Airbus Group 1Q 2016 results: Slow start to the year, guidance maintained.

By Bjorn Fehrm 28 April 2016, ©. Leeham Co: Airbus Group has had a slow start to 2016. Deliveries of A320neo, A350 and A400M are slowed by problems with engine and cabin suppliers. Only 127 aircraft were delivered out… Read More

Virgin America does have some attractive attributes

March 29, 2016, © Leeham Co.: A report that JetBlue and Alaska Airlines submitted bids to buy Virgin America spurs the thought: this isn’t as wacky as it appears on the surface. When news emerged last week that… Read More

IRKUT MC-21 analysis, Part 4. Performance with PD-14

By Bjorn Fehrm Subscription required. Introduction March. 14, 2016, ©. Leeham Co: In three articles we have been looking at the new Russian single aisle aircraft, Irkut MC-21, from United Aircraft and the new Russian engine that is being… Read More

Airbus needs more vertical integration, says official

Subscription Required Introduction John Leahy, chief operating officer-customers. Airbus photo. March 3, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Airbus may well have avoided the supplier-driven delivery delays on its A350s had the company brought some key work in-house and become… Read More

ISTAT Day 1: Engine updates for CFM, GE, RR and PW

Feb. 29, 2016, (c) Leeham Co.: The LEAP engine, for the Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320neo and COMAC C919 is the fastest-selling engine in history, says Jean-Paul Ebanga, the president of CFM International. More than 10,000 have been sold…. Read More

The MAX flies ahead of time

By Bjorn Fehrm 2 February 2016, ©. Leeham Co: The Boeing 737 MAX flew for the first time Friday. On Saturday it was in the air again. Boeing has communicated they will deliver the first aircraft to Southwest next… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: What did we learn in 2015; engines

15 January 2016, ©. Leeham Co: Last week we looked back on what happened in 2015 on the airframe front. We finish the retrospective by looking at what turbofan engine technology came to market in 2015. New engine… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: Engine efficiency revisited

18 December 2015, © Leeham Co:Part of the discussion following last week’s article around quad or twin engine airliner designs was about engine efficiency and specifically around the engine’s thermal efficiency as a function of Pressure Ratio, PR. I… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: Twins or quads?

11 December 2015, ©. Leeham Co: The debate over two or four engines for long range aircraft is as old as the jet airliner. A number of myths have been pedaled over the years over the virtues of… Read More

Used B777-200ER or A340-300, Part 2

Subscription required Introduction By Bjorn Fehrm Dec. 3 2015, ©. Leeham Co: Last week we started our article series around acquiring used twin-aisle aircraft to start new long haul services or boost an existing network. We focused on Airbus’… Read More