Pontifications: Assessing the benefit of new airplanes in low oil pricing

Dec. 7, 2015, © Leeham Co.: Oil for West Texas Intermediate Crude closed Friday at $39.97. International Brent closed at $43.05. These figures continue to breathe life into used aircraft and raise questions about new orders. In recent… Read More

Pontifications: Looking to year-end

Nov. 30, 2015, © Leeham Co.: One month to go to the end of 2015. What’s left to come? The first Boeing 737 MAX is rolling out of the factory Dec. 8. For reasons that defy obvious explanation,… Read More

Pontifications: Boeing view of market conditions today

Sept. 14, 2015, © Leeham Co.: Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s VP Marketing, spoke with Bernstein Research last week on a variety of topics. In a note issued after the conversation, analyst Douglas Harned reported: “Boeing views the 140 orders to… 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

IATA AGM opens against mixed signals from industry

Miami Beach (FL), June 7, 2015: The International Air Transport Assn. (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) opens against a backdrop of conflicting signals from the industry, including from the organization itself. On the one hand, IATA said last… Read More

Pontifications: Fare and market share wars

May 25, 2015, c. Leeham Co. Airline stocks took a dive last week when it appeared fare wars and eroding capacity discipline is beginning among US carriers. Southwest Airlines said it will be adding capacity at the rate… Read More

Odds and Ends: A350 batteries; A350 V 1.0; Southwest schedule

A350 batteries: Flight Global has a detailed story about the Airbus approach to lithium-ion batteries in the A350. The approach is more conservative than Boeing’s for the 787. A350 Version 1.0: A blog called A350 XWB News has… Read More

CASM Paradigm: Lower Seat Mile Cost or Higher Yield; Evaluating the GOL competition

Subscription Required Introduction As Brazil’s budget airline GOL reportedly evaluates whether to acquire 20 Boeing 737-7s or Embraer E-195 E2s, the principal of the “CASM Paradigm” is a concept worth examining. This head-to-head evaluation of the E-195 E2… Read More

Odds and Ends: KC-46A update; A440M in the US; A320neo first flight; Southwest no longer an LCC

KC-46A update: Aviation Week has an update on the status of the Boeing KC-46A tanker. Among other things, first fight has now been moved from June to November at the earliest. A400M in the US: Airbus thinks it’s… Read More

Alaska-Delta Battle in Seattle comes at the expense of United, Southwest

National media and trade magazines are paying attention to the increasing battle between Alaska Air Group (Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines) and Delta Air Lines (including its regional airline partners) in the Battle in Seattle as the latter… Read More