Leeham News and Analysis
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Bjorn’s Corner: Faster aircraft development. Part 25. The Difference between Continuing and Continuous Airworthiness.
By Bjorn Fehrm
January 39, 2026, ©. Leeham News: We have done a series about ideas on how the long development times for large airliners can be shortened, while at the same time describing all the regulatory work that must be done, regardless of work practices.
It’s now time to sum up what we have looked at in terms of speeding up the development of a Part 25 Air Transport airliner in the 200-seat segment. But before we do that, we will look at what an operator of the aircraft we have delivered will have to do to qualify it for operation with its local regulator.
For an operator to operate our aircraft, Continued Airworthiness, as described in last week’s article, is not enough; the Operator must add what can be called Continuing Airworthiness. These words are close but not the same, and there is a substantial difference in what’s behind them.
The Abundance Problem: Why the FAA Has Spent 40 Years Modernizing Air Traffic Control—and Still Isn’t Done
By Vincent E. Bianco III
FAA Veteran and Senior Aviation Safety Consultant
Guest Column
Credit: Federal Aviation Administration.
Jan. 13, 2026, © Leeham News: Presidential administrations and Congresses dating to the formation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 
1957 have failed to adequately fund the agency and modernize the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. An insider examines why.—Editor.
Introduction: A Crisis of Process Over Progress
In their book Abundance: What America Gets Wrong About Capitalism and What We Can Do to Fix It, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson describe a phenomenon in which institutions become paralyzed by process—where layers of well-intentioned rules accumulate, each logical in isolation, but together quietly stifling the very progress they intend to nurture.
This scenario is not theoretical for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); it is a reality for anyone involved in its modernization programs. The FAA’s experience over the past four decades serves as a case study in how process can overwhelm purpose.
Boeing seeks ICAO exemption for 777-200LRF to offset 777-8F delays, MD-11F grounding
Dec. 19, 4:15pm CST: Updated with Boeing comment.
By Scott Hamilton
Dec. 19, 2025, © Leeham News: Boeing has asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to grant an exemption to the 2017 ICAO fuel efficiency rules that mean an end to production of the 777-200LRF freighter on Dec. 31, 2027.
Boeing seeks approval by May 1 next year.
“The requested relief will allow Boeing to meet anticipated customer demand and support the substantial public interest in the sustained transportation of air cargo prior to the 777-8F entering service. This petition therefore requests exemption of a total quantity of 35 777F airplanes until achievement of 777-8F first delivery and entry into service,” Boeing wrote in its filing today with the FAA.
FedEx is among the large users of the Boeing 777F. The airplane is scheduled to go out of production on Dec. 31, 2027, due to international regulations. Boeing has asked for an exemption to continue production. Credit: Fed Ex.
“Additional 777Fs are needed after January 1, 2028, to maintain an uninterrupted supply of large freighters to the market prior to the introduction of the 777-8F,” Boeing wrote. The company asked the FAA to extend the exemption outside the US.
Continued certification delays for the new generation 777X, including the 777-8F freighter, are the reason. Certification has been moved to a goal of 2026. Entry into service (EIS) of the passenger 777-9, the lead of the family, is now planned for 2027. EIS for the 777-8F has a goal of 2029, but some customers already believe this won’t happen until 2030. EIS of the passenger 777-8 follows the freighter by a year.
The 777-9 was supposed to enter service in 1Q2020, with the 777-8P two years later and the freighter two years after that. EIS for the freighter was moved up to be second once the FAA agreed to adopt the 2017 ICAO emission standards. The standards mean the end of production of the Boeing 767-300ERF and the 777-200LRF by the end of 2027.
Alternative energy companies certification seen in two years
By Scott Hamilton
Billy Nolen, former acting administrator of the FAA. Credit: ZeroAvia.
Dec. 16, 2025, © Leeham News, Washington (DC): A former acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration predicts that alternative technology aircraft will be plying the US skies in two years.
Billy Nolen was acting administrator from April 1, 2022, to June 2023. He predicts that three companies will be certified. He did not name the companies, but referred to supersonic and hybrid propulsion.
Nolen appeared at the monthly meeting of the AeroClub Washington (DC) on Dec. 2 along with three other former top FAA officials.
“I am optimistic about, I believe that in two years, we will probably have three companies that will be certified. We will continue to show the use cases. You’ve got other forms of hybrid propulsion. We’ll have supersonic travel. It could come at a better time,” he said.
Nolen was named in March as Senior Strategy & Regulatory Advisor of ZeroAvia, which is developing hydrogen-powered aircraft. He is the chief regulatory officer for Archer, an eVTOL company. His resume does not list an affiliation with Boom SuperSonic, which is developing an 88-passenger SST designed to be capable of using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Boom’s potential certification, however, will go beyond the two-year horizon Nolen suggested.
Nolen also said Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become increasingly common and that the FAA will benefit from it.
“AI is here. If we use it wisely, we will have an agency that in two years’ time will have the structure, the tools, the capabilities, the talent, and most importantly, the money that needs to go into the national economy.”
Boeing’s “hangover” of the MAX is over, says former acting FAA administrator who dealt with crisis
By Scott Hamilton
Dan Elwell, former acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Credit: Alaska Airlines.
Dec. 3, 2025, © Leeham News, Washington (DC): Boeing’s “hangover” and PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome) following the 737 MAX crisis of 2019 and beyond is over, says the former acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who had to deal with the fallout before Congress.
Dan Elwell faced investigations from hostile Congressional hearings, a criminal probe, civil litigation, an Inspector General’s inquiry from the FAA’s parent department, and in-depth reporting from many newspapers and television media in the months after the second of two MAXes crashed in March 2019, five months after the first fatal accident. The probes, lawsuits and civil and criminal discoveries revealed serious safety and quality control shortfalls at Boeing and shortcomings of the FAA’s oversight of the company and certification of the MAX.
“The FAA still is sort of feeling and nursing sort of the wounds,” Elwell said during an appearance on Dec. 2 at the monthly luncheon of the AeroClub of Washington (DC). “There was a certain amount of MAX PTSD after the pressures that hung around for a while” at Boeing and the FAA.
Elwell said that the biggest challenge he felt was trying to get both the agency and the “really outstanding engineers and people” who work at Boeing to sort of put it behind them, and do what they know best with confidence. Then, Elwell said, it was necessary to support those who were doing what they know how to do best.
“I think…the FAA is getting there,” he said, adding that Boeing is also making progress. Then company is meeting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that they’re following, and recently received FAA approval to increase the 737 production rate from 38/mo to 42/mo. Boeing wants to further increase rates to 47/mo and 52/mo in two “rate breaks” next year.
Dubai Air Show: 777X, flight demos.
From our partners at AIN:
Nov. 25, 2025, © Leeham News: LNA’s partner AIN attended the Dubai Air Show and has now posted videos from the event. There are also two unrelated stories about the US Federal Aviation Administration’s efforts to modernize the Air Traffic Control system.
Videos from the Dubai Air Show, and more:
AIN Reporting
Bjorn’s Corner: Faster aircraft development. Part 16. Certification Compliance Planning.
By Bjorn Fehrm and Henry Tam
November 14, 2025, ©. Leeham News: We do a series about ideas on how the long development times for large airliners can be shortened. New projects talk about cutting development time and reaching certification and production faster than previous projects.
The series will discuss the typical development cycles for an FAA Part 25 aircraft, called a transport category aircraft, and what different ideas there are to reduce the development times.
We will use the Gantt plan in Figure 1 as a base for our discussions. We are in the Detailed Design phase and working with the Certification Compliance plan.
Figure 1. A generic new Part 25 airliner development plan. Source: Leeham Co. Click to see better.
*** Special thanks to Andrew Telesca for helping with this article ***
As ATC collapses, FAA modernization funding remains elusive
By Colleen Mondor
Nov. 4, 2025, © Leeham News: The US Air Traffic Control (ATC) system is melting down as the US federal government shutdown takes its toll on an already overstressed, understaffed, underfunded, antiquated system.
A deadly mid-air collision on Jan. 29 this year, several near-collisions between airliners on the ground, and system slowdowns plague the ATC system.
In the past few months, there has been a flurry of announcements from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the FAA concerning plans to upgrade and modernize the ATC system.
The new system, which, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, enjoys “an unprecedented coalition of support,” is projected to cost $31.5bn and will take 3-4 years to complete—a timeline that draws skepticism from many aviation circles.
The DOT website insists the program will be the envy of the world and “enhance safety in the sky, reduce delays, and unlock the future of air travel.” It lists critical actions in the plan as:
- Replacing antiquated telecommunications: with new fiber, wireless, and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites, 25,000 new radios, and 475 new voice switches.
- Replacing 618 radars that have gone past their life cycle.
- Addressing runway safety by increasing the number of airports with the Surface Awareness Initiative to 200.
- Building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s and replacing towers and TRACONs.
- Installing new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities to create a standard platform system throughout towers, TRACONs, and centers.
- Addressing the challenges that Alaska faces by adding 174 new weather stations.
A proposed timeline for the system’s actions can be found here.
Bjorn’s Corner: Faster aircraft development. Part 13. Preliminary Design Review, PDR.
By Bjorn Fehrm and Henry Tam
October 24, 2025, ©. Leeham News: We do a series about ideas on how the long development times for large airliners can be shortened. New projects talk about cutting development time and reaching certification and production faster than previous projects.
The series will discuss the typical development cycles for an FAA Part 25 aircraft, called a transport category aircraft, and what different ideas there are to reduce the development times.
We will use the Gantt plan in Figure 1 as a base for our discussions. Today’s topic, the Preliminary Design Reviews, PDRs, are marked in the chart.
Figure 1. A generic new Part 25 airliner development plan with PDR marked in time. Source: Leeham Co. Click to see better.
Bjorn’s Corner: Faster aircraft development. Part 12. Preliminary Design; Requirements Definition.
By Bjorn Fehrm and Henry Tam
October 17, 2025, ©. Leeham News: We do a series about ideas on how the long development times for large airliners can be shortened. New projects talk about cutting development time and reaching certification and production faster than previous projects.
The series will discuss the typical development cycles for an FAA Part 25 aircraft, called a transport category aircraft, and what different ideas there are to reduce the development times.
We will use the Gantt plan in Figure 1 as a base for our discussions. We added two milestones to our Program Plan, which we will refer to in the articles: Preliminary Design Review and Critical Design Review. Here is their definition according to NASA:
The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) demonstrates that the preliminary design meets all system requirements with acceptable risk and within the cost and schedule constraints, and establishes the basis for proceeding with detailed design. It shows that the correct design options have been selected, interfaces have been identified, and verification methods have been described. The PDR should address and resolve critical, system-wide issues and show that work can begin on detailed design.
The Critical Design Review (CDR) demonstrates that the maturity of the design is appropriate to support proceeding with full-scale fabrication, assembly, integration, and test. CDR determines if the technical effort is on track to complete the system development, meeting mission performance requirements within the identified cost and schedule constraints.
Figure 1. A generic new Part 25 airliner development plan. Source: Leeham Co. Click to see better.
*** Special thanks to Andrew Telesca for helping with this article***