Odds and Ends: 777X features; progress on A350, 787-9 and CSeries

777X features: More details are emerging about the planned features of the Boeing 777X.

Progress, Progress, Progress: The CSeries prototype gets its tail number, the Boeing 787-9 is taking shape, and the first A350 has been painted.

Richard Branson in drag: this speaks for itself.

EADS North America on Sequester: The CEO, Sean O’Keefe, has this Op-Ed commentary on Sequester. He doesn’t pull punches.

14 Comments on “Odds and Ends: 777X features; progress on A350, 787-9 and CSeries

  1. What a horrible apparition. Imagine you have settled into the “comfort” of your Air Asia X economy class seat – only to wake up and be confronted by a red lipstick wearing, pantyhosed, publicity seeking, bearded, elderly tycoon pretending to be a flight attendant. It’s the stuff of nightmares!

    • Hmm, what about:
      You (try to) complain with the captain and Maggie Thatcher sets her withering stare on you, the copilot looks “emanciated” and you finally notice the nightmare doesn’t stop there !?

  2. Some “jump seat pilots” over at a.net might be upset Boeing didn’t invite them to the design team the airlines are on for the B-777X. Good to see the test flight CS-100 got a tail number in Canada. I can’t wait to see pictures of the first B-787-9 when it is completed and in the Boeing livery. Speaking of liveries, just when is Airbus going to drop that boring livery they have? I know the A-350 will look much, much better in several airlines liveries.

    No comment on Sir Richard Branson.

    • kc135topboom :
      Speaking of liveries, just when is Airbus going to drop that boring livery they have?

      Not for a good while, it seems as they’d probably tie a new livery to the presentation of a new plane. A360, anybody?

  3. Several big orders coming up for Airbus if the press are to believed, including more Neos and A350s, (albeit -900s): Kuwait AW, China AL, plus Qatar for A330s. Also Jet Airways, but shared in this case with Boeing. Earlier this year Airbus set a target of ca. 650 sales and it looks like they’ll be there by the middle of the year. Can’t see them putting their feet up for the rest of the year though!

  4. Wow, I must say I’m impressed with the A350, very rarely does the finished thing actually look like the renderings, the A350 is actually the plane that’s come the closest so far. Love the cockpit windows too.

    Though I do agree with KCTopbla(never thought that’d happen) that the Airbus in-house livery is kinda boring now, and I was hoping they do something new with the A350, but I guess they’re going minimalist with everything, since Boeing ruined the importance and meaning of a roll-out with the 787.

    • “ZorroBus” windows ( nod: Amiga’s ZorroBus ):
      wondering why the side windows have distinct framing but are said to be fixed.

    • Very sleek looking airplane and wingtips. The inboard wing kind of reminds me of the 707 and the A380. Boeing has their work cut out for them on the 777x.

  5. The A350 nose has character, like the 707 had and still has after all those years. I wonder if the airlines will retain the black window contour though, unless it’s a standard feature.

    • Looks just a little bit like a Raccoon but then I remember (wiki) were I have seen such black windows before: space shuttle

      In my opinion the nose is a small win for airbus.

      Why airbus should have changed the livery? What about a Mercedes Benz with a new star/propeller in front?

      • MHalblaub :
        Looks just a little bit like a Raccoon but then I remember (wiki) were I have seen such black windows before: space shuttle

        True – well spotted!

        MHalblaub
        Why airbus should have changed the livery? What about a Mercedes Benz with a new star/propeller in front?

        Not quite the same thing – we’re talking about changing the livery, not the logo. As it happens, Airbus did actually update their logo and title font somewhat a few years ago (tying in with EADS renaming/reorganising their various subsidiaries), without changing the Airbus corporate livery.
        To illustrate: the A380 first flew in the current livery, but with this font/logo:
        http://www.arobanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/airbus_logo.jpg

        The current logo/font (introduced in 2010) is this:
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Airbus_logo.png

  6. Congratulations to the hardworking men and women at Airbus! That is a nice looking aircraft. It still blows my mind what a new aircraft like this represents, years of careful work and planning by thousands of people all over the world on millions of parts. Amazing!

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