Pontifications: From the sidelines of the ISTAT conference, Notes #2

March 13, 2015: More Notes from the sidelines at the ISTAT conference this week in Phoenix. Boeing 777 production rates and advancing schedule Randy Tinseth, Boeing VP-Marketing, predictably stuck to Boeing messaging Monday at the ISTAT conference when… Read More

ISTAT: Bombardier vs Embraer: unsurprisingly, differing views

March 9, 2015: Ross Mitchell, vice president of business development, Bombardier, and John Slattery, chief commercial officer for Embraer, squared off today at the ISTAT conference. Below is a paraphrased summary of their panel discussion.

CS300 first flight Wednesday, direct challenge to 737-7 and A319neo

Feb. 25, 2015, c. Leeham Co. Bombardier’s direct challenge to the Big Two duopoly in the 125-149 seat sector is scheduled for its first flight Wednesday, weather and gremlins permitting. The CS300, challenger to the A319neo and 737-7,… Read More

Bombardier’s crisis of confidence perhaps the biggest challenge for CSeries

Subscription Required Introduction Feb. 18, 2015, c. Leeham Co.: Alain Bellemare, Bombardier’s new president and chief executive officer, has his work cut out for him. Figure 1. The CSeries was supposed to enter service in late 2013, two… Read More

Here’s why Boeing won’t do a “757 MAX”

Feb. 12, 2015, c. 2015 Leeham News and Comment: Boeing appeared to put to bed once and for all any prospect of reviving the 757 to fill a product gap between the 737-9 and the 787-8. Randy Tinseth,… 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

2015 a year of execution for Embraer commercial

Subscription Required Introduction Jan. 7, 2015: Embraer, the world’s #3 commercial airplane manufacturer, enters 2015 viewing this as a year of execution, says its chief commercial officer, John S. Slattery. There are three pillars: Continuing to fill out… Read More

Looking ahead in 2015 in commercial aviation

Here’s a visualization of events to look for in commercial aviation in 2015.  

Boom times leads to looming cash flow shortfall across OEMs

Subscription Required. Introduction Dec. 16, 2014: There have been record aircraft orders year after year, swelling the backlogs of Airbus and Boeing to seven years on some product lines, Bombardier’s CSeries is sold out through 2016, Embraer has… Read More

New UTC CEO throws cold water on PW GTF growth

The new chief executive officer of United Technologies Corp., Gregory Hayes, threw cold water on hopes and dreams of Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary, that the successful small- and medium-sized Geared Turbo Fan will grow into the wide-body… Read More