Royal Air Maroc shows off Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Washington Dulles

 The business-class cabin on Royal Air Maroc’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner is seen prior to the carrier’s inaugural departure from Washington Dulles on Sept. 8, 2016.

 (Photo: J. David Buerk)

Royal Air Maroc showed off its Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” on Thursday (Sept. 8) at Washington Dulles International Airport.

The tour of the airline’s newest aircraft type came as the Moroccan carrier completed its inaugural round trip between Casablanca and Washington Dulles, which becomes just the second U.S. gateway for Royal Air Maroc.

“Royal Air Maroc is thrilled to launch the only nonstop service between Washington, D.C., and Casablanca,” CEO Abdelhamid Addou said in a statement accompanying the carrier’s first day of service to Washington Dulles.

“We are equally excited about deploying the state-of-the-art Boeing 787 on this important route,” he added.

Indeed, Royal Air Maroc opened its Dreamliner to the media for a brief show-and-tell after the aircraft made its inaugural arrival to Washington Dulles from Casablanca. The aircraft took off a short while later for the return trip to Morocco.

Royal Air Maroc’s Dreamliners seat 274 passengers in a layout that includes 18 lie-flat business-class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. The economy cabin is arranged in a 3-3-3 layout.

Royal Air Maroc offers three weekly flights between Washington Dulles and Casablanca, which is its primary hub. Connections via Casablanca are available to dozens of destinations throughout Morocco, West Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Royal Air Maroc is now the third African carrier to fly from Washington Dulles. South African Airways offers one-stop service to Johannesburg. Those flights stop in Dakar, Senegal, or Accra, Ghana, depending on the day of the week. Ethiopian Airlines flies nonstop from Dulles to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. The return flight makes a stop in Dublin, Ireland, on its way from Addis Ababa to Washington.

Royal Air Maroc took delivery of its first Dreamliner on Dec. 31, 2014. The airline now has four Dreamliners in its fleet with one more on order.

Washington will become Royal Air Maroc's third destination in North America. It also flies to New York JFK and Montreal.

(Ben Mutzabaugh - Today in the Sky / USA Today)

China to spend $1 trillion on 6,810 new aircraft

 (Boeing) 

Chinese airlines will spend more than $1 trillion on new aircraft over the next two decades as they seek to meet booming demand for air travel, according to a new forecast by Boeing.

The massive spending spree will pay for an estimated 6,810 aircraft, and turn China into what Boeing describes as "the first trillion dollar aviation market."
Randy Tinseth, a marketing executive at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement that he expects passenger traffic in China to grow by 6.4% a year over the next 20 years.

The country's growing middle class and new visa policies "gives us every reason to expect a very bright future for China's long-haul market," he said.

Boeing predicts that three-quarters of the new deliveries will be single-aisle aircraft that carry between 90 and 230 passengers, and cater to both business and holiday travelers.

Demand for widebody planes will also increase, with 1,560 new planes helping to triple the country's fleet over 20 years. The category includes aircraft like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the company's classic 777 line.

Boeing has played a major role in developing China's aviation industry and infrastructure, and the Chicago-based company estimates that it pumps roughly $1 billion a year into the country's economy though joint ventures and purchases from suppliers.

In 2015, Boeing estimated that Chinese airlines would spend $950 billion over 20 years.

(Charles Riley- CNN Business)

Why Russia, Iran and China Should Fear the U.S. Marine's F-35 Stealth Fighter

(Lockheed Martin)

The U.S. Marine Corps said it would soon begin testing its F-35B stealth fighters with the U.S. Navy’s new fire-control network.

If the testing leads to operational use, the Marines’ F-35s could function essentially as fast, armed, radar-evading surrogates for the Navy’s E-2 radar planes — extending the detection and engagement range of a variety of munitions.

Marine Corps headquarters slipped its announcement of the testing into a Sept. 1 update on F-35B testing. The Corps declared its first F-35B squadron combat-ready in July 2015, but operational testing of the stealthy warplane continues.

The F-35B detachment of Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 1 at Edwards Air Force Base in California recently completed test-firings of the AIM-120 air-to-air missile.

Next up, according to Marine Corps headquarters — tests of the F-35B’s compatibility with the Naval Integrated Fire Control Counterair network, or NIFC-CA. The announcement did not say when the NIFC-CA testing would take place, but the Navy had previously stated that it would test F-35s with NIFC-CA in September 2016 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

That test would involve F-35s detecting targets for a land-based battery of SM-6 surface-to-air missiles. It’s not clear if the Marines are joining the Navy’s F-35-NIFC-CA testing or conducting separate trials on their own.

Poorly understood outside of naval circles, NIFC-CA is arguably one of the most important developments in the U.S. military. NIFC-CA is, in essence, a network architecture that combines several different sensors, datalinks and munitions.

NIFC-CA allows, say, an aircraft to pass targeting data to a warship armed with SM-6 missiles. The SM-6 — a 22-foot-long weapon that mates a two-stage rocket booster with the seeker head of an AIM-120. The Navy hasn’t released the SM-6's maximum range, but it could be as great as 250 miles. The sailing branch did claim that one 2014 at-sea test of the SM-6 resulted in the longest-range surface-to-air engagement in history.

In any event, the SM-6 clearly can “shoot” farther than a warship’s sensors can “see.” But if an aircraft flying far ahead of the ship can relay its own targeting tracks, it can help the SM-6 to strike at its farther-possible range.

NIFC-CA began entering frontline service in 2013. At present, the standard application of NIFC-CA combines SM-6-armed destroyers with Navy E-2D radar-early-warning planes. But there are only a handful of E-2Ds in service. The Navy wants to add more aircraft and munition types, including surface-to-surface weapons, to the NIFC-CA architecture — and clearly the Marines want in, too.

If the upcoming F-35B-NIFC-CA testing proves fruitful, it’s possible that, in future wars, F-35Bs flying from Navy assault ships or even from British aircraft carriers or land bases, could stealthily penetrate enemy air defenses, detect enemy ships, planes and even ground forces and cue U.S. warships to lob far-flying missiles over the horizon at the targets.

The expansion of the NIFC-CA network has reassured U.S. military leaders that American naval forces should be able to defeat so-called “anti-access area-denial” systems — radars, jet fighters, ballistic missiles, etc. — that China, Russia and Iran are creating in order to keep U.S. forces away from their borders.

Asked in August 2016 whether the Navy’s aircraft carriers could safely operate inside enemy anti-access umbrellas, Adm. John Richardson was unequivocal. “Yes,” Richardson said. Adding the Marines’ F-35Bs to the Navy’s fire-control network should only boost his confidence.

(David Axe - The National Interest

Southwest Engine Fan Blade Broke off Mid-Flight Last Month

A fan blade on a jet engine snapped off a Southwest Airlines Co. plane last month in a violent failure that sent debris slamming into the plane, according to a preliminary investigative report released Monday.

Investigators with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board found evidence of a crack “consistent” with metal fatigue in the titanium-alloy blade, it said in a statement released on the agency’s website.

The Boeing Co. 737-700 was forced to make an emergency landing in Pensacola, Florida, Aug. 27 after parts of the left engine broke apart, damaging the fuselage, wing and tail. The plane lost cabin pressure and passengers Tweeted pictures of themselves with oxygen masks on.

While no one was hurt on the flight from New Orleans to Orlando, Florida, some of the 99 passengers aboard reported on social media that the diversion was harrowing as they looked outside and saw the air intake known as a cowling had been ripped loose, exposing the front of the engine. The five crew members also weren’t hurt.

The CFM56 engine was built by CFM International Inc., a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Safran SA. The NTSB has not determined the cause of the failure.

Lost Pressure

An unidentified shard put a 5-by-16-inch (13-by-41-centimeter) gash in the side of the plane above the wing, according to investigators. The cabin leaked air and lost pressure after the failure, though the NTSB said no metal from the engine pierced the cabin and no debris was found within the plane.

NTSB investigators view so-called “uncontained” failures seriously because they can fling heavy metal parts into fuel lines, electronics and the passenger compartment. And under requirements in the U.S. and other nations, it’s never supposed to happen.

Regulations hold that jet engines must be built with a strong enough exterior casing to prevent fan blades and other debris from breaking through in the event of a failure. Tests must be conducted simulating a fan-blade breakup to prove that the metal shards can’t escape.

Modern jet engines contain a series of spinning fans and if one of them breaks apart it can eject blades and other metal debris at high speeds.
Checking for Cracks

Engine manufacturers and airlines conduct periodic inspections on planes designed to spot any evidence of cracks or weakening of the metal due to fatigue. Investigators did not say why they suspect the fan blade broke loose.

"GE and Safran continue to assist the NTSB in its investigation," GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said.

The last maintenance check on the Southwest plane was on Aug. 21, according to Brandy King, an airline spokeswoman.

While increasingly rare, engine failures that propel shrapnel into the fuselage of a plane have proved fatal in the past. A mother and child seated in a Delta Air Lines Inc. plane were killed on July 6, 1996, in Pensacola when the left power plant on a Boeing MD-88 broke apart while accelerating for takeoff.

After the front fan blade disintegrated, it sent metal shards flying into the plane where people were sitting, according to the NTSB. A manufacturing defect in the engine, made by United Technologies Corp. division Pratt & Whitney, should have been detected by airline maintenance workers performing routine inspections, the NTSB investigation concluded. 

Shrapnel Damage

The NTSB and other accident investigation agencies around the world occasionally probe other cases in which engines on airliners fail so violently that shrapnel escapes the hardened casing around the turbine and causes more damage.

An Airbus Group SE A380 double-decker jet flying from Singapore to Sydney suffered extensive damage on Nov. 4, 2010, when high-velocity debris from one engine sprayed the plane and two other power plants.

The Qantas Airways Ltd. pilots managed to land in spite of damage to the plane’s hydraulics system, electronics and three out of the four engines, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The failure was traced back to pipes installed on the engine that were too thin and cracked, according to the ATSB.

Overall, jet engine reliability has improved dramatically since the technology was introduced and airliners now routinely fly across oceans with just two power plants because breakdowns are so rare.

While far below the leading causes of accidents and death, engine failures ranked fourth in the decade from 2006 through 2015 with 165 fatalities, according to Boeing statistics. 

Southwest has begun repairs on the plane, the airline said in an e-mailed statement. The carrier deferred to the NTSB to release details of the investigation.

(Alan Levin AlanLevin & Mary Schlangenstein - Bloomberg Business News)

Lawsuit seeks to keep Alaska Airlines from acquiring Virgin America

A group of 42 consumers is suing to prevent Alaska Airlines from purchasing Virgin America.

Alaska Airlines announced plans in April to buy Virgin America. The deal is scheduled to be completed by December. Both airlines fly to Hawaii.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the plaintiffs described the deal as “substantial and foreboding” and said it contributed to a growing trend of mergers involving large airlines, according to a story in the Las Vegas Sun.

Such mergers increase costs for fliers while eliminating expansion, decreasing the number of available seats on flights and reducing the variety of travel destinations, plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Alioto told the newspaper.

Contacted by Pacific Business News, Alioto said he filed a motion Thursday seeking a preliminary injunction that would halt the acquisition until the lawsuit is decided.

While Alaska Airlines is a good carrier, it's vital that Virgin America remain in business with other low-cost airlines, he said.

"Their competition is extremely important if there's going to be any competition in the airline industry," he told PBN.

The plaintiffs are seeking a court order prohibiting the $4 billion ongoing acquisition, which includes Alaska Airlines paying $2.6 billion in cash and assuming $1.4 billion in current debt and leases.

Last week, Alaska Airlines announced its intention to cut about 225 Virgin America management positions as part of the merger.

Alaska Airlines, based in the Seattle area, has 157 aircraft and 880 average daily flights. San Francisco-based Virgin America has 63 aircraft and makes about 200 daily flights.

(James Ptichard - Pacific Business News)

Delta and Korean Air rekindle a partnership grown frosty

 (Delta Airlines)

Delta Air Lines and Korean Air are taking steps to mend a chilly relationship, announcing an expansion of their partnership Wednesday where each airline can sell tickets on some of each other's flights.

Delta will also launch a new non-stop flight from its hometown of Atlanta to Seoul Incheon International Airport in June.

The two carriers were founding members of the SkyTeam alliance in 2000. But that relationship started to fray after Delta reportedly pushed for — and Korean rejected — a joint venture agreement across the Pacific Ocean. In such a deal, airlines share revenue and work together on pricing for a set of flights. (United Airlines has a joint venture with Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways and American Airlines has such a partnership with Japan Airlines.)

Since then, Delta has made Korean a weaker partner than other SkyTeam members such as Air France and KLM. It became harder for Delta fliers to earn miles on Korean and each airline made it harder to sell flights on the other's carrier — something Wednesday's announcement reverses.

Delta also started to look elsewhere for its Asian expansion. For instance, last summer, Delta purchased a 3.55% stake in China Eastern and started to talk about connecting passengers through its Shanghai hub.

Since that time, Delta has a new CEO, Ed Bastian, and has been shifting its Asia strategy again. Just last month, it eliminated several more routes to Tokyo's Narita International Airport, a sign that it is starting to dismantle that hub.

Delta still talks about its partnership with China Eastern, but a renewed agreement with Korean could provide its passengers with quicker access to secondary cities within Asia and let them avoid China's notorious air traffic delays.

Representatives for both airlines downplayed tensions Wednesday, saying the agreement simply enhances the partnership. Korean will now be able to sell tickets on 115 of Delta's routes within the U.S. and Canada, through a process known as codesharing. Delta will be able to sell tickets directly for 32 Korean Air destinations beyond Seoul including Taipei, Osaka, Singapore, Nagoya and Okinawa.

(Scott Mayerowitz - Today in the Sky / USA Today)

Why labor's anger with Southwest Airlines management is likely to linger

The following story touches on numerous reasons that I made the hard choice to retire this past July after almost 21 years with Southwest Airlines.

I had planned to stay much longer with the carrier but due to the continuing misguided changes (enhancements) to employee work rules and benefits and the pure separation (detachment) between Dallas Corporate and its hard working work groups (all work groups) I made the choice to get out while the getting was good.

I hope you enjoy the following story and please keep in mind that the pilots and flight attendants are not the only work groups at Southwest Airlines that care for our customers as both groups like to claim and or take credit for.

The folks on the ground (customer service agents, operations agents, and ramp agents), are on the front lines everyday making it happen for our customers and flight crews alike! 

Michael Carter: Editor and Chief, AeroPacific Flightlines 

After years of negotiations, Southwest Airlines pilots — more than 8,500 of them — appear to be on verge of ratifying a new contract that will reward them with generous pay hikes over several years and other benefits related to retirement and work rules.

But that doesn't necessarily mean the pilots union, which wields considerable power within the airline, is about to let Southwest management off the hook.

In a lengthy and provocative cover letter included in the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA) August newsletter, pilots union president Jon Weaks, known by his members to be a man inclined to speak his mind, offers up a very grim assessment of what he perceives to be at least some of the managerial failings of the carrier for which he flies.

The letter, in its entirety, certainly suggests that last month's no-confidence vote by SWAPA and three other key unions — mechanics, flight attendants and ramp agents — was not just about their collective pique over prolonged contract talks, but rather a real concern about how the carrier they work for is being managed.

Referencing the well-publicized system outage that hit Southwest Airlines in late July, Weaks in his letter wrote "last month's operational failure was not the sole reason for the four unions finally speaking up. It was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. There has been a growing history of self-induced failures within our airline, and we have been attempting to highlight them and propose solutions to senior management for quite some time. Thus far, our inputs have fallen on deaf ears."

Weaks went on in his letter to offer an assessment of how Southwest, which has its largest hub at Chicago's Midway Airport, handled its system outage in July compared to the way rival Delta Air Lines handled a similar outage just days later.

Weaks said Delta, a much larger carrier, cancelled about the same number of flights during its outage that Southwest did. But that's where the similarities ended, according to Weaks.

Noted the SWAPA president: "Whereas our 'leadership' was nowhere to be seen or heard from for the first few days of the meltdown, Mr. Bastian (Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian) was in his operations center issuing personal apologies to customers within a few hours of the event's start. It was the Delta CEO himself communicating to the flying public. Two days into the (Southwest's) failure, our CEO finally spoke to employees about vagaries relating to a 'one-in-a-thousand-year flood' and 'brownouts'."

And that isn't all. Weaks was critical of the massive breakdown in customer service that accompanied the July outage.

Wrote Weaks: "Our flying public was left without the one thing that supposedly separates us from our competition: Customer service."

Weaks pointed out that the Southwest meltdown was characterized on social media platforms by "anger that continued to grow for days following the event, whereas the Delta meltdown was characterized by initial anger and then a level of positivity about how the company reacted."

Weaks even wrote of one of the horrific situations that appeared to be a result of the Southwest meltdown and the carrier's inability to get it under control: "Some of the most upsetting stories from our failure, and we know there were many, including wheelchair-bound senior citizens left alone only to be discovered late at night by crew members walking by in a terminal void of employees."

Finally, Weaks ended his provocative letter by stepping back and taking a look at the big picture in terms of how labor at Southwest views management in general and in particular CEO Gary Kelly, whom Weaks apparently believes hasn't fully taken under advisement the historic no-confidence vote last month.

"For a CEO, this is a jarring notice that self-reflection is long overdue," Weaks wrote. "He (Kelly) should ask himself 'what have I done as CEO that could breed so much discontent within my company's employees?'." ... This lack of self-awareness is one of the fundamental flaws within our executive suite that brings us to calling for new leadership. This is not about a contract as he (Kelly) would have everyone believe. In fact it could be considered rather risky to antagonize management when labor is negotiating. ... This is much bigger. This is about sustaining what those who came before us built here at Southwest Airlines."

A request for comment from Southwest Airlines management was not immediately answered.

(Lewis Lazare - Chicago Business Journal)

Honeywell Aviation Services Boeing 720B-051B (18384/237) N720H

Rests on the Flight Path Learning Center ramp at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) on December 17, 2003 to take part in ceremonies celebrating the Centennial of Flight.

This simply gorgeous aircraft was original delivered to Trans World Airlines (TWA) as N795TW on September 30, 1961.

(Photo by Michael Carter)

American Trans Air (ATA) Lockheed L-1011-385-1-15 Tristar 100 (c/n 193B-1230) N194AT

This gorgeous aircraft is captured on short final to Rwy 24L at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) on June 19, 2005. She was originally delivered to Trans World Airlines (TWA) as N8034T on March 8, 1982.

(Photo by Michael Carter)

Boeing is making a major change to its planes that could end jet lag as we know it

During the development of the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing encountered countless engineering hurdles.

One of which was the decision to build much of the plane out of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics and other composite materials instead of the aluminum most commonly used on commercial airliners.

While the engineering of the composite airframe may have been a challenge, it's a decision that allowed Boeing to make a major change to its aircraft that could greatly reduce the effect of jet lag on its passengers.

"The Dreamliner has a composite fuselage and that allowed us to pressurize it at whatever altitude we wanted because the material is not as susceptible to fatigue," Blake Emery, director of differentiation strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told Business Insider in an interview.

Currently, most airliners have cabin air pressure equivalent to that of an altitude of 8,000 feet. For the Dreamliner, Boeing cut that down to 6,000 feet.

"To lower the cabin altitude, we actually increased the air pressure inside the cabin," Emery added. "It's a bit counterintuitive for most people."

Why does air pressure matter to passengers?

For most of us, a long flight is usually followed by some combination of symptoms that include headaches, lack of appetite, lack of energy, nausea, and sleeplessness.

All of these afflictions have been conveniently bundled together with a disruption of one's internal body clock to form something we call jet lag.

But the reality is that jet lag is far more serious.

The very symptoms we attribute to jet lag may actually be attributed to acute mountain sickness, which affects individuals exposed to altitudes above 6,500 feet.

In a study conducted by Oklahoma State University with the help of Boeing, researchers wrote:

"Some passengers on long commercial flights experience discomfort characterized by symptoms similar to those of acute mountain sickness. The symptoms are often attributed to factors such as jet lag, prolonged sitting, dehydration, or contamination of cabin air. However, because barometric pressures in aircraft cabins are similar to those at the terrestrial altitudes at which acute mountain sickness occurs, it is possible that some of the symptoms are related to the decreased partial pressure of oxygen and are manifestations of acute mountain sickness."

The study found that passengers who go from sea level up to 8,000 feet of altitude saw the oxygen content in their blood fall 4%. Although this didn't trigger full on acute mountain sickness, it did bring on what the study called "increased prevalence of discomfort after three to nine hours" of exposure.

"The research showed passengers' bodies reacted at 6,000 feet similar to that at sea level," Emery said. "So we decided to pressurize the Dreamliner at 6,000 feet."

At 6,000 feet, the cabin air is more dense and has a greater level of oxygen saturation. As result, the body does not have to work as hard to oxygenate blood and sustain itself.

According to Emery, since there isn't a perfect one-to-one correlation between altitude and jet lag, Boeing has taken additional measures to mitigate the symptoms. These measures include an increase in cabin humidity as well as a new air-filtration system.
 
Why haven't we had this all along?

The Dreamliner won't be the only Boeing jet to have a have a lower cabin altitude. The company's upcoming 777X wide-body mini-jumbo jet will also be pressurized at 6,000 feet.

However, unlike the composite Dreamliner, the 777X, Boeing's successor to landmark 777, will be primarily made of aluminum.

"Aluminum aircraft can be pressurized to 6,000 feet," Kent Craver, Boeing Commercial Airplanes regional director of passenger satisfaction, told Business Insider in an interview. "In fact, most business jets are already pressurized to that level."

In addition, Airbus is also working to lower the cabin altitude on its next generation of airliners.

Airplane makers have traditionally avoided lowering the cabin altitude because boosting the air pressure inside the cabin puts greater stress on aluminum airframes. This increases the likelihood of metal fatigue and shortens the service life of the airplane.

However, Boeing believes it can successfully lower cabin altitude on the 777X without going to a composite body.

"We know the 777 fuselage, its structural qualities, and its fatigue margins really well," a Boeing spokesperson told us in an email. "We also understand the requirements of the lower cabin altitude in terms of cycles and pressures on the fuselage. As a result, we can achieve it with a few local reinforcements and change those loads out to accommodate lower cabin altitude."

The Boeing 777X is set to enter service in 2019.

(Benjamin Zhang - Business Insider)

Airbus wing plant is a model of robotic technology

Inside a huge north Wales facility specifically designed for automation, Airbus assembles the wings of the A350, currently the largest composite wings in commercial aviation. In Everett, Boeing will have to match this technology to build the giant wings of its forthcoming 777X.

Like a cartoon space alien with a dome-like skull, an Airbus Beluga transport plane arriving from Madrid drops from the sky above this village 200 miles northwest of London and taxis to a stop with its front end tucked inside a large building off the runway.

Its bulbous forehead pops open to disgorge massive wing panels — 98 feet long and 20 feet wide — that will soon be assembled by sophisticated robots and about 800 humans into the largest carbon-fiber composite wings now built for commercial aviation.

Ninety minutes later, it’s ready to take off for Bremen, Germany, with a new load so large it must be tilted at a 45-degree angle to fit inside: an almost complete A350 wing.

This model of technological prowess, combined with geographical inefficiency, is what Boeing is contending against as it gears up to make its own, even larger composite wings for the 777X in Everett. 

Designed for wings 

Airbus puts together its wings in a $520 million state-of-the-art facility here that John Gillbanks, head of Airbus A350 wing production, says is “specifically designed for automated wing assembly.”

On a recent tour of the half-million-square-foot main building, partially assembled wings glided in and out of fixed stations, drilled and fastened mostly by robotic machines. The key pieces were designed and built by Mukilteo engineering firm Electroimpact, a prime supplier to this wing facility that opened five years ago.

Like Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, the A350 has wings, tail and fuselage made from carbon-fiber composites.

The initial A350-900 model, which entered service last year and carries 325 passengers, competes with the 787 Dreamliner.

The larger A350-1000, carrying 366 passengers, is to begin flight tests this fall and will compete against Boeing’s 777. It will also go up against the 777X, which will feature new composite wings attached to the traditional metal 777 fuselage.

To build such large composite wings is a major technological undertaking. The parts must first be fabricated from carbon-fiber tape infused with epoxy resin that is baked to hardness in massive high-pressure ovens called autoclaves.
 
Airbus’ composite parts are fabricated at facilities scattered widely around Europe, in England, Scotland, Germany and Spain. The one-piece wing skins are so large they must be flown to Broughton in the ungainly, custom-built Beluga.

Shaping structure

The assembly process begins with mechanics stacking the aluminum ribs and composite spars that form the wing’s ladderlike internal skeleton onto a movable cart that holds the unfastened pieces in position.

In the first station, this loose assembly is laid horizontally on top of the lower wing skin and the upper wing skin is dropped into place on top.
   
Movable arms aligned with lasers push and hold the structure into its precise alignment, which includes a twist to the outer end of the wing for better aerodynamics, as the automated machine tacks the structure together with temporary fasteners.

The wing is then moved to the next station, where a big Electroimpact machine drills and fills new holes to permanently fasten the wing skins.

As the machine stitches the wing together, two operators sit underneath it, monitoring the fastening process and controlling it where necessary with handheld triggers.
 
Creation of the basic wing structure is the most automated piece of the process. After that, it takes a lot of manual work to complete the wing: Altogether, about 800 mechanics and engineers work directly on the A350 wing at Broughton.

When the wing is backed out of the Electroimpact fastening machine and movedalong to the next station, a metal platform closes around it.

Mechanics walk around the wing on this platform, kneeling on pads along the edges to install the final fasteners by hand.

In the last station, mechanics install brackets on the wings’ trailing edges.

Each has a kit ready to hand with slots holding every bracket and bolt needed for the job, as well as a drawing showing where each piece goes in the assembly.

The wing then leaves the main building, delivered by transporter to the wing equipping facility next door, for the installation of the leading edge panels, the fuel system and the remaining brackets for wire harnesses.
 
Before it exits, the wing gets a coat of beige protective paint and the fuel system is tested for leaks.

“Over there, it’s a box,” said Gillbanks, of the wing-assembly facility. “Over here, it’s a wing.”

Yet even now, ready to leave Broughton, it’s still not a full wing.

The wing is transferred via Beluga to Bremen, where the big trailing-edge flap is attached and the final hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical systems are installed.

Broughton has done most of the work, Bremen has finished it. Only then is the complete wing flown one more time in the Beluga to Toulouse, France, for A350 final assembly.

This year, shortages of interior components have delayed A350 final assembly. Airbus has delivered just 21 of the jets through the end of August, with many more sitting on the flight line awaiting seats or lavatories.
 
Yet Broughton continues to churn out eight sets of A350 wings per month, with a plan to go to 10 sets per month, then 13 sets per month by the end of 2018.
 
Boeing’s 777X wing

Boeing’s 777X composite wing, including a 12-foot-long folding wingtip extension, is 10 feet longer than that of the A350.

In Everett, Boeing’s plan for building that giant wing has one very significant advantage over the Airbus setup in Broughton:

With the large wing parts being fabricated on site in a new, highly automated $1 billion building, there’ll be no need for anything like Airbus’ expensive parts-delivery operation.

While Airbus has to truck wing spars from England and Scotland, and fly in the wing skins from Spain and Germany, Boeing will simply deliver the big 777X wing parts next door, into the main Everett plant, said Jason Clark, Boeing vice president of 777X operations.

“The entire wing from spar and stringer fabrication all the way through final assembly is going to happen right here on this site,” said Clark, in an interview at Boeing Everett.

Yet in trying to emulate the automated efficiency of Broughton, Boeing also has a disadvantage.

Rather than working within a clean-sheet, purpose-built facility like the Airbus A350 wing factory, Boeing must clear space to assemble the 777X wing inside that widebody jet-assembly building in Everett, originally constructed in the late 1960s and expanded in the 1990s.

Although it’s the largest building by volume in the world, right now it’s filled with equipment for building not only the 777 but also the 747, 767, and 787 jets.

There’s room to shift lots of the tooling around, but it won’t be as easy as moving into a brand-new space.

Clark said Boeing will reveal details of its plan for 777X wing assembly soon, but for now indicated only a broad outline. He said Boeing has learned both from Mitsubishi’s experience building the 787 wings in Japan and from its own highly efficient operation in Renton for building the 737 wings.

Citing the horizontal-build format in Renton, Clark implied that the 777X wings will be assembled flat to allow both mechanics and robots easy access. It will be “a very efficient, well-balanced line with automation and manual portions,” Clark said. “You’ll love it when you see it.”

Among the major suppliers of integrated automation equipment involved, Clark mentioned Electroimpact and MTorres.

As noted, Electroimpact supplies key drilling and fastening equipment on the A350 wing assembly. And it supplies to Boeing the carbon-fiber lamination technology that will be used to fabricate the 777X wing skins and spars.

MTorres is a Spanish company that supplies all the carbon-fiber lamination equipment used to fabricate the wing parts of the A350 in Britain, Germany and Spain. It has established an engineering team in Everett and supplies Boeing with integrated manufacturing cells that bond the stringers to the 777X wing skins.

With this degree of cross-pollination, it’s not surprising that the Boeing plan — horizontal build, highly automated, common equipment suppliers — sounds like it could be similar to what Airbus is doing in Broughton.

The automation that will do the drilling and fastening likely won’t look like the automotive-style robots that Boeing is now introducing, with considerable difficulty, to build the 777 fuselages.

Instead, as in Airbus Broughton, the business end of the robotics will almost certainly travel along the wing on an overhead gantry.

“You’ll see a lot of standardization throughout the (aerospace) industry when it comes to structure and wing assembly,” said Clark. “We’ll never do it identical to Airbus. But there’ll be a lot of similarities.”

(Dominic Gates - The Seattle Times)

Available Pre-owned Gulfstream G650 Inventory Dips

Gulfstream G650 (c/n 6064) N311CG, ex-N664GA rotates off Rwy 30 at Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB) on November 6, 2015.
(Photo by Michael Carter)

The available inventory of pre-owned Gulfstream G650s has dropped by more than 25 percent, according to the latest UBS Business Jet Update. The slide in G650s on the market comes as the overall available inventories of business jets stabilize, the report added.

The number of G650s/650ERs for sale has fallen from a peak of 18 to 13, UBS reported. The G650 inventory is equivalent to 7 percent of the installed base. Pricing for the models, however, also continues to decline, dropping another percentage point in August and is 19 percent below peak. This puts average pre-owned G650 prices about $10 million below that of new G650s.

The past increase in the number of the model on the market had raised concerns from analysts about the potential effect on new aircraft sales. But Phebe Novakovic, chairman of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, had questioned some reports on the numbers and stressed investors shouldn’t panic over the inventory, saying in late July, “I’m comfortable that the pre-owned G650 market is appropriate and rational.” She also noted the company had not seen any G650 order cancellations as a result of the pre-owned inventory.

As for pricing, Hagerty Jet Group (HJG), in its recent market update, suggested that the softening may provide opportunity for G550 owners to upgrade. HJG, noting G650 sellers “are struggling to understand this quickly changing market,” added that the asking price at the end of June still appeared 5 to 10 percent higher than it should be.

The percentage of the young (10 years or less) Gulfstreams available for sale totals 8 percent (all in-production models), among the lowest in the industry. The available young Cessna Citation inventory is the smallest, at 7 percent, according to the UBS report.

Industry-wide, used business jets available for sale represented about 11.2 percent of the fleet in August, below the average of 13 percent. Inventories of aircraft five years or younger crept up 1 percent to 7 percent of the installed base in August, while inventories of aircraft between six and 10 years old dropped 2 percent to 10 percent of the installed base. However, inventories of that six-to-10-year range are still skirting near-historic highs, UBS said.

(Kerry Lynch - AINOnline News)

SpaceShipTwo returns to flight after nearly two years

A Virgin Galactic spaceship returned to flight in a captive carry test for the first time in nearly two years since the fatal crash of the original prototype.

The second prototype, named VSS Unity, took off from Virgin Galactic’s base in Mojave, California, carried aloft by the WhiteKnightTwo mothership on 8 September, Virgin Galactic says.

The 3h43min test reached altitudes above 50,000ft, the normal launch altitude for SpaceShipTwo. After analyzing data from the flight test, Virgin Galactic will decide if more captive carry tests are required before VSS Unity attempts glide tests, to be followed by powered flights.

Virgin Galactic called the return to flight an “emotional and fulfilling moment” in 12-year campaign to launch a commercial spaceline, offering thrilling rides from a new spaceport in New Mexico for six passengers on each suborbital trip into space.

SpaceShipOne, designed and built by Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan, proved the feasibility of launching a privately-funded vehicle into suborbital space in 2004, claiming the Ansari X-Prize. Rutan then teamed with Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson to develop SpaceShipTwo as a commercial transport.

After 54 successful flight tests, the first SpaceShipTwo broke apart in-flight in October 2014, killing one pilot and injuring the other. A federal investigation blamed the accident on a mistake by the co-pilot, who unlocked the feathering tails too early in the flight.

Branson quickly resumed development of SpaceShipTwo but moved the flight test program in-house, creating the Spaceship Company to replace Northrop Grumman’s rapid prototyping subsidiary Scaled Composites.

The Spaceship Company has made several changes to the vehicle since the crash nearly two years ago. The VSS Unity’s rocket motor will be fueled by hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, which is similar to the original chemistry for SpaceShipTwo. Another fuel was being tested on the flight that ended in disaster, although neither the fuel nor the motor played any role in the break-up.

(Stephen Trimble - Flight Global News)

Transport Canada registers first Global 7000

Bombardier’s first Global 7000 business jet has been added to the Canadian aircraft register, as preparations for the ultra-long-range twin's fourth quarter maiden sortie continue at the airframer’s factory complex near Toronto’s Downsview airport.

Serial number 70001 – the first of four test articles that are in various stages of production – is listed as C-GLBO, according to Transport Canada's registry, and also goes by the model name BD-700-2A12.

(Bombardier)

The Global 7000 was introduced in 2010, but a series of development challenges with the clean sheet model – including a decision by Bombardier in 2015 to redesign its wing – have delayed the program schedule by over two years.


The GE Aviation Passport-powered flagship is now scheduled for service entry in late 2018.

Priced at $73 million, the 12-seat Global 7000 is projected to have a maximum range of 7,300nm (13,520km) and a top speed of Mach 0.925.

(Bombardier)

(Kate Sarsfield - Flight Global News)

Aeromexico's first 787-9 rolls out in special livery

Aeromexico's first Boeing 787-9 (43859/483) XA-ADL has rolled out with a special livery on its fuselage.

The aircraft is named Quetzalcoatl, translated to "feathered serpent", the name of a deity of pre-Hispanic Mexico, says the SkyTeam carrier. It took nine days for the livery to be painted in Boeing's hangar, six days longer than expected due to the colourful hues in the design.

(Boeing)

The livery design was chosen from more than 400 shortlisted in a competition launched by the carrier in 2014.

"As Mexico's flagship carrier, this aircraft will become an icon of our fleet and a reflection of what Mexico is today, with culture and tradition represented in what we consider to be one of the most sophisticated creations of modern aviation engineering," says Aeromexico chief executive Andres Conesa.

(Boeing)

The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to Aeromexico in October, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.

Aeromexico will be the second Latin American airline after LATAM Airlines Group to operate the 787-9. The Mexican carrier's 787-9s are powered by General Electric GEnx engines.

(Ghim-Lay Yeo - Flight Global News)

Norwegian Air to fly to Spain from four U.S. cities

Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 787-8 (34796/165) LN-LNE "Roald Amundsen" arrives at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) on July 13, 2016.

(Photo by Michael Carter)

European discount airline Norwegian Air is again ramping its U.S. presence, announcing new routes to both Barcelona and Copenhagen that the carrier will fly with its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The first Barcelona flights will launch in June, with Norwegian adding routes from Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Newark Liberty and Oakland. To Copenhagen, Norwegian will start service from Oakland in March. Introductory fares on routes range from $179 to $199 each way.

The new flights push ahead with the carrier’s aggressive growth plan in the U.S. market. Norwegian began flying to Paris from New York JFK, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale in July.

Barcelona will be Norwegian’s seventh U.S. gateway, joining Copenhagen, London Gatwick, Oslo, Stockholm and the Norwegian city of Bergen. Norwegian also has begun flying from three U.S. airports to the Caribbean, launching nonstop flights to the French island territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

“Continued U.S. expansion is key to Norwegian’s global strategy, and we’re excited to offer affordable fares to even more nonstop European destinations so that travelers can enjoy our award-winning onboard service,” Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s chief commercial officer, says in a statement. “We now offer a greater amount of nonstop routes from the U.S. to Europe than any other European airline, and we look forward to continue adding additional routes and frequencies so that American travelers have even more choices.”

Norwegian’s flights from Newark will be the carrier’s first from that New York City-area airport. The airline already flies from New York’s JFK airport, but was able to secure space at Newark after the U.S. Department of Transportation relaxed capacity constraints at that airport earlier this year.

From JFK, Norwegian offers year-round service to the European destinations of Copenhagen; London Gatwick; Oslo; and Stockholm. Norwegian also flies from JFK to Guadeloupe and Martinique in the French Caribbean.

Scroll down for details on all five of Norwegian’s new routes.

Newark-Barcelona: Begins June 6 with twice-weekly service. Service increases to four-times-a-week in August.

Los Angeles-Barcelona: Begins June 5 with twice-weekly service. Service increases to three-times-a-week in August.

Fort Lauderdale-Barcelona: Begins Aug. 22 with twice-weekly service.

Oakland-Barcelona: Begins June 7 with twice-weekly service. Service increases to three-times-a-week in August.

Oakland-Copenhagen: Begins March 28 with twice-weekly service.

(Ben Mutzabaugh - Today in the Sky / USA Today)

Boeing Shops Middle of Market Concepts — Again

If reading this strikes you as deja vu all over again, that might be exactly what it is. Boeing reportedly has been showing potential customers two designs for a stretch version of its new and yet-to-be-delivered 737 MAX 9 to compete with the Airbu A321neo and A321LR.

This is not the first time since Airbus announced the A321LR nearly two years ago that Boeing has responded with a stretched version of its new 737. The company has also suggested a clean-sheet design, but that would delay first deliveries until at least 2024. Airbus expects to deliver its first A321neo in 2018 and the LR version by 2019.

At stake here is the so-called middle-of-the-market (MoM), a space for which Airbus claims at least 1,000 new dual-engine, single-aisle planes are needed to fly long, thin routes (up to 5,000 nautical miles with 200 to 260 passengers).


The A321LR in a basic configuration can fly 206 passengers about 4,000 nautical miles. The new airplane replaces the Boeing 757, which went out of production in 2005.

Boeing cannot seem to come up with an answer. At first the company denied the market was as large as Airbus said it was. Then it considered reconfiguring the 767, a dual-engine, twin-aisle plane that is still available from the company as either a passenger jet at a list price of $197.1 million or a freighter costing $199.3 million.

The 767 is also the base for the company’s new Air Force tanker, the KC-46A. Boeing’s September order book shows a new order for 19 767s to be fitted out as new tankers.

The following chart from Boeing and Aviation Week magazine shows where Boeing thinks the MoM plane fits. Boeing now believes that between 2,000 and 5,000 planes could be required to replace both the aging 757s and 767s.

Source: The Boeing / Aviation Week

If Boeing is right about the sweet spot, then most customers want to fly 4,800 to 5,000 nautical miles. That’s significantly longer than the 757’s range, and the 767-300 seats between 260 and 300 passengers, more than customers appear to require. The perfect MoM plane, it seems, is a little bit bigger than a current single-aisle but not quite as big as a 767, and with a longer range.

Which apparently has brought Boeing back to a stretched 737 MAX 9 that has been called the 737 MAX 10. The problem with a stretched MAX 9 is that it would need new, larger engines that would, in turn, require Boeing to change the landing gear to accommodate the larger engine fans.

Bloomberg reported that CFM International, the joint venture between the General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and France’s Safran that builds the LEAP-1B engine for the 737 MAX, has “gained confidence that [CFM] can reap enough extra thrust from the existing LEAP-1B engines to speed to market a new, longer variant with relatively uncomplicated landing gear.” CFM declined to comment.

Boeing apparently also is considering CFM’s LEAP-1A engines for the stretched MAX 9 that would require only “some modifications to the wing and tail, and taller landing gear that would mechanically shrink to fit into the same wheel well used on other 737s.”

The biggest issue is timing. Can Boeing deliver a competitor to the A321LR close to the 2019 first delivery date for the Airbus plane? The Bloomberg report indicates that the company has projected a tentative date of 2021, but at least one potential customer, Air Lease Corp., says “that’s just too late.”

(Paul Ausick - 24/7 Wall St.)

Cargolux Boeing 747-8R7F (38076/1534) LX-VCN

Captured under-tow on the Boeing flight ramp at Everett, Washington on August 25, 2016, this lovely aircraft performed her first pre-delivery test flight on September 7 as "Boeing514 Heavy" departing at 13:11 PDT, bound for Moses Lake (MWH/KMWH) returning to Boeing-Paine Field (PAE/KPAE) at 15:50 PDT.

(Photo by Michael Carter)

Ultra low-cost flights to Iceland, Barcelona from South Florida will launch in 2017

 (WOW)

Starting next spring, a new crop of transatlantic flights — to top European and Nordic destinations — will be available for South Floridians at a fraction of the previous cost.

WOW air, Iceland’s low-cost transatlantic airline, announced Thursday it will begin the first-ever nonstop service between Miami International Airport and Reykjavik, Iceland — plus connecting flights to Europe — in April 2017.

Service to Reykjavik’s Keflavík International Airport will be available three times a week from MIA for as low as $99 one-way — about a tenth of the cost of current flights to the Nordic country. The airline will offer connecting flights via Iceland to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Dublin, and Copenhagen from $149 one-way, including taxes.

European routes will also be added at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport beginning next year, in August 2017.

Budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle announced Wednesday it will offer twice weekly flights from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, Spain’s Barcelona-El Prat Airport from $189 one-way, including taxes. That’s a discount of more than 25 percent over current fares.

The announcements mark another step in the airlines’ expanding North American footprints.

The Miami-Iceland route is the sixth U.S. destination for WOW since it launched North American flights in May 2015. For MIA, the additional service marks the fourth Nordic country and 23rd route to Europe on the airport’s growing roster.

Barcelona is the seventh city with nonstop service to the U.S. that Norwegian has added to its route network since launching in the U.S. three years ago. The airline added one weekly flight to Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport from Fort Lauderdale on July 29, in addition to its London, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm routes from FLL.
 

(Chabeli Herrera - Miami Herald)

Boeing 737 and 787 Profit Gains Will Overwhelm 777 Decline, Analyst Says

Boeing investors may have been scared off by the declining market for wide-bodies, but one analyst says bears are missing improving picture for the 737 and the 787.

Despite the slumping market for wide-body jets, a new report takes a positive view of the outlook for Boeing thanks to improving cash flow, prospects for a higher dividend and a continued strong market for the reliable 737.

In the report, Cowen & Co. analyst Cai von Rumohr reiterated an outperform rating on Boeing and set a price target of $175.

Boeing shares closed Wednesday at $132.64. Year to date, Boeing is down about 8%, making it the second worst performer in the Dow 30. Only Disney, down 11% has done worse. The Dow is up about 6% year to date. Bearish views of Boeing have dominated this year for three reasons, von Rumohr wrote.

Orders for the 777 are declining due to the expected 2020 introduction of the 777X; the 787 program has $27.7 billion in deferred production costs that must be amortized; and "the long air transport upcycle is running out of gas.

"Bears are right to be concerned with the coming decline in the 777's profit contribution," he wrote. "But they don't give full credit to the probable 737 profit ramp, which should offset most of the 777 drop.

"We estimate that 737 gross profit contribution will increase by $1.8B from 2015 to 2019, offsetting most of the 777 decline," he said.

Boeing said it will ramp up monthly 737 production to 52 in 2018. Demand for the world's airplane workhorse remains strong. 

Globally, domestic traffic is up 5.1% year to date, according to the International Air Traffic Association. That is a good sign for the 737 and the Airbus A320, the two narrow-bodies that fly the bulk of the world's domestic routes. Boeing has a backlog of 4,404 orders for the 737 and "delivery positions are oversold through 2019," von Rumohr said.

"737 revenues should rise by an estimated $6B+ from 2015 to 2019, and even with the delivery mix shifting to the MAX, we think profit accrual rates can increase," he said. "Work on the 737 MAX appears to be moving ahead smoothly." First delivery of the 737 MAX is expected in 2017.

Von Rumohr said he anticipates Boeing will increase 737 production to 57 a month in 2019, even as it trims 777 production from seven to four or five a month and moves very slowly to boost 787 production from 12 to the stated goal of 14 a month.

Investors are overly worried about the 787's deferred production costs, von Rumohr said, noting "bears obsess over 787 accounting and argue that BA will have to take a huge forward loss because the program's $27.7B in deferred production costs means that the 869 remaining deliveries in the accounting block will have to amortize $36.1MM per copy to avoid a charge."

He said the deferred costs increased because Boeing spent heavily to make substantial improvements from the 787-8 to the 787-9. But now that the 787-9 is selling at a higher price than the 787-8, the deferred costs will come down more quickly, and they will come down even more quickly when the 787-10 starts to be delivered.

"Investors were mostly unaware of the significant changes in the Dash 9, which BA chose not to highlight likely for fear of alienating Dash 8 users," von Rumohr said. "Hence, they were disappointed by the extended high plateau of quarterly deferred production increases into 2014."

Even at a dozen 787s a month, "787 will turn cash positive with initial amortization of 787 deferred likely in Q3," he said.

Another aircraft that could soon help Boeing's profit picture is the KC-46, the aerial refueling plane being developed from the 767 for the Air Force. The first 18 deliveries are scheduled for 2017. "The KC 46 has been a big drain; they took close to $2 billion in forward losses," von Rumohr said in an interview.

The losses will diminish, he said, and "the level of cash drain will go down and they could start to turn cash positive in late 2018."

Meanwhile, Boeing has hiked its dividend 125% since 2013 while buying back about 6% of shares annually. Add it all up, von Rumohr said, and by 2019 Boeing becomes a stock with cash flow of $15 a share and a dividend of $6.25 a share.

A current dividend yield of 3.3% "offers downside support and makes BA a standout value vs. its peers," he said.

(Ted Reed - The Street)