Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- RTX Q1 2025 Earnings: GTF Talk Takes A Back Seat To Tariffs April 22, 2025
- Tariffs Tumult Takes Over GE Aerospace Q1 2025 Earnings Call April 22, 2025
- Boeing reports mixed results of latest employee survey, but middle management and officers remain key obstacles April 22, 2025
- Hopes for 1Q financial progress turns into bumpy ride for Boeing April 21, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 18. April 18, 2025
Airbus delivers record 718 aircraft amid strong sales
By Bjorn Fehrm
January 15, 2018, ©. Leeham Co: Airbus announced record 2017 airliner deliveries of 718 aircraft today. It was the 15th consecutive year of increased production, this time with 30 aircraft over 2016. Fabrice Bregier, the Chief Operating Officer of Airbus, predicted Airbus would pass Boeing in deliveries by 2020.
The company also booked its third best year in orders, with 1,109 aircraft giving a Book-to-Bill of 1.5. The backlog is at a record 7,256 aircraft (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Summary of Airbus 2017 orders and deliveries. Source: Airbus.
Bombardier 2Q results: Turn around on track as Business aircraft, Trains perform well
By Bjorn Fehrm
July 28, 2017, ©. Leeham Co: Bombardier presented its 2Q2017 results this morning. Performance followed guidance, with stronger than expected margins in business aircraft and trains. Overall the business tracks the turnaround plan, presented end 2015.
Because of constrained delivery of Pratt & Whitney GTF engines for 1H 2017, only seven CSeries got delivered. A full year delivery of around 30 CSeries is still the target.
Mitsubishi and ANA show MRJ commitment
June 18, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) CEO Shunichi Miyanaga and the Vice Chairman of ANA Holidings, Osamu Shinobe, gave the full backing to the MRJ program today, when presenting an ANA liveried test aircraft at the Paris Air Show.
Airbus earnings preview: supplier issues depress deliveries
April 26, 2017: The Airbus 1Q2017 earnings call is tomorrow.
Problems with the Pratt & Whitney GTF and slower-than-expected ramp-up of the CFM LEAP affected A320neo deliveries in the quarter. Continuing problems with interiors supply depressed A350 deliveries.
We have earnings previews from two investment banks that cover Airbus.
The Boom SST engine challenges: Summary
By Bjorn Fehrm
Subscription required
Introduction
December 19, 2016, ©. Leeham Co: It’s time to round off our article series around the engine for a Supersonic Transport Aircraft (SST). The series was triggered by Boom Technologies’ plans to launch a business class-only SST with Virgin Atlantic signing up to buy the aircraft if Boom succeeds.
Our initial articles described the problems involved in making a Mach 2 SST. We singled out the engine with nacelle as the most difficult challenge.
Figure 1. Boom Technologies’ Mach 2.2 airliner with 45 business seats. Source: Boom.
Subsequent articles focused how to select an engine for such an aircraft. The requirements are pretty unique and forces design choices which are contrary to a normal airliner engine.
Today, the words “low bypass ratio” and “low overall pressure ratio” are nonexistent in engine OEMs’ brochures. Yet this is what we need for our SST. Having covered the cruise phase in Part 4, we now close with take-off/landing and what else to think of when propelling an SST.
Summary:
- An SST aircraft needs low bypass engines with a low overall pressure ratio. This is contrary to all normal airliners’ needs.
- The engines need to be housed in nacelles with variable inlets and outlets.
- As a consequence, a configuration with three engines is questionable. A two engine layout would be more optimal.
Bjorn’s Corner: Flight control, Part 4
By Bjorn Fehrm
1 April 2016, ©. Leeham Co: Last week we described the computer augmented flight controls that are possible with Fly-By-Wire (FBW) systems. We described the most common flight control laws by discussing the two most common control law implementations in the market, the Airbus and the Boeing ones.
Today we will finish the series by discussing how an autopilot, or as the OEMs call it, an Autoflight or Automatic flight system, is added to the aircraft’s control system. An autopilot is most of the time combined with a flight director and a Flight Management System (FMS).
We will mention how these fit in the picture but focus on the autopilot, once again to keep it simple and avoid trying to cover too much. The autopilot subject is large enough. Read more
Bjorn’s Corner: Boeing’s 787 and Airbus’ 350 programs, a snapshot
By Bjorn Fehrm
Introduction
23 April 2015, C. Leeham Co: It has been an eventful week for Boeing with Q1 results reported and with that an update on the 787 program. At the same time we ran into Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker, while visiting Airbus the other day and could exchange a few words with him and his team re the A350. I therefore decided that this week’s Corner should provide a snapshot on where these two new aircraft projects stand right now.
A321neo configurations and A320 production
By Bjorn Fehrm
18 Jan 2015: As part of the preparations for the Airbus A321LR article 15 Jan. we saw a need to clarify with Airbus the production configurations for A321neo. There had been several iterations of what will be produced come mid-2018 when the A321neo variant is scheduled to roll off the FALs at Airbus in an enhanced Airbus Cabin-Flex (ACF) variant.
This variant features a three-door pairs layout that allows a raised max passenger limit by virtue of displaced door three and an addition of a second overwing exit. Recent media articles have suggested that both the initial four-door variant as well as the three-door variant would be available.
Airbus formally launches A321LR; we look behind the “LR” to see what’s there
15 Jan 2015: Airbus officially launched what to date has been called A321neoLR as the A321LR at their annual press conference Tuesday. The former A321neoLR name was formed by Leeham News on 21 Ocober 2014 when we could reveal the existence of a A321neo variant which Airbus had
started to present to airlines at the time. The final name kept the LR attribute used in the article to distinguish the longer range variant from the standard A321neo.
The A319 has used the LR designation but its use has been limited. The suffix is more commonly identified with Boeing, used as it is with the 777-200LR. Boeing has also commonly used the ER for extended range like 777-200ER, 737-900ER and 777-300ER.
Airbus reveals record orders at annual press conference
By Bjorn Fehrm
Toulouse 13 Jan 2015: Airbus today held their annual press conference where they among other things revealed their final numbers for orders and deliveries. The press conference was hosted by Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier accompanied by COO Customers John Leahy, new COO Tom Williams and new Head of Programs Didier Evrard.
Airbus in 2014
Bregier started with pointing out that 2014 was a very eventful year for Airbus. Airbus did their customary end of year sprint and passed Boeing for net orders with 24 aircraft netting 1456 commands, Figure 1.
Figure 1. Airbus orders for 2014. Source: Airbus.
On the delivery side Boeing is ahead with 723 deliveries versus Airbus 629, Figure 2.
Figure 2. Airbus deliveries for 2014. Source: Airbus.
Further Airbus certified the A350 and delivered the first aircraft to its launch customer, Qatar Airways. It also launched the A330neo and got 120 orders during the year. Finally they flew the A320neo first prototype.