ALL THINGS BOEING

 Boeing’s Proposed Demonstrator Aircraft for NASA Project as the X-66A

The U.S. Air Force has designated the aircraft that Boeing is building under NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project as the X-66A.  X-66A is an X-plane meant to help the U.S. achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as stated in the White House’s Aviation Climate Action Plan, the space agency said on Tuesday June 13.

An industry team led by Boeing will develop a single-aisle demonstrator aircraft with Transonic Truss-Braced Wing under a contract that NASA awarded in January.

“ We are incredibly proud of this designation, because it means that X-66A will be the next in a long line of experimental aircraft used to validate breakthrough designs that have transformed aviation,” said Todd Citron, chief technology officer at Boeing.

“With the learning gained from design, construction, and flight-testing, we’ll have an opportunity to shape the future of flight and contribute to the decarbonization of aerospace,” Citron added.  Boeing and NASA will modify an MD-90 to build a demonstrator plane equipped with a set of aerodynamic trusses and long, thin wings with engines.

Source: Boeing/NASA

   Boeing is Deploying Experienced Pilots to Airlines For Training

Boeing is deploying experienced pilots to airlines that are training their employees to fly Boeing aircraft, part of a wider push to reduce aviation safety risks after two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.

In 2022, a total of 125 so-called “flight operations representatives” worked with more than 60 airlines, Boeing officials told reporters in during a media event in Washington.  “When there is an operator that is getting a new fleet type, we send them out,” said Lacey Pitman, Boeing’s vice president of its global aerospace safety initiative.  ”What we currently doing is deploying where there is that need and a request.

Boeing Chief Safety Officer Mike Delaney said that while it’s up to aviation regulators to ensure airlines are ready to operate new aircraft types, having Boeing pilots on the ground allows the company to address practices that may be concerning.

While Boeing historically has sent engineering and maintenance experts to embed with airlines, sending pilots on a semi-permanent basis to answer questions about flight operations procedures is a new endeavor for the company.

Boeing hopes to recruit additional flight operations representatives – who are mostly former retired airline pilots with more than 13,000 flight hours under their belt Pittman said.

Source: Boeing

Boeing Orders and Deliveries For June

Boeing roars back in June with 288 new aircraft orders, more than it has logged in any month in recent memory.

Notably, Boeing last month included a now finalized order from Saudi Arabian start-up Riyadh Air for 39 787s.  They also took orders for the 737 Max in June and managed to increase the pace of narrowbody deliveries, handing over 48 of the jets during the period.

In all, 190 of the 737 Max orders stemmed from confirmation on June 20 of a tentative deal with AirIndia, which also included 20 787-9s and 10 777X aircraft.

Boeing delivered 60 aircraft in June, including one 737NG-based military surveillance jet,(P8-Posiedon), 48 737 Max, four 767-300Fs, one 777F and six 787s.

For the six months to end-June, Boeing has delivered 216 737s against an annual target of 400 to 450.  It closed the month of June with 4,879 aircraft in its backlog.

Source: Boeing

                     

ALL THINGS AIRBUS

                        Airbus’s Second ‘Wing of Tomorrow’ Testing

Airbus is preparing to conduct a destructive test of an experimental wing as part of a technologies initiatives; it opens a new facility at its UK site in Filton dedicated to future wing research.  The Facility -known as the Wing Technology Development Center – will focus on constructing and testing demonstrators for various aerospace projects including the airframes’s Wing of Tomorrow program.

Wing of Tomorrow is examining a variety of new technologies which could be incorporated into lightweight low-drag wings, with broader spans and higher aspect ratios, to improve performance and fuel efficiency.  It also seeks to determine whether such technologies can be introduced at sufficiently low cost and applied to high rates of aircraft manufacture.

Airbus Wing of Tomorrow head Sue Partridge, speaking in Filton during a July 3 briefing ahead of the facility’s formal opening, said the center would focus on next-generation wing technology, and “leverage” the site’s broad engineering and test work.

Partridge says the experimental wing newly delivered to the facility is the second created under the Wing of Tomorrow program.  An initial wing, completed last year located at the Airbus plant in Broughton and used for modular assembly and integration work, and a third set to be assembled by 2025 to test the rate capability of selected technologies.

Source: Airbus,Picture Airbus

               A321neo Overtakes A320 as the Most-ordered Model

Thirty years after the Airbus A321’s maiden flight, the A321neo has just taken over as the airframer’s most popular individual model across its aircraft range.

Airbus’s half-backlog figures show the A321neo has accumulated orders for 5,163 aircraft, overtaking the 4,763 for the original A320.

The A321neo had already been outselling other variants in the A320neo family’s carriers migrated to the larger model.  Airbus’s latest backlog data states that 1,078 A321neos have been delivered to customers.

Source: Airbus

Airbus Orders And Deliveries for June

Record demand from India sharply increased Airbus orders in June, leaving the European planemaker with 1,044 net orders in the first half of the year.

Airbus officially booked orders for 500 jets from budget carrier IndiGo of India and 250 from Air India and finalized at the Paris Airshow.  Airbus gross orders before cancellations stood at 1,080 aircraft in the first half and delivered 316 jets during the period.

Source: Airbus         

        

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

  Binter Orders Six More Embraer E195-E2s

Binter Canarias placed a firm order for xix more E195-E2 aircraft at the Paris air show on June 20.  Deliveries of the Pratt & Whiney PW1900G-powered jets will commence in the second half of 2024, Embraer says.

The Canary Islands-based carrier has already received five E195-E2s from an existing order for 10 of the type, having taken delivery of its example in November 2019.

Deliveries from that order are set to continue through to mid-2024.  Binter configures the jet with 132 seats.

Source : Binter Cararias, Picture Binter Canarias

                                        Pilatus PC-12 NGX Fleet Expands to Japan

The first PC-12 NGX has been handed over to OpenSky Inc., the Japanese “private Jet Membership” company.  From now on, the single-engine turboprop with its unique asian-type design will carry passengers to destinations all over Japan.

It was already evening when the PC-12 NGX arrived in the Japanese megacity of Osaka after its ferry flight from Switzerland.  Even though no information was published in advance, numerous plane spotters outside the airport were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the “Swiss Made” PC-12 NGX.

OpenSky Inc. serves a discerning clientele, offering a unique travel experience which stands out from the competition in terms of both product and service.

The Japanese operator additionally took delivery of a PC-24 Super Versatile Jet this year, which it will also use to offer business flights.  In addition, the company has placed an order for a second PC-24 which will be delivered in the fall of 2024.

Source: Pilatus

                                                                   

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

                           Air NewZealand 777s Return to Service

The last remaining Air New Zealand has arrived back in Auckland after more than two years in storage in the Mojave Desert.  Four of the flag carrier’s 777s were withdrawn and ferried to Victorville Airport in California during the pandemic, with the remaining three parked in Auckland.

The final example, ZK-OKM landed back on home soil on May 10 after more than 855 days in storage. Air New Zealand’s chief operations officer, Alex Marren, explained how the aircraft was prepared for its return to service:

“The process started with unwrapping the plane from its storage protection and giving it a good wash to get rid of the dust and grime that accumulated in the desert.  Then it went through a thorough servicing and maintenance program.

It’s a long and a complicated process and our engineering and maintenance team have done an amazing job getting the aircraft ready to fly again.”

The 777 left the US on April 1 and was routed via Hawaii to Singapore where it spent a month undergoing heavy maintenance before completing its journey to New Zealand.  It returned to service to Nadi, Fiji on May 11.

Source: Air New Zealand,AirlinerWorld

                        Riyadh Air Picks GEnx Engines to Power Dreamliners

Saudi start-up Riyadh Air has picked GE Aerospace GEnx engines to power its on-order Boeing 787-9s.

Riyadh Air, in March, announced an order for 39 firm Dreamliners and took options on 32 more as part of a wider Saudi widebody order.  That order also included more 787s for the Saudis, which already operates GEnx engines on its Dreamliners.

The engine agreement was disclosed at the Paris air show.  Riyadh Air is targeting the launch of services in 2025 and aims to be connecting over 100 destinations with the Saudi capital by the end of the decade.

Riyadh Air chief executive Tony Douglas says: “The agreement highlights our determination to significantly extend Saudi Arabia’s connectivity with the world.  We look forward to fostering strong strategic relationships within the wider aviation ecosystem as we continue to shape our new digitally native airline to become one of the most sustainable and guest-centric carriers in the world.”

Source: Riyadh Air

                       Virgin Australia Takes Delivery of First 737 Max

Virgin Australia has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max 8, kickstarting the airline’s fleet growth and renewal program.  The aircraft(VH-8IA on lease from lessor CALC is the first of 33 737 Max aircraft that the airline will take delivery of over the next five years.  Virgin Australia has eight Max 8s and 25 larger Max10s on order.

The new jet entered commercial service at the end of July, where it will be deployed to fly the Cairns-Tokyo Haneda services new route which is being operated by 737-700s.

Airline operations chief Stuart Aggs says the new aircraft are a “critical part” of the airline’s transformation – both operationally as well as in its sustainability efforts – not the type’s fuel efficiency credentials.

Adds Erika Pearson, Boeing’s vice president for commercial sales and marketing, Southeast Asia and Oceania: “operating younger, more fuel-efficient 737Max8 airplanes will support Virgin Australia to take key steps in meeting sustainability goals, while providing passengers with enhanced comfort and a more enjoyable flying experience.”

The carrier is the second Australian operator of the 737 Max. Low-cost start-up Bonza, which began operations in January this year, also operates the 737 Max 8.

Source: Boeing, Virgin Australia     

      

LATEST NEWS

• Delta Air Lines has exercised options on a dozen more Airbus A220-300s, taking its firm commitments for the jet, including the smaller -100s, to 131.

• IAG British Airways and Iberia parent IAG is converting options on another 10 Airbus A320neos into firm orders.

• flynas has received two Airbus aircraft of the next-generation A320neo.

• Air Inuit is to introduce three Boeing 737-800s to modernize its fleet, which includes 737-200 Variants.

• Airbus has rolled out the sixth and final example of its BelugaXL high-capacity transport, designed to fly aero structures between the airframes’s manufacturing facilities.

• Luxair Luxembourg’s flag-carrier has introduced its first Boeing 737 Max, as it embarks on further fleet modernization.

• Turkish Airlines’ AnadoluJet arm is to lease a batch of Boeing 737 Max 8s from the Chinese-linked lessor CDB Aviation.

• Pegasus Turkish  budget carrier has disclosed an agreement to take another 36 firm Airbus A321neo twinsets.

Sources : Airbus, Delta Airlines, Luxair, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, IAG, Air Inuit

                                                     Air Cargo

             ANA Completes Deal for Nippon Cargo Airlines

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has firmed its agreement with shipping and Logistics group NYK to acquire Boeing 747 freighter operator Nippon Cargo Airlines(NCA).

The share transfer is due to take place at the start of October, following approval of NCA’s shareholders and will see the cargo carrier become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ANA.  The two companies signed a preliminary deal on the transaction in March this year.

NYK says the cargo operator will be better positioned to grow further within an airline group, which would also in a better position to support NCA with emissions reduction requirements.

“In the highly volatile business environment of airfreight transportation, NCA has been facing challenges in expanding its business scale at a level that is commensurate with such costs.”

NCA currently operates a fleet of eight Boeing 747-8 Freighters and owns five 747-400 freighters that are operated by ASL and Atlas Air.

At the same time the update on the sale of NCA was announced, a series of management changes were also unveiled, Hitoshi Oshika, who is currently president and chief executive, will become chairman of the board.  Hiroyuki Homma has been promoted to president and chief executive from his current role as senior managing director.

Source: NCA/ANA

                          Airbus Hikes Payload Specs For A350 Freighter

Airbus has hiked the payload capability of the A350 freighter, bringing it up to 111t from the initial level of 109t.  Senior vice-president for widebody programs Florent Massou disclosed the higher figure during a briefing on June 14.

The aircraft emerged towards the end of 2021 and has so far secured 39 orders, it will enter service in 2026.

“We’ve progressed so well on the design we can add  2t more, for more revenues with airlines, plus more efficiency overall with the platform,” says Massou.

Among the features of the aircraft will be a 175in(4.44m) wide main-deck cargo door, larger than the 146 door on the 777F and the Israel Aerospace industries 777 conversion well as the 160in of Mammoth Freighters’ modified 777.  “This is the widest door in the market,” says Massou.  No other product can be compared to the door of the A30F.

Source: Airbus, Picture Airbus                    

Researched and Compiled by :

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor 

Contact – ekaplanian@yahoo.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian