All Boeing 787's grounded and Boeing halts deliveries

All of the 50 operating Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' aircraft have been grounded amid safety concerns involving its lithium-ion batteries including its main battery and the auxillary power unit (APU) battery (the Boeing 787 is the first Boeing plane to use high capacity Li-on batteries). In its first year of service the airplane has had nothing but problems:

• July 2012 - An engine fails during runway tests, the National Transportation Safety board (NTSB) rules it a contained failure;
• December 4th 2012 - A United Airlines 787 makes an emergency landing after problems with the electrical power distribution panel;
• December 5th 2012 - the Federal Aviation Administration ordered mandatory inspections of 787s after leaking fuel lines on two aircraft which were traced to a faulty assembly;
• December 13th 2012 - Qatar airways 787 is grounded with electrical power distribution problems;
• December 17th 2012 - United finds electrical problem in second 787;
• January 7th 2013 - Fire starts in Li-ion battery pack for the APU of a Japan Airlines 787 after landing in Boston (KBOS);
• January 8th 2013 - United finds improperly installed wiring to same Li-on battery that caught fire on JAL 787. A takeoff was aborted on a JAL 787 after an open fuel valve caused a fuel spill;
• January 9th 2013 - All Nippon airlines cancels a 787 flight after a computer wrongly reported a brake problem;
• January 10th 2013 - 787 flown by Japan's All Nippon Airways develops cracks in cockpit window
• January 16th 2013 - JAL and ANA ground their 787's after an ANA Dreamliner is forced to make an emergency landing where the pilot report a battery malfunction.

Boeing 787 aircraft grounded in Japan - BBC

As of today the US and European aviation agencies have said all the planes should be grounded. They are worried the batteries installed on the aircraft may leak, corroding vital equipment which could potentially cause fires.

ANA 787 after an emergency landing in Japan - http://www.salon.com

Eight airlines currently operate the Boeing 787, totalling 50 aircraft which have all been grounded:

• Air India: 6
• All Nippon Airways (Japan): 17
• Ethiopian Airlines: 4
• Japan Airlines: 7
• LAN Airlines (Chile): 3
• Lot Polish Airlines: 2
• Qatar Airways: 5
• United Airlines (US): 6

After the emergency landing in Japan, investigators have begun removing the battery packs from their aircraft. They say it is deformed and discoloured, and a large amount of liquid electrolyte had leaked from the battery on the interior of the plane's fuselage. The electrolyte is known to be flammable.

Grounding aircraft on this scale hasn't occurred since 1979 when the FAA ordered a general grounding of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 following a fatal crash.

Boeing said it supported the FAA's decision, but added it was confident the 787 was safe. CEO Jim McNerny said:

"We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the travelling public of the 787's safety and to return the airplanes to service."

"Boeing deeply regrets the impact that recent events have had on the operating schedules of our customers and the inconvenience to them and their passengers."

Following the issues with the aircraft, it will only be a matter of time before we see the affect that may occur in terms of airlines such as Thomson, British Airways and Virgin who haven't yet had their aircraft delivered reconsidering and cancelling their orders in favour of perhaps the Airbus A330. Which has been flying since 1994 and is a comparable and aircraft to the 787 which has proven its worth.

The success of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies in the balance, Boeing needs to sell 1,100 of the aircraft over the next 10 years to break even on their investment into the product. The US company currently dominates the airliner market along with its European rival Airbus.


***************************************************UPDATE 18/03/13************************************************* Boeing has halted all deliveries of the 787 while the safety concerns over the batteries is being addressed.  

Sources:

The Telegraph
BBC news
CBC news
Wikipedia

New Wifi systems in aircraft, and potatoes?

© boeing.com

In 2012, we live in a world of connectivity. Through the internet we have access to an enormous and ever growing amount of information. It allows us to connect with our friends, and family, we take it for granted. Another development which is ever becoming more prominent is the use of wireless connectivity, with our laptops, smart phones and tablet computers all making use of this technology. However, something relatively new but is already taken for granted is the idea of accessing the internet wirelessly while flying. People want to be connected wherever they are, even if this means at 35,000 feet.

As users of Wifi and mobile communication technologies, we all know the importance of signal strength. Many commercial airlines already offer a continuous Wifi connection throughout their flights, but the coverage can be 'spotty' throughout the aircraft due its internal complex electromagnetic environment.

Boeing's test engineers have been at work developing a new process for signal quality, which was initially tested in the lab using measurement technology already in use by the metrology labs. By adapting this technique for use in a airplane, the engineers could more efficiently measure signal strength and the propagation of the signal radiowaves.

Wireless signals can deviate randomly when people move around, the new test process allowed Boeing engineers to understand the distribution of wireless hot and cold spots:

"Rather than taking random samples from an airplane, the new way that we developed to test for safety and usability was to essentially send out a signal and measure it". "With statistical analysis, we can then very accurately describe the strongest and weakest signal areas."

Boeing spokesman Adam Tischler - technewsworld.com

That's where the potatoes come in, in order to test wireless signals in an environment as close to a normal aircraft cabin, the test engineers took a decommissioned DC-10 and placed 20,000lbs of potatoes into the seats as substitutes for humans. This was so that humans didn't have to sit very still for weeks of testing.

"A substitute for humans was sought that would mimic the way they can effect wireless signals in the airplane cabin," said Kirchoff. "Potatoes function as a stand-in for humans and mimic the effects they have on the propagation of wireless signals in the airplane cabin. Potatoes have almost the same dielectric constant as humans -- which means the electromagnetic waves of a WiFi signal interact with potatoes in nearly the same way as they interact with humans."

Cabin systems and development engineer with Boeing Ken Kirchoff - technewsworld.com

The project was named SPUDS
(Synthetic Personnel Using Dielectric Substitution)

However unusual as it may sound, the engineers realised that using potatoes instead of humans would reduce testing time from several weeks to 10 hours.

Boeing first developed this technology in order to meet regulatory safety standards so that Wifi signals did not interfere with an aircraft's navigation and communication systems.

The new systems in place in Boeing aircraft promise to provide an improved wireless connection for passengers.

Meanwhile other network engineers are taking note of Boeing's testing method, and ways it could help to improve designs of networks in other situations where people could affect wireless signals.

Sources:
boeing.com
wired.co.uk
technewsworld.com
Images from macgasm.net and knowhow.com

Emirates Airbus A380 landing video

At long last I managed to shoot the Emirates Airbus A380 in this case A6-EDE landing at Manchester airport EGCC. Check out the video above. 

Shuttle Discovery's last flight

Discovery made its last flight today, however this flight was not into space but was atop a modified National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Boeing 747-100 (SCA) (N905NA) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to its new home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

 

The Discovery was the fleet leader of NASA's 3 surviving shuttles and performed its last space flight in March 2011.


Today's flight included low passes over Washington D.C. where thousands turned out to watch it pass.

Here we can see the NASA 747 and attached shuttle departing Kennedy Space Centre just after dawn Photo: Reuters from the Guardian

Here we can see the NASA 747 and shuttle landing a Washington Dulles Airport (KIAD) Photo: Reuters

Over the next two days, the Shuttle will be lifted off its perch atop the 747 and be prepared for the official handover to the Smithsonian on Thursday.

The shuttle flew 39 missions in more than 27 years of service. It is the world's most travelled space ship. The Discovery which took its name from the 18th century British exploratory vessel HMS Discovery captained by James Cook spent a total of 365 days in orbit over its lifetime, and marks the end of the shuttle era.

NASA who ended the shuttle program in the Summer of 2011 is already moving on. With the $100bn Space Station now complete. They are to focus on building a new generation of space ship that can carry astronauts beyond the station's 240 mile high orbit.


Sources: The Guardian
                MSN
                Wikipedia page about the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 
                Wikipedia - Washington Dulles Airport

US Navy F/A 18 Crash

A US Navy F/A 18 jet crashed shortly after take off just before 12:08 (16:08 GMT) today in a residential area near Virginia Beach, Virginia. Both pilots ejected safely.

This video filmed by an onlooker at the scene shows the fires caused by the crashed jet.

Both pilots and 4 others including a fire fighter are being treated for injuries after the plane hit an apartment building. One person has been already released from Virginia Beach hospital.

Prior to the crash, the aircraft was seen dumping fuel, which was later found on vehicles and buildings in the area. This prevented a huge fireball on impact.

On the scene of the crash, residents found one of the pilots still strapped to his seat and parachute. They moved him away from the wreckage.

News is still to come about how why the plane crashed.


Sources: Telegraph
                 ITV

All Hawk T1 aircraft grounded after Red Arrows Crash

Following the death of Flt Lt Egging at the Bournemouth airshow on Saturday, all the fleet of about 170 aircraft has been grounded.


Officials have indicated that an investigation into the crash could take weeks, but a MoD spokesman also said that an interim report was expected in days. The incident is now the Subject of a Military Aviation Authority investigation, which has no time limit.


A post-mortem examination that was carried out on 33-year-old Egging after his body was found near the river Stour, revealing that death was caused by multiple injuries.


After joining the RAF in 2000, Flt Lt Egging served with IV (AC) Squadron, based at RAF Cottesmore, flying the Harrier GR9 in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan.


The Red Arrrows dual control BAE Systems Hawk T1 has been used by them since 1979, before which they used the Folland Gnat.

The plane plunged into a field near the river Stour - BBC

Sources: BBC News
                Wikipedia

Red arrows pilot dies after crash at Bournemouth airshow

Red Arrows pilot Flt Lieutenant John Egging was killed when his Red Arrow Hawk T1 aircraft crashed at 13:50 BST at the Bournmouth airshow about 1km East of Bournmouth airport.

Flt Lt Egging flew in Red 4 on the right hand side on the outside of the famous Red Arrows diamond formation.

His wife Dr Emma Egging, described her husband as "an exemplary pilot" and said watching him during the display was the "proudest" she had ever been.

Flt Lt Egging was inspired by his airline pilot father who used to take him 'down route' allowing him into the cockpit for take off and landing.

In May his local paper the Leamington Observer said the 33 year-old had said that being part of the world famous team was "an absolute privelege".

Sources: BBC News

Air Asiana OZ 991 crashes after reporting a fire

The Air Asiana 747 cargo plane that was bound for Pudong, China from Icheon International airport. After reporting a fire, the crew turned back to land at Jeju International airport. But crashed before they could reach the airport.


The aircraft left Icheon at 3:05am(18:05 GMT) and after turning back, went off radar at 4:12am (19:12 GMT). The wreckage was found 2 hours later by the South Korean Coast guard about 107km (66 miles) West of Jeju city.


“We only can say that an in-flight fire, which occurred in the plane’s freight cargo, could be the reason for the crash because the pilots told us about the fire right before they disappeared from the radar,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said. “But we can’t say how the fire occurred, though there were inflammable materials in the cargo. And also, we are not sure whether there was an explosion.”


The two pilots who died in the crash were: Capt. Choi Sang-gi, 52 who had 14,000 flying hours and had been flying with the airline since 1991, and Co pilot Lee Jeong-woong, 44 had been flying for the airline since 2007 and had 5,211 flying hours.

HL7604 the Boeing 747-48EF/SCD involved in the crash © Niki Kapsamunov on airliners.net

Sources: Joongang Daily
BBC News

Manchester Filming Trip July 2011

On the 30th of July many of the Liverpool Virtual Flying Group are heading to Manchester Airport (EGCC/MAN). It should be a great day for filming with many of the unique spotting locations at the UK's 4th busiest airport.

© George McDonnell - Taken from EGCC - Viewing park

Be sure to check out the YouTube channel near then.

Airbus A380 Super Jumbo not to appear at the Paris Airshow

The Airbus A380 will not hold a demonstration at the Paris International Air Show next week after a wing tip of the display test aircraft was damaged in an incident today the company has said:


"During ground maneuvers with the Airbus A380 flight test aircraft MSN 004, the aircraft's right hand wing-tip touched a structure near the taxiway," at Le Bourget airport on Sunday afternoon, Airbus said in a statement.


"Airbus experts are currently inspecting the aircraft, but it is already confirmed that the A380 MSN 004 will not perform the flying display at the Le Bourget Air Show 2011," it said.


It was the second setback for Airbus ahead of the show which starts on Monday, after it announced earlier today that its A400M military transport plane will also not be in the display.

F-WWDD the Airbus A380-861 planned for use in the show © Ralf Meyermann on airliners.net

Source: AFP

A Helicopter with wings? What will they think of next?

A revolutionary new helicraft has been designed that hopes to change the way people look at helicopters and transform aviation. With a cruise speed of 232kts achieved on a test flight on the 18th May it makes it one of the fastest rotorcraft in the world. This speed combined with the confusing sound of a distinctive rumbling of a helicopter rotor and the whine of propellers makes it a challenge to guess what's coming when this approaches overhead.

The X³ Helicraft is newest innovation in aviation by company Eurocopter as seen on eurocopter.com

The company Eurocopter has christened the Helicraft: X³ and it will make its first appearance to the public next week at the Paris air Show.

The US's Sivorsky's X² as seen on bringbackgnarley.com 

This prototype combines the speed of an aeroplane with the flexibility and versatility of a helicopter with it vertically taking off and landing. Although not as fast as the US rival Sivorsky's equally futuristic looking X² (seen right) which achieved a true airspeed of 250kts last September, it has certainly made the prospect of ultra-fast helicopters gonig on sale within years more likely.

"The aerospace industry today has a new horizon," according to Sikorsky's president Jeffrey Pino. Eurocopter's chief executive Lutz Bertling says, "it will be a totally different way of flying".

On the pilot and passenger side, the difference lies on the way the aircraft accelerates and decelerates: "In the X³ we accelerate and decelerate horizontally." According to experimental test pilot Herve Jammayroc with a "very different sensation from flying this when compared with an ordinary helicopter". He also said that "it is easier to fly than a normal helicopter" although more complex to build.


In terms of mission compatibility, it is 50% faster than conventional helicopters and it is larger than the US rival, but "the key message is productivity" says CEO Bertling.


For Eurocopter themselves the X³ forms part of a large restructuring for the company which is going to consist of replacing the entire six helicopter models they currently manufacture over the next 10 years. A helicopter programme typically costs around 1bn euros ($1.4bn; £876m) and lasts about 6 years.


Eurocopter are also working on more fuel-efficient models, including ones with diesel-electric hybrid engines, along with optionally manned or unmanned and even passenger sized helicopters. Along with improving safety, in terms of reliability of systems and crew awareness; and reducing operating and maintenance costs.


The helicraft is mainly aimed at mission-based activities where time is key, for example search and rescue, but is also aimed at companies who want to speed up transportation of employees, for example off oil rigs and in the gas industry. So it should be interesting to see if companies and military operators take to this amazing new innovation.


Source: BBC News


For more information on the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Exhibition centre between 20th and 26th June 2011 - check out this link.

New Tumbleblog - aviation news

Aviation news blog


Consists of short news articles not suitable for large posts on here and other random stuff.

AF447 brings revised procedures

First of all sorry for not posting for ages, been very busy with exams.

The investigation is still in process:


After the crash of Air France flight 447 into the South Atlantic on 1st June 2009, over two years after the crash, the investigation is still in process.

A recent report in May from the Air Transport Intelligence read that the French investigators have released that the crew of the Airbus A330 maintained a nose-up inputs to the aircraft even after it had stalled. Also the crew set the engine thrust variously to go-around power and idle as they battled to rescue the jet.

The Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (BEA) has detailed the last few minutes of the flight (below).

The BEA confirms that the captain had left the cockpit to rest about eight minutes before the emergency having discussed about possible turbulence ahead to the relief crew.

The report revealed that in the cruise the pilots changed course by 12° to the left, and as turbulence increased they opted to reduce speed to Mach 0.8 (around 465kts). Two minutes after this change in course, the aircraft's autopilot and autothrust were disengaged, and the aircraft was taken out of the cruise and climbed from 35,000 feet to 38,000 at a vertical speed of 7,000 ft/min! From here the aircraft entered 'alternate' law, because of this, the aircraft entered a dangerous pitch angle as its angle of attack protection was lost by being in 'alternate' law.

Last six minutes of AF447 taken from flight global.com

The aircraft began to roll right, as the pilot countered this roll with a nose-up left input, the A330's stall warning sounded twice - indicating that the aircraft had exceeded its critical angle-of-attack threshold.

The Primary Flight Display (PFD) on the captain's side showed a large decrease in airspeed from 275kts to 60kts, and the aircraft's angle of attack "increased progressively" beyond 10°.

The pilot made nose-down and left and right roll inputs and the vertical speed decreased to 700ft/min with the angle of attack reduced to 4°. This meant that the displayed speed "increased sharply" to 215kts. The BEA said that the non-flying pilot "tried several times to call the captain back".

There was another stall warning and the BEA said the stall warning sounded again. The thrust levers were positioned for take-off/go-around power but the flying pilot "maintained nose-up inputs". The angle of attack continued to increase along with the trimmable horizontal stabiliser which increased from 3° to 13° - where it stayed for the rest of the flight.

When the aircraft reached its maximum altitude of 38,000 feet the angle of attack had increased to 16°.

The captain returned to the cockpit just 90 seconds after the autopilot had been disengaged - by which time the aircraft had began its fatal descent.

When the aircraft passed through back through its cruise altitude the angle of attack had increased to more than 40° with the aircraft descending at 10,000 feet/min. Its pitch did not exceed 15°, its engine power was close to 100% of N1, and the jet oscillated with rolls of up to 40°.

According to the BEA: "The [flying pilot] made an input on the sidestick to the left and nose-up stops, which lasted about 30 seconds,". Also just 20 seconds after the captain had returned to the cockpit, the thrust levers were set to 'idle' position, with the engines delivering 55% of N1.

AF447 had turned an almost three-quarter circle to the right during the emergency and having descended for 3min 30s - struck the ocean surface at just 107kts, with a nose-up pitch of 16.2° and a heading of 270°.

F-GZCP - The Airbus A330-203 involved in the accident seen here landing in Paris Charles de Gaulle (LFPG)
© Vincent Edlinger at airliners.net

Air France emphasised the evidence of a technical malfunction on the Airbus A330 after French investigators detailed the final minutes of the flight. The BEA confirmed there was a sudden change in displayed speeds and that that there was a discrepancy between that shown on the PFD and that on the standby instrument system.

The non-flying pilot said that the aircraft had "lost the speeds" and then mentioned that the aircraft had switched to 'alternate' law - a normal response from the aircraft in the vent of unreliable speed information. The BEA did not mention any reason for these inconsistent speed indications.

But Air France said: "It appears...that the initial problem was the failure of the speed probes which led to the disconnection of the autopilot and the loss of the associated piloting protection systems, and that the aircraft stalled at a high altitude." They did not discuss the crew's response to the stall beyond pointing out that the captain, having left the cockpit to rest, quickly returned to address the situation.

"The crew, made up of three skilled pilots, demonstrated a totally professional attitude and were committed to carrying out their task to the very end and Air France wishes to pay tribute to them," said the carrier. "All the data collected must be now analysed. It will only be at the end of this complex task, which requires patience and precision, that the BEA will be able to establish the causes that led to the disaster."

Revision of safety procedures:

This accident has lead to a recent revision of safety procedures. These concentrated on placing greater emphasis on reducing critical angle of attack which is the critical characteristic of a stall rather than using aircraft power to get out of a stall situation and cause minimum loss of altitude. Put simply, when an aircraft is entering a stall, pilots have been concentrating on increasing engine thrust to combat it, rather than concentrating on keeping air flowing smoothly over the wings and maintaining a sensible pitch angle.

A formal document detailing the revisions pointed out that: "There have been numerous situations where flight crews did not prioritise [nose-down pitch control] and instead prioritised power and maintaining altitude."

Operational experience has shown that doing the above can result in the aircraft stalling. The BEA disclosed that the crew maintained nose-up inputs after the stall but has yet to determine the reason or reach any conclusions. They also set the thrust to take-off/go-around power, in line with Air France's standard operating procedure at the time. However the procedure also required them to reduce pitch altitude, roll the wings level and ensure the speedbrake was retracted.

The revised recovery procedure was agreed between the major airframers Airbus and Boeing, some 12 months after the accident, although a source familiar with the investigation stresses that the change was "not prompted" by the accident.

At the heart of revision is the acceptance that applying high-power for recovery is not necessary in all stall situations and could be ineffective, particularly at cruise altitudes where available thrust would be limited and the engines would require time to spool up.

There is also a risk that a crew may not recognise that an aircraft has crossed the point of near-stall to an actual stall and still use the same ineffective technique for recovery.

The new procedure is designed to cover all aspects of a stall - recovering the angle of attack may require reduction of thrust, regain pitch-down authority, as well as loss of altitude. This procedure removes the priority of increased power and also points out that thrust should be applied smoothly, particularly becuase aircraft with under-wing engines have a tendency to pitch up, increasing the angle of attack when power is applied.


Sources:  Flight global - flight information
                 Flight global - 'technical problem' information
                 Flight global - revised procedures
                 Boeing.com - angle of attack
                 Wikipedia - 'alternate' law

Links to Information on the Japanese Earth quake and Nuclear situation

Information on the devastation which is permitting Japan, our thoughts go to those in need at this saddening time:


Google Crisis Response
Google News
BBC news
Sky News

Continuing news on the matter...

New Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental revealed

The new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental unveiled at Boeing's Seattle plant on the 13th February in front of 10,000 Beoing employees and their families and invited guests in the hangar where the first 747 was unveiled in 1968. Boeing say that is is set to seat 51 more passengers than the current 747 at 467 in three class configuration. And will burn less fuel while doing so. And will be capable of flying 8,000nm at MTOW and at maximum passenger and baggage capacity.

Shockingly however, the firm has won only 33 orders so far for the passenger version of the aircraft from Lufthansa and Korean Air Lines, with 74 cargo versions being sold with some already flying. Although Boeing said they are confident that they will receive more orders once the passenger plane enters service later this year.

© Royal S King at airliners.net

The original 747 has sold more than 1,400 since it is was launched 42 years ago until the 747-400 was withdrawn from sale last year.

Aside from the capacity other features of the Intercontinental include new wings, a new tail, a sharper nose, state-of-the-art GE engines and a new cockpit. And while it carries fewer passengers than the Airbus A380, it will the world's longest airliner at 76.25 metres comparing to the A380's 72.73 metres.

The new model is seen as the newest rival for the Airbus A380, with the 787 Dreamliner set to A350 which are designed to bypass busy hubs and takes passengers closer to their final destination.

So the newest 747 which will always be the aircraft which identifies closely with Boeing than any other, when people think of Boeing, they think of the 747 and since its release it has proven and still proves to be one of the most iconic passenger airliners in the world.

Sources: BBC News

                Wikipedia - Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380

New EasyJet livery to save costs

As we all know airlines are always in fierce competition with one another, and trying to make the most profit. Many airlines and aircraft designers have already started thinking of innovative ways to do this such as using composite materials for the aircraft body, light weight carpets and even merging airlines together. The newest initiative is from EasyJet who, starting on today are beginning a trial use of a chemical on the paint of its aircraft which is designed to reduce drag and friction as the aircraft flies through the air. It is trialling the chemical which it calls "revolutionary nano-technology coating" on 8 of its fleet so far, but if the trial is successful then the chemical will also be applied to the rest of its 175 strong fleet.
The polymer in use only adds an extra 130g to the weight of the aircraft which comes as a huge benefit to the airline.

© Danijel Jovanović on airplane pictures.net

How does it work?
Firstly, a company who distributes the coating in the UK TripleO gives the plane a "polarising wash" Which opens the pores on the surface of the material to be treated and electrically charges it with a positive polarity. Which allows the coating to bond to the existing paint. The coat is then applied and makes the paint extra shiny which then reduces the build up of debris on the planes main structure, the leading edge of the wings and other areas, thus reducing friction and drag on the surface of the aircraft.


The new coating is set to reduce costs by 1-2% and so would have been a huge benefit to the airline last year with 40% of the airlines costs on fuel at £730 million, if the suggested 2% was to prove correct, the airline would have reduced this by £14million.
Chief executive of EasyJet Carol McCall says that the customers would stand to benefit: "If we can find new ways of reducing the amount of fuel used by our aircraft, we can pass the benefits on to our passengers by offering them low fares and a lower carbon footprint."


So as the airline industry tries to cut their costs, who knows what will be next, but we be sure the technology in use for these pioneering ideas if successful will continue to be used for years to come.


Sources: BBC news
                Wikipedia
                Airfleets.net

Airbus beats Boeing in 2010 orders

Airbus A320neo as seen on airlinesanddestinations.com

Rival companies in the aviation industry Airbus and Boeing have been battling for years for domination on the commercial aviation world stage. With 200 last minute orders at the end of 2010, Airbus pushed ahead of Boeing in the number of aircraft orders. With a total of 644 orders and $84 billion. This latest installment of orders made up Airbus' 10,000th order in their 40 year history. 60 of the orders going to Virgin America because of the introduction the new A320neo which is designed to increase fuel efficiency by 15% and therefore decrease costs. This would triple virgin America's fleet of A320s to 111 by 2019. Boeing came in with 625 orders for the year.


This was a huge shock for the European company and comes after a drop in the aviation market, and it has now bounced back. American executive of Airbus John Leahy said that it was due to the increasing amount of low-cost carriers in Asia and emerging markets.

Virgin America A320 The Guardian

In terms of deliveries last year's figures show Airbus ahead again with 574 despite cancellations of Boeing's 530 deliveries. Another main reason of why Boeing is falling behind in the order race is that of the 787 Dreamliner which 
has been delayed again until the third quarter of the year.
However China is set to buy 200 Boeing aircraft at a value of $19 billion in a new deal which in total comes to $45 billion for the US according to a Washington official.


Airbus is set to employ 3,000 people to work on projects such as the A350 which is set to rival the Dreamliner and other future projects.
Boeing has so far sold 20,663 aircraft since they started in January 1958. but for eight years Airbus has sold more aircraft than Boeing. Both companies have more than doubled their order intake as the industry recovers from recession.


Sources: BBC news
                Mizoram Express.com

The end of the runway for BA

After 23 years, from Concorde to Terminal 5, and several union strikes, British airways have given the world a lot to talk about, BA is no longer an independent company on the stock market as it has agreed to combine with the Spanish airline Iberia, which formally completes this weekend.

BA aircraft lined up: luxuo.com

The combination will form the world's their largest airline. With Iberia taking 45% and BA taking the further 55% of the company.

"The merger will create a strong European airline well able to compete in the 21st Century," said BA chief executive Willie Walsh.

From when it changed from a government department to a private company in 1987 transformed by Colin Marshall. From here on it became a very successful airline and one of the most prolific and dominant global airlines in the world.

BA has been forced to change due to competition from low cost airlines from Europe, and this consolidation of the two airlines is the first step into the new way in which BA are going to change the way they do business.

Willie Walsh can't continue growing his business at Heathrow and without a third runway, therefore BA is being grown elsewhere.

Despite disputes from cabin crew, little changes are expected from service from BA, as their contingency plan is very well advanced.

So, British Airways is no longer an independent company, it has faced great highs being the Flag carrier for Britain and representing the UK globally. There were also lows following 9/11 but BA has always continued growth where suitable and there has never been a dull moment.

Let us hope that this new airline will be a success as predicted.

British Airways - Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde 102
© Steve Flint on airliners.net

Sources: BBC News

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