With a little more than a month to go before this June’s Paris Air Show takes place, summer heat will not be the only one felt by the aerospace industry. As the engine battle between Pratt & Whitney (P&W)’s PurePower geared turbofan (GTF) engine and CFM International’s Leap-X engine heats up for the engine orders for the popular Airbus A320 neo (new engine options) which has garnered over 330 orders …Read More
Boeing looks beyond present challenges
The world’s largest aerospace and defence company, Chicago-based Boeing, on Wednesday reported a 13% jump in its 2011 first-quarter net profit over the previous year from US$519 million to US$586 million despite a 2% decrease in its total revenues primarily owing to lower 777 deliveries in the quarter. Revenues fell marginally to US$14.9 billion from US$15.2 billion, whereas earnings from operations declined at a noticeably faster pace from US$1.17 billion to …Read More
Comac C919 threat overblown
As Airbus has been racking up significant A320 neo (new engine option) sales since the re-engined narrowbody aircraft’s launch in December last year (“A350 risks further delay as A320 neo receives go-ahead“, 1st Dec 10) and Boeing is mulling its competitive response in whether opting for a re-engined 737 or an all-new 737X that may ultimately feature a twin-aisle concept with a 2019 or 2020 entry into service (EIS) (“Boeing …Read More
Chinese airlines need more than just time for ordering A380s
Airbus, the largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world, had long hoped that the burgeoning Chinese economy, whose annual traffic is anticipated to surpass 1 billion passengers and become the world’s second-largest domestic air travel market by 2029, would make Chinese carriers to order a large number of its flagship product – the A380 superjumbo, but this optimism has so far not materialised, with Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines merely ordering 5 …Read More
A prolonged WTO dispute threatens to set an improper precedent
With the European Union (EU) lodging a formal appeal within 24 hours after the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) issued a final ruling on the case DS353 over US aids provided to Chicago-based airframer Boeing, the long-running transatlantic spat between both sides will inevitably be further prolonged. In doing so, however, a protracted row may not be in the best interests of both sides amid potential threats arising from new …Read More
Boeing 787-9 development progresses
With Korean Air converting all of its 10 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner orders and opting for the bigger 787-9 variant which is not only a 6 metres stretch, but also features better payload/range capability and better fuel burn performance, more and more carriers are opting for the better-designed airplane and further order conversions from the -8 to the -9 variant are anything but a certainty. Notwithstanding the past two delays to …Read More
Boeing faces important strategic decisions on 737X
As Boeing moves closer to its mid-year target of deciding whether to opt for a clean-sheet narrowbody replacement or launch a re-engining programme for the 737 NG (Next-Generation) aircraft family, the Chicago-based airframer faces multiple important strategic decisions on the aircraft programme that will potentially change the game like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner does in the widebody segment. Importantly, the possibility of launching a twin-aisle 737 replacement raised by Boeing …Read More
Asian Aerospace 2011: a photo review
With the Asian Aerospace 2011 entering its final day, Daniel Tsang Aspire Aviation,’s founder, captures the important moments of the air show. HNA Group orders 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, 2 787-8 VIP and 6 Boeing 777F freighters. Airbus A350 XWB and A380 models in display The COMAC C919 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner An interesting question: Will COMAC and Boeing be arch-rivals someday? The Boeing 747-8I Intercontinental in ‘sunrise’ livery The …Read More
Achieving profitability on KC-46A will be a key focus for Boeing
Now that the North American unit of European Aeronautics, Defence & Space Co. (EADS) has decided not to file a protest against Boeing’s tanker win on 24th February (“EADS’s potential tanker award protest unlikely to prevail“, 25th Feb 11), which effectively put an end to the decade-long saga, the focus of the KC-46A aerial refueling aircraft program will now be on Chicago-based airframer Boeing’s ability to turn this aggressive bid …Read More
Airbus faces challenges on A380 profitability
As the Asia/Pacific region emerges from the 2007-2009 global financial crisis as a global leader amid this fragmented economic recovery with a strong rebound on travel demand, of which industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates carriers in the Asia/Pacific region are going to account for US$7.7 billion of the US$15.1 billion aggregate industry-wide net profit in 2010, it is clear that this market is the one that will …Read More