The struggling Boeing 747-8

News reports that Boeing is promoting the 747-8I to Emirates Airlines prompted some to leap to conclusions that the struggling program is about to get a sorely needed shot in the arm. We don’t think so. For one… Read More

New airplanes nearing fruition? A330neo, 757RS buzz increasing

Development of two airplanes–the Airbus A330neo and a replacement for the Boeing 757–may be pushing to the forefront, according to two news articles yesterday. Reuters reports that a decision whether to proceed with the Airbus A330neo could come… Read More

Odds and Ends: MH370 Update: Australians think hypoxia most likely, others still point to pilot misdeeds; and more

MH370: Australian investigators, having reevaluated evidence of missing Malaysian Airlines MH370, conclude that crew hypoxia may be the most likely reason the flight disappeared. But even within the Australian government, this is not a unanimous conclusion, and it’s… Read More

Asiana crash finding implicates Boeing somewhat, but our view is this is a pilot issue, plain and simple

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday lay the Probable Cause of the crash of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 last year at San Francisco as pilot error, but in the process implicated a “complex” auto-throttle system as… Read More

Southwest Air’s expansion to resume next year, says CEO

Southwest Airlines plans to complete the integration of AirTran by the end of this year, positioning the carrier to resume expansion into new markets, says CEO Gary Kelly. In an interview last week at WN’s Dallas headquarters, Kelly… Read More

Challenge 777X tax breaks, “correct” US ExIm Bank Boeing funding, says Airbus CEO

Challenge Boeing 777X tax breaks and adjust the US ExIm Bank rules. This is the view of Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier. We had the opportunity for what amounted to a one-on-one, on-the-record discussion with Bregier during the Airbus… Read More

Southwest sticks with continuous hub/point-to-point as core business strategy

American Airlines plans to shift from continuous hubbing at three of its major cities–an operational process where flights flow throughout the day–to return to traditional peak-and-valley hubbing. But Southwest Airlines, despite many significant changes to its business model… Read More

American easing away from continuous hubbing, returning to peak banking

American Airlines will ease away from the continuous hubbing that smooths operations at key airports, increases aircraft utilization and cuts costs as it returns to the peak-and-valley hub-and-spoke system adopted decades ago under former CEO Robert Crandall. Although… Read More

Next new, clean sheet airplane around 2030, says Airbus

Airbus currently is planning for the next new, clean sheet airplane around 2030 and now are focusing on incremental improvements to the existing product lines, officials said at the Innovations Days annual media briefing last week in Toulouse…. Read More

PW works toward 10% fuel efficiency gain for 2020’s GTF

With the Airbus A320neo expected to enter flight testing this fall, equipped with the Pratt & Whitney P1000G Geared Turbo Fan and the Bombardier CSeries, also with the GTF, already in testing, PW is already engaged in research… Read More