CSeries edges closer to first flight, as payoff for gambles await Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney

The Montreal Gazette did a little digging with Canadian regulators and came up with this interesting piece, deducing the first flight of the Bombardier CSeries will come within the “next 11 days” (the story was dated Aug. 19)…. Read More

Key leaders hit back at Boeing “exodus” assertions; CSeries competition for the Big Two; A380 uses; Boeing hikes prices

Boeing’s WA ‘exodus’: Three key leaders in Washington State responded to the drumbeat from State. Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) that Boeing is in an “exodus” from Washington. Read the article here. We agree that the use of… Read More

Odds and Ends: Lorenzo weighs in support AA-US merger; lawsuit could delay AA RJ replacement; 93% airport concentration

Lorenzo supports AA-US merger: In a radio interview with Bloomberg news, Frank Lorenzo supports mergers in the US airline industry and the proposed one between American Airlines and US Airways. Lorenzo is the former CEO of Texas Air… Read More

DOJ lawsuit vs AA-US reads like political document

Note: Some articles of interest: Robert Crandall, former CEO of American, has this op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal (via Google News, so it should be accessible to Readers). With the concentration of airline service that the… Read More

Odds and Ends: Boeing’s secret 777X plan; Airbus wins big with British Airways parent

Secret 777X Plan: The Seattle Times reports that Boeing has some secret planning underway for assembly options for the 777X. This involves increasing the automation on the assembly (and thereby reducing manpower) and increasing the production rate to… Read More

DOJ “a day late and a dollar short” on merger concerns

The US Department of Justice’s lawsuit to block the merger of American Airlines and US Airways displays a concern that comes a little late. As far back as the Reagan Administration, DOJ had ample opportunity to take aggressive… Read More

Odds and Ends: Hazy on the 787-10; five companies eye turboprops

Hazy on the 787-10: Steven Udvar-Hazy, CEO of Air Lease Corp and one of the most influential persons in the aviation business, weighs in on the versatility of the Boeing 787-10 in this Aviation Week article. Hazy and… Read More

China short on re-engine orders, but nearly 400 C919 “commitments”

The Chinese government and airlines have very few orders for the re-engined Airbus A320neo family and Boeing 737 MAX. There are no identified Boeing 737 MAX orders in China and just 19 A320neos. There are 197 Unidentified MAX… Read More

Odds and Ends: SuperJet 100; cell phones on airplanes; 787 real-time monitoring; Crikey

SuperJet 100: This airplane, which is basically the old Dornier 728 jet design, was supposed to be Russia’s leap to western standards. It hasn’t worked out that way, according to this article. Cell Phones on Airplanes: There continues… Read More

Boeing: ExIm needed so we can do R&D, not finance planes; how about dropping stock buybacks instead?

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that a Boeing exec says the US Export-Import Bank is necessary to help finance Boeing aircraft so free cash flow can go toward R&D rather than financing customer orders. Hmm. We think… Read More