Qantas finds 'type two' cracks on two A380s

Qantas Airways has discovered "type two" cracks on two of its Airbus A380 aircraft and is now in talks with the airframer the cost implications of repairs.

The carrier found "fewer than 10" cracks on the wing-rib feet on the affected aircraft, a spokesman said.

The cracks were discovered on aircraft VH-OQA and VH-OQB, in February and March, respectively, after the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered checks on the worldwide fleet of A380s.

VH-OQB has since been returned to service while VH-OQA, the same aircraft that suffered an uncontained engine failure near Singapore in November 2010, is still undergoing tests.

"We are in discussions with Airbus about the cost implications of the inspection and repair requirements," says Qantas.

The spokesman adds that Qantas continues to comply fully with the EASA airworthiness directive mandating inspections on A380 wing-rib feet and that the cracks pose no risks to the safety of the affected aircraft.

The Australian carrier grounded another A380 - VH-OQF - last month after 36 cracks were found on the wing-rib feet.

On 8 March, Airbus parent EADS said it had made a €105 million ($138 million) provision to cover the cost of repairs to the initial 67 A380s in service.

No mention was made of any provision for compensation and the airframer could not immediately indicate whether there would be additional costs arising from manufacturing changes.

Emirates is also seeking compensation from the aircraft manufacturer for the disruption to its operations caused by the discovery of the cracks on 10 of its A380s.

source: flightglobal.com

Boeing nears 747-8 Intercontinental delivery to Lufthansa

With an estimated five to seven days of flight testing remaining, Boeing is nearing completion of final certification tests on the company's first all-new 747 passenger aircraft in more than 23 years.

747-8 airline launch customer Lufthansa is expected to take delivery of the first of 20 aircraft in the "near future" said 747 vice-president and general manager, Elizabeth Lund, though the handover date has yet to be finalised.

After the remaining days of testing "all of the certification activity will be wrapped up on that aircraft, and then it will be paperwork-finalising activity from that point forward," said Lund.
Additional tests were required separately from the VIP configured 747-8, which was delivered to an unidentified customer on 27 February, including the airline seating configurations, in-flight entertainment, galleys and the cabin systems and networks.
The 747-8 was awarded EASA and FAA amended type certifications on 14 December 2011.

"I believe they're ready to take the airplane," said Lund of the German carrier, "They have spares, they have training completed and their facilities are ready."

Boeing flew the 747-8 to Hamburg in December 2011 to allow the carrier to test the compatibility of the aircraft with its facilities prior to service entry.

The company's last major 747 passenger variant, the 747-400, was certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration in 1989.

source: flightglobal.com

Lufthansa pegs 23 April for 747-8 delivery

Lufthansa plans to take delivery of its first Boeing 747-8 on 23 April, ahead of entering revenue service with the German airline in May.

The German carrier has ordered 20 passenger-variant 747-8s to replace its 747-400s, of which the first was delivered in May 1989.

August Wilhelm Henningsen, chief executive of the airline's maintenance arm, Lufthansa Technik, tells Flightglobal Pro that the first aircraft would be delivered "around" 23 April.
The 747-8s will join the fleet at a rate of five per year until 2015.

The delivery of the fifth aircraft (RC021), which is to be registered D-ABYE, was scheduled for August at the point when it visited Frankfurt for ground equipment tests last December.

Lufthansa will configure the type with 386 passenger seats in a three-class layout, including a new business class.

source: flightglobal.com

Industry approached for USAF F-16 radar deal

The US Air Force has released a pre-solicitation notice for new radars for a portion of its Lockheed Martin F-16 fleet.

"The intent of this pre-solicitation notice is to inform interested parties, including the vendor community, about potential opportunities related to the [radar modernisation programme]," the notice reads. "Additionally, the USAF's intent is to provide interested parties with key information that will assist in planning and preparation."

The USAF is looking for a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to upgrade about 350 later model F-16s as a stop-gap until Lockheed's stealthy F-35 can be built in numbers. Air force leaders say that the service was forced to proceed with the extensive modernisation of the existing fighter fleet due to repeated delays in procuring the new type.

© US Department of Defense

USAF chief of staff Gen Norton Schwartz reaffirmed on 20 March that the service will not buy more new fourth-generation fighters like the F-16 because they would stay in the inventory as long as a new fifth-generation fighter but would be long obsolete by then.

The notice says that the requirements for the new radar will be finalised and approved in the coming weeks. The air force has been studying the problem since last year.

There are two rival AESA systems that the USAF might buy for its Block 40/42 and 50/52 F-16s. One is Northrop Grumman's scalable agile beam radar; the other the Raytheon advanced combat radar. A draft request for proposal for the new radar might be released as soon as June 2012.

Lockheed is also already working on evaluating how to extend the F-16's airframe life.

source: flightglobal.com

Common cockpit to feature in CSeries-C919 co-operation

Bombardier is to co-operate with Chinese airframer Comac on four programmes centred on exploiting commonality between its CSeries twinjet and the C919.

The initial programmes include exploring common aspects of crew interfaces in the cockpits of the two aircraft.

Bombardier says the other projects will focus on the electrical systems of the jets, the development of aluminium-lithium materials standards, and customer services.
The definitive agreement will deepen the collaboration between the two airframers established a year ago.

All four projects will be completed over the next year, says Bombardier, adding that the effort "demonstrates the complementary nature" of the CSeries and C919 programmes.

"Both parties will continue exploring other possibilities for co-operation with regards to aircraft program commonalities, joint procurement, synergies in development and customer services, as well as collaboration on Bombardier and Comac programs," it says.

The agreement aims to "maximise both parties' cost savings", states Bombardier chief Pierre Beaudoin.

Comac chairman Jin Zhuanglong adds that the tie-up will enhance the competitiveness of each aircraft.

source: flightglobal.com

Embraer adds engineering to Melbourne portfolio

Embraer has begun hiring for a new engineering centre to be located across from its executive aviation final production site and global customer centre at the Melbourne International airport in Florida.

The $24 million, 6,227m² (67,000ft2) facility, to be called the Embraer Engineering and Technology Center USA, is the company's first engineering centre outside of Brazil and will employ 200 engineers within five years says Embraer.

"The [facility] will conduct research and development activities for both product and technology development across Embraer's business lines, with the first assignments primarily focused on executive jet interiors", says the company. "It will include a laboratory for the development and testing of materials and interior items."

Embraer last year began building Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 business jets at a new 7,435m² final production plant at the airport, using a single lean manufacturing five-station line and subassemblies received on container ships from Embraer's Botucatu, Brazil plant.

Once interiors shipped from Brazil are installed, completed aircraft are moved to a 3,440m² facility nearby, where technicians can paint two aircraft at a time. Total build time is about six weeks per aircraft.

The company plans to produce a total of 30 Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 jets this year with a staff of 200 employees working two shifts, five days per week. Embraer expects to produce 60 business jets at the facility in 2013. The plant is designed for a maximum capacity of 96 aircraft per year.

An associated 5,390m² customer centre, opened in December, is designed for US and European business jet buyers to choose options for their jets and to take delivery, which saves approximately three days in travel time compared to receiving the aircraft in Brazil. Prices will be the same regardless of where the aircraft are produced, says Embraer.

Melbourne airport officials say they invested more than $240,000 in the project by renovating a 2,323m² building on the airport for Embraer's new engineers to use rent-free for 18 months while the new facility is built.

"This new facility will create the right jobs at the right time," says Melbourne airport executive director, Richard Ennis. "These are aerospace engineering jobs, and there is no question that Embraer is acting now to tap into the talent pool idled by the end of NASA's shuttle program."

Ennis adds that the incentives were offered "so that Embraer can expedite its hiring of engineering staff."

source: flightglobal.com

Unstable approach spun Lion MD-90 off runway

Pilots of a Lion Air Boeing MD-90 landing at Jakarta activated just one of the aircraft's two thrust-reversers in a failed bid to regain directional control before the jet skidded sideways and sustained serious damage.

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee determined that the aircraft's approach to Runway 25L had not been stabilised. While the first officer had been flying, the captain took over the controls at a height of just 100ft from touchdown.

At 50ft the aircraft drifted to the right, the investigators stated, and the captain took corrective action. Weather conditions at the time were poor, with rain, a moderate crosswind and visibility of 1,000m.

Examination of the aircraft showed that the right wing-tip had been damaged, with evidence indicating the wing had struck the ground before the main landing-gear made runway contact.

NTSC investigators said this "showed the aircraft conducting an unstabilised approach before [it] touched the ground".

The MD-90 landed to the left of the runway centreline and began crabbing, with its tail to the right, and the captain used the thrust reverser to try to bring the aircraft under control - the starboard reverser was deployed but the port reverser was not.

But the aircraft's tail continued to slide to the right, rotating the aircraft by 90˚ to the left as it skidded along the runway for 1,095m (3,590ft), crossing the right shoulder and coming to a halt in the grass off the right-hand side.

"The [captain's] corrective actions to regain the [centreline] were not successful," says the NTSC report into the 9 March 2009 accident. It adds that the captain had 5,000h on type against the first officer's 800h.

None of the 166 passengers and six crew members was injured but the aircraft (PK-LIL), which had been arriving on a domestic service from Makassar, suffered a main landing-gear collapse and wing damage. The NTSC has recommended that Lion Air review its simulator and cockpit resource management training programmes.

source: flightglobal.com

IN FOCUS: Orders show single-aisle challenge for new entrants

Orderbooks since Airbus and Boeing launched re-engined versions highlight the challens manufacturers face trying to break into the single-aisle aircraft market, writes Clives Lewis.
The choice of manufacturers when buying a new narrowbody jet has gone from two to five in only a few years. Competitive airlines used to be able to choose either Airbus or Boeing, now they can also choose from Russian, Chinese and Canadian offerings, with new-generation engines and promises of improved operating efficiency.
Airbus and Boeing's reaction has been to offer versions of their narrowbody jets with new-generation engines. Although Boeing has other priorities ahead of creating a new narrowbody design, it is perhaps also true that new technologies which deliver enough benefit to justify a new narrowbody from Airbus or Boeing are unlikely to be ready until the latter half of the next decade.
Have their strategies paid off? Looking at order intake, it certainly appears so according to Flightglobal's ACAS database. Prior to the launch of the Bombardier CSeries, Airbus and Boeing each took about 50% of the net order intake for narrowbody jets. After a slow start from launch, in 2009 Bombardier took an 11.5% share of order intake from Boeing and Airbus. When the first orders were placed for the C919 and MS-21 in 2010, the share of new entrants rose to 13.4%.
Airbus fought back with its re-engined A320neo to take 65% of the net orders placed in 2011. Boeing has followed suit with the 737 Max, holding a 71% share so far in 2012.
On a global level, it seems clear the reactions of the two long-established players have worked and minimised the impact of new entrants on their market shares. Last year, about 9% of orders were placed with the three new entrants combined. In 2012, this has fallen to less than 5% so far.

This does not mean new entrants cannot make significant inroads into the narrowbody market, but it is likely to take time. It took Airbus about 20 years and three aircraft family launches to achieve 40% share of jet orders by 1990. It was another decade before it gained a market share comparable with Boeing. The benefits of volume, installed base and global support operations favour the incumbents. If new entrants are to get viable market positions and volumes it is likely to take a long time and further aircraft family launches. 

 

However, the effectiveness of Airbus and Boeing's re-engining strategy varies by region. In China, Flightglobal's ACAS database shows no backlog for any of the new generation of narrowbodies, except for a 17% share for the C919. In this high-growth market, the local product is bound to have some success. Comac has already spoken of its intent to create a larger aircraft.

Outside China in the wider Asia-Pacific region, all the new entrants have had an impact on order backlog but the Airbus A320neo family is the strong leader.

Where the CSeries and MS-21 have achieved greatest share is in Europe. This is not surprising for the MS-21 as it is the local offering in eastern Europe. Unless they are happy providing niche offerings, to achieve long-term success Irkut and Bombardier will need to do more to penetrate the growing China and Asia-Pacific markets.

The 2012-H1 Flightglobal Commercial Fleet Forecast predicts that gaining market share in the growth markets of China and Asia-Pacific will be important for the long-term success of new narrowbodies, because half of deliveries in this sector are predicted to be to these regions until 2031.

For the next 15 years or so, Boeing and Airbus are set to maintain strong market leadership. Beyond this, both are likely to introduce all-new narrowbodies and have the market share to justify it. By then, at least one of the new entrants is expected to be competing with a widebody offering. This is when things will get more interesting, and the "Big Two" will really be under threat.

For the new entrants, having the cash and resolve to stay the course will be essential. Comac is probably the one to watch with local demand in China, where "long term" means a very long time.

source: flightglobal.com

737 Max 'not a long-term solution': Udvar-Hazy

Air Lease Corp chief executive Steven Udvar-Hazy, a vocal advocate for Boeing's now-shelved New Small Airplane concept, says the airframer's strategy to develop the CFM International Leap-1B-powered 737 Max is intended as a bridge to a clean sheet design arriving in the middle of the next decade and "not a long-term solution".

The 737 Max is aimed at keeping "the market share positioning against the [Airbus A320] Neo...to create an equilibrium of some sorts," says Udvar-Hazy.

Udvar-Hazy, who dubs Boeing's 737-replacement concept his "Hazyliner", has in the past said new aircraft concepts are part of Boeing's "DNA", describing the airframer's proclivity for embracing all-new, clean-sheet designs.

Boeing has been open about its strategic goals for the 737 Max, including a 50-50 marketshare split with Airbus, while openly acknowledging the cost and production capability of an all new narrowbody programme meant it was not ready for launch. It declines to discuss a timeline for such an offering.

Boeing's senior vice-president of marketing, Mike Bair, says "our intention is that we will build the Max until the market doesn't want to buy any more and we don't know when that's going to be.

"I wouldn't predict 2025 or 2035, at some point, either something better will come along or the marketplace will decide they won't continue to take it. We'll make it until it runs out of gas and that could be a long, long time," says Bair.

Without going so far as to dismiss the airframer's strategy outright, Udvar-Hazy says: "I think [737 Max] is viable because Boeing is going to stop building the [737]NG by 2019-2020, they're going to phase it out, just like the 737-300, -400, -500s [were] phased out" requiring existing customers to transition to the revamped narrowbody.

Bair also says no decision on curtailing 737NG production has been made, of which 2,223 are in backlog as of 1 March, including 78 for ALC.

A significant leap in efficiency on the 737 is restricted both by "the current geometry of the aircraft" and its limited under-wing clearance for a fan diameter larger than the 174cm (68.4in) offered by the Leap-1B, says Udvar-Hazy. A focus on the widebody market has also meant an all-new 737 has been pushed down the list of priorities.

Hazy believes a second engine option on the Max would help bolster its overall business case, but adds: "I don't think Boeing's going to do it." He has pushed the airframer to offer a Pratt & Whitney PW1000G-series engine, but its larger fan would require a more costly redesign of the narrowbody.
"I've had long talks with [Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh] and guys over there, where I showed them the dual engine [option] has helped Airbus gain marketshare with the A320neo family...because they had two choices and airlines were able to leverage that to get better deals.

"I just don't think Boeing is able to do that...I think they're kind of stuck in this situation because of the airframe," he says.

The 737 has "been a great bus for the industry, but at some point Boeing's going to have to deal with it. Right now, I think the focus has been getting the [787-10X] launched" and firming the competitive response to the A350 with its 777X "which I think [Boeing's] board will approve when they see they can get some [787] deliveries out".

Hazy says Boeing's 737 Max still holds distinct advantages over the A320neo, despite a 4.5t (10,000lb) weight growth in the airframe, he says, including being slightly lighter with nine additional seats between the 189-seat 737-8 and re-engined 180-seat A320neo.

By comparison, Airbus says the A320neo's weight has grown by between 1.6t and 1.8t (3,500lb to 4,000lb) with the addition of Leap-1A and Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, respectively.

Max launch customer Southwest Airlines will take delivery of its first 737 Max in the fourth quarter of 2017.

source: flightglobal.com

Boeing wins FAA certification for GEnx-powered 787

Boeing has received certification for its General Electric GEnx-powered 787, clearing the way for delivery to Japan Airlines (JAL) scheduled for later this month.

The airframer received an amended type certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today for the GEnx-1B powered variant.

"This milestone completes the certification of the 787-8 airplane, and allows airlines to now operate the GE engine-powered 787 with both the baseline Block 4 engine and the PIP1 engine upgrade," says Mike Sinnett, vice president and chief project engineer for the 787 programme.

JAL will be the second 787 customer to receive the aircraft, following launch operator All Nippon Airways.

Programme sources have told Flightglobal that Airplanes 23 and 33 are expected to be delivered to the carrier in late March before the scheduled 22 April launch of the airline's Boston-Tokyo Narita service.

The 787 with Rolls-Royce engines was first certified in August 2011.

Boeing says it now has an order for more than 870 787 Dreamliners from 60 customers worldwide, up from 868 last week.

source: flightglobal.com

Boeing Announces Fifth Segment of 787 Dream Tour - Mar 22, 2012

EVERETT, Wash., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) this month will begin the fifth segment of the 787 Dream Tour, a worldwide tour featuring the Dreamliner. This leg of the tour will include five cities across South America, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.

"Boeing is delighted to bring the all-new 787 to customers, partners, government officials and media in South America, Central Asia, Russia and Europe," said Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager, 787 program.

The March and April schedule includes the following stops:

• March 26-31: Santiago, Chile to visit LAN Airlines and be on display at the FIDAE Air Show.
• April 1-2: Shannon, Ireland for a scheduled day of maintenance activities.
• April 2-3: Baku, Azerbaijan to visit Azerbaijan Airlines.
• April 3-6: Moscow, Russia to visit airline customers, suppliers and employees from the Boeing Design Center.
• April 6-11: Istanbul, Turkey to visit customers and suppliers.
• April 11-13: Madrid, Spain to visit Air Europa, suppliers and Boeing employees.

The Dream Tour airplane is outfitted with the 787's special cabin features including a welcoming entryway, dramatically larger dimmable windows, bigger bins and dynamic LED lighting. The airplane is configured with a luxurious business-class cabin, an overhead crew rest compartment and an economy class section.

Dates and locations for additional tour stops will be announced approximately one month in advance. At many of the stops, local media will have the opportunity to participate in tours of the airplane and discussions with Boeing executives and pilots.

For updates on the 787 Dream Tour, including videos, photos and reports from the tour stops, visit www.newairplane.com/787/dreamtour.