Airbus’ A350-800 dilemma

Last week we discussed Airbus’ A350-1000 dilemma. The -1000 will be a fine airplane, but we concluded the company needs to go forward with a larger capacity “A350-1100” to match the size of the Boeing 777-9X, but take… Read More

Odds and Ends: Boeing to hike 737 rate; Passenger comfort, fees and PEDs

You read it here first: In June, we reported Boeing planned to take the 737 production rate to 47/mo by 2017 (and to 52 in 2019). Boeing announced on Halloween that it is taking the 737 rate to… Read More

Airbus’ A350-1000 dilemma

Airbus has a dilemma with what to do about the A350-1000. . Does the OEM stick with the -1000 as it is, ceding the 400 seat segment to Boeing with its new 777-9X? Or does it stretch the… Read More

Odds and Ends: Air France may cut A380 orders; Boeing Everett history; BBD, EMB miss targets

Air France May Drop A380s: Bloomberg reports that Air France may cut back its orders for the Airbus A380s. This continues the challenge of Very Large Aircraft sector sales. Boeing has cut production rates twice for its 747-8…. Read More

Odds and Ends: XYZ–Next USAF aerial tanker specs; Analysts on CSeries ahead of earnings

KC-XYZ: The USAF hasn’t even received the first Boeing KC-46A, which was the tanker award from the KC-X competition, and it has begun drawing up specifications for the follow-on competition, the KC-Y. The KC-Y is the second tranche… Read More

CFM LEAP accelerating in test program; Airbus and the A350-800

Aviation Week has a long, detailed story about the test program for the CFM LEAP engine, which is accelerating rapidly. In its 737 MAX program update yesterday, Boeing said the LEAP-1B has begun testing and it will benefit… Read More

Odds and Ends: AA, US and DOJ have mediator; new C919 order; A380 break even

Movement on AA-US merger: Terry Maxon of The Dallas Morning News reports that American Airlines, US Airways and the Department of Justice have picked a mediator to sort out the DOJ’s lawsuit to block the AA-US merger. See… Read More

Aerospace Supply Chain challenges for planned production rates

Airbus and Boeing have announced production rates for their single-aisle airplanes of 42/mo each and are thinking of going as high as 52/mo. Boeing last week announced a planned rate of 14/mo for the 787. Airbus has plans… Read More

Odds and Ends: MC-21 to be renamed; Boeing buys land; seat wars ahead?

MC-21 to be renamed: After creating a brand for the Russian Irkut MC-21, authorities have decided to rename the airplane the Yak 242, according to this article in Flight International. The article is too brief to explain the… Read More

Odds and Ends: Boeing’s MAX to China; Airbus sees no order bubble; Boeing’s wide-body dominance; BBD’s risk

Boeing’s MAX to China: The absence has been conspicuous, but no more: China will take 200 737 MAXes, according to Reuters. It will be interesting to see what delivery slots becoe available. Boeing always holds open some slots… Read More