30 October 2015, ©. Leeham Co: There has been dramatic news this week around Bombardier’s (BBD) CSeries program. I wrote a subscribers article about what to expect in terms of the cash flow problem that the BBD management has been wrestling with. The announcements yesterday and the following earnings call confirmed the financial modelling I did with our aircraft modelling tool.
Having watched experienced Wall Street analysts being hard pressed to understand what has happened with the CSeries, I thought I could use this week’s corner to explain the overall economical flow of an aircraft program like the CSeries (there will be details in a follow up subscriber article). I will also put it in context with how it affects a company like BBD and what one must think about when it comes to timing of such projects.
To give the timing aspect more colour, I will also compare with Embraer and their E-Jet E2 project and Boeing’s 787 program. The three programs are very different and they demonstrate in an illustrative way the challenges of making a new civil airliner and that one must adapt the project to the company’s position and its strength and weaknesses.
Posted on October 30, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
Sept. 30, 2015, (c) Leeham Co.: The Boeing deals announced last week with China put the country into the spotlight about its commercial aviation ambitions.
For many, the various deals announced by Boeing raise alarm bells. For most, that fire horse already left the fire station. The smoke has been billowing out of China (or maybe that’s smog) for a long, long time.
Summary
By Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
Sep. 21 2015, ©. Leeham Co: Comparing and evaluating operational and economic performance of competing airliners is a complex task that requires analysis of thousands of parameters.
It’s not unknown for smaller airlines to have limited capability to undertake these difficult analyses. Accordingly, they often rely on the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for their analysis on behalf of the potential customer.
Unfortunately, the OEM’s have little incentive to provide an unbiased view of either their products nor those of their competitors.
Thorough evaluations require quite some preparations. If these preparations are not carried out correctly, the result can be biased to the extent that the evaluation method dictates which’s the best aircraft and not the most suitability aircraft for the task. We will in a series of articles cover how aircraft evaluations are done and how evaluation pitfalls can be avoided.
Summary:
Posted on September 21, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
Part 3
Sept. 14, 2015, © Leeham Co. It’s only been three months since the Paris Air Show and there have been some significant developments in the world that have impact on commercial aviation:
We talked with Paulo Cesar, president and CEO of Embraer at the Paris Air Show on some of these topics. We caught up with him Sept. 2 in Seattle, revisiting these topics and talking about more.
Posted on September 14, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Part 2
Sept. 10, 2015, © Leeham Co. Embraer is the dominant producer of commercial aircraft in the 70-125 seat sector, having overtaken Bombardier in the last decade following the development and 2004 introduction of the E-Jet. Bombardier’s CRJ family struggles, hampered by a sales force that neglected it and the Q400 turbo-prop as attention focused on the new CSeries.
Embraer in recent years faced new competition. However, the early entries—AVIC’s ARJ21 and the Sukhoi Superjet SJ100, both in the 70-90 seat sector, proved little to worry about. The ARJ21, now eight years late, proved to be a technological and industrial dud, a project that was more about learning how to design and build an airplane than producing a commercially viable one.
The SSJ100, while winning favorable reviews, was and continues to be plagued by a poor production system and in recent years the political overhang of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its war in Ukraine.
Shortly, though, the E-190 faces a new challenger: the Mitsubishi MRJ90. It’s two years late, now forecasting an entry-into-service of 2017—just one year ahead of the redesigned E-190, the E-190 E2. The MRJ90, a 90-seat clean-sheet design, is Japan’s first commercial airliner since the NAMC YS-11 turbo-prop of the 1960s. The MRJ90’s first flight is scheduled for the second half of next month. Full flight testing moves to Washington State in the first quarter next year.
Posted on September 10, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Airlines, Boeing, Bombardier, CSeries, Embraer, Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas, Mitsubishi
767, A320, A400M, Airbus, Boeing 737, Bombardier, C-130, CRJ, E-175, E-175-E2, E-190, E-190 E2, E-195, E-Jet, Embraer, International Aero Engines, KC-390, Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas, MD-90, Mitsubishi, MRJ90, Paulo Cesar, Q400, SkyWest Airlines, Trans States Airlines, V2500
Part 1
Sept. 9, 2015, © Leeham Co.: The chief executive officer of Embraer’s commercial aircraft unit believes a trend might be emerging for US major airlines to directly operate 100- and plus-100 seat aircraft (and below the 125-seat sector), opening new opportunities currently precluding the largest E-Jets, and by implication, competing jets.
US major airlines have generally migrated away from the 100-125 seat aircraft, up-gauging to the 150-162 seat Airbus A320s and Boeing 737-800s and their re-engined successor. The “baby” Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the A319ceo/neo and 737-700/7, haven’t sold well in recent years.
But the Embraer E-195 E2, at 122 seats in a comfortable single-class configuration and somewhat smaller in two class, hasn’t yet penetrated the US market. Neither has the Bombardier CS100, a 100-110 seat aircraft in two- or single-class configuration.
Delta Air Lines is bucking history with acquisition of 88 inexpensive Boeing 717s from the used airplane market. Southwest Airlines and United Airlines are acquiring used 737-700s and United agreed to lease in 25 used A319s.
Cheap fuel and cheap capital costs help these decisions. But Paulo Cesar, president and CEO of Embraer’s commercial unit, sees an opportunity for his airplane.
Posted on September 9, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
Aug. 20, 2015, © Leeham Co.: Conventional wisdom credits Bombardier’s CSeries with being the disruptor that prompted Airbus to launch the A320neo, which in turn caused Boeing to launch the 737 MAX and Embraer to launch its E-Jet E2.
But an academic paper by John Slattery, chief commercial officer for Embraer, reveals that David Hess, the former president of Pratt & Whitney, credits Mitsubishi rather than Bombardier as the catalyst for the dramatic changes that followed.
In a paper entitled Resources & Rivalry, A Case Study of The Single-Aisle Commercial Jet Manufacturing Industry, Slattery interview present and former executives of the Big Four airframe manufactures, the former CEO of ILFC and officials of P&W.
The paper provides a chronicle of thinking leading to decisions to move ahead with new airplane projects, including re-engining the A320 and 737 rather than proceeding with new, clean-sheet designs.
The interviews debunk some of the conventional wisdom surrounding the variety of programs. We’ll periodically report the findings of Slattery’s paper, starting with PW and Mitsubishi.
Posted on August 20, 2015 by Scott Hamilton
By Bjorn Fehrm
Introduction
04 Aug 2015, © Leeham Co.: Boeing has for the last 20 years used an internal set of rules called Integrated Airplane Configuration ruleset, or IAC for short, for how it describes its own and competitors’ aircraft. These configuration rules, while comprehensive and consistently applied, have some problems, the most obvious is that they are 20 years old.
The IAC rules have filled an important role for Boeing: they have been the yard-stick how its different aircraft stack up but also how to value competitor’s aircraft. All aircraft in Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) have been configured and scrutinized with IAC.
The world of civil airliners have moved on since the creation of IAC in the early 1990s and there was time for an overhaul. This has now been done, after several years of internal work the new configuration rules are ready for prime time under the name of “Boeing Standard Rules”.
The most externally visual effect is that officially published seat information and performance data for Boeing’s aircraft change. The configuration ruleset dictates how everything is measured against a standardized set of parameters for each aircraft type and use.
We talked with Boeing’s Director for Product Marketing, Jim Haas, how to decipher the changes and how aircraft stack up before and after being “Standardized”. Read more
Posted on August 5, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
By Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
04 Aug 2015, © Leeham Co.: Yesterday we started our deeper look at Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation’s new MRJ90 and compared it with one of the aircraft that it aspires to replace, Bombardier’s (BBD) CRJ900. We outlined similarities and differences in architecture, dimensions, weights and payload capabilities.
We will now finish the analysis with a study of the fuel consumption performance of the two aircraft on a typical regional route network. Finally, we will discuss at what net price a MRJ90 would be motivated against the incumbent regional aircraft CRJ900 from BBD.
Summary:
Posted on August 4, 2015 by Bjorn Fehrm
August 3, 2015, © Leeham Co.: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. today opened its Seattle Engineering Center jointly with local company AeroTEC in advance of the first flight of the MRJ90 in September or October. During the second quarter of next year, four of five MRJ Flight Test Vehicles will be domiciled in Moses Lake in Central Washington for the bulk of the flight testing over the following year. Entry into service is planned for 2Q2017 with launch customer All Nippon Airways.
The engineering center represents the first in Washington State for an aircraft OEM other than Boeing. Mitsubishi will assign 50 engineers from Japan to the new SEC, in South Seattle a short distance from Boeing Field. One hundred engineers will be hired locally.
AeroTEC and Mitsubishi began discussing working together only last January, said president Lee Human, who added that the seven months from January to the opening of the SEC today was remarkable for the speed in which negotiations, contracts, permits and hiring was achieved.
Posted on August 3, 2015 by Scott Hamilton