NewsCommercial
Boeing exec: Production costs for 787 to drop in 2016
Ray Conner, the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the aircraft manufacturer will reduce productions costs for the 787 in 2016. "As we take the rates up to 12 a month in 2016, that's when we will bring this thing down," he said. Boeing's production rate for the 787 is currently 10 planes per month.
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Boeing Considering 52 737s A Month By 2018
Boeing appears increasingly likely to boost 737 production to 52 a month starting in 2018 after the head of its commercial aircraft business spoke about that possibility. "Our focus today would be around a 52-a-month rate somewhere in that 2018 time frame," Boeing commercial planes chief executive Ray Conner said. "Now, I can tell you that the demand is there... significant demand. So I'm not uncomfortable with the timing or with rate," he said. The remarks, among the most explicit by Boeing so far, further support the widely held view that the company is close to announcing another planned rate increase for the 737.
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Higher-capacity commercial plane variants gain traction
Size or more specifically, capacity, is important. That is the continuing message from airlines as they increasingly look to squeeze more revenue out of the necessarily limited gauge of the single-aisle market. The charge is led by the low-cost carriers (LLC) where high-density seating is as much a part of the business model as reduced operating costs and lower fares. Now, with the LLC sector promising to make up more than one-third of the future single-aisle market, both Airbus and Boeing are taking notice. The result is a growing number of higher-capacity models on offer or in development, and the progressive increase in average seat count across the range.
LinkAirlines
French Government Calls For End To Air France Strike
The French government has called for an end to the Air France pilots strike, now in its third day, as the dispute over cost cuts threatened 60 percent of the airline's flights on Wednesday. "This strike is weighing heavily on Air France, as well as on its finances, and on the attractiveness and the image of our country," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said during an interview with France Inter radio. "No one understands what this strike is about," he added. Budget Minister Emmanuel Macron similarly called for a swift resolution, telling Europe 1 radio that "we cannot accept that a country gets blocked because of just a few".
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American's CEO says integration is going as planned
Doug Parker, the chairman and CEO of American Airlines, said he gives high marks to the merger process with US Airways. "So far the integration is going well and very much according to plan," Parker said. In 2015, several integrations will continue, including integrating the two carriers onto a single reservation system.
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American Airlines president comments on Love Field
American Airlines Group Inc. president Scott Kirby acknowledged Tuesday that opening up Dallas Love Field to more flights will hurt American’s business at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport somewhat. But he said American’s schedule and premium products give American “a real competitive advantage.” Any harm will be relatively small, Kirby told a Morgan Stanley investor conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. The question came up because a 1980 law that limits service out of Love Field, the Wright amendment, expires Oct. 13. When that happens, airlines can fly nonstop from Love to any U.S. destination. Southwest Airlines Co. has announced new nonstop service to 17 cities out of Dallas, including 15 routes that will begin on Oct. 13 or Nov. 2. By early January, it plans to operate 153 departures at Love Field, up from about 120 now.
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Etihad CEO Says Airline Alliance Model 'Fractured'
The head of Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways dismissed global airline alliances as a 'fractured' model showing signs of strain, adding his carrier would instead invest in equity stakes and codeshare deals to grow. Etihad has aggressively pursued a global expansion strategy by picking acquiring stakes in eight airlines around the world, including Air Berlin, Aer Lingus, Virgin Australia and, most recently, Alitalia. But it has stayed away from global alliances, even as regional rival Qatar Airways joined the oneworld alliance last year and Emirates forged a revenue-sharing partnership with Qantas. "The model of alliances is fractured. See what happened to Qantas, Emirates and British Airways," Etihad's chief executive James Hogan told reporters on the sidelines of an IATA airlines conference in Abu Dhabi.
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FedEx quarterly results exceed expectations
FedEx Corp. reported a 24% increase in quarterly income for June through August, its fiscal first quarter, as compared to the same quarter last year. FedEx also plans to hire 50,000 temporary workers for holiday deliveries. Shares of FedEx rose 3.2% in mid-day trading on the quarterly results.
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Lufthansa orders 15 A320neos for Swiss
Swiss International Air Lines is to receive 15 Airbus A320neo jets following an order for the type from parent Lufthansa Group. The carrier will undergo the fleet renewal as part of a broad modernisation agreed by the Lufthansa executive board. No engine selection has been given for the A320neos which will be delivered to Swiss from 2019. Airbus has been carrying out ground tests of the first example which is fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines.
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Lufthansa to transform Eurowings into all-Airbus carrier
Lufthansa Group's Eurowings division is to become an all-Airbus operator after the German company approved an order for 10 A320s for the airline. The aircraft will be the "backbone" of Lufthansa's new low-cost operation, says the group. Lufthansa will also transfer 13 A320s from its current orders to the Eurowings division from 2015. It has not given an engine selection for the new A320s which will be the baseline model rather than the re-engined version of the single-aisle jet.
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Southwest CFO comments on pricing model for optional services
Tammy Romo, CFO of Southwest Airlines, said the carrier is not changing its policy on baggage fees. Southwest offers two checked bags per passenger for free. Romo said the carrier "has opportunities to grow ancillary revenue without charging for bags."
LinkRotary Wing
Bell 525 "lagging" behind Q4 first flight target
First flight of the Bell Helicopter 525 Relentless could fall slightly behind schedule, but the debut of the 505 JetRanger X is on track for the end of the year, chief executive John Garrison says. Garrison’s update comes only two days after an executive of parent Textron told a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley that the 525 super-medium helicopter was on track for a scheduled first flight by the end of the year. Answering questions while touring the exhibit halls at the African Aerospace and Defence airshow near Johannesburg, South Africa, Garrison said a delay is now more likely.
LinkMilitary
Lockheed outlines cost-saving design tweaks for F-35
Lockheed Martin and its program partners are putting up millions in investment dollars to redesign manufacturing methods for components of the F-35 Lightning II, in the hope of bringing the per-aircraft cost in line with existing fighters within five years. Lorraine Martin, who leads Lockheed’s F-35 program, outlined on 16 September a handful of the several hundred potential manufacturing and materials changes that seek to cut $10 million per year from the aircraft’s unit cost up to 2019. The company has promised that by then, the F-35A will cost $80 million or less.
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Peruvian navy buys surplus Dutch F50s
The Peruvian navy has purchased two surplus Royal Netherlands Air Force Fokker 50 transports. Previously operated by the air force's 334 Sqn from Eindhoven air base in the VIP transport role, aircraft U-05 (20253) and U-06 (20287) have been parked at Lelystad airport pending their sale, and kept in an airworthy situation and flown on a regular basis.
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Third Rivet Joint airframe to perform crucial testing for UK
A new series of flight tests involving an ageing Boeing KC-135 tanker will help to inform the UK Ministry of Defence about whether the aircraft will be able to secure full operational clearance as a converted signals intelligence asset. The Royal Air Force’s first RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft entered use earlier this year under the UK’s Airseeker acquisition, with another two due to be delivered in mid-2015 and during 2017.
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Aviation Quote
“I think it's dumb as hell, for Christ's sake all right, to sit here and pound the shit out of each other and neither one of us making a fvcking dime.
Well —
I mean, goddamn! What the fvck is the point of it?
Nobody asked American to serve Harlingen. Nobody asked American to serve Kansas City. . . . If you're going to overlay every route of American's on top of every route that Braniff has, I can't just sit here and allow you to bury us without giving you our best effort.
Oh sure, but Eastern and Delta do the same thing in Atlanta and have for years.
Do you have a suggestion for me?
Yes, I have a suggestion for you. Raise your goddamn fares twenty percent. I'll raise mine the next morning. You'll make more money and I will too.
Robert, we can't talk about pricing.
Oh, bullshit, Howard. We can talk about any goddamn thing we want to talk about.”
— Robert L. Crandall and Howard Putnam, from United States v. American Airlines Inc. and Robert L. Crandall, U.S. District Court, CA383-0325D.
On This Date
---In 1928... The 1st rotating-wing aircraft to fly the English Channel is the Cierva C-8L Autogyro flown by its designer, Spaniard, Juan de la Cierva.
---In 1928... The 1st flight of the Zeppelin LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin is made. It is the most successful rigid airship ever built, flown commercially on a regular basis from Europe to South America. It flies over a million miles and carries some 13,100 passengers before its demise in 1940.
---In 1947... The U.S. Air Force becomes an independent service within the unified U.S. armed forces. This change recognizes the fact that air power is to be the nation's 1st line of defense.
---In 1948... The 1st flight of a delta-wing jet airplane is made with the Convair XF-92A.
---In 1959… The Douglas DC-8 enters service with Delta Air Lines and United Air Lines.
---In 1968…First flight of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-20.
---In 1968…First flight of the Boeing 737-200C.
---In 1976…Death of legendary test pilot Albert Boyd.
---In 1984…Joe Kittinger makes the first solo transatlantic balloon flight, from Carbon, Maine to Savona, Italy.
---In 2002…First flight of the GE90-115B, world's most powerful jet engine.
Daily Video
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Humor
Engineer as a Designer of the Human Body
Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body.
One said, ``It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints.''
Another said, ``No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous systems many thousands of electrical connections.''
The last said, ``Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?''
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