Odds and Ends: Airbus optimistic on A380 sales; second A350 joins test fleet; CSeries factory progress

A380 Sales: Orders for the Airbus A380 have been dismal, but Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus parent EADS, sees a turn-around in sales. With the forthcoming Boeing 777-9X, which at 400 seats is considerably smaller than the 525-seat… Read More

Odds and Ends: Next phase for CSeries; the C-17

Next phase for CSeries: Canada’s Financial Post has a report on how the Bombardier CSeries, powered by the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbo Fan engine, is “ushering” in a new era of quiet flight. As we noted in… Read More

CSeries takes to air for the first time; PW also conducting own tests with new GTF engine

Update: First flight touchdown at 12:24 EDT, 2 1/2 hours. Original Post: Bombardier’s multi-billion dollar gamble to leap from regional airliner manufacturer into the mainline arena took off this morning at about 9:54 AM EDT. The CSeries CS100… Read More

CSeries first flight may be Sunday, says Reuters

The thrice-delayed first flight of the Bombardier CSeries may come Sunday, reports Reuters. We previously posted some thoughts on the pending first flight. We expanded on these thoughts in our e-mail newsletter Aug. 26. Below is the entire… Read More

CSeries edges closer to first flight, as payoff for gambles await Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney

The Montreal Gazette did a little digging with Canadian regulators and came up with this interesting piece, deducing the first flight of the Bombardier CSeries will come within the “next 11 days” (the story was dated Aug. 19)…. Read More

Following the Paris Air Show by @jetcitystar

Isaac Alexander (@jetcitystar on Twitter) provided us with the following so you can follow the latest at next week’s Paris Air Show. He has his own blog with an addiutional list of companies. From Isaac: Here is a… Read More

737 MAX may share NG improvements still to come, which might include more seats

Boeing’s 737 MAX, still weeks away from design configuration freeze and still with lots of detailed design to come, may share improvements still to come on the current 737 NG. The head of the MAX program, Keith Leverkuhn,… Read More

Odds and Ends: Fixing the 787; PW GTF; ANA to retire 747s

Fixing the 787: Avionics magazine has a long article on fixing the Boeing 787 battery issues. PW GTF: The Hartford Courant has a piece profiling the quiet nature of the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbo Fan engine. While… Read More

Sizing up engine market share on the A320 family

While competition between Airbus and Boeing snares nearly all the headlines and all the “sex,” competition for engine orders is less sexy and receives less attention. Part of this is because of the increasing trend toward sole-sourcing. The… Read More

Tired of kerosene smell ingested into the cabin on start-up? Hope for this

In the November election, Washington State and Colorado voters approved recreational use of marijuana. As anyone who ever tried MJ knows (except a certain former President, who says he didn’t inhale), MJ has a sweet odor that is… Read More