accelerating 787-8 retrofits through Shanghai MRO. Separately, United will deploy its 222-seat “Elevated” 787-9 on Houston long-haul routes from October 2026.
The FAA has closed its comment period on a proposed airworthiness directive addressing corrosion in affected GE CF34 engine turbines. If adopted, the directive would require operators to conduct additional inspections, potentially adding maintenance requirements for fleets powered by the turbofan.
Charter operator flyExclusive has secured a $30 million state grant to expand maintenance, repair and overhaul operations and build a new pilot-training facility at Global TransPark in Kinston, North Carolina. The investment will broaden the company’s aviation infrastructure and workforce-development footprint at its home base.
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