Major fleet decisions may not be positive for Airbus, Boeing

Pontifications is off this week. Subscription Required Introduction March 20, 2017, © Leeham Co.: There are some major fleet decisions that will probably come down the pike this year at American, Delta and United airlines. Not all of… Read More

Spirit AeroSystems, the world’s largest aerostructures company

A feature report. By Bjorn Fehrm March 15, 2017, ©. Leeham Co: Spirit AeroSystems is the world’s largest aerostructures supplier, with main facilities in Wichita (KS). I visited Wichita early March and was given a guided tour of the… Read More

Pontifications: Boeing 777 production rates

Feb. 27, 2017, © Leeham Co.: When Boeing announced it will reduce 777 production to 5/mo, with actual deliveries of the 777 Classic to 3.5/mo beginning in 2018, the aerospace analyst at Goldman Sachs immediately concluded Boeing will… Read More

Long, bitter history precedes union vote at Boeing Charleston today

Feb. 15, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Boeing’s touch-labor workers at its 787 assembly plant in North Charleston (SC) will vote today on whether to become represented by the International Association of Machinists (IAM). It’s a vote with huge… Read More

Deferrals at historic low, say Boeing CEO

Feb. 9, 2017: Requests for order deferrals are at an historic low but there are still challenges in bridging the production gap between the 777 Classic and 777X, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said during a Cowen & Co…. Read More

Assessing A330, A350 production futures

Subscription Required Introduction Jan. 26, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Airbus A350 production rates are solid at 10/mo through 2022 but can’t support increasing them to the oft-discussed 13/mo, based on LNC’s analysis of the current backlog. Airbus A330-900… Read More

A380 cost analysis

Subscription Required Introduction Jan. 23, 2017, © Leeham Co.: In a sister article, we will describe how Airbus A380 might change from a flagship aircraft for legacy carriers to a competitive tool for long-range LCCs. This change of… Read More

Is Emirates in trouble?

Introduction Jan. 12, 2017, © Leeham Co.: There are a growing number of articles around the Emirates airline that points to recent weaknesses in the airline’s operating model. Here are just two: “Is Emirates Airline running out of… Read More

Comparing 777 Classic, 787 Book:Bill in recent years

Subscription required. Introduction Jan. 11, 2017, (c) Leeham Co.: Future production rates of the Boeing 787 is a concern for LNC, which has been explained in detail here. A little history provides some context. Figure 1. Analysis from March… Read More

Pontifications: Leeham News’ approach to the news

Leeham News and Comment will be on holiday Dec. 24, 2016, through Jan. 2, 2017, barring major breaking news. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Dec. 19, 2016, © Leeham Co. Two thousand sixteen is almost over. This… Read More