We believe Airbus is close to launching an “A350-900LR” (Long Range) in response to talks with Singapore Airlines for a longer-range airplane.
July 14, 2015 © Leeham Co. Singapore Airlines is in talks with Airbus and Boeing about an Ultra-Long Haul airplane that can fly from Singapore to the US non-stop.
The talks were first reported by Bloomberg News June 17, during the Paris Air Show.
Singapore discontinued the flights to Los Angeles and Newark when rising fuel prices made operation of the Airbus A340-500 used on the trips uneconomic.
Boeing currently has one airplane capable of service to Los Angeles, the current generation 777-200LR, which has a standard range of 8,665nm but not to Newark which is 8,300nm great-circle without the unpopular Additional Cargo-bay Tanks (ACT), any wind or longer range alternate would exceed the capabilities of 777-200LR in standard config. Los Angeles is 7,560nm from Singapore and when flying west the extra range in the standard 777-200LR would be needed to combat the prevailing westerly winds on the mission.
The Airbus A350-900 has a range of 7,900nm when transporting the same 301 passengers as 777-200LR. Boeing’s forthcoming 777-8X has a planned range of 9,300nm but it’s entry-into-service isn’t planned until around 2022.
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Airbus A380neo not yet a project
Drilling down into the story and checking with Airbus, as well as going back to Bregier interviews at the Paris Air Show and one we did with him at the IATA AGM in early June, it’s clear the Sunday Times was somewhat exuberant in its headline.
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53 Comments
Posted on July 21, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Dubai Air Show, Emirates Airlines, Leeham News and Comment, Qatar Airways, Rolls-Royce
A380, A380neo, Airbus, Dubai Air Show, Emirates Airline, Fabrice Bregier, Qatar Airways, Rolls-Royce, Rolls-Royce Advance engine
Options for Singapore Airlines to operate direct flights to the US.
By Bjorn Fehrm
Subscription required.
July 20, 2015 © Leeham Co. Last week week we wrote about how Singapore Airlines is in talks with Airbus and Boeing to find a suitable solution for its Ultra-Long Haul airplane needs. Now we go deeper into the subject, looking at the background to the need, the aircraft options and their economics.
We also check if the different aircraft options could open the famous Singapore-New York route again, this time with acceptable fuel economics.
Summary:
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8 Comments
Posted on July 20, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
Airbus, Boeing, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways
777, 777-300ER, 777X, 787, A330, A350, A350-1000, Airbus, Boeing
Airbus in talks with Singapore for ultra-long range airplane; “A350-900LR” likely
We believe Airbus is close to launching an “A350-900LR” (Long Range) in response to talks with Singapore Airlines for a longer-range airplane.
July 14, 2015 © Leeham Co. Singapore Airlines is in talks with Airbus and Boeing about an Ultra-Long Haul airplane that can fly from Singapore to the US non-stop.
The talks were first reported by Bloomberg News June 17, during the Paris Air Show.
Singapore discontinued the flights to Los Angeles and Newark when rising fuel prices made operation of the Airbus A340-500 used on the trips uneconomic.
Boeing currently has one airplane capable of service to Los Angeles, the current generation 777-200LR, which has a standard range of 8,665nm but not to Newark which is 8,300nm great-circle without the unpopular Additional Cargo-bay Tanks (ACT), any wind or longer range alternate would exceed the capabilities of 777-200LR in standard config. Los Angeles is 7,560nm from Singapore and when flying west the extra range in the standard 777-200LR would be needed to combat the prevailing westerly winds on the mission.
The Airbus A350-900 has a range of 7,900nm when transporting the same 301 passengers as 777-200LR. Boeing’s forthcoming 777-8X has a planned range of 9,300nm but it’s entry-into-service isn’t planned until around 2022.
Read more
126 Comments
Posted on July 14, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Airlines, Boeing
777-200LR, 777-8, 777LR, A350-900, A350-900LR, Airbus, Boeing, Singapore Airlines
Bjorn’s Corner: Electrical flight, how real?
By Bjorn Fehrm
10 July 2015, ©. Leeham Co: We have just witnessed the first solar electrical aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, cross the ocean from Tokyo to Hawaii. Today, Friday, Airbus Group will cross the English Channel with a battery powered electrical aircraft, the E-Fan.
How real is electrical flying? Real enough to make demonstration flights like the one to Hawaii and to Calais. Both these aircraft are technology demonstrators but it is symptomatic that they do these hops now, 2015.
Airbus Group’s E-Fan aircraft is preparing to cross the English Channel. Source: Airbus.
We live in the years when electrical cars have gone from exotic one-offs to serial produced products, still expensive but more and more practical. Why should not the aircraft industry follow? Read more
27 Comments
Posted on July 10, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
Airbus, Bjorn's Corner, EADS, Eco-Aviation, Future aircraft
Airbus, Airbus Group, E-Fan, Eco-Aviation, Solar Impulse
Mid-Year pause: warning signs for Airbus and Boeing?
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Introduction
July 9, 2015, © Leeham Co. At the half way point of 2015, there are a number of signs emerging that require some interpretation. Some are signs of caution. Others are Go Slow.
Summary
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1 Comment
Posted on July 9, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Boeing, China, Paris Air Show, Premium
747-8, 777, 777-300ER, 777F, 777X, A330-300R, A350, Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, China, CS100, CS300, CSeries, E-Jet, Embraer
Boeing’s McNerney on 787 costs, obsoleting airplanes
July 8, 2015: Bloomberg News interviewed Jim McNerney, then-CEO of The Boeing Co., June 15 at the Paris Air Show. (McNerney relinquished his CEO title a week later to Dennis Muilenburg.)
Although McNerney got it wrong on the ExIm Bank (he predicted approval before the sunset June 30), the other information he shared is interesting to hear.
The comments about obsoleting airplanes at a faster rate than ever before is a particularly interesting observation. Lessors base much of their business plan on expected useful life of the airplanes, residual values and the ability to sell aircraft for profit before obsolescence. Useful lives typically have been 25 years (before any freighter conversion potential), but the industry has been seeing some scrapping of far younger airplanes, both in the single-aisle and wide-body sectors–and not just for odd-ball airplanes like the Airbus A318. Airbus A319s, Boeing 737-700s, A320s, 737-800s and 777-200ERs have been sent to the scrap heap at relatively young ages that were unheard of a decade ago.
15 Comments
Posted on July 8, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Boeing
737-700, 737-800, 777-200ER, 787, A318, A319, A320, Airbus, Boeing, ExIm Bank, Jim McNerney
Boeing in line for large freighter order
July 8, 2015, © Leeham Co.: Boeing may be close to a large cargo airplane deal that could solve several near-term problems, Leeham News and Comment has learned.
It’s not the 747-8F and the 777F may play only a small part of the transaction.
The plane is the venerable 767-300F, the old lady in the Boeing line up that is chugging along with just 35 in backlog, all for package carrier FedEx.
According to Market Intelligence, FDX is likely to order as many as 50 more 767-300Fs and perhaps up to 10 777Fs, a plane it has previously deferred.
FedEx has a board meeting this month in Seattle.
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42 Comments
Posted on July 8, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Boeing
767-300F, 777F, A300-600, Airbus, Boeing, Dennis Muilenburg, FedEx, Jim McNerney, MD-10, MD-11
Airbus, Boeing YTD orders assessed (Update)
Figure 1. Click on image to enlarge.
Update, July 8: In our original post, we omitted 44 Boeing 737NGs from the YTD firm orders. The charts and text have been updated to reflect this information.
July 7, 2015, © Leeham Co. Airbus pulled ahead of Boeing in firm orders through June, and both companies have a number of commitments that were announced at the Paris Air Show that aren’t included in the year-to-date tally.
Airbus leads with single-aisle orders and Boeing leads with widebody orders, but at the half-way point of the year, the contest is far from over. The leads could shift or increase, depending on how the balance of the year goes.
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20 Comments
Posted on July 7, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Airlines, Boeing, China, Paris Air Show
737 MAX, 737 MAX 200, 777-300ER, 787, A321NEO, A330ceo, A350, Airbus, Boeing, Korean Air Lines, Volga=Dnepr, Wizz Air
Pontifications: ExIm reform
By Scott Hamilton
July 6, 2015, © Leeham Co. The US ExIm Bank authorization expired last week. As readers know, I’m a strong advocate of renewal of the authorization. Boeing, and other companies, hope reauthorization can be achieved this month.
I won’t restate the reasons I think ExIm should be reauthorized, nor my utter disdain for the right-wing Republicans and Tea Party types who don’t get that the Bank helps Boeing sell airplanes and sustain or create jobs. I’ve written about this many times, and the competitive disadvantage Boeing will have vs Airbus, whose European Credit Agencies will take full advantage of this.
But there are some points on the “other side” to revisit.
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27 Comments
Posted on July 6, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, CFM, CSeries, Delta Air Lines, Embraer, Emirates Airlines, Pontifications, Pratt & Whitney, United Airlines
Airbus, Boeing, Delta Air Lines, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, ExIm Bank, Judson Rollins, SkyWriter Aviation, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines
CSeries performance improvement demystified
By Bjorn Fehrm
Subscription required
Introduction
July 6, 2015, © Leeham Co. Bombardier presented a slew of new data for their CSeries aircraft during Paris Air Show. Listening to Bombardier (BBD) officials it sounded like there was only positive news: increased range, better fuel economy, better field performance and lower per seat costs.
We have commented on the released information in two articles when at the Paris Air Show, “Bombardier makes it official: CSeries exceeds advertised numbers” and “CSeries range even better than Bombardier revealed.” We now follow up these articles with an analysis of the furnished figures to reveal how these improved performance figures were achieved.
Aircraft programs use sophisticated modeling tools to understand what performance a finished aircraft will have. A 10% range increase with standard payload from 2,950nm to 3,300nm does not come from any miscalculations with such tools. Nor does it come from claimed lower fuel consumption due to lower airframe drag alone.
There are other contributing factors. Using our proprietary model to identify the factors, we explain how BBD has achieved the claimed higher performance.
Summary:
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2 Comments
Posted on July 6, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, CSeries, Paris Air Show, Pratt & Whitney, Premium
787, A350, Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Bombardierm CSeries, CSeries, GTF, Pratt & Whitney
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