Hainan Airlines commences new service at LAX

Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines inaugurated new service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) and Changsha Huanghua International Airport (CSX/ZGHA) as "Hainan7924" this afternoon departing about one hour late at 13:38 pst.

 

This new service also brings another Boeing 787 operator to LAX and a gorgeous one at that with its very striking livery. The flight was operated with 787-8 (38055/171) B-2739.

 

(Photos by Michael Carter)

Lufthansa takes delivery of first A320neo; service to start Jan. 24

From left: Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier, Lufthansa chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr and new Pratt & Whitney president Robert Leduc

(Airbus)

Lufthansa Group has taken delivery of the first Airbus A320neo following a delay from the re-engined narrow-body’s planned end-of-2015 delivery schedule.

The handover to Lufthansa, which became the launch operator after a late switch with Qatar Airways, occurred without prior announcement or the carefully planned ceremonies typically associated with a new aircraft first delivery.

Lufthansa plans to place the aircraft into service on the Frankfurt-Hamburg route Jan. 24. Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier said earlier this month at a media briefing in Paris that the delivery slip was related to documentation.

Lufthansa chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr said at the Jan. 20 handover ceremony that the “A320neo is by far the most efficient and most silent aircraft on short- and medium-haul routes.” Lufthansa Group has 116 A320neo family aircraft on order.

“Handing over the first A320neo to a world’s leading airline and long standing Airbus customer, Lufthansa, is a truly great day for everyone at Airbus,” Brégier said at the handover ceremony. “This occasion marks a new step forward to delivering on our promises and meeting our industry’s goal for sustainable aviation.”

The Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered A320neo was certified in November, but in December Qatar stepped back as the planned first operator because of engine-related operational restrictions.

The A320neo’s service entry with Lufthansa will also mark the service entry of Pratt’s geared turbofan (GTF) family of engines.

“Pratt is working on hardware changes and a software update for the PW1100G. Until those changes are made, the engine has to idle for three minutes following startup before it can taxi under its own power,” Brégier said at the Jan. 13 Paris press conference.

“As this is not a brand new aircraft, customers expect the same level of maturity as their [current generation A320] aircraft; they expect it to fly 100% of the time with no problems at all. This is a new engine, a new generation. Technically, it was extremely difficult to develop and produce, so we can’t expect everything to be perfect from day one.”

The A320neo is slated to deliver 15% fuel-savings over the A320ceo, increasing to 20% by 2020.  CFM International’s LEAP-1A is also an engine option for the A320neo and will power later deliveries.

Qatar is now slated to become the second A320neo operator, followed by Indian low-cost carrier Indigo. Airbus is expected to produce 50 A320neo family aircraft a month by early 2017, rising to 60-63 by mid-2019.

“By 2019, we will be able to shift [A320 production] entirely to neos, but that doesn’t mean we will do it because we will still have customers who want additional ceos. Our goal, by mid-2019, is to be able to produce 60 A320neos per month,” Brégier said.

(Karen Walker and Aaron Karp - ATWOnline News)

Boeing announces 747-8 rate cut, $885M charge

Boeing will reduce 747-8 output for the fourth time in less than two years and record a $885 million pre-tax charge when the company releases fourth quarter financial results on 27 January.

 

Starting in September, the 747-8 assembly line will complete 0.5 aircraft per month, down from 1.3 currently. Boeing has already announced plans to reduce the rate to one per month in March.

 

“We are closely monitoring the air cargo market as we work to win additional orders to support ongoing future production,” says Greg Smith, executive vice-president of Business Development and Strategy and chief financial officer.

 

Boeing currently has seven 747-8 Freighters and 13 747-8 passenger variants in firm order backlog, but even that appears artificially high. The number includes orders for four 747-8s by Transaero, which has declared bankruptcy, and two by Arik Air, which has announced it has no intentions of accepting delivery.

 

At the same time, Boeing has an opportunity to replace the iconic VC-25A fleet, which the US Air Force operates as Air Force One to transport the president.

 

The USAF announced last January that the 747-8 will be the platform that replaces the 747-200s now in service. A contracting notice is expected to be released within a few weeks, which will set the stage for the competitive phase of the integration effort.

 

But the USAF has not yet clarified the timing and number of deliveries for the presidential aircraft replacement program.

 

(Stephen Trimble - FlightGlobal News)

$500M fuel savings: Five takeaways from Southwest Airlines’ earnings call

With record profits, cheaper fuel, an increasingly youthful aircraft fleet and an expanding presence at its home base at Dallas Love Field, Southwest Airlines seems to be flying high.

 

Here are my key takeaways from CEO Gary Kelly and Chief Financial Officer Tammy Romo, mined from a conference call with investors and reporters after the airline released its earnings today.

 

How is Southwest performing at Dallas Field?

 

Southwest’s margins and returns continue to outperform other markets in Dallas after the airline’s dramatic expansion in the year-plus after the lifting of federal flight restrictions at Dallas Love Field, Romo said.

 

Southwest controls 18 of Love Field's 20 gates, operating 180 daily flights at the airport. The airline is being forced by a federal judge’s order to split one of those gates with Delta Air Lines.

 

Kelly sounded confident that Southwest will prevail in getting sole use of the disputed gate.

 

“When we finally get access to all the gates,” Kelly said, “we’ll be able to put more flights in there.”

 

What’s new with Southwest’s fleet modernization initiative?

 

The airline recently ordered 33 new 737-800s from Boeing spread out for delivery in 2016, 2017 and 2018, Kelly said. The purpose is to speed the retirement of older planes, he said. “We’re replacing the classics with next-generation airplanes,” he said.

 

Southwest ended 2015 with 704 aircraft in its fleet, Romo said. Of those, 129 were “classic,” or older models, she said. The airline now intends to retire its older aircraft by mid-2018, as opposed to having older planes in the fleet through 2021, Romo said.

 

Overall, the accelerated fleet retirement plan will yield an after-tax return on investment of about 21 percent for the airline, Romo said, adding “It was an easy decision for us.”

 

How are fuel costs affecting the airline?

 

Fuel costs decreased almost $200 million year-over-year, driven by a 23 percent decline in fuel prices, Romo said. With the current oversupply of oil worldwide, Southwest expects more cost savings in the first quarter of 2016 and probably beyond, the CFO said. Specifically, the airline expects to pay $1.70 per gallon in the first quarter, $1.60 a gallon in the second quarter, and $1.80 to $1.85 per gallon in the second half of 2016.

 

How does that compare to last year?

 

The $1.70 a gallon the airline is paying now is about 30 cents a gallon lower than this time last year, Romo said.

 

“We’re still benefiting from lower fuel prices, and are currently estimating over $500 million in fuel savings this year.”

 

Is there a downside to lower fuel costs for the airline, in terms of travel demand or broader economic concerns?

 

Not really, Kelly said. Not yet.

 

“The year is off to a very concerning start when it comes to headlines around the world,” the CEO said. “Living in Texas all of my life — this is an oil and gas state — it is concerning as far as the impact it will have on companies and debt payments and jobs and so on.

 

There is no question that the United States has benefited from the oil and gas boom that has been occurring since the recession, but as far as seeing manifestations of (cheaper oil) in our business, we’re just not seeing it."

 

(Bill Hethcock - Dallas Business Journal)

 

 

Boeing Nabs $3 Billion Jet Deal as United Spurns Bombardier

Boeing won a hotly contested United Airlines order for 40 of the aircraft maker’s smallest jetliners, thwarting Bombardier Inc.’s bid to land a marquee North American customer for its struggling C Series model.

The new Boeing 737-700 planes will enter service in mid-2017 as the airline cuts its use of cramped regional jets, United Continental Holdings Inc. said in a statement Thursday. The order would be valued at $3.22 billion based on list prices, although airlines typically negotiate significant discounts.

Southwest Airlines Co., the largest 737 operator, separately said it was acquiring 33 of the Boeing single-aisle jets.

United decided to stick with the 737, an updated version of a plane that debuted in 1965, instead of the brand-new C Series, which boasts greater fuel and maintenance savings.

Sales of the Canadian-made aircraft, which Bombardier is using to target the 100- to 150-seat segment, have been thwarted by production delays and competition from market leaders Boeing and Airbus Group SE.

“This just shows how difficult it is for Bombardier to win orders these days,” said David Tyerman, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity in Toronto. “It’s not the end of the world, but this loss illustrates what they are up against. It also raises the question of how profitable the next C Series order they win will be for them."

Bombardier tumbled 9.2 percent to C$1.09 at the close in Toronto, its steepest loss since Oct. 29, while Boeing rose 1 percent to $123.40 in New York.”

Remains Stuck

While Bombardier Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare has talked up interest from prospective customers since the C Series’s Paris Air Show debut in June, the backlog of orders has remained stuck at 243 for more than a year. That trails Bombardier’s target of 300 by the time the C Series enters service in the first half of this year.

Since Bellemare’s arrival 11 months ago, Bombardier has focused sales efforts on adding established airlines to an order book dominated by lessors and small carriers. Deutsche Lufthansa AG remains the only C Series buyer ranked among the world’s top 20 airlines by passenger traffic.

Airbus and Embraer SA had also bid for the United order as the carrier shifts more flying to employee pilots and reduces its reliance on 50-seater aircraft unpopular with customers, said Benoit Poirier of Desjardins Capital Markets.

Potential Customers

Bombardier is still pitching the plane to other potential U.S. customers, including Delta Air Lines Inc.

A funding infusion it seeks from the Canadian government may help by removing “uncertainty surrounding Bombardier’s long-term viability,” Poirier wrote in a note to clients Thursday. “In the meantime, we expect the market to remain skeptical and believe there is a real risk that the C Series could be canceled if no orders materialize in the next six months.”

While it lost this campaign, Bombardier may have another chance to place its aircraft with United. The third-largest U.S. carrier said Thursday that it plans to order more single-aisle jets as it transforms its fleet and will again consider competing Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer and Airbus proposals.

By sticking with a Boeing model it already uses, United avoids the costs of re-training hundreds of pilots and stocking up on spare parts. United currently operates 310 of the 737s, according to Planespotters.net.

Improved Experience

“Our customers have a preference for an improved travel experience, including first class seats, Economy Plus and Wi-Fi,” Gerry Laderman, United’s acting chief financial officer, said in the statement. “These aircraft are an efficient way to meet those needs while reducing 50-seat flying.”

Southwest’s purchase of 33 of the 737-800s helps accelerate the retirement of its oldest planes by three years. The carrier is also converting its remaining 25 orders for -700s to the larger -800s.

The new orders from Southwest and United provide a boost to Boeing as it tries to shrink Airbus’s lead among single-aisle models. The deals also help the U.S. plane-maker fill its order book for current generation 737s as it transitions to the upgraded Max.

(Frederic Tomesco, Michael Sasso, Julie Johnsson - Bloomberg)

Gulf Air says to get 16 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners under $4.2 bln restructured order

Gulf Air will secure 16 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners under a restructured order worth $4.2 billion, the Bahraini carrier said in a statement on Thursday.

The 787-9s are scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2018 and will replace 16 Boeing 787-8s which had been ordered previously, according to the statement which did not give details about the previous order.

Bahrain's national carrier has gone through a lengthy restructuring which aims to return the loss-making airline to profit. It reported an annual loss of 62.7 million dinars ($166.3 million) for 2014, down from a loss of 93.3 million dinars in 2013.

(Reuters)

Boeing Starts Off New Year With an Old Plane

First order report of the new year shows China leading the way.

Boeing says its new 777X widebody jetliner, expected to begin production in 2018 and enter service in 2020, "will be the largest and most efficient twin-engine jet in the world, unmatched in every aspect of performance."

A competitor to Airbus' A350, 777X could help Boeing to reverse a three-year trend of second-place finishes to its rival. And yet, while the new 777X isn't exactly "bombing" as a product, it's not necessarily setting fire to the tarmac, either.

Last year, Boeing reported that orders for its "original recipe" 777 airliner outsold orders for the upgraded 777X nearly 2-to-1, with 38 orders for the former recorded over the course of the year -- versus just 20 orders for 777Xes. Now, here in the early innings of 2016, it's already looking like last year's news may be this year's, too.

Second verse, same as the first

Boeing opened up the new year last Thursday, issuing its first update on plane orders through mid-January. As detailed in the report, Boeing has sold a total of six planes in these first two weeks -- all 777s, and more specifically, all 777s that are not 777Xes. The entire flight of six jetliners is going to Chinese carrier Air China, which, as of this moment, holds the honor of being Boeing's only airplane buyer of 2016.

Now, there's little point in following our usual practice today, and going through a rundown of Boeing's gross orders, cancellations, and resulting net orders. Right now, those scores read "6-0-6," because Air China's 777s are literally all there is to report. So today, we'll do something a little different.

When better isn't better enough

And really, the more interesting story may be Air China's decision to buy "plane vanilla" 777s rather than fancy new 777Xes anyway. Priced at $400 million, Boeing's biggest, newest 777X airliner (the 777-9X) costs 18% more than the $340 million 777-300ER's that Air China elected to buy. But this added cost buys only 7% more room for passengers (425 on the 777-9X versus 396 on the 737-300ER), and only 3% better range (7,600 nautical miles, versus 7,370).

Weighing the 777X's limited advantages against the added cost of this new-and-improved model, Air China may well have decided that the 777-300ER is "good enough" for its purposes -- and priced better than the newer version.

Timing is everything

Of course, another reason Air China may have chosen to buy 777-300ERs rather than 777-9Xes is that...it can. As in, it can today.

To support the rapid growth of China's air travel industry, Air China wants its new planes to begin being delivered as early as this year. Even if the value proposition on the 777 wasn't already better than on the 777X, Air China may have chosen to buy original recipe 777s for the simple reason that those planes are available for delivery now, and not four years from now.

The big picture

Price, timing, plane specifications -- it's hard to say which of these factors was dispositive in Air China's decision to buy 777s rather than 777Xs. All we know for certain is that in the first weeks of 2016, we're seeing a continuation of the trend seen in 2015 -- old version 777s outselling new version 777Xes.

For the time being, that probably suits Boeing just fine, as it needs to keep its 777 production lines busy building old version aircraft until it's ready to ramp up production of the new and improved version. Longer term, though, we're going to want to see a clear trend of customers buying 777Xes in preference to 777s, as proof that the new plane is the "hit" Boeing needs it to be.

(Rich Smith - The Motley Fool)

Gulfstream G650 (c/n 6183) N183GA

The first green G650 of the year to arrive at Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB) from the factory at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport (SAV/KSAV) coming in is "GLF54" arriving at 11:09 pst on a very gloomy SoCal morning.

 

(Photos by Michael Carter)

Afghanistan receives A-29 Super Tucano aircraft

(Photo: U.S. Air Force) 

An initial batch of A-29 light attack aircraft from the United States has been received by the Afghan Air Force.

The first four A-29 Super Tucano attack/training aircraft for the Afghan Air Force has been delivered to the country.

The Super Tucano is manufactured in the United States by Brazil's Embraer, which partnered with Sierra Nevada Corporation for a $427 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for 20 of the planes.

The U.S. Air Force said eight Afghan combat-ready attack pilots and a handful of maintainers graduated last month from training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and are now back in Afghanistan to operate the aircraft.

More than 20 others are be trained in the United States over the next three years.

"The A-29 program has been an integral part of the U.S. government's overall 'Building Partnership Capacity' efforts around the world and immediately supports the development of an indigenous air force in Afghanistan," said USAF Brig. Gen. Christopher Craige, commanding general at Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air.

"This rapidly developed program for Afghanistan is unique for the A-29 development because this is the first time USAF pilots and maintainers have been trained as instructors to conduct training for Afghan students in the United States."

The A-29 is a turboprop aircraft with a maximum speed of 367 miles per hour and a combat range of radius of 342 miles. It can carry a variety of bombs and missiles for ground support missions.

"It can fly at low speeds and low altitudes, is easy to fly, and provides exceptionally accurate weapons delivery," Craige said. "It is currently in service with 10 different air forces around the world."

(Richard Tomkins - United Press International / UPI)

1 Big Way the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo Backlogs Differ

Airbus' narrowbody order lead may not be quite as big as it looks on paper.

Much ink has been spilled in recent years about Airbus' lead over Boeing in the enormous market for single-aisle jets. Airbus ended 2015 with 5,535 firm orders for its A320 family of jets (including the new A320neo). Meanwhile, Boeing ended the year with 4,392 firm orders for its competing 737 family (including the new 737 MAX).

In recent years, Boeing and Airbus have been producing roughly the same number of single-aisle jets. However, the rising gap in future orders has led Airbus sales chief John Leahy to predict that Airbus will control 60% of the market in the future.

However, there is one key difference between the Airbus and Boeing single-aisle order backlogs: Boeing has a higher-quality customer base, so its orders are more likely to stick. By contrast, Airbus has sold a lot of planes to relatively unproven carriers. These orders could disappear if any of Airbus' customers run into trouble with their aggressive growth plans.

Battle of the backlogs

To get a feel for how the Boeing and Airbus customer bases in the narrow-body market differ, let's take a look at the 10 largest outstanding orders for both companies. (The following table only includes firm orders as of the end of 2015.)

Top A320 Orders		Top 737 Orders
Customer	Outstanding orders	Customer	Outstanding orders
IndiGo	430	Southwest Airlines	256
AirAsia	309	Ryanair	254
Lion Air	221	Lion Air	245
AerCap	200	American Airlines	140
EasyJet	181	Air Lease	138
Wizz Air	146	Norwegian	136
American Airlines	145	GECAS	128
Avianca	141	United Continental	102
Lufthansa	136	BOC Aviation	102
GECAS	122	AerCap	101

Data source: Airbus and Boeing 2015 year-end order books. 

For each company, the 10 largest orders account for 36% to 37% of the total narrow-body backlog. That indicates a roughly similar level of customer concentration. However, Boeing's biggest orders may be a little more secure than Airbus' biggest deals.

Comparing customers

Boeing's top 10 customers for the 737 family include the largest discount airlines in the U.S. and Europe, respectively; two of the three largest U.S. airlines; and the two largest aircraft-leasing companies in the world (plus another two of the top 10 aircraft-leasing firms).

That leaves Lion Air and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Norwegian Air Shuttle is a fast-growing European low-cost carrier with a mixed record of profitability. However, it already operates about 90 Boeing aircraft, so it may be able to absorb its scheduled growth. Furthermore, it also has 100 outstanding A320neo orders with Airbus. If Norwegian had to scale back its growth plans, it would probably stay with its all-Boeing fleet and drop the Airbus orders first.

Lion Air is a bigger risk. It is one of Indonesia's two biggest airlines, but it has had a troubled history, including huge safety lapses and terrible delays. Government regulation and weak economic conditions in Indonesia also threaten to stunt its growth. Yet it has nearly 500 aircraft on order: more than double the number it currently operates. 

The saving grace is that like Norwegian Air Shuttle, Lion Air currently favors the Boeing 737 but also has a lot of A320 and A320neo orders on the books. If it has to slow its growth, it's more likely to defer or cancel its Airbus orders in order to simplify its fleet.

Airbus also has a number of solid customers for its A320 and A320neo aircraft families. But Lion Air is not its only major customer that could cancel aircraft orders.

Airbus' biggest order is the most tenuous of all. While IndiGo is the most successful airline in India, it currently operates about 100 planes, which is a tiny fraction of its 430 plane backlog with Airbus. Additionally, its strategy of leasing planes for a few years and then returning them could drive big cost increases in future years, as airlines typically incur significant maintenance expenses in connection with returning leased aircraft.

Airbus' second-largest order is only a little more secure. AirAsia is a highly successful budget carrier with nearly 200 planes in operation, but it had to scale back its growth last year due to poor economic conditions. While management remains optimistic about the future, further setbacks could prevent it from absorbing more than 300 new A320neos in the coming years.

The race is closer than it may seem

Of course, airlines are sometimes able to follow through on aggressive aircraft orders they place. IndiGo might be able to continue dominating the Indian airline industry. So there's no certainty that Airbus will lose a large number of its orders for single-aisle planes.

However, it does seem more likely than not that at least one of Airbus' big A320 customers will not take all of the planes it has ordered. By contrast, most of Boeing's largest 737 customers are more established companies.

Fortunately, Airbus has a firm backlog of more than 5,500 planes, equal to more than eight years of production, factoring in scheduled production increases. Thus, a few hundred cancellations wouldn't hurt it at all. Nevertheless, its sales lead over Boeing may be smaller than it appears.

(Adam Levine-Weinberg - The Motley Fool)

Inventor pitches detachable airplane cabin to save lives during crashes

The latest innovation in airplane safety might just be a detachable cabin, at least according to a Russian inventor who released his designs for the technology this week.

Tatarenko Vladimir Nikolaevich has spent three years working on the project, which would allow for an airplane's cabin to detach at any point during mid-flight, takeoff, or landing in case of emergency, The Independent reported. In the event of detachment, parachutes would deploy to deliver the cabin to a safe landing on the ground or in the water.

 

Nikolaevich's patented design even includes space underneath the cabin so that passengers' luggage will detach in the event of an emergency, too.

 

The inventor claims that 95% percent of those he interviewed—although he didn't divulge how many people he talked to— would be in favor of paying more for airplane tickets if the detachable cabin were to become a standard feature.

Still, not everyone is completely on-board with the idea, with some people questioning the cost-effectiveness, whether the detachable cabin would compromise the structural integrity of the rest of the plane, and what happens to the pilots after the cabin detaches.

This isn't the first time a detachable cabin has been proposed, as Airbus filed its own patent for a similar idea in February 2013, though the company's version deals more with convenience than safety, Wired reported.
 

 

In an announcement released after its patent approval in November, Airbus proposed a detachable cabin that would streamline the boarding process by having passengers at the gate board the detached cabin, which would then be attached to the plane before takeoff.
 

It may sound like science fiction, but it looks like detachable airplane cabins are indeed being seriously considered.

(Olivia Niland - Mashable)

American Airlines Boeing 737-823 (29572/4341) N917NN - AirCal livery

American Airlines Boeing 737-823 N917NN which sports the special AirCal livery arrived from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW/KDFW) at John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA/KSNA) as "AAL2389" this afternoon at 16:46 pst.

 

This is the aircrafts first visit to Orange County where AirCal was home based sporting this commemorative livery.

 

(Photo by Michael Carter)

Canada's answer to Boeing could be in for another blow

Bombardier's quest to right its financial ship may be about to take another blow.

The aviation giant had reportedly been in talks with United Airlines about a 30-aircraft order for its widely praised, but slow selling, C-Series airliner.

Unfortunately for Bombardier, it looks as if Boeing and its 737-700 will end up taking home the $2 billion order sheet, Reuters reports.

Industry sources told Reuters that Boeing's ability to offer a slightly larger aircraft and greater discounts gave it the edge over Bombardier.

With that said, it's not quite a done deal. Boeing and United are said to be in final negotiations, so things may yet change.

Boeing declined to comment on the reported deal. A United representative told Business Insider the airline did "not discuss its future fleet plans."

Bombardier, which recently filed a request for further financial assistance from the Canadian government, is in desperate need for a headline-grabbing deal with a major airline to inject some new life into the C-Series project.

The Canadian airplane maker has been fighting to recover from a tough 2015 in which the company was forced to write down $4.4 billion and take a $1.3 billion bailout.

One of the linchpins to Bombardier's turnaround strategy is to revive sales of the C-Series. The company has gone more than a year without registering a new order for its flagship product.

Though the C-Series is expected to enter service later this year with Swiss Global Air Lines, Bombardier still does not have an order from a major North American carrier. Bombardier hoped a United deal would be the one to right the ship. But not all hope is lost: Bombardier is said to also be in talks with JetBlue over a potential C-Series order.

(Benjamin Zhang - Business Insider)

Worst Airline to fly in 2015 - American Airlines

Business travel can be a game of chance, but you roll the dice more with some airlines than others.
 
An annual ranking of the nine largest U.S. airlines has put American Airlines last in 2015. It takes the crown from the previous year's biggest loser, United Airlines.
 
The Wall Street Journal's annual Middle Seat Scorecard ranked the airlines on how well they performed in seven categories, including the percentage of on-time flight departures and number of customer complaints. The study collected data from analytics companies GEE Operations Solutions and FlightStats Inc. and the Department of Transportation. 

American came in last in three of the seven categories, including canceled flights, tarmac delays lasting longer than two hours, and mishandled baggage.  Meanwhile, the best-performing airline in the U.S., Alaska Airlines, had the highest percentage of flights that arrived on time. Alaska Airlines also had the lowest number of "extreme delays" (defined as delays that lasted longer than 45 minutes), two-hour-plus tarmac delays, and customer complaints.

Here's the overall ranking of U.S. airlines from best to worst:

1. Alaska
2. Virgin America
3. Delta
4. Southwest
5. JetBlue
6. Frontier
7. United
8. Spirit
9. American 

 (Anna Hensel - Inc.)

United States Air Force Gulfstream G-V (C-37A) (c/n 645) 01-0076

 



 
 





This lovely aircraft operates with the 309th AS (Airlift Squadron) at Chievres AFB in Belgium and is captured making a visit to Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB) on January 13/14, 2016.

 

Following her arrival at 15:25 pst on the 13th, she parked on the Signature Flight Support ramp and spent the night as the crew rested. She departed Long Beach on the 14th at 09:07 pst bound for an unknown destination.  

 

(Photos by Michael Carter)

Hawaiian Airlines CEO details big plans for Maui

(Airbus)

The president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines says more flights could be headed to Maui over the next few years as the company expands its fleet and operations.

Mark Dunkerley spoke at a Maui Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Monday and outlined what future developments for the company could mean for the island, Maui News reported.

Hawaiian Airlines will receive its first Airbus A321neo, which is "slightly smaller than our wide-bodies," next year that will allow the company to service nonstop flights between the Neighbor Islands and new routes in the smaller mainland markets.

In 2013, Hawaiian Airlines announced it had entered into an agreement with Airbus to acquire 16 new A321neo aircraft between 2017 and 2020, with rights to purchase an additional nine aircraft. The order has a combined value of roughly $2.8 billion.

"It's going to take a little bit of time until we get enough of (these aircraft) for Maui to really experience the difference, but as we look to the future, we think Maui's going to be one of the main beneficiaries of this substantial new investment in aircraft that we've made," Dunkerley said.

He also announced Monday that Ohana by Hawaiian, the company's commuter airline, would be adding a twice-daily route from Kapalua to Honolulu.

Hawaiian Airlines is waiting for the state to install a new set of precision approach path indicator lights at the Kapalua airport. The Federal Aviation Administration would then test the lighting during one of its unscheduled trips to Hawaii made twice a year.

"It could be up to six months, I guess, waiting for the FAA, or it could be the next week," said Dunkerley. "It just takes a lot of time to get some of these basic construction things done."

As Hawaiian expands its flight service, Dunkerley said, the company is trying to relieve some of the pressure on its Honolulu hub by continuing to invest in Maui.

(USA Today / Today in the Sky / The Associated Press) 

Airbus Warming to Jumbo-Sized A350 Able to Take on Boeing's 777X

Airbus said it’s stepping up work with airlines to determine whether a bigger variant of the A350 wide-body jetliner would make sense as it seeks to challenge the order success of Boeing Co.’s enlarged 777X.

The aircraft, a longer version of the A350-1000, itself already a so-called stretch model, would be just four seats shy of 400 in a three-class configuration, large enough to take on the biggest 777-9 planned by Boeing, Airbus said Tuesday at a briefing in Paris.

Airbus’s A350-900, introduced in 2014, typically seats 325, with the -1000, due to commence deliveries in 2017, offering 366 berths. While that’s sufficient to combat existing 777 variants and the upgraded 777-8, the 777-9 will accommodate as many as 425 seats and be “in a class by itself,” Boeing says.

“We’ve started to study what we could do on top of the A350-900 and A350-1000 because some airlines have asked us, and it’s our duty to look,” Fabrice Bregier, who heads Airbus’s plane-making arm, said in Paris.

A380 Risk

Jumbo-sized twin-engine wide-bodies have become a focus for Airbus and Boeing as airlines move away from less fuel-efficient four-engine models. An enlarged A350 would come with risks for the European company since it could put more pressure on the A380 superjumbo, which sold just three units in 2015.

Airbus, which shelved the smallest A350-800 variant in 2014 amid lackluster sales in favor of a re-engined A330, said it hasn’t yet figured out the financial and engineering costs of a bigger plane, but regards interest from key airlines as sufficient to continue analyzing the potential market.

While Bregier said there’s no urgency in reaching a decision on a stretched plane, John Leahy, Airbus’s sales chief, said he’s pushing for decision in the next six months, since waiting much longer would give an advantage to Boeing, whose 777X series is due to begin deliveries in 2020.

“You want to be in the market sooner rather than later,” Leahy said.

(Andrea Rothman - Bloomberg Business)

Virgin Atlantic Looks to Airbus for New Planes

Richard Branson's swanky long-haul airline may be on the verge of placing a 12-plane order for the A350-1000.

Virgin Atlantic has seen huge improvements in profitability in the last few years, thanks to lower fuel prices and an increased focus on serving lucrative routes between the U.S. and the U.K. However, another key factor in the turnaround of Richard Branson's trendy airline is its shift away from fuel-guzzling planes with four engines in favor of modern twin-engine wide-bodies.

The next stage of this project involves replacing Virgin Atlantic's aging Boeing 747 jumbo-jets. Virgin Atlantic has chosen Airbus for its next aircraft order, according to Bloomberg, and will soon order 12 A350-1000 jets.

Saying goodbye to jumbo-jets

Virgin Atlantic currently operates 10 Boeing 747s -- having retired two in late 2015 -- that were built between 1994 and 2003. These planes are a little over 16 years old, on average. Normally, the useful life of a large jet is about 25 years, but Virgin Atlantic is one of many carriers opting for a quicker retirement schedule for its aging 747s.

Virgin Atlantic has leases scheduled to expire in 2019 for many of its remaining 747s, so it is looking to replace the entire fleet around that time. Last June, Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger stated that the company was seriously considering Airbus' A350 as well as Boeing's 777-300ER and 787-10 and that it planned to order enough planes to replace all of its 747s and provide some growth capacity.

While Virgin Atlantic has not confirmed anything, it appears that Airbus has won the order with the largest version of its A350. Boeing may have been unable to deliver 787-10s during the desired 2018-2019 period, and Virgin Atlantic probably also wanted a plane closer in size to the 747.

Boeing's 777-300ER would have fit both criteria. However, it is an older design that will be superseded in 2020 by the more fuel-efficient 777X. Virgin Atlantic probably didn't want to buy a plane that could soon become obsolete. The A350-1000 appears to offer the right combination of availability and fuel efficiency.

So long, A380

Airbus' victory in this order competition may not be 100% good news. If Virgin Atlantic goes ahead with this order, it likely represents the final nail in the coffin for its outstanding order for six A380 jumbo-jets. (Indeed, it's possible that ordering the A350 is allowing Virgin Atlantic to get out of its A380 commitment.)

Virgin Atlantic ordered the A380 more than a decade ago, with grandiose plans to outfit the jumbo-jets with gyms, beauty salons, and casinos. However, it has never taken delivery of the plane -- and in recent years, it has become increasingly clear that it never would.

Indeed, Airbus has had a hard time getting any airline other than Emirates interested in the A380.

Airbus ended 2015 with 140 unfilled orders for the A380. Emirates represents nearly half of that backlog, with 68 outstanding orders.

Among the remaining 72 A380 orders, Virgin Atlantic's six-plane deal is not the only one hanging by a thread. For example, Qantas doesn't seem interested in taking the remaining eight A380s it has on order. Aircraft lessor Amedeo has 20 orders on the books, but has had to delay its deliveries because it can't find any airlines interested in adding A380s.

Good news and bad news

Emirates' seemingly insatiable demand for A380s is the only thing keeping the production line busy right now. It can't singlehandedly support the A380 forever, though. Virgin Atlantic's recent decision to order twin-engine planes to replace its Boeing 747 jumbo-jets represents the clearest proof yet that A380 orders will continue to disappear.

This means that Airbus will never come close to recouping the tens of billions of dollars in losses that the A380 program has racked up so far.

However, on the bright side, Airbus' other product families continue to sell well: particularly the A320neo and A350. Production increases for these solidly profitable models will be the backbone of Airbus' profit growth over the next five years.

(Adam Levine-Weinberg - The Motley Fool) 

Bombardier Cancels $1.75 Billion of Jet Orders in Sales Shift

Bombardier Inc. scrapped $1.75 billion of business-aircraft orders, saying it anticipates making more money by reselling them directly to customers.

The Canadian plane-maker also said it was ending a four-decade relationship with distributor TAG Aeronautics as part of a change in its sales strategy.

Bombardier will book a $278 million pretax charge in the fourth quarter due to its moves to cut out the middleman standing between itself and aircraft buyers.

Bombardier is revamping its business-jet sales effort as the company’s finances have been strained by its $5.4 billion program for C Series commercial planes. The development of its largest-ever model is more than two years late and at least $2 billion over budget, and Bombardier has been seeking more government aid to right itself.

“The cancellation of these orders is a Bombardier-driven action to restructure
the commercial agreements,” Mark Masluch, a Bombardier spokesman, said in a telephone interview.

“The outcome of this is that we do expect to resell these aircraft and positions at a higher margin.”

Bombardier announced plans in May to cut about 1,750 jobs at the business aircraft unit due to a slowdown in production of the Global 5000 and 6000 models. Most of the jobs have already been eliminated. The company earlier shed 1,000 jobs as it halted work on the Learjet 85 program, which was canceled in October.

List Prices

The cancellations include 24 firm orders and 30 optional ones, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Montreal-based Bombardier. The $1.75 billion value refers to 2015 list prices, though customers typically negotiate discounts.

Ending the partnership with TAG means Bombardier will take over sole responsibility for sales of new Challenger and Global aircraft in 21 Middle Eastern and North African countries.

About $133 million of the $278 million charge is in cash -- with $50 million having been paid in the fourth quarter, and the rest slated to be paid this year, Bombardier said.

Bombardier Business Aircraft, the company’s most profitable unit, had a backlog of future orders of $20.3 billion as of Sept. 30. It booked revenue of $1.56 billion in the third quarter of 2015, the most recent period for which Bombardier has published results.

Fourth-quarter earnings will be released Feb. 18, Bombardier said Wednesday.

(Frederic Tomesco - Bloomberg Business) 

Gulfstream G550 (c/n 5523) N523GA tbr N237GA

Taxies on "lima" then departs from Rwy 30 at Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB) on January 11, 2016 as it performs a customer acceptance flight.

 

(Photos by Michael Carter)