Aviation Partners Boeing said it expects its 767 winglet program to be a runaway success and this week announced agreements to fit blended winglets on 767-300ERs operated by Air New Zealand and Hawaiian Airlines.

Airbus agreed to sell its UK-based wing component and assemblies manufacturing unit at Filton to GKN for £136 million ($243.9 million) under a deal announced yesterday that aims to advance the Power8 restructuring initiative and transfer operations, assets and certain activities to GKN. The agreement follows a deal reached last month by Airbus to sell its Laupheim plant to Diehl and Thales (ATWOnline, Aug. 4).

Pratt & Whitney reached a 10-year fleet management program agreement with Singapore Airlines Cargo valued at $500 million covering 13 747-400Fs powered by PW4000s.

American International Group, hit hard by the US credit crisis, is developing a major restructuring plan that will include selling off several of its assets, possibly including ILFC, according to the Wall Street Journal. AIG is under pressure to raise significant amounts of money quickly and ILFC, which owns more than 900 aircraft, is valued at more than $50 billion, the paper reported. While AIG and the US financial sector are struggling, ILFC posted second-quarter operating income of $352 million.

ARJ21-700 now is expected to make its first test flight in late 2008 or early 2009. Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China revealed that the regional aircraft has been transferred to the flight test facility from its Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, which former ARJ21 Deputy Chief Engineer Zhou Jisheng noted is the last step before the inaugural flight. According to Zhou, ground testing is expected to last at least a couple of months. It has been reported that five -700 prototypes have been produced (three for flight tests, one for static tests and one for fatigue testing).