AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines (J2, Baku) says that during the recent 2016 Farnborough International Airshow, it held discussions with Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare), the Ilyushin Finance Co., the Antonov Design Bureau (Gostomel) and other aircraft manufacturers concerning possible orders.
With the Americans, the talks focused on the financing and proposed delivery of ten B737 MAX jets between 2018 and 2020 while those with the Russians centred on the lease of ten MC-21s whose delivery would be scheduled for 2019 to 2020. An LOI concerning the latter has already been signed. Talks with the Ukrainians, on the other hand, focused on the establishment of an upcoming An-178 production facility in Azerbaijan.
AZAL operates a diverse fleet of aircraft catering to both passenger and VIP government transport needs. It includes three A319-100s, seven A320-200s, two A340-500s, one ACJ319, one ACJ320-200, one ACJ340-600, four B757-200s, three B767-300(ER)s, two B787-8s, one EMB-170, four EMB-190s, and one Tu-154M.
ch-aviation.com
An Azerbaijan Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration 4K-AZ03 performing flight J2-8005 from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Tehran Imam Khomeini (Iran), was on approach to Tehran's runway 29R when the crew did not commence final descent due to an unsafe gear indication. The aircraft joined the missed approach procedure and a left downwind while the crew was working the checklists to extend the gear resulting in success. The aircraft turned final and landed safely on runway 29R at a normal speed about 12 minutes after not starting the final descent on first final approach.
A passenger reported the crew made announcements mainly in Turkish which the passenger couldn't understand, the English announcement indicating they should prepare for an emergency landing but remain calm, however, fellow passengers indicated problems with the landing gear and the wing. The passenger heard a number of noises that the passenger believed came from the landing gear being extended but being stuck. Following some noises that seemed to come a normal landing gear extension the crew announced they would now land normally and the aircraft landed without further incident.
The aircraft departed for its return flight on schedule.
Incident: Azerbaijan A319 at Tehran on Jun 26th 2016, unsafe gear
