Qantas robbed of longest flight by Emirates and then Singapore airlines

By Bjorn Fehrm Oct. 14 2015, ©. Leeham Co: The planned “Flight 21” of Singapore Airlines between Singapore and New York would rob Qantas Airways of the title of flying the longest direct flight in the world come 2018…. Read More

KC-46A refueling boom, drogue testing

Oct. 13. 2015: The US Air Force and Boeing released photos of the KC-46A aerial refueling tanker with the boom and the drogue deployed. Photos by John D. Parker. Click on images to enlarge.

CSeries dilemma: a saga of missed opportunities, bad decisions, stiff competition

Oct. 12, 2015, © Leeham Co.: The news agencies, stock markets and aerospace analysts last week went wild when Reuters reported there were talks going on between Bombardier and Airbus whereby the latter would take a majority stake… Read More

Analysis: Airbus A350 production and accounting strategy

By Bjorn Fehrm Subscription required. Introduction Oct. 12 2015, ©. Leeham Co: Airbus is ramping up the A350 program at a rather slow pace. For the first year of production, 2015, it plans 15 deliveries and “a little more… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: Engine rubbing

09 October 2015, ©. Leeham Co: Last week an Airbus A320neo prototype with Pratt & Whitney’s (PW) GTF had a problem while testing hot and high conditions at Al-Ain airport in Abu Dhabi. The engine suffered a rubbing… Read More

Airbus and Boeing swing it out at ISTAT Europe 2015

By Bjorn Fehrm 07 October 2015, ©. Leeham Co: This year’s ISTAT Europe conference had been characterized by a “Steady as you go” ambiance until the traditional match between Airbus and Boeing on “Large aircraft segment” panel got… Read More

Goldman Sachs predicts rate 5 for 777 in 2017

Oct. 6, 2015: As Boeing prepares to discuss its third quarter October 28, a major Wall Street investment bank predicts Boeing will have to reduce production rates of the 777 to five per month in 2017, the year… Read More

Airbus gearing toward 63 A320s per month; Boeing sure to follow

Oct. 5, 2015, © Leeham Co. Airbus appears to be closing in on a decision to boost the production rate of the A320 family to 63/mo by the end of the decade, a new report from Bernstein Research… Read More

Evaluating airliner performance, Part 4

By Bjorn Fehrm Subscription required. Introduction Oct. 05 2015, ©. Leeham Co: In the final part of our series about comparing and evaluating economic and operational performance of airliners, we will combine the different Cash Operating Costs (COC) with… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: Engine ratings

02 October 2015, ©. Leeham Co: After the article about the role of bypass ratio on a turbofan’s efficiency, we now look at other aspects of civil turbofan engines that are worth some light. It’s about how the… Read More