CommercialAir India officially joins Star AllianceAir India has become the 27th member of Star Alliance, greatly increasing the alliance's reach on the sub-continent. The flag carrier’s entry into the alliance adds 400 daily flights and 40 Indian destinations to the Star Alliance network, says Star Alliance in a statement. “This is an important day for us. We have said for many years that we needed a strong home carrier in the Indian market and by welcoming Air India to our Star Alliance family, we have achieved this goal” say Star Alliance chief executive Mark Schwab.
LinkAir New Zealand’s first 787-9 lands in AucklandAir New Zealand’s first Boeing 787-9 aircraft has arrived in Auckland following a delivery flight from Seattle. “Being on the flight deck on the delivery flight of this magnificent 787-9 aircraft to Air New Zealand has been a career highlight,” says David Morgan, the carrier’s chief flight operations and safety officer. “Like the Boeing 747-400 in the 1980s this aircraft really is a game changer for the airline and our customers.”
LinkTeasing 'A330neo' and 'A350-300' domains reservedWhile Airbus has increasingly indicated a leaning towards re-engining the A330, it has yet to give any formal pointers towards a possible designation for the type. But recent Internet domain-registration activity suggests a concerted effort, by unidentified parties, to protect particular names including 'A330neo' and 'A350-300'. On 7 July several top-level domain names associated with the term ‘A330neo’ were reserved by the US-based brand-protection company CSC, Flightglobal has determined.
LinkWhy Boeing’s 787-9 is more than just a stretchWhen launch customers Air New Zealand, United Airlines and All Nippon Airways introduce their first 787-9s in the coming months, it will mark a watershed for Boeing’s Dreamliner. Seattle will be hoping that after a smooth nine-month flight-test programme on the -9, it can finally put the troubled birth of its smaller sibling behind it. It will at last be able to fully focus on the remarkable technological innovation that this all-new twinjet represents, and move on from the undercurrent of issues that surrounded the program’s early years. The first 787-9 built (ZB001), which was the 126th Dreamliner off the line, made its first flight from Everett on 17 September 2013. At the first flight event, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive Ray Conner described the new arrival as “a beautiful machine. It’s going to be the backbone of the 787 fleet, for sure.”
LinkBoeing rejects 'mega-city' case for A380Boeing is dismissing Airbus’s claim that the emergence of “mega-cities” will drive future demand for high-capacity transports including the A380. Airbus has stated that there are 42 cities handling more than 10,000 daily long-haul passengers – those flying over 2,000nm internationally. It adds that this figure will more than double to 89 by 2032. Airbus has said that the traffic volumes will demand the use of large aircraft such as the A380. But Boeing vice-president of marketing Randy Tinseth, speaking as the airframer detailed its latest 20-year forecast in London, said there was “no data that supports [those] conclusions”.
LinkBoeing studying impact of 737 fuselage derailmentA freak transport error threatens to derail Boeing 737 production temporarily, raising questions once more about supply chain vulnerabilities as commercial aircraft production rates climb ever higher. Boeing was still evaluating as this article went to press the impact of a train derailment in Montana on 3 July that dislodged six 737 fuselages en route to final assembly in Renton, Washington, from the Spirit AeroSystems factory in Wichita, Kansas. Montana Rail Link, the railroad company involved in the derailment, had recovered three fuselages that had slipped down a steep embankment into the churning Clark Fork River. Pictures from the scene showed the three fuselages had sustained severe damage. Boeing was still assessing the extent of the damage and how it will impact a production system that rolls-out six completed 737s every three working days at current rates.
LinkBoeing Forecasts USD$5.2 Trillion Jet MarketBoeing made its most bullish 20-year forecast for airliner demand since 2011, saying the world will need 36,770 new planes worth USD$5.2 trillion by 2033. The company's annual projection is up 4.2 percent from its 2013 forecast, and it predicted beating rival Airbus in the lucrative market for twin-aisle planes. "If Airbus doesn't do something with their product strategy, they're headed to 30-35 percent market share" in deliveries of next-generation twin-aisle aircraft, Randy Tinseth, Boeing's vice president of marketing, told reporters in a briefing. Boeing's 787 and 777X jets already make up 65 percent of all current orders, with the Airbus A350 accounting for the rest, and that gap will widen unless Airbus develops another jet as a competitor, he said.
LinkSMBC Nears Potential USD$10 Bln Airbus OrderIrish leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital is in advanced talks to buy around 100 Airbus aircraft, setting the stage for what could be one of the largest order announcements at next week's Farnborough Airshow, two people familiar with the matter said. The order may include the current generation of A320-family jets and the more fuel-efficient A320neo family and is potentially worth up to USD$10 billion at list prices. Dublin-based SMBC Aviation Capital, owned by Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and, until 2012, the leasing arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, declined to comment.
LinkItalian PM Urges Compromise On Alitalia Job CutsItalian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has urged unions to accept job cuts at Alitalia or be prepared to see the company close. The government and Alitalia are in talks with unions, which want to stop the more than 2,000 redundancies sought by Gulf carrier Etihad as a condition for buying a 49 percent stake in indebted Alitalia, which employs around 14,000 people. "For Alitalia, the choice is not between x-many job cuts or y-many job cuts, but between job cuts and closure," Renzi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Rome.
LinkLufthansa CEO Defends Low-Cost Expansion PlansLufthansa's new CEO Carsten Spohr has defended the airline's plans to expand its low-cost services under new brands, after some observers questioned the wisdom of such a move. Spohr, who took over as chief executive in May, presented plans that include expanding low-cost services in Europe and possibly on intercontinental flights, as well as grounding eight planes this winter, to battle competition from Middle Eastern and low-cost carriers. Some analysts said, however, that plans to extend Lufthansa's Eurowings regional carrier could create additional complexity at the group and highlighted how saturated the low-cost market in Europe already was. "The European low-cost market is starting to suffer from a proliferation of operators and this development will only worsen that situation," HSBC analysts wrote in a note.
LinkUnited reports jump in PRASM for domestic, Pacific routesUnited Continental Holdings reported a 3.5% increase in passenger revenue per available seat mile for the second quarter on domestic and Pacific routes. United shares rose 6.7% on the news.
LinkJetBlue set to roll out automatic check-inJetBlue is testing a new form of check-in: Doing the necessary screening of passenger names and special needs before they arrive at the airport and emailing them a boarding pass. The airline will roll out the new automatic check-in to Extra Space fliers on domestic flights and then introduce it later in the year to additional passengers. "By having the right systems in place, we can… help identify and prevent issues that can hinder customers from fully enjoying their travel experience," said Blair Koch, a vice president for the carrier.
LinkAlaska boosts overhead storage on Boeing 737-900ERsAlaska Airlines announced the installation of Boeing "Space Bins" on 737-900ER aircraft. The bins allow for 48% more overheard storage. "The additional storage space will allow our customers to keep their personal items with them in the cabin, which we think they will enjoy," said Mark Eliasen, treasurer and vice president of finance for Alaska Airlines, in a statement.
LinkBoeing revises upward its 20-year forecastThe Boeing Co.'s newly released industry forecast calls for 36,770 new airplanes over the next 20 years, a 4.2% increase compared with last year's forecast. Boeing expects 25,680 of those new aircraft to be single-aisle planes. "The single-aisle market is the backbone of the airline system," said Randy Tinseth, the company's vice president of marketing for commercial airplanes.
LinkTour Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Bloomberg TV has a cool video on the B787-9
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