Southwest accelerates 737-700 retirements

Subscription Required Introduction April 30, 2018, © Leeham News: Southwest Airlines announced orders 80 Boeing 737-8s so far this year and market intelligence indicates the carrier may be far from done. Another 60 orders may come during the… Read More

Pontifications: Uncontained engine failures are rare but not unknown

April 23, 2018, © Leeham News: Last week’s engine malfunction on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 was another in a rare, but not unknown, uncontained engine anomaly in recent years. All recent similar failures didn’t cause a loss… Read More

Pontifications: Limited operations raise doubts over Paine Field airline service

April 9, 2018, © Leeham News: This fall, the Seattle area will get a second passenger airport: three airlines will begin service at Paine Field, in Everett, which is also home to Boeing’s massive wide-body production plant. Alaska,… Read More

Southwest CEO sees 60% of fleet becoming the 737-7

March 1, 2018, © Leeham Co.: Southwest Airlines needs about 100 more Boeing 737-8s before turning its attention to the 737-7, CEO Gary Kelly told LNC in a press scrum at the 2018 Aviation Summit today, sponsored by… Read More

Boeing-Embraer venture in response to Airbus-Bombardier? Don’t count on it

Subscription Required Introduction Oct. 23, 2017, © Leeham Co.: With the tie-up announced last Monday between Airbus and Bombardier for the CSeries, speculation immediately turned to whether Boeing and Embraer will join forces in some fashion in response…. Read More

Pontifications: Boeing-Bombardier dispute’s big winner: Airbus

June 12, 2017, (c) Leeham Co.: Boeing won round one Friday in its price-dumping complaint against Bombardier over its sale of the CSeries to Delta Air Lines. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 5-0 to continue the… Read More

WestJet’s 787, international strategy fraught with risks

Subscription Required Introduction Boeing 787-9. WestJet ordered 10 and placed an option for 10 more. Deliveries begin in 2019. Boeing photo. May 8, 2017, © Leeham Co.: WestJet, Canada’s #2 airline behind Air Canada, is making dramatic departures… Read More

Employee Expenses, Fuel Costs Hit Southwest Earnings

Rising fuel supports introduction of 737 MAX in October By William DiBenedetto May 1, 2017: Southwest Airlines’ first quarter profits fell by nearly 32% to $351m, driven largely by big increases in employee union contract expenses and fuel… Read More

Bjorn’s Corner: Keeping airliners operational. Part 2

By Bjorn Fehrm April 20, 2017, ©. Leeham Co: We will start the second article in series on keeping airliners operational by discussing how the structure is kept fit. There are three areas that are more key to flight… Read More

Pontifications: Airbus, Boeing single-aisle production rates solid

Jan. 23, 2017, © Leeham Co.: The global economy is softening and airlines are deferring airplanes, but we don’t see Airbus or Boeing trimming aircraft production for their single-aisle airplanes. Over-sales and rising fuel prices support today’s A320… Read More