Notes #1 from ISTAT 2015

Snippets heard in the hallways of the 2015 ISTAT annual meeting in Phoenix: The Rolls-Royce Advance engine intended for the Airbus A380neo appears to be heavy, causing Airbus to return to Engine Alliance to discuss how the GP7200… Read More

Production rates on single-aisles keep going up, up

Figure 1. Airbus and Boeing production rates for the A320 and 737 lines are going up as announced rates and rates under consideration go to lofty levels. Click on image to enlarge. Subscription Required Introduction March 3, 2015:… Read More

Trip report: flying the A350 to Airbus Group annual press conference

By Bjorn Fehrm Introduction Feb. 26, 2015: As part of the invitation to cover Airbus group press conference in Munich on Feb. 27 where the annual results are presented, Airbus offered the journalists joining from South of France… Read More

Odds and Ends: Turkish tests A380; Boeing’s cash out; A400M milestone before Airbus Group results

18 Feb 2015: Turkish Airlines is contemplating testing A380 operations according to Blomberg by wet leasing two A380 from Malaysian Airlines. Turkish did the same when they tested the Boeing 777 before ordering it, then by wet leasing 777 from Jet… Read More

Playing number games with the A380

Feb. 15, 2015: Orders for the Airbus A380 have been slow, almost glacial, since the program was launched in 2000. Despite a 20-year forecast then and every year since by Airbus that suggests there is a need for… Read More

PNAA Conference: Aboulafia–“A lot of positivity” (except for A380, 787)

The Wall Street Journal reports that Boeing is considering restarting and re-engining the 757 in response to the Airbus A321LR. Feb. 11, 2015: We’re at the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance conference in Lynnwood (WA) north of Seattle. This… Read More

Exclusive: Emirates Airlines gets pitch for 100 Boeing 747-8s

Update, 3:30pm PST: For those who may not be adept at reading literally what was written, we did not say Boeing made the pitch. Feb. 4, 2015: In a pitch designed to save the Boeing 747-8 and simultaneously… Read More

Airbus/Boeing production rates forecast through 2020

Subscription Required. Introduction Feb. 3, 2015: Boeing out-delivered Airbus in 2014, for the second year in a row, as the 787 program improved in delivery rates and before the A350 made its first delivery in December. Topping Airbus… Read More

Odds and Ends: AirAsia 8501; SkyMark Airlines bankruptcy; One year for MH370; Billy Bishop Airport; PNAA conference

Jan. 29, 2015: AirAsia 8501: The first report by the Indonesian government has been issued, per international rules, but the public portion is pretty uninformative if press reports are to be believed. At the same time, leaks indicate… Read More

USAF picks 747-8 for new AF One, first delivery in 2018; end of program likely

The US Air Force has picked the Boeing 747-8 as the replacement for the 747-200-based Air Force One, reports Bloomberg News. The decision comes as absolutely no surprise. The first of two 747-8s will be delivered in 2018,… Read More