Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Dissecting Boeing CEO’s statement next new airplane will cost $50bn April 15, 2024
- Bjorn’s Corner: New engine development. Part 3. Propulsive efficiency April 12, 2024
- A350-1000 or 777-9? Part 2 April 11, 2024
- Pontifications: Boeing “transparency”–not so much. April 9, 2024
- Airbus charges and write-offs since 1999: more than €33bn April 8, 2024
Did Qantas further cut 787 orders?
The Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) reports that Qantas of Australia now only lists 25 firm 787 orders and 25 rights to purchase the airplane in its latest fleet plan. Boeing still shows 50 orders by the airline, which previously had 65 on order but canceled 15 and restructured the delivery stream on the rest.
Update, Nov. 24: CAPA has now published this addition to the news link; the chart referred to below in contained in the article linked above):
[Correction: Qantas advises that the following chart, contained in its Investor Presentation, should in fact reflect the fact that there are 50 firm orders for the B787, not 25 firm and 25 purchase options, as illustrated]
KC-767 to benefit from 787 “surge” line
Key points:
- The ability to increase production rates to sell more 767s in the coming years;
- Lower production costs, which will be built into the KC-X bid in the hot competition with the expected Northrop Grumman KC-30 submission.
Boeing’s proposed KC-767 refueling tanker will benefit from plans to establish a surge production line for the 787 program.
The connection is not obvious, for Boeing didn’t suggest as much when it announced that Charleston (SC) will be the location for the second 787 production line. As Line 2 is being established, Boeing will put a “surge” 787 line in Everett (WA), where Line 1 is located. The surge line will be in the forward bay where the 767 line is, requiring relocating the 767 line to the aft part of the bay.
Boeing sees new job cuts in 2010
Arabian Business quotes Boeing CEO Jim McNerney as saying more job cuts will be seen at the company next year as defense business declines.
Fly By Wire: US Airways 1549
We’ve just finished reading “Fly By Wire: The Geese, the Glide, the Miracle on the Hudson,” by William Langewiesche.
It’s about US Airways 1549, the Airbus A320 pilot by Chelsey Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles, forced to make an emergency landing in New York City’s Hudson River last January 15.
We’ve also been reading the reviews and reaction to the book, including Sullenberger’s reaction. We wonder if we’ve been reading the same book as the critics, who dispute the contribution the A320’s fly-by-wire system made to the safe landing.
To read the critics’ response, including Sullenberger, one would think Langwieche gave all the credit to the A320 for the safe landing and none to the flight crew. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Tanker DRFP may violate law: former procurement official
Inside Defense, a subscription-only publication, today reported that a former defense procurement official believes the current KC-X tanker Draft RFP may violate the law. Here is what Inside Defense sent out in the public domain:
Former Top Procurement Official Questions KC-X Compliance with New Acquisition Law
The Pentagon’s solicitation for the KC-X aerial refueling competition is inconsistent with the 2009 Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act and may violate the law, according to a former top federal procurement officer.
That critique, by Robert Burton, a former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement and Defense Department veteran, comes as a powerful lawmaker and a key architect of the recently enacted weapon systems acquisition reform law — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — is raising questions about whether the KC-X draft request for proposals, issued on Sept. 25, complies with the new act.
Boeing to build 737 into 2020s: Bair
The Renton (WA) Reporter has this story that Boeing will continue to build the 737 into the 2020 decade, further extending the timeline for a replacement aircraft, says Mike Bair, vice president of Business Strategy and Marketing for the company.
This is highly significant on a number of levels. First, it tends to match the timeline Airbus has already foretold about a replacement for the A320 about 2024. Neither company can really afford to undertake yet another new airplane program, given the cost overruns and customer penalties for their respective A380, A400M, 787 and 747-8 programs. Airbus is also engaged in R&D for the A350, with a price tag of roughly $15bn. With engineering and production resources stretched already, there simply are limitations for Airbus on taking on an entirely new development program.
Prediction: Boeing offers KC-767
Update: Defense News just published this article detailing the continuing problems Boeing has with the KC-767 Italian tanker, including the centerline hose-and-drogue problems we previously exclusively revealed in this column.
Original Post:
With Boeing and Northrop Grumman still in the Q&A stage with the USAF in advance of a Final Request for Proposals in the KC-X competition, we predict that Boeing will offer the KC-767 and not the KC-777.
Here’s why:
Boeing’s secrets
Evening Magazine, a 30-minute feature program by KING5 TV (NBC-Seattle) aired two segments November 4 about Boeing. The first is called “Boeing’s Secrets,” a feature about places, things or companies that the ordinary Joe doesn’t ordinarily know about (catchy phrase, there, eh?). The second is about Boeing’s Aircraft Psychology (no jokes or cracks, now–this is an upbeat and interesting segment). Both are about 2 1/2 minutes.
Both videos are on the KING5 website, precluding inserting them here.
Here is the Boeing’s Secrets video.
Here is the Boeing’s Aircraft Psychology video.
Updating the KC-X competition
Update: The Mobile Press Register has this story saying that the USAF won’t include the WTO dispute in the KC-X competition because WTO rules prohibit doing so while the case is pending–something we’ve been telling the doggone politicians since they started their campaign to include it.
Original Post:
While the drama over the 787 Line 2 siting dominated the news last week, there was some stuff happening on the KC-X tanker front.
Boeing released this video about its tanker program. Note that KC-767 is shown with winglets, which in airline service are improving fuel burn by more than 4%.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYIY2I3jQdE]
787 Line 2 Post Mortem
The Background
It had been a long time coming. Boeing’s 787 repeated delays and great backlog meant that the company had to have a second production line to catch up and to offer delivery positions within reasonable time periods for new customers.
Observers and analysts long predicted that Boeing would put Line 2 in the growing 787 facility in Charleston (SC) rather than Everett (WA). By now, all the signs are well known to Boeing followers and need not be recounted here.