Lufthansa to use A340s in “lower cost” operation; our analysis against the 787

Subscription required. By Scott Hamilton and Bjorn Fehrm Introduction Low cost long haul service is gaining traction, but previous efforts proved difficult to be successful. Dating all the way back to Laker Airways’ Skytrain and the original PeoplExpress… Read More

Odds and Ends: 787 donation; Alenia sues Bombardier over CSeries; 2016 777 delivery slots opening up

787 donation: The Boeing Co. handed over 787 test airplane #3 (ZA003) to the Museum of Flight Saturday in an elaborate ceremony marking an unprecedented donation of a modern airliner to an aviation museum. To be sure, the… Read More

Del Smith, aviation icon, dies

Del Smith, an icon in aviation for decades, died in Oregon. Smith was the founder of Evergreen Aviation, an MRO in Arizona and the highly regarded air museum that houses the Spruce Goose in Oregon. Evergreen cargo airlines… Read More

Odds and Ends: Safran benefits from engine after-market; ExIm could back Airbus; Paine Field future

Engine After-market: Safran, which owns 50% of CFM International with GE Aviation owning the other half, is positioned in the “sweet spot” of the engine after-market, according to a recent  report by Bernstein Research. The report further supports… Read More

Farborough Air Show, July 16: Snipe hunts in an era of model improvements

Upate, 5:30am PDT: The Wall Street Journal has an article that is more or less on point to the theme of this post. It doesn’t matter what the competition does, it’s always inferior–until you do it yourself. The… Read More

No more moonshots stifles innovation

Boeing CEO said there will be no more “moonshots” at Boeing when it comes to future airplane development. Airbus says it will focus on derivatives rather than new airplanes. After the program debacles of the Airbus A400M and… Read More

Odds and Ends: AirAsiaX plans A330 order; AA’s livery; vote for TWA heritage livery

AirAsiaX plans A330 order: AirAsiaX, the long-haul low cost carrier, plans a large order for the Airbus A330 this week, according to Bloomberg. A380’s future: Bloomberg News talks about the future of the Airbus A380 with CEO Fabrice… Read More

Dropping EADS for Airbus Group

The move to drop the acronym EADS for Airbus Group is being made out by some media to be a major step that better positions Airbus to compete with Boeing. This is a stretch. The name change simply… Read More

Odds and Ends: Fixing the 787; PW GTF; ANA to retire 747s

Fixing the 787: Avionics magazine has a long article on fixing the Boeing 787 battery issues. PW GTF: The Hartford Courant has a piece profiling the quiet nature of the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbo Fan engine. While… Read More

EADS earnings and Airbus A350, A380 updates

EADS reported its first quarter earnings and in the process reiterated plans to fly the Airbus A350 in June. Speculation remains rampant that Airbus will fly the airplane in time for the Paris Air Show. Meantime, sales for the… Read More