Airbus and Boeing claim demand and record backlogs thousands of A320s and 737s requires them to boost production rates to record levels. There’s little doubt that this is true. But while the two OEMs also claim that there is no…
John Newhouse, of the New Yorker magazine, in his 1982 book The Sporty Game, described the “bet the company” decisions involved in developing commercial aircraft. In recent years, with the difficulties with the A380 and 787, his analyses once again…
Airbus has ticked another box in its A350XWB development program with the arrival of the first wings for first aircraft, which will be used for static testing. The A350 wing, which is manufactured in Broughton, England, is the largest single…
The aviation industry’s pricing process is generally opaque. Nobody pays retail, even though these are the only prices quoted, Take a look at this chart which is ranked in declining cost per seat. All prices apply to January 2012 and…
Many industry analysts and consultants believe the 100-149 seat segment is the “Bermuda Triangle” for airplane manufacturers. We disagree, and here’s why. It has been the wrong market for some OEMs and for some airplanes. When OEMs tried to meet…
Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast (GMF) identifies a need for ~28,200 passenger and freighter aircraft (100 seats+) between 2012 and 2031 worth nearly $4 trillion, reconfirming an upward trend in the pace of new aircraft deliveries. Of these over 27,350…