Aerospace Supply Chain challenges for planned production rates

Airbus and Boeing have announced production rates for their single-aisle airplanes of 42/mo each and are thinking of going as high as 52/mo. Boeing last week announced a planned rate of 14/mo for the 787. Airbus has plans… Read More

Odds and Ends: S&P; C-17; AA-US merger (again); 777X wing work; WA aerospace future

S&P says don’t pay attention to our ratings: On the same day Delta Air Lines was named to the S&P 500, The Los Angeles Times had this article commenting on Standard & Poor’s legal defense of its investment… Read More

Key leaders hit back at Boeing “exodus” assertions; CSeries competition for the Big Two; A380 uses; Boeing hikes prices

Boeing’s WA ‘exodus’: Three key leaders in Washington State responded to the drumbeat from State. Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) that Boeing is in an “exodus” from Washington. Read the article here. We agree that the use of… Read More

Airbus exec outlines goals for Washington State supply chain effort

Washington State suppliers who want to do business with Airbus don’t have to open new shops in Alabama or elsewhere globally to support the European company, its top supply official in the US said last week. We sat… Read More

Airbus seeks to increase Washington State supply business; aims for 13 A350s/mo

It was the first time that Airbus specifically participated in an event in Washington State exclusively designed to mate the fierce rival to Boeing with suppliers in a meeting intended to increase business opportunities in Boeing’s back yard…. Read More

Odds and Ends: 777-8 “Lite”; group backs WA 777X effort; Asiana crash photos; a new 787 theory

Note: This Reuters article has some good detail about how Boeing gets the 777-9X to its advertised 20% economic gains over 777-300ER. 777-8 “Lite:” Boeing’s plan to launch the 777X in two versions, the ultra-long range 8X at… Read More

Odds and Ends: easyJet’s ‘neutral’ engine; Airbus, Boeing futures in Puget Sound

easyJet’s ‘neutral’ engine: We were amused at the Airbus photo release concerning easyJet firming up its orders for 100 A320neos, announced at the Paris Air Show. In the past, aviation geeks scrutinized the photos to see what engines… Read More

Odds and Ends: Test sites for UAVs; Qatar CEO on 787; more on 747F crash

Support for UAVs: Innovate Washington, an arm of the State, is promoting sites in Washington as test sites for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). There are 37 states seeking to become test sites for UAVs. The Pacific Northwest Aerospace… Read More

Washington State Senate budget kills Office of Aerospace; attention turns to House

The Washington State Senate budget adopted last Friday killed funding for the Office of Aerospace, which was created less than a year ago. The move was driven by the need to find more than $1bn to fund education… Read More

Odds and Ends: 787 likely grounded to May; More Batteries; Boeing’s 10K

787 Battery short-term fix: The Seattle Times has this story which recounts Boeing’s effort to design a short-term fix to get the 787 fleet flying again. The scenario outlined in the article suggests the 787 will be grounded… Read More