Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Pontifications: Southwest’s core problems are not solved by business model changes-yet March 19, 2025
- Boeing 2024 Proxy Statement: Executive Compensation includes retirement gifts for Calhoun, Deal; housing support for Ortberg, Pope, and other stuff March 17, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 13. March 14, 2025
- Rolls-Royce’s remarkable turnaround March 13, 2025
- NASA hit by DOGE layoffs, office closures; Boeing’s X-66A R&D continues for now March 11, 2025
A little irreverence
We came across a news item that in the wake of the weird new Russia’s United Aircraft Co. will bid for the KC-X that just seems to call for a moment of irreverence.
Let’s recall that as a youth, we learned that to clean the gunk that built up on automobile battery terminals, you could use Coca Cola. (What this does to your insides, one can only imagine.) Then there are the numerous reports that too many hamburgers and hot dogs, sweeteners and such can cause cancer.
Now here’s the irreverent news item. It seems that, according to this report, aviation can use apricots to strip the paint off airplanes.
We’ll have to stick with ice cream….
Airplane damage at IAD
Here are two photos supplied by Richard Aboulafia of the damage to airplanes from the blizzards and snowfall at Washington Dulles International Airport.
An airline with a sense of humor
No commentary needed. More photos after the jump. We don’t know the origin of these; we received them by email. Click on the photo to get a larger, more readable image.
Flying with a hole in a 747
Here is a very interesting story about flying with a big hole in a Boeing 747 fuselage–on purpose.
Will Lean 767 Line mean new life for this airplane?
Boeing’s plan to implement a Lean production line for the 767 has significant implications for this aging product.
Boeing tells us that the line will result in a 20% improvement in unit time in construction. This does not correlate into a 20% improvement in production costs, however. Productions costs consist of materials (raw materials, fasteners, finished parts, and assemblies), perishable tooling, support labor, production labor and plant and equipment. Unit time improvements are directly related to reductions in production labor costs and have a proportionate decrease in support labor costs.
Kicking off the New Year
As is so often the case, we found the following while looking for something else. We thought this would be a good way for readers to kick off the New Year.
Delta ousts American in JAL global alliance
We have learned for industry sources that Delta Air Lines has won the battle and that Japan Air Lines will be leaving the oneworld alliance to join SkyTeam, reports Ernie Arvai of the AirInsight team of which Leeham Co. is a member.
This is a significant blow to American Airlines, which now lacks a Japanese partner, and boosts both United (Star Alliance partner with ANA) and Delta (with NW Japanese routes and now JAL) that can be well exploited, given the new open skies agreement between the two countries.
Albaugh as BCA head will be key to Boeing tanker bid
There has been more foo-faw going on with the KC-X tanker competition in the past week, largely overshadowed by the first flight of the Boeing 787. Supporters of Northrop Grumman met with Pentagon officials to urge that changes be made in the Draft RFP to assure a fair and open competition.
As soon as this became public, supporters of Boeing did the same.
Southwest loses Frontier bid
Southwest Airlines lost its bid to acquire Frontier Airlines in the bankruptcy auction this week. The bid was a long shot because its competition was Republic Holdings, a DIP lender to Frontier and the largest unsecured creditor. Read more
