The crash of 737 MAX 8 jetliner in Ethiopia two weeks ago has evoked starkly different reactions depending on who you ask. Airlines have reacted in the same way. While Garuda mulls cancellation, flydubai digs in, and Norwegian fumes. We’re...
The Boeing 737 MAX And Iraq War Redux
The evidence was irrefutable. Every credible intelligence agency agreed. Only idiots didn’t understand. Statesmen from both sides of the aisle and the enlightened countries of the world all saw the imminent threat. Billions of dollars were spent. Lives...
Exclusive: U.S. Commercial Pilot Addresses Boeing 737 MAX Safety
121pilot, a frequent commenter on this blog, is a U.S. commercial airline pilot. I asked him to address the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX and he graciously agreed. His thoughts are below. There has been a great deal...
Boeing, Now It’s Your Turn To Calm The Public
Boeing does not owe the public, including its shareholders, an immediate explanation for what happened to an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 that crashed after takeoff yesterday, killing everyone onboard. But it would be wise to address the issue...
As China Grounds 737 MAX, Safety Questions Abound
Tragically, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX traveling from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed shortly after takeoff yesterday. 159 perished and there were no survivors. The second crash of this aircraft variant in a matter of months has left...
United Orders Additional 737 + 777 Aircraft
Buried in the news of United’s excellent financials was a new Boeing aircraft order. As the airline continues to expand, United has placed a firm order for 24 additional 737 MAX aircraft and four additional 777-3o0ER. The deal was...
Collapse Of Iran Deal Hurts Airbus Much More Than Boeing
With U.S. President Donald Trump signing an executive order re-instating sanctions on Iran, Iran Air finds itself in a difficult position. So does Airbus. Boeing? Not so much. The USA is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal framework. With...
Boeing 767 Production Will Continue Regardless of United Order
The Wall Street Journal rekindled rumors yesterday that United Airlines may purchase new Boeing 767 aircraft from Boeing. Whether that happens or not, the 767 has found new life and will not shut down. For weeks we’ve heard that...
What I Hate Most About the Boeing 787
I do love the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, generally. It is a great aircraft with a noticeable improvement in cabin air quality. But there is one thing about it that I simply cannot stand… That’s the automatic flushers on the...
Airbus and Trump Win, Boeing and Bombardier Lose
Bombardier will sell the majority of its C Series program to Airbus. Although talks have been ongoing for months, they took on a new urgency in light of the blistering 300% duty slapped on by U.S. regulators. The new...
Defiant Delta CEO: We Will NOT Pay “Nonsensical” Bombardier Tariff
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has come out swinging, saying Delta will take delivery of its new Bombardier C Series order while also promising it will never pay the 300% tariff levied by the U.S. Government. I outlined the stakes of the...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: October 1, 2017
Greetings from 38,000 feet. I’m in the air enroute to Europe, where I’ll be spending most of the week. No new products to review on this trip…TAP and Air India didn’t have award space… Some more disturbances in the...
Boeing Wins, Consumers Lose
Last week I wrote about a trade spat between Boeing and Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier over alleged subsidies. The US Department of Commerce has sided with Boeing and plans to slap a whopping 220% tariff on each Bombardier C...
Prime Minister: Canada Will NOT Buy Boeing Jets
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has declared that Canada will not do business with Boeing, threatening to look elsewhere to supply Canada’s next generation of fighter jets. Speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May,...
Should I Fly the Iran Air 747SP?
I do not have many regrets in life, but three big regrets are never flying the Concorde, Boeing 707, and Lockheed L1011. Had my aviation enthusiasm begun just a couple years earlier I am certain I would have flown...
Malaysia Airlines 747 Hijacks My A380!
Malaysia Airlines has six three A380s that are utilized to operate two daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and London, though apparently that is logistically impossible for the troubled carrier. To wit, the carrier has brought a 747-400 out of...
United Announces Additional 787 Routes
Although United Airlines, with great fanfare, announced that the Boeing 787 would operate the carrier’s new Denver-Tokyo Narita route next year, that will not be the first route we will see United’s newest fleet addition on. Today, United filled us...
Memorial Day 2012
Despite the irony of Boeing depending on war and carnage, and thereby the death of soldiers, to stay profitable, the aerospace firm manages to put together a nice Memorial Day ad each year. This year’s ad is compelling and...
787 Delay Prompts United to Postpone Launch of Houston-Auckland Service
Back in May, Continental announced plans to begin non-stop service between Houston and Auckland in November 2011 on one their newly-delivered 787-8 aircraft. But if you’ve been reading the news lately, you know that Boeing has, well, run into...
MIT Proposes Next Generation 737 – Increasing Fuel Efficiency by 70%
Although the prototype design appears unconventional based on the way we currently envision commercial aircraft, MIT is serious: the technology exists to substantially decrease fuel consumption while not compensating performance. Take a look at their proposal, at left, for...
