Archive for March 2015
Lufthansa airliner nearly crashed in November, airline admits
Photo Source An Airbus A321 plane operated by Lufthansa nearly crashed four months ago after some of its outside sensors iced over, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday. Lufthansa confirmed Friday to dpa that there had been an incident which was not made public at the time of the November 5 flight from Bilbao,…
Read MoreThe HondaJet’s Brand-New Engine Is Finally Approved For Flight
Honda Aircraft recently debuted their first production HondaJet, and the over-the-wing aircraft design is anticipated to revolutionize the light jet market. The engines are also new and so is the company created specifically to build them. Honda Aero is the first new company approved to build jet engines in 23 years. The majority of the…
Read MoreAir India Held A Job Fair And No One Showed Up
Air India hosted a job fair earlier this week in hopes of filling at least some of the 197 vacant pilot spots for its Airbus fleet, alone. Not a single applicant showed up. Not. One. Air India’s shortage of cabin crew is well known. The problem is so severe that it’s faced frequent flight delays…
Read MoreWhy the World Loves the Boeing 737
The single-aisle 737 has been Boeing Co.’s best-selling model for years and makes up for three-fourth of its total backlog. The successful run has only gotten better with the newly launched 737 Max as Boeing has promised the aircraft’s operating cost would be lower than its competitors. The past year saw amazing demand for the…
Read MoreSuperduperjumbo: Airbus Markets a Higher Seat Count on Its A380 Jet
The Airbus A380 superjumbo plane has just gotten bigger—at least on paper. Airbus Group NV has upped the advertised average seat count on its flagship plane in a bid to convince airlines the double-decker jetliner is a money maker. Until recently promoted as a plane carrying on average 525 passengers, Airbus now markets the plane…
Read MoreHas Bombardier Inc. Finally Found its Mojo?
Since Bombardier Inc. cancelled its dividend and announced it would be taking on more debt, investors have been clamouring for any good news about the company. The CSeries, which has become the bane of most Bombardier investors, has fallen two years behind schedule and its price has ballooned by over US$1.5 billion. It now seems…
Read MoreWhat Is Boeing’s Most Profitable Plane?
Everyone knows that Boeing is a plane maker. That’s what they do. But Boeing makes a lot of planes, and a lot of different kinds of planes — from the ultrapopular 737 to the iconic 747 jumbo jet to the paradigm-shifting 787 “composite” Dreamliner. At last count, the company had something on the order of…
Read MoreBoeing ecoDemonstrator 757 Flight Tests Focus on Aerodynamic Efficiency
Boeing has begun several months of flights with its ecoDemonstrator 757 to evaluate new technologies to improve commercial aviation’s efficiency, reduce noise and carbon emissions. Boeing is collaborating with TUI Group and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on ecoDemonstrator 757 tests. The 757 flight tests continue the ecoDemonstrator Program’s multi-year effort to accelerate…
Read MoreEmbraer shows off its next ‘no middle seats’ E2 cabin
The full scale mockup of the next version of the E-jet family, the E2 series, was shown to the media in Sydney today, and to be frank, it was a stunning display. The key feature of the E-jets today, two by two seats, that is, with no middle seats being possible, is of course retained.…
Read MoreNew Malaysia Airline Plans to Buy Bombardier CSeries Jets Worth $1.5 Billion
A new privately held Malaysian airline intends to buy 20 Bombardier Inc CS100 aircraft for $1.5 billion, in what could be the Canadian planemaker’s first order in Southeast Asia for its long-delayed CSeries passenger jet program. The airline, called flymojo, could also buy 20 more aircraft, which would raise the value of the deal to…
Read MoreBoeing Suppliers Use Ukrainian-Built Antonov Jets to Keep Supplies Flowing
Boeing Co. and its suppliers have turned to giant, Ukrainian-made cargo jets to keep its supply chain running smoothly, partially in response to disruptions at U.S. West coast ports from a recent labor dispute there. The aerospace giant’s top commercial-airplane executive on Tuesday said disruptions have continued even after the parties in that disagreement reached…
Read More“Open Skies” Debate – In Debate Vs. Persian Gulf Carriers U.S.’s Big Three Airlines Can’t Win – Even If They Win
Maybe Bob Crandall sounded like a crank 23 years ago when he argued, in vain, against the creation of an international “Open Skies” regime governing how airlines may serve foreign nations. But history is showing that Crandall was, at least on one cogent point, right. Back in 1992 Crandall, the legendary and legendarily opinionated former…
Read MoreEmirates Urges Airbus to Take Decision on A380 Super Jumbo Relaunch
Airbus’s most important customer for the A380 superjumbo is demanding the manufacturer decide this month on the case for relaunching the passenger jet, which has already cost billions of euros in a fraught, decade-long journey from drawing board to runway. Sir Tim Clark, president of fast-growing Emirates Airline, which is the biggest A380 operator, said…
Read MoreAirlines – but not passengers – see benefits as crude oil prices drop
If you think airfares will be falling because of cheaper fuel prices, think again. Airlines are reaping the benefits of a sharp drop in jet-fuel prices because of the tumble in crude-oil values, but industry experts said carriers are likely put the cost savings to work elsewhere. “In the short-term, the answer is: there really…
Read MoreAirbus and Boeing February 2015 O&D roundup
Boeing delivered 60 commercial aircraft in February, leading rival Airbus’ 45 commercial aircraft deliveries for the month. Boeing logged seven orders for a total of 72 aircraft in February, the largest being an order for 50 737-MAX aircraft from an undisclosed customer on Feb. 23. Alaska Airlines booked a firm order for six 737-900ER aircraft…
Read MoreBoeing Production Czar Says Planemaker Won’t Repeat Errors
Boeing Co is well-positioned to hit record production targets for its popular 737 jetliner by 2018, having learned from past mistakes, the head of its industrial system told Reuters. “To the extent that we could accommodate uncertainty and risk, or reduce risk, we are much better postured today than when we have tried this in…
Read MoreBoeing Starts Building 737 Wings With New Automated System
Boeing Co has started using a new automated system to build wing panels for 737 jetliners, an important step in preparing to hit record production speeds while introducing new models of the popular plane. The robotic system, known as the Panel Assembly Line, or PAL, this week drilled holes and installed rivets for the wings…
Read MoreRyanair plans to offer flights between Europe and America
Ryanair is planning to launch transatlantic flights, as part of an ambitious five-year growth strategy. The Irish airline’s board has approved outline plans to fly between up to 14 European cities and the same number of US cities. Destinations will include New York, Boston, Chicago and Miami from London Stansted, Dublin and Berlin airports in…
Read MoreAirbus’s Multibillion-Dollar Question: To Overhaul or to Dump A380 Jets?
Airbus’ pursuit of new buyers for the A380 jet looms large as the plane maker approaches a crucial decision: whether to plow billions of dollars into revamping the world’s largest passenger aircraft. While Emirates Airline president Tim Clark floats the idea of taking as many as 200 more superjumbos provided they get new, upgraded engines,…
Read MoreBoeing and Airbus: Approaching airplane market ‘bubble’?
Worries about a weakening global airline market aren’t being reflected in the continued strong demand for Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner and other commercial airplanes, executives from the world’s two largest plane-makers said. Boeing finance chief Greg Smith struck an optimistic tone during a recent investors conference. It was shared by an executive with chief competitor…
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