Embraer CEO sees opportunity for 100-seaters in USA

Part 1 Sept. 9, 2015, © Leeham Co.: The chief executive officer of Embraer’s commercial aircraft unit believes a trend might be emerging for US major airlines to directly operate 100- and plus-100 seat aircraft (and below the… Read More

Mitsubishi opens Seattle Engineering Center ahead of MRJ90 first flight

August 3, 2015, © Leeham Co.: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. today opened its Seattle Engineering Center jointly with local company AeroTEC in advance of the first flight of the MRJ90 in September or October. During the second quarter of next… Read More

Bombardier CS300 analysis vs A319neo, 737-7

By Bjorn Fehrm Subscription required Introduction March 29, 2015, c. Leeham Co: Bombardier’s big bet in the aeronautics sector, CSeries, is well into flight testing, now more than half way toward the 2,400 hours required by Transport Canada… Read More

Bombardier’s crisis of confidence perhaps the biggest challenge for CSeries

Subscription Required Introduction Feb. 18, 2015, c. Leeham Co.: Alain Bellemare, Bombardier’s new president and chief executive officer, has his work cut out for him. Figure 1. The CSeries was supposed to enter service in late 2013, two… Read More

Interview: CSeries program update with Bombardier’s program chief Dewar

Subscription required. Now open to all Readers. By Bjorn Fehrm and Scott Hamilton Introduction Nov. 24, 2014: Bombardier CSeries flight testing has now passed 500 flight hours, and with the addition of Flight Test Vehicle 5 to the… Read More

A320 v 737: the sales winner is….

It’s one of the bitterest rivalries in the industrialized world: Airbus vs Boeing. Despite being world-class companies, executives at each often snipe at each other’s airplanes, claiming superiority in economics and passenger appeal. Like lawyers arguing a court… Read More

CASM Paradigm: Lower Seat Mile Cost or Higher Yield; Evaluating the GOL competition

Subscription Required Introduction As Brazil’s budget airline GOL reportedly evaluates whether to acquire 20 Boeing 737-7s or Embraer E-195 E2s, the principal of the “CASM Paradigm” is a concept worth examining. This head-to-head evaluation of the E-195 E2… Read More

Odds and Ends: MTU on A380; lessons learned; Alaska Air v Delta; GOL looking for airplanes; Boeing downgrade and upgrade

MTU on A380: The German company MTU, which is a key supplier on a variety of Airbus and Boeing engines, questions the potential market for an A380neo, according to this article from Reuters. Our Market Intelligence indicates Airbus… Read More

Assessing the 100-149 Seat Sector

Introduction Oct. 12, 2014, (c) Leeham Co.: The 100-149 seat market sector has long been criticized as irrelevant because of a string of poor-selling aircraft. Boeing officials even labeled this a Bermuda Triangle. The critics fail to recognize,… Read More

Airlines, not passengers, at fault for recline wars

A third incident of “recline wars” has been reported, this time on a Delta Air Lines flight in which a dispute broke out between a passenger who reclined his seat and the passenger behind him who didn’t like… Read More