Free Republic

Tuesday, June 27, 2006Boeing Dreamliner 'coming to life'First large pieces to be assembled in Japan starting this weekBy JAMES WALLACEP-I AEROSPACE REPORTERNAGOYA, Japan -- For Boeing's Everett engineers working on the company's first all-new commercial jetliner in more than a decade, the dream begins here.In this Japanese industrial city far from The Boeing Co.'s Puget Sound roots, in a factory built just for the 787 Dreamliner, Fuji Heavy Industries has completed the first large composite section that will go on the first 787 to fly next year.Measuring 17.4 feet long by 19 feet wide, the composite structure is the lower...

Boeing unveils plans for trailing edge variable camber on 787 to reduce drag, save weight By Guy Norris in Seattle Boeing plans to test and develop a trailing edge variable camber (TEVC) system for the 787 which it says will reduce cruise drag and save the equivalent of between 340 and 450kg (750-1,000lb) in weight. The fully automatic system, which is thought to be the first practical application of the long-studied variable camber concepts evaluated by both Airbus and Boeing since the 1980s, will be “completely transparent to the flight crew” says 787 systems director Mike Sinnett. Linked directly into...

US Airways is taking a relaxed view of Airbus’s indecision on the A350 design, even if it results in the carrier’s order for 20 of the type being scrapped. In a memorandum to employees, the airline’s president and chief executive Doug Parker says US Airways management understands Airbus “is having internal debate as to whether or not they shouldn’t start over on the A350”. He adds: “If they come back with a new aircraft, great. If they don’t and we don’t have an order any more, that’s fine. The merger’s done and [Airbus has] been paid back, so everyone’s happy.”...

Airbus could lose its largest and most prominent A350 customer, Qatar Airways, because of its indecision over the aircraft’s configuration and the likelihood that it will adopt an all-new design. The Qatari flag carrier – currently an all-Airbus operator – last year became the lead A350 customer when it announced at the Paris air show that it intended to order 60 of the twinjets for delivery from 2010 after an evaluation that included the rival Boeing 787. Although the airline later began to firm up the deal by signing a letter of intent for the 60 aircraft, it has held...

Airbus could lose its largest and most prominent A350 customer, Qatar Airways, because of its indecision over the aircraft’s configuration and the likelihood that it will adopt an all-new design. The Qatari flag carrier – currently an all-Airbus operator – last year became the lead A350 customer when it announced at the Paris air show that it intended to order 60 of the twinjets for delivery from 2010 after an evaluation that included the rival Boeing 787. Although the airline later began to firm up the deal by signing a letter of intent for the 60 aircraft, it has held...

Airbus has taken a swipe at potential and existing customers for its A350 long-range twinjet for failing to supply timely feedback during the development effort, admitting that any newly-designed variant could not be ready until at least 2012. In a hard-hitting interview with UK broadcaster BBC in its Hard Talk series, Airbus chief operating officer, Charles Champion, says the airframer "underestimated how much our customers wanted a competition between Airbus and Boeing with a new product from our side". He adds that "constructive criticism" that Airbus welcomes during the development phase of any new aircraft came "a bit late, maybe"....

Airbus has done it again. On Jan. 17, the European planemaker reported that it booked 1,055 net aircraft orders in 2005, just ahead of the 1,002 logged by Boeing in a record-breaking sales year for both companies.

Airbus’s chief salesman John Leahy may be having some quiet time to himself to ponder the loss of the Qantas deal on his way back from Sydney. For a senior colleague had joked prior to the announcement that, if Leahy did not return from Australia with the order, he should “come back by boat”. Although Airbus has had a great year sales-wise, with almost 700 orders so far across its range, it must be frustrated by the advantage that Boeing has gained in the widebody markets as the 777 and 787 rack up the orders at the expense of the...

QANTAS will this week decide on A$20bn ($15bn) worth of orders for 90 aircraft, with the lion’s share tipped to go to manufacturer Boeing. Boeing’s 777 and 787 are pitted against Airbus’s A340 and A350 in the competition to equip the Australian airline with new planes. The Qantas board meets this Wednesday and an announcement is expected the same day. The Business can also reveal that Airbus is studying a revamp of the A340, its 777 equivalent, after a raft of wins by its American rival. Last week, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s de facto flagcarrier, placed an order for a...

The Air-India board wants to buy 50 commercial aircraft worth $6 billion, from Boeing Corp. Naysayers have been quick to impute motives to the transaction, pointing out that the only beneficiary would be the Seattle-based aircraft manufacturer; a few have said that the deal is driven by politics, not commercial sense; others have suggested that it makes no sense to buy so many planes from one seller. In fact, this deal could boost India's strategic relationship with the US and New Delhi is engaged in a geopolitical balancing act, soothing US nerves at losing Indian Airlines' $2.5 billion order to...