Re: Airbus to conduct study on the fifth FAL in Malaysia

This feasibility study fits pretty well along the statement of Eric Schulz some 3 months ago: "we need to deliver what we committed to first” before moving on to an A320neo family upgrade." (*), even though increasing their FAL capacity may not be in itself the most difficult challenge fac...

Re: EVA Air (BR) new expectations

Where does Starlux come into this picture? They've just ordered 17 long haul aircraft, BR cannot just ignore it, especially if: BR's growth is going to be constrained by Taiwan's limited air rights. I believe this is correct as of 2018... Granted, the open sky agreements with the USA and some other ...

Re: Airbus offers longer range A35K for QR

That is a huge increase which probably wont happen. Airbus would be better off putting the shorter A359 fuselage on the A35K wing/landing gear. That aircraft would be able to outperform the 777-8 comfortably. An A359 fuselage with the A35K wing / landing gear / engine would be a very interesting ba...

Re: Air Asia to order more Airbus aircraft?

Airbus is promising range for KL - LON https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2018/07/airasia-x-orders-34-more-a330neo.html The caption under the small picture reads: "Asia’s largest low-cost airline, AirAsia X, has placed a firm order for 55 Airbus A330neo". So would the AAX o...

Re: Reuters: Airbus is studying A321XLR with extended range over LR

I'm trying to find an FAA reference to external fuel tanks as I've always been under the impression it's a big no-no for part 25 aircraft. Having little luck at the moment. I can tell you that a major concern for external fuel tanks is bird strikes. That's the thing, i'm not finding any references ...

Re: JetBlue Orders 60 Airbus A220-300

After this order for 60 A220-300, is it correct to still expect an order of 60 A220-300 from Moxy (with deliveries said to start in 2020)? I find it a bit intriguing that both JetBlue's order and Moxy potential order cover the same number of aircraft, the same type and the same initial delivery time...

Re: Which European airlines do not connect their capitals to the European Capital Brussels?

And that boys and girls is why the World despises the french just as much as they despise Americans who call their country America. Europe is a continent and it's much larger than the EU. Nah it's just EU haters looking for petty reasons to hate the EU and its members even more. Whenever somebody m...

Re: Which European airlines do not connect their capitals to the European Capital Brussels?

@Tomcat; You have been around enough to know that some(but not all of any particular) nationalities who post here are largely ignorant of the difference between the trade block and the Continent and are falling prey to the propaganda of vested interests outside of this forum. If they read the openi...

Re: Which European airlines do not connect their capitals to the European Capital Brussels?

Please refrain from mixing up Europe with EU; they are not the same thing and never will be. Brussels is a Nothing City to me with no compelling reason to visit. All roads do not lead to Brussels. FYI, in French, most of the time we refer to EU as "Europe". Depending on the context of the...

Re: CX looking to fly to MEX in the near future.

Is nonstop MEX-HKG possible without severe weight restrictions? The best contenders for this route would be the 777-8, the A359-ULR and the A350-1000. They specifically said 777-9 Indeed, I have read this and they must have very good reason to have said so but if in the end of the day, another airc...

Re: Reuters: Airbus is studying A321XLR with extended range over LR

Unless Airbus already have some additional range 'in the bank' I doubt the 'xlr' will have an additional 10% range myself.Thats (400nm) a big increase and a big increase in weight (fuel carried etc).But according to Leeham we may hear nothing from either AorB at Farnbrough -which would be boring! L...

Re: CX looking to fly to MEX in the near future.

Interesting article below (only in Spanish). Cathay Pacific studying the possibility to have a direct HKG-MEX in 3-4 years when they receive their 777x orders and new MEX airport opens. Would not be surprised if this actually becomes a reality. http://www.transponder1200.com/cathay-pacific-anuncia-...

Re: Airbus A321XLR?

It depends if they want to increase the wing or not? If they go down that path, while more expensive, would also allow for an A322 stretch, which might be just enough to cause Boeing some headaches with their MoM proposal. Think of the thing basically as a modern DC-8. :D You are kidding, aren't yo...

Re: Leeham: VLA era is over; are 779/A35K too large?

the flight computer predicted 9.5t fob at the end of the delivery flight but they ended up with 12.5t -https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgGgKSIVMAAprjU.jpg. That is 72.5t for 11hrs and 50 mins (albeit with a lighter payload than normal) .... Just 6.1t per hour :o Do you have a photo of the 9.5 tonne pre...

Re: Airbus A350 Production/Delivery Thread 2018

Confirmed now.... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/a350-1000-gains-performance-boost-from-higher-take-449476/ Airbus has disclosed that its just-announced new higher-weight A350-1000 option, available immediately, allows operators to carry 5.5t more cargo or avail of 400nm (730km) in addit...

Re: How far could an A350-900ULR go with a standard config?

The wing changes (new sharklet and retwist) apparently give about 1 percent improvement https://leehamnews.com/2017/11/01/new-pictures-changed-sharklets-a350/ So the other 4 percent has to come from the engine. Haven't heard anything about that. Is it limited to the XWB-97 or will it be on the XWB-...

Re: Emirates looking to Windowless planes [BBC]

From a safety standpoint, I've seen several flight attendants telling passengers, while giving exit row passengers pre-departure instructions, to look outside first before opening the exit. While cameras could be used, what if the power (battery or otherwise) doesn't work? Analog is best in some ca...

Re: Emirates looking to Windowless planes [BBC]

If the pilots could do their job without windows, the flight deck might be relocated somewhere else (in the belly?) and the space currently occupied by the flight deck could be turned into a new premium cabin space offering a unique panoramic view. This would make the pilot job less attractive thoug...

Re: Airbus faces “unprecedented challenge” to hit delivery target

There are at least 60 A320 family frames waiting for engines, perhaps nearer to 100. If those frames had engines and would have been delivered already, the situation would be completely different. Manage the engine problems and the biggest part of the headache is gone. And this too is just your opi...

Re: Airbus faces “unprecedented challenge” to hit delivery target

But what I do agree with is that both Airbus and Boeing are desperate to clear backlogs for the obvious reasons (money and slot openings), but also for this other reason about cycles. The nasty one is coming soon and no one wants to be left with hundreds of planes that could've been delivered that ...

Re: Airbus faces “unprecedented challenge” to hit delivery target

I do wonder how sustainable the A320 production system is at these high rates. It is incredibly complex and these additional final assembly locations aren’t really adding capacity since most of the work still happens In Europe before large assemblies are shipped to China or Alabama http://www.moder...

Re: How far out of the way will people connect?

GCT64 wrote:

I've seen retired English couples at BOS taking BOS-IST-MAN rather than a direct flight to the UK (!). This is over 100% further, but probably much cheaper knowing TK's pricing.

Re: BeNeLux aviation - 2018

QR has been flying to BRU with a 77W instead of the regular A359 lately. Was it planned?

Re: FAA Gives Final Approval to 777X Folding Wings

But to also be fair, the flaps are designed to operate primarily in a somewhat high-speed airstream (departure, approach, landing roll-out) whereas the wingtips will only operate at taxi speeds. So the loads they will be subjected to during their travel will be significantly less. Most of the flaps...

Re: FAA Gives Final Approval to 777X Folding Wings

To be fair, the big difference between these tips and flaps/slats is the motion. It's easy for the layman to feel that there's going to be a very large moment concentrated on a small hinge in the case of the wingtip, while other edge devices have loads more in-line with the wing structures, spread ...