Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Lufthansa splits wide-body order between Airbus and Boeing
Lufthansa Airlines announced its long-expected wide-body order, for 59 Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 777-9Xs. Airbus won a firm order for 25 with options for 25 more. Boeing’s press release didn’t disclose options. This is a big win for… Read More
787-9 first flight follow-up
Here is some “morning after” coverage of the first flight of the Boeing 787-9. The Wall Street Journal has this article with some detail about pricing, design improvements and other differences between the 789 and the 788. Via… Read More
Boeing 787-9 departs on first flight
The Boeing 787-9 left this morning on its first flight at 11:02 AM PDT. We discussed the implications of this first flight on Sept. 13. We were at the first flight departure at Paine Field, Everett (WA), for… Read More
787-9 first flight today
The first flight of the Boeing 787-9 is scheduled for 10am PDT today. The Weather forecast is cloudy but no rain until this afternoon. Landing is about 3pm. The first flight will be webcast here. We’ll be on-site… Read More
USAF considers scrapping KC-10 in sequester
KC-10 scrapping: The US Air Force is considering scrapping the KC-10 aerial tanker fleet as a result of budget cutbacks in the sequester, The Army Times reports. This is stunning news, considering the seven year battle to recapitalize… Read More
Implications for the 787-9’s first flight
The first flight of the next member of the Boeing 787 family, the -9, is coming soon and this has greater implications than usual for what would be called a minor model variant. . Boeing has been making… Read More
Replacing Air Force One: will 747-8 production remain open, or can 777-300ER become AF One?
Bloomberg has this story about the prospect of replacing Air Force One “early in the next decade.” Aviation Week has this story as well. The Aviation Week story links to the Dayton Business Journal, and reports that the… Read More
New life for old airliners
New life has been created for an airliner that wasn’t considered a particularly successful airliner. The British Aerospace 146/Avro family is being converted to an aerial firefighting tanker and also an aerial refueling tanker. The 146 and follow-on… Read More