Re: The perpetual failure of the smallest variant.

With the 737s and A320s, the initial shrink did well The A319CEO was a big seller, and the 737-500 (effectively a shrink of the 737-300 back to 737-200 size) was a good seller, but the market shifted, especially as the replacement 737-600 with its larger wing was heavier and less competitive at that...

Re: BA 757 retirement, 10 years ago now.

BA never needed the capabilities of the 757, as the routes it was used on within the UK or to mainland Europe weren't very long, hence they were able to replace them with the less capable but much more efficient A32X family aircraft

European Charter airlines used the long range capabilities far more

Re: Alex Cruz Steop down

The news does seem to be a complete surprise. Normally the press would have speculation about such a significant change, but for example there was nothing in the Sunday Times yesterday

Re: Bac 111. Successful start but why not a long term success?

There were plans for a stretched One-Eleven in the 70s, even a version powered by the CFM56, but instead the A320 was developed

Re: VS to start flights to Pakistan

It's going to be very difficult to make a profit selling an A330 full of VFR fares. Very little Business Class demand and underlying security risks that flare up frequently. This is an extremely price sensitive market, that is very well served by the ME3 with a product/experience that is far superi...

Re: Why did the Airbus a340 outsell the MD-11?

MD wanted to get away with minimum upgrades. It worked with the DC9-50 to MD80 upgrades, but once the A320 came along and started getting airline acceptance outside the usual Airbus operators, this approach (MD80 to MD90) wasn't good enough Similarly if Airbus hadn't been around, then MD would have ...

Re: The Airbus A380 Turns 15 Today (April 27)

I've always enjoyed my A380 flights (SQ, MH and EY), and have never felt the passenger numbers overwhelmed the airport infrastructure, as at busy airports you could have 3 744s or 77Ws arriving within 5 minutes anyway Great for the passenger, but not a looker and more seriously a commercial failure....

Re: LCY to pause terminal expansion plans

LCY isn't particularly loud. I live opposite the dock and there is more noise from cars with loud exhausts than the Ejets taking off from LCY. The A220 is quieter than the RJ100 and nothing much bigger is ever going to operate from there. Despite what Chunhimlai suggests. Hang on there, that’s not ...

Re: LCY to pause terminal expansion plans

Downturns are the perfect time to invest in infrastructure. Unlike just giving money away it teaches skills and provides those facilities needed for future economic growth. I personally see postponing this LCY expansion as very short sighted. Lightsaber Personally I think LCY is environmentally pre...

Re: Why did Boeing say that the 727 replacement was the 757?

Of course, for joint 757 launch customer British Airways the 757 wasn't a 727 replacement because BA never operated the type. But what it did replace at BA was the Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B. The Trident was blighted by being designed too bespoke for BEA, so it was never a huge seller but when it c...

Re: What is the future of LGW? What will it mean for the other hubs?

LGW IS the best connected London airport for rail connections, as uniquely of the London airports, it's actually located on the main railway line, rather than a branch or a separate rail service, thus it has far more direct trains or easy one change trains to far more connections. Of this doesn't me...

Re: IB announces the retirement of A346 fleet

I guess the A340-600 is also suffering from its lack of commonality with the A330, unlike the A340-300 which is very similar

Re: BBD ejection strategy: got lucky or sound decision-making?

If BBD HADN'T sold all those programmes, it would be in an appalling financial state at the moment...

Re: CNN: The Boeing 747 is playing a hero's role during Covid-19 crisis

A bit OTT to describe the 747 freighters as heroes! All sorts of freighters are delivering PPE and other essentials, none of which especially need the 747F's unique nose opening capabilities. Indeed, many passenger planes are currently performing such duties, including ones where the cargo is simply...

Re: IAG Post Covid Fleet Plan Summary

Apparently G-LCYJ, S, and T are all due to be flown from Norwich to London City today. LCY has been opened just for today to allow some ferry/maintenance/training flights. G-LCYE is going to Warsaw for maintenance and the crew are bringing back G-LCYO also. I think they are slowly bringing the flee...

Re: Potential for an 787-10ER ?

It is, however, possibly an aircraft that Boeing should have considered building . . . (although, the simple stretch 787-10 should have remained a part of the family regardless). History proves that that almost never happens. Whenever a more capable version of an extant airliner's frame enters serv...

Re: Which aircraft types have best advantage for social distancing?

Just blocking middle seats, you can seat 4 people in a 3-3 layout and 6 in a 3-3-3 layout, i.e. 2/3 of the Y seats. Every other layout seems less efficient, as with any bank of 2 or 4 seats, you have to block half of them. Being in the aisle seat is less attractive than the window seat though, as yo...

Re: IAG sign LOI for 200 B737 Max

Obviously, the current crisis will delay. We will see the purchase renegotiated later, the only question, is will Airbus negotiate seriously? But will IAG need that many new planes anyway? Aviation is likely to remain in a slump long after the current C19 crisis is over, and there won't be a shorta...

Re: LHR terminal moves?

Wow, that's pretty drastic but understandable. The number of people travelling next week will be minuscule, with people desperately trying to get home now, and then not going anywhere unless really necessary, especially as so many countries have closed their borders.

Re: Will Boeing and Airbus received new orders this year?

This massively different to 9/11, which was a shock to the airline world, but less so away from the US, hence the likes of Ryanair taking advantage Coronavirus will devastate the global economy for months, no country will be immune. Aircraft salesmen will be self isolating at home like everyone else...

Re: 25 Years of the RR Trent

I imagine the Ultrafan will move on to another name, another river presumably, to show it's a completely different generation of engine

And after the superb T700 and T800, the current problems have slightly tarnished the Trent name too...

Re: What in Your Opinion has been the Ugliest Commercial Jet?

Wednesdayite wrote:

The A318 just looks too short and plump for me.

Re: Environment campaigners win Heathrow runway ruling

That is not a fair assumption as the main costs (for the UK HS2) stem from compensation and bad supervision. I know it does not count as HSR but still there are 200km/h+ possible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel 160km of tunnel with 115km of track build for $10B. For half the cos...

Re: Environment campaigners win Heathrow runway ruling

PLEASE READ THE STORY This isn't about the impact on local residents, or whether we should expand at Stansted instead, it's about whether the 3rd runway is compatible with the UK's Climate Change promises. As the BBC's reporter said This judgement will fly round the globe quicker than a 747. More an...

Re: Environment campaigners win Heathrow runway ruling

To an extent I can see both sides of this, noting that this judgement isn't about the local residents or even air pollution, but rather about climate change IF Western governments (and society) see climate change as a massive problem which has to be taken very seriously, it seems inconsistent to be...

Re: Report: GE may offer engine for a330neo

Seems a bit odd to me, for what is a steady selling but hardly stellar product. Especially when the most successful CEO engine was the Trent 700 (with GE trailing) so many of the potential new buyers of the NEO will be existing RR customers anyway If "GE" airlines had such an issue with or...

Re: Ryanair submits offer to Boeing on new 737MAX order

Weren't the high profile crashes of the DC10 70s a reason why they renamed the DC9-80 the MD-80 to stop it being tarred with the "unsafe" DC name...

I'd be amazed if any airline still use the "Max" name

Re: Boeing CEO: NMA will "start with a clean sheet of paper again"

Even Boeing stopped talking about widebody comfort at narrowbody economics. So I would not bet on that to happen. Widebody dis comfort at narrowbody economics? How that? I was being slightly sarcastic, but the reality of flying nowadays is that the newer narrowbodies have more seat width and/or a w...

Re: Boeing CEO: NMA will "start with a clean sheet of paper again"

seahawk wrote:

Even Boeing stopped talking about widebody comfort at narrowbody economics. So I would not bet on that to happen.

Re: DL A220 "Whisperjet"?

ukoverlander wrote:

I seem to recall the BAe 146 was marketed as the Whipserjet.

Re: Key 747 Factories Shut Down

Sad news, though as a passenger the end of A380 production was even sadder, especially as that was a plane at the start of its life,

Either way, as an enthusiast the world of aviation is becoming a duller place.

Re: Only 13yrs service now decomissioned VS A346

A340s have really hit scrap value, especially with the A359/A35K, B77W and B789/B78X being way more efficient. The A345/A346 was a mistake if you ask me, given that it was in development after Boeing had already announced the B77W. It was promised to be able to do LHR-PER (requiring a tech stop wes...

Re: Confirmed: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to Acquire CRJ Program from Bombardier

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/manufacturing/bombardier-sells-belfast-aircraft-wings-plant-as-part-of-1-1bn-deal-1.4067977?mode=amp Bombardier sell Belfast, Morocco plants for 1.1bn dollars Seems like a great outcome for the program. Spirit Aerospace is already a part of the Airbus supply chai...

Re: Air New Zealand dropping LHR launch NYC

Does this have anything to do with Australia and New Zealand not having as close ties with the mother country. The last big migration was right after WW2 and maybe the younger generation doesn't feel the same pull to return. I think has more todo with the younger generation being more open to explo...

Re: Any leaks, ideas, or otherwise: What is Airbus' next clean-sheet aircraft?

I can't see Airbus launching a clean sheet programme for a long time, not until technology has significantly moved on. If Airbus want to fill the gap between the A321 and A338 then a stretched and rewinged A321 makes far more financial sense. It won't suit all operators, but will be far cheaper and ...

Re: LCY / Hard Brexit consequences

Don't see Brexit making much difference to aviation, it's not as if the UK is in Schengen with open borders now.

LCY is restricted by its size and location, it will (and should) remain a minor niche airport

Re: Istanbul new airport - latest pictures and discussion thread

If one lands on the eastern most runway at DFW, it takes about 15 -20 minutes to terminal A. What kind of time are we talking about when one says the runways are far from the terminal? I can't remember, 20-30 minutes? Looking at the aerial photo, we seemed to use the far runways, which go past an u...

Re: Istanbul new airport - latest pictures and discussion thread

Used this at the weekend

Positives - really impressive looking architecture, airy and stylish, sized for massive passenger growth as it feels very spacious

Negatives - the terminal is an awful long way from the runways, so the taxiing takes an eternity, it needs the Metro line extension

Re: Airbus airliners name conventions

No numbering system is perfect, especially with lots of variants. Even Boeing's convention went slightly awry with the 737 Classics, as whereas they conventionally have the bigger number variants being newer, heavier and/or longer (e.g. the 737-100, 200, 300, 400 are all increasing in size, as indee...

Re: Multi-Airport-Cities: Which have you landed/departed at more than one airport?

Shanghai: PUD The IATA code for Shanghai Pudong International Airport is PVG. Thanks, a typo as my spreadsheet has the correct code! Shanghai: PUD The IATA code for Shanghai Pudong International Airport is PVG. And PUD is Puerto Deseado, Argentina. If you're unsure about an airport code, always loo...

Re: Multi-Airport-Cities: Which have you landed/departed at more than one airport?

A surprising number

London (home): LHR, LGW, STN, LUT
Paris: CDG, ORY
Rome: CIA, FCO
Gothenburg: GOT, GSE
Istanbul: IST (new) and ISL (old)
New York: JFK, EWR
Washington: DCA, IAD
Sao Paulo: GRU, CGH
Rio: GIG, SDU
Shanghai: PUD, SHA

Re: Third C919 Took Sky

Since people keep saying that technologically speaking the C919 is behind the 737 and A320, could someone in the know explain how? It's FBW, has the same engines as the MAX and NEO, it even uses sidesticks. Is there something about it that's outdated? I apologize for my ignorance, I'm not very fami...

Re: Top 10 biggest failures in commercial aviation?

Relatively low cost derivatives surely shouldn't be on this list. A340 200 and 300 are simple derivatives of the A330 for example, ditto the 767-400 and 757-300 which had disappointing sales, but were on the back of successful programmes. 114 Comets were made (plus another 49 of the related Nimrod) ...

Re: IAG sign LOI for 200 B737 Max

My conclusion: a strategic decision to diversify linked to a one-time opportunity for cheap early deliveries: “During a webcasted panel session at the ACI Europe annual congress in the Cypriot city of Limassol on 26 June, Walsh noted that there had been ‘concern’ within the airline group for some t...

Re: IAG sign LOI for 200 B737 Max

As IAG won't receiv their MAXes for 3 years, the assumption for them is that the problems will be fixed by then, and thousands will be flying safely

Alternatively, if the MAX is still a dog, then they will presumably just cancel the order anyway.

Re: Paris AIr Show 2019: Other Manufacturers and Engine News and Orders Thread