Archive for May 2017

Russia squares up to Boeing and Airbus with maiden flight of jet

Russian MC-21

Irkut Corporation/EPA carried out the maiden flight of its new MS-21 medium-range passenger aircraft on Sunday, its first post-Soviet foray into production of a mainline commercial aircraft which it hopes will rival those of its western competitors. In a surprise statement, manufacturer Irkut Corporation and its state-controlled parent company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said an…

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CSeries prices threaten 737 Max 7 ‘viability’: Boeing

Bombardier CSeries

Bombardier’s CSeries and its aggressive sales tactics threaten the very existence of Boeing’s 737 Max 7 and the US aerospace industry, Boeing’s vice-chairman Ray Conner told US trade officials last week. “The 100-150 seat market matters greatly to Boeing, and Bombardier is very close to forcing us out of this altogether,” Conner said during a…

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No-one mentions elephant in sky in ‘new’ Aerion SST ‘development’

Aerion AS2

The main disappointment of the week when it comes to aviation advances was the half-baked reporting of claimed ‘assistance’ for the very long running Aerion as2 supersonic corporate jet ‘successor’ to the defunct Concorde from the engine designer and maker GE.  Even Bloomberg went soft on this. In this report it says the as2 is…

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Russia and China Team Up to Take on Airbus and Boeing

Russia and China Team Up to Take on Airbus and Boeing

If the recent news is to be believed, American and European aircraft giants Boeing and Airbus may soon face competition for their dominance of the market. Earlier this week, the Russian and Chinese state-owned aerospace companies announced a new partnership that they hope will lead to the development of an advanced twin-aisle aircraft capable of…

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Scoot takes delivery of four 787-8s this year, flies to Athens in June

Scoot Boeing 787-9-Dreamliner

Scoot, the low-cost medium- to long-haul arm of Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), will take delivery of four new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners fitted with crew bunks this year, which will serve the Singapore-Athens route starting next month and another long-haul destination to be announced later in 2017. Scoot chief executive officer (CEO) Lee Lik Hsin said…

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Air Lease Corp “very disturbed” with Airbus and P&W as delays bite

LEAP-1A engines ordered for Airbus A320neo-family aircraft

Early this year, Airbus assured Air Lease Corporation (ALC) that the lessor’s 2017 new-aircraft deliveries wouldn’t slip any more than had already been warned, according ALC. But with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM geared-turbofan production-rate issues continuing to bite, Airbus has now further delayed some deliveries to the firm. Speaking at the 37th Annual North America…

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Airbus is shopping a new jet to compete with Boeing’s future airliner

Airbus A321neo

Five new planes you may fly in soon Boeing thinks it has gotten a step up in its decades-long rivalry with Airbus. But Airbus, the European aerospace giant, has other ideas.  Airbus is talking to airlines about possibly upgrading its popular single-aisle airliner, even before Boeing’s plans for a competing plane have gotten off the…

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Boeing outshines Airbus in wide-body market; A match on single-aisle March deliveries

Airbus Boeing

Airbus is talking to airlines about possibly upgrading its popular single-aisle airliner, even before Boeing’s plans for a competing plane have gotten off the drawing board. Neither company has any orders for the new jets — those could be years away. The industry keeps a close eye on what the two giants are doing behind…

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Boeing, Airbus Bolster Narrowbody Backlogs with New Sales

Boeing and Airbus jets

Boeing and Airbus each capitalized on the continued robustness of global narrowbody demand on Thursday, with a pair of big orders for members of their respective single-aisle families. Boeing’s contract with Riga, Latvia-based low-fare airline Primera Air calls for a firm order for eight 737 Max 9s to accompany a lease deal involving Air Lease…

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