Odds and Ends: Airbus, Boeing square off on tankers; IAM election; Russian titanium; MH370 hunt and hell

Airbus, Boeing square off on tankers: The Big Two OEMs are bidding for a sale to South Korea on airborne refueling tankers. If we remember correctly, this will be the first head-to-head competition since the USAF from 2004-2009…. Read More

Holden elected president of IAM 751

Update, 8:30pm March 6: Jon Holden was elected president of IAM 751 today. He fills the remaining term of Wroblewski, to February 1, 2017. Original Post: IAM 751 members for today on the successor to Tom Wroblewski at… Read More

Odds and Ends: Boeing’s bonus to Charleston workers; E-Jet E2 EIS; IAM and Airbus; Fending off A330neo

Boeing’s bonus to Charleston workers: We’ve ignored the continuing workmanship stories of Boeing’s Charleston plant on the 787 for the past months as Norwegian Air Shuttle, LOT and Air India continue to have problems with the airplane. We… Read More

Boeing’s Partnering for Success strains supplier relationship

Boeing officials reaffirmed the company’s drive for Partnership for Success, or PFS, during two appearances at conferences this month, adding that its supply chain was mostly on board, though some companies are now on a “no-fly list.” .CEO… Read More

Odds and Ends: A350 state loan; Bridging 777 Classic sales; Embraer nabs E2 order; IAM chief speaks out

A350 Loan: The Wall Street Journal reports that Airbus and Germany ended talks about a state loan for the A350 program. Good. Airbus doesn’t need the loan and “divorcing” from state aid frees Airbus to make decisions for… Read More

Odds and Ends: A330neo; The 12th Man; Boeing’s earnings

Clearing the air on the A330neo, again: Bloomberg News has an extensive story on the prospective development of the A330neo. Following a report from Reuters, these two news articles basically confirm everything we reported in December. The 12th… Read More

Charleston plant continues to give Boeing headaches for 787

Boeing is adding hundreds of workers to its Charleston (SC) 787 plant top deal with continued quality problems, reports The Wall Street Journal. The details in the article are at odds with statements from Boeing throughout the last… Read More

IAM 751’s president Tom Wroblewski steps down

Tom Wroblewski, president of IAM 751–the Boeing touch labor union in Puget Sound (WA)–announced last night he is retiring on January 31. The Seattle Times has the full story. In a nutshell, Wroblewski’s health blew up alongside the… Read More

Would delayed IAM vote had made a difference? We don’t think so

We really hoped we were done with this story, but the saga of the IAM 751 Boeing 777X contract vote lives on. Several complaints about the timing of the January 3 vote have been filed with the National… Read More

Outsourcing focus of Boeing report, but misses bigger picture; IAM vote aftermath; Boeing’s 2013

A long article (10 pages when printed) discusses the pitfalls Boeing had by outsourcing so much work on the 787. This much is not new. The point the article raises–transferring technology and the potential decline of US aerospace… Read More