Pilots from Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines voted to approve a joint contract that will take effect when the carriers' planned merger is finalized. DL CEO Richard Anderson confirmed the positive vote yesterday and called it a "historic milestone" that would facilitate the merger.

Airbus's gross orders climbed to 754 through July and 711 net of cancellations. It secured orders from nine customers last month. The A320 leads the 2008 order book with 460, followed by 291 A330s/A350s and three A380s. Orders for three A340-600s have been cancelled. Boeing's gross order book through Aug. 7 stood at 553 and it has had just two cancellations. Biggest seller is the 737 with 423, followed by the 787 with 80, the 777 with 46 and the 747 and 767 with two each.

Azerbaijan Airlines ordered two 737-900ERs and two 767-300ERs collectively valued at $449 million. One of the 767s is a substitution for a previously ordered 787, Boeing said. Azerbaijan now has a total of four 737-900ERs, two 787-8s and two 767-300ERs on firm order. "We look forward to operating the 787 and benefiting from its advanced performance features; however, the 767-300ER is the economical and logical choice to fulfill our interim capacity targets," President Jahangir Askerov said.

China's AVIC I and AVIC II unveiled details of their pending integration, which is expected to take place this month. According to AVIC I, it and AVIC II will merge into a new company that will be in charge of various branch companies and focus on "aviation manufacturing" and "car production." MA turboprop production will be given priority initially. The MA60, the first aircraft in the MA series, has received136 orders, mostly from Southeast Asian and African carriers.

Qantas said yesterday that it will take delivery of its first A380 on Sept. 19 in Toulouse. It will fly the aircraft to Singapore and then to Sydney, where it is scheduled to arrive on Sept. 21. GM John Borghetti said QF will operate its first A380 commercial flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles on Oct. 20 and will operate a Sydney-LAX flight on Oct. 24. It plans to take delivery of three A380s by year end and has a total of 20 on order. It plans to launch Sydney-Singapore-London Heathrow in early 2009.