Airbus stock hammered on airplane news, Boeing caught in the downdraft

Subscription Required. Introduction Dec. 10, 2014: As company investors’ days go, Day 1 of Airbus Group didn’t go well. Airbus stock traded off 10% on news that the A330 production rate, already to reduced from 10/mo to 9/mo… Read More

Odds and Ends: U-Turn Al does it again, delays A350; rate cuts for 747-8, A330; A380 future delivery

A350 delivery delayed: U-Turn Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways, has once again become a pain in the tailpipe to an OEM. The delivery of the first Airbus A350-900, set for Saturday, has been indefinitely postponed. Qatar… Read More

Airbus investors day Dec. 10-11: here’s our preview

The annual Airbus investors days are tomorrow and Thursday in London. Airbus will webcast the event; go here to link up. The presentations will include a mix of commercial and military, with John Leahy, chief operating officer of… Read More

USAF moves up AF One replacement, reports Inside Defense

Dec. 7, 2014: The US Air Force is moving up the the Presidential Aircraft Replacement program to seek Requests for Proposals next year, according to the specialty newsletter Inside Defense. An airframe purchase will occur in 2016, according… Read More

Boeing retains net order lead going into last month of year

Dec. 5, 2014: Boeing retains the lead in net orders going into the last month of this year, although the gap has narrowed considerably–and there are a couple of public campaigns and commitments Airbus has announced or talked… Read More

At what price do used A380s make sense?

Subscription Required Now open to all readers. (Feb. 15, 2015.) Introduction Dec. 3, 2014: It’s been seven years since the first Airbus A380 entered service with Emirates Airlines. Tim Clark, the carrier’s president and chief operating officer, told… Read More

Air Canada: 787s have 29% lower costs than older 767s (before the latter’s reconfiguration)

Dec. 2, 2014: Air Canada says its new Boeing 787s will have 29% lower fuel, maintenance and per-seat costs than the old Boeing 767-300ERs being replaced. Part of this is because the 787s seat more passengers. But the… Read More

Oil heading toward $40? Economist still thinks so, with caveats; and: NTSB issues 787 battery report, Azul’s A320/CFM order

Dec. 1, 2014: Adam Pilarski, an economist for the consulting firm Avitas, predicted several years ago that the price of oil would drop to $40bbl. Few believed him. Oil hit $66 this week, on a steady decline over… Read More

Assessment of Lessors in Airbus and Boeing backlogs, narrow- vs wide-body

Subscription Required Introduction Nov. 30, 2014: Airlines now lease about 50% of their aircraft under a variety of mechanisms: operating, finance, leveraged and Islamic leases, just to name a few. There are operating leasing, special purpose and “house”… Read More

MTU investors day: views of its engine programs, future airplane timelines; separately, Embraer COO interview

Nov. 30, 2014: MTU Investors Day: MTU is a major participant in engine development and supplies, participating on the GEnx, GTF and GEnx program. It’s also a member of the joint venture in International Aero Engines and it’s… Read More