Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Embraer downplays tariff impact on 2025 results May 6, 2025
- JetZero readies effort for private equity fund raising May 5, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 20. May 2, 2025
- Supplier Howmet exceeds expectations despite tariffs May 1, 2025
- Airbus 1Q2025 results: So far, so good, but US tariffs make future results unpredictable May 1, 2025
Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 4. Fuselage trades
By Bjorn Fehrm
March 17, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a summary of the article New aircraft technologies. Part 4P. Fuselage trades. In the article, we discuss the trade-offs involved in designing a fuselage of an airliner with 250 seats using different architectures.
We examine what parameters decide the performance of an aircraft and how fuselage changes like single aisle versus dual aisle affect these parameters.
Figure 1. induced drag comes from the global air circulation from the bottom to the top of the aircraft. Source: Leeham Co.
Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 4P. Fuselage trades
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March 17, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a complementary article to New aircraft technologies. Part 4. Fuselage trades. It discussed in detail the trades involved in designing a fuselage of an airliner with 250 seats using different architectures.
Pontifications: One step forward, two steps back for Boeing
By Scott Hamilton
March 14, 2023, © Leeham News: There is a phrase in the US about the politician’s dance: one step forward, two steps back and a sidestep.
I couldn’t help but this about this dance step in connection with Boeing in recent weeks. For every step forward, Boeing seems to take two steps back.
The delivery suspension of the 767/KC-46A line—none has been delivered since the first of the year—was the first step back.
Then, for a second time, deliveries of the 787 were suspended. While the 767/KC-46A deliveries remain “paused,” to use Boeing’s favorite word, the Federal Aviation Administration last Friday cleared Boeing to resume deliveries of the 787.
I recall that Boeing CFO Brian West recently said a month ago that there will be some bumps ahead on the way to Boeing’s recovery. He didn’t allude to the 767/KC-46 issue at the time and the 787 was being delivered then. But as these issues emerged, Boeing once more seems snake bit.
Embraer deliveries surge; executives proclaim rebound from Covid, failed merger
By Bryan Corliss
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March 13, 2023, © Leeham News — Embraer executives said last week that the company is on a flight path to growth after weathering two major storms in 2020.
“As we have said, since 2020, the 2021 and 2022 years would be dedicated to the business recovery after two simultaneous crises – the pandemic and the end of the Boeing deal – and the focus will be on growth from 2023,” Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto said Friday.
“We can now state we have fulfilled what was promised,” he continued. “The business turnaround was completed in 2022, and we are ready to start a new growth phase.”
Embraer still faces “supply chain challenges this year,” he acknowledged, “but we are optimistic about the company’s future in terms of revenue growth and profitability.”
Neto made the declaration as his company reported delivering 80 regional and executive jets in the fourth quarter of 2022, which was roughly half of the total deliveries for the year.
The company reported earnings before interest and taxes of US $166.2 million for the quarter, which was 196% better than its earnings in the same quarter of 2021.
- Embraer sees orders recovery
- China is one of two promising markets
- Business jet market ‘very robust’
- Continued investment in decarbonization
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CFM to increase LEAP production 50% this year, GE Aerospace executives say
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By Bryan Corliss
March 10, 2023, © Leeham News – GE Aerospace executives said Thursday that production of LEAP engines will increase 50% this year to meet increased demand from Boeing and Airbus.
LEAP engines, which power Airbus A320 Neos and Boeing 737 MAX jets, are produced by CFM, the joint-venture partnership between U.S.-based GE and French-based Safran.
“This is no small feat,” said GE CEO of Commercial Engines and Services Russell Stokes. He noted that the network for LEAP includes 160 external suppliers and 20 internal GE shops.
Stokes, GE CEO Larry Culp and other executives spoke at GE’s 2023 Investor Conference.
- Strong demand driving Commercial growth
- GE9X growth expected in 2025
- 70% of GE Aerospace revenues from services
- Work continues on SAF, RISE
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Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 3. Airframe improvements
By Bjorn Fehrm
March 10, 2023, ©. Leeham News: Last week, we could see that the best investment in new aircraft technology would be for the replacement of the single-aisle segment, where the Airbus A320 series and Boeing 737 MAX are the players.
If we can make this segment more efficient, we will improve the economics and emissions from this aircraft class. The detailed discussion is done in a sister article, New aircraft technologies. Part 3P. This is a summary of this article.
Figure 1. The Airbus A321 delivery to jetBlue, part of the aircraft segment that is up for replacement. Source: Airbus.
Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 3P. Airframe improvements
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By Bjorn Fehrm
March 10, 2023, ©. Leeham News: This is a complementary article to New aircraft technologies. Part 3. Airframe improvements. It discusses in detail the areas of an airliner airframe where tangible improvement can be made to make it more efficient and thus lower cost combined with less Green-House-Gas (GHG) emissions.
Hydrogen flight integrator AeroTec created 3,000 parts in 12 months
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By Bryan Corliss
March 9, 2023 © Leeham News – AeroTec learned “a lot about hydrogen” as it prepared Universal Hydrogen’s (UH2) Dash-8-300 flying testbed for its first flight last week.
AeroTec Chief Technology Officer Dale Goulding./AeroTec photo
“Hydrogen wants to escape,” said Dale Goulding, the chief technology officer for Seattle-based AeroTec. “It’s a very small molecule that wants to get out of whatever container you put it in.”
For that reason, Universal Hydrogen’s modular capsule makes refueling easier than it would be if the companies tried to replicate the fuel-pumping process used to refuel carbon-powered aircraft, he said.
“It’s been no problem at all,” Goulding said. “Just roll them in and out. It’s real easy.”
Goulding led a team of roughly 60 AeroTec employees working out of Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, WA., which was where Universal Hydrogen’s first flight took place on March 2. The plane took two passes over the airfield, flying with a hydrogen fuel cell powering one propeller, while a second kerosene-powered motor was on idle, in case it was needed.
The short flight was intended to “get up, get down safely, then look at all the data,” he said; taking concepts out of the lab and putting them into the sky.
- Hydrogen fuel cell, electric motor power propeller
- AeroTec hustled to create 3,000 unique parts
- Next steps are up to Universal Hydrogen
Pontifications: 30-40 MAXes potentially delayed by software issue: Jefferies
By Scott Hamilton
March 7, 2023, © Leeham News: About 30-40 Boeing 737 MAXes potentially will be delivery-delayed by the Option Section Software reconfiguration issue, the investment bank Jefferies Co. reported yesterday. Jefferies followed up on our report published Monday by Airfinance Journal and LNA.
Boeing didn’t much like our story about the new software issue delaying some deliveries of the 737 MAX. The story was joint reporting by AFJ and LNA.
“This has no impact on our [2023] delivery outlook,” a corporate communications representative emailed yesterday, specifically putting this on the record. The statement addresses a point the story didn’t raise.
“Today’s Leeham News article looks misleading in that the software issue it describes as ‘new’ has been known for over a year and isn’t expected to cause incremental delays in 737 MAX or 787 deliveries,” wrote the aerospace analyst at TD Cowen Co. “BA indicates this issue has been known for well over a year, isn’t new, was well understood at the time of their investor day and won’t cause any incremental impact to BA’s projected deliveries.”
AFJ/LNA was told by customers that the issue was discovered last Autumn, which is what we reported. One of the questions posted to Boeing included the Autumn timing. Boeing did not react to the timing outlined.
New software issue delays some 737 MAX deliveries/Update
By Scott Hamilton and Laura Mueller
Boeing 737 MAXes in long-term storage at Moses Lake (WA). About 140 MAXes ordered by China remain undelivered. Credit: Leeham News.
Update, March 9, 2023: Some readers have interpreted this story as reporting that new deliveries directly from Boeing are being delayed. The wording is somewhat ambiguous. To clarify, airplanes purchased by lessors–who have taken delivery from Boeing–are experiencing delays in delivery to their lessees due to the issues with the Boeing software reconfiguration described.
March 6, 2023, © Leeham News and Airfinance Journal: A new issue with a software program is delaying deliveries of some Boeing 737 MAXes by up to a year, joint reporting by Leeham News and Airfinance Journal learned. The Federal Aviation Administration views its use as a safety matter that must be resolved before delivery on aircraft undergoing reconfiguration. It is not a safety issue when aircraft are delivered to the originally intended operator.
The Boeing software, called Option Selection Software (OSS), is used by Boeing to identify software installed on 737 MAXes that must be reconfigured when the airplanes are going from one airline going to another. For example, if a 737 was built for Airline A and instead it will go to Airline B, reconfiguring the cockpit display and related systems may be necessary. We are told that MAXes and 787s are impacted, given their large inventories of airplanes that have been stored long enough that some original customers no longer wanted the aircraft. When sold or reconfigured for a different operator, Boeing uses the OSS to reconfigure the software and identify related parts for any changes.
This issue has not been reported previously.