Pontifications: Mitsubishi nears first flight for MRJ-90

Aug. 3, 2015, © Leeham Co. Mitsubishi is just a few months away from beginning flight testing on the first commercial airplane designed and built in Japan since the NAMC YS-11 in the 1960s. The 60 passenger turbo prop had… Read More

Boeing’s McNerney on 787 costs, obsoleting airplanes

July 8, 2015: Bloomberg News interviewed Jim McNerney, then-CEO of The Boeing Co., June 15 at the Paris Air Show. (McNerney relinquished his CEO title a week later to Dennis Muilenburg.) Although McNerney got it wrong on the… Read More

Pontifications: ExIm reform

July 6, 2015, © Leeham Co. The US ExIm Bank authorization expired last week. As readers know, I’m a strong advocate of renewal of the authorization. Boeing, and other companies, hope reauthorization can be achieved this month. I won’t… Read More

ExIm Bank expires, Boeing, hundreds more hope for a Lazarus

July 1, 2015, c. Leeham Co. The ExIm Bank is dead. At least for now. Boeing, and hundreds of smaller companies, hope for a Lazarus miracle. Though nobody expects a revival of the Bank in four days, as… Read More

Open Letter to Members of Congress on ExIm

To Members of the US Congress: There will be a vote soon on whether to reauthorize the US ExIm Bank. You should do so. Arguments by some that this is a form of corporate welfare are unfounded. Suggestions… Read More

Odds and Ends: WTO and 777X tax breaks; US airlines vs Middle East; Goldman and Boeing; ExIm Bank

WTO to examine 777X tax breaks: Well, we predicted this in November 2013 when Washington State extended the Boeing 787 tax breaks to the 777X. And it’s happened. The World Trade Organization is going to take a look… Read More

Etihad, Emirates refute charges of favoritism from government owners

Two of the Middle East’s most aggressively growing airlines said charges that they benefit from government subsidies, artificially low fuel prices, cheap airport facilities and preferential financing refuted these charges at the World Routes conference in Chicago this… Read More

Odds and Ends: Safran benefits from engine after-market; ExIm could back Airbus; Paine Field future

Engine After-market: Safran, which owns 50% of CFM International with GE Aviation owning the other half, is positioned in the “sweet spot” of the engine after-market, according to a recent  report by Bernstein Research. The report further supports… Read More

Odds and Ends: Air France/KLM trims cargo fleet; ExIm Bank countdown; BBD v EMB; More

Air France-KLM trims cargo fleet: Steve Wilhelm of The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Air France-KLM group is sharply trimming its cargo fleet, with the company declaring the capacity continues to shift to the belly capacity of… Read More

Odds and Ends: Boeing leads net orders YTD; A320neo; ExIm Bank; Frontier Air

Airbus vs Boeing orders: Airbus reported its order tally through August and while it surpassed 1,000 gross orders, it’s net orders trail Boeing significantly. This article sums things up nicely, though it doesn’t include Boeing’s last four days… Read More