It’s official: United orders 150 firm Boeing jets (100 Max, 50 900ERs)

Press conference Jeff Smisek, CEO United 100 737 Max 9 50 737-900ERs, replaces 757s flown domestically. Jim McNerney, CEO The Boeing Co. Thanks to UA for putting trust in us. Boeing and United go back a long, long… Read More

Farnborough, Day 1: Orders, Price Calculator and other stuff

McNerney rejects “price war.” A quote from a Financial Times story (see below). He rejected suggestions that a price war had broken out between Airbus and Boeing over the A320 Neo and 737 Max but confirmed the US… Read More

787 enables ANA to begin Seattle route–after an interim 777 solution

Japan’s All Nippon Airlines, the launch customer of the Boeing 787, said yesterday that the new, high-tech airplane is the enabler that prompted it to schedule its first service from Tokyo to Seattle. Never mind that initial service… Read More

The sky is falling, the sky is falling–and other such nonsense

Within minutes of the Houston City Council approving an international terminal plan for Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) requested by Southwest Airlines, United Airlines announced laying off 1,300 employees at cross-town Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and cancellation of… Read More

Wells Fargo estimates Southwest paid base price $34.7m for MAX

In a new research note issued today, Wells Fargo estimates that Southwest Airlines paid a based price of $34.7m each for the Boeing 737-8 MAX. The investment bank published the following table, followed by the text: Prior to… Read More

Odds and Ends: ‘We’re happy with LEAP, confident it will meet target’

During the Boeing 1Q2012 earnings call, CEO Jim McNerney had this to say about the story that won’t die (that Boeing continues to look at the PW Geared Turbo Fan for the 737 MAX): The gear turbo fan,… Read More

American bankruptcy may prompt US Airways bid

American Airlines’ bankruptcy filing may at long last prompt a bid by US Airways to make a bid for the carrier. Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, has a long history of bidding for Chapter 11 carriers. He… Read More

US airlines ready orders

There has been a rash of articles this week breathlessly focusing on US carriers and the prospect they will order airplanes this year. This is no revelation, nor is the prospect that Boeing customers might line up and… Read More

1,000 NEOs and “parity” is all it is

Airbus may have booked close to 900 orders for the A320neo family by the time the air show ends tomorrow, a plane that  Boeing says merely reaches “parity” with the 737-800. Airbus, of course, hotly disputes Boeing’s computations… Read More

Making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear: the 737-900ER

Here’s a story we did for Commercial Aviation Online. Date: 04/05/2011 10:00 Source: Commercial Aviation Online Location: Seattle By: Scott Hamilton Sometimes aircraft take a long time to come into their own. The Boeing 757 was initially a… Read More