A “first flight” in India
India’s SARAS program has had its bumpy ride. The first version of the aircraft had its first flight in 2004. Here is a video of a 2007 flight of the test vehicle that eventually crashed with the loss of three…
Category Aerospace
The A380 engine choice
The latest order from Emirates suggests the engine makers are in for another round of tough bargaining. No engines were selected for the latest deal. Currently, Emirates is not only the largest A380 operator, it is the future of the…
E190-E2 Beating Targets and Revising Specifications Upward
The Embraer E190-E2 is approaching certification and entry into service later this year with Widerøe Airlines, and the program is on-time and under budget. While that is unusual enough these days, the aircraft is also beating its performance targets in…
Premium 2018.3 – An Alternative Narrow-Body Strategy for Airbus
Airbus currently has an advantage over Boeing in the narrow-body market, as shown in the table below: The A321neo and A321LR are outselling the 737MAX10 by a wide margin, as they are more capable airplanes. Boeing, still recovering from the…
The Meaningless Game of List Prices
This week both major aircraft OEMs announced price increases. Airbus raised its list prices by 2%, and Boeing raised its list prices 4%. With average discounts already above 50% for most airline and leasing company customers, list prices have become…
Emirates blinks
[UPDATED] The Airbus A380 has been under a cloud for some time. The aircraft has many detractors who took this to mean the end was nigh. Indeed, it was only a few days ago that Airbus sales guru John Leahy…