Company Watch - Boeing.

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NTSB to investigate 727 fuel-tank explosion in India. National Transportation Safety Board investigators will travel to India to assist in a probe of a reported wing fuel-tank explosion on a Boeing 727-200. No one was injured in the explosion, which happened May 4. May 25, 2006

Boeing designs 787 with comfort in mind. Boeing's new 787 jetliner is a more comfortable plane for fliers, The Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney writes. The plane features larger windows, better air quality and more storage space. Boeing originally designed the plane with eight seats across each coach row, but most airlines have requested nine seats. May 23, 2006

Boeing said yesterday that it has completed 25% of the releases required for the 787 that allow purchases to be made, tools to be developed and parts to be built. All releases for the Dreamliner program are digital. "We have seen tremendous progress by our international partners and the Boeing team working on the detailed design of this airplane," said Mike Bair, VP and GM of the 787 program. "Twenty-five percent release signifies that the largest elements, like fuselage and wing skins, are defined from the tooling requirements to the specific raw material elements." Boeing said 29 airlines have placed 393 Dreamliner orders and commitments worth more than $55 billion at current list prices. The 787 is scheduled to begin delivering in 2008. May 23, 2006

Etihad took delivery of its fifth and final 777-300ER this week. The aircraft will be used on flights to Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila and London Gatwick. Etihad will add Casablanca in June and Khartoum in July to its network. May 25, 2006

Flyglobespan will add seven Boeing aircraft, nearly doubling its current fleet of one 767 and nine 737s, with an eye toward expanding its long-haul services, according to press reports. The Edinburgh-based LCC will lease two more 767s, two 757s and three 737s. "We would like to be recognized as Scotland's national airline. Our drive is to develop a network to match that aspiration," Chairman Tom Dalrymple told The Scotsman, mentioning New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco as possible US destinations along with the Caribbean, Mexico, Africa and the Middle East. "To fly each of the new 767s alone we will need to train up to seven different crews. That works out at 14 pilots and 70 cabin crewmembers," Dalrymple said. "Multiply those numbers for the new aircraft which will be arriving in the future and you begin to get a true scale of the employment opportunities we are creating." He also said the carrier is looking into establishing its first codeshare agreement next month. May 23, 2006

Lauda Air took delivery of its seventh and final 737-800 earlier this month. The carrier this summer will operate a fleet of nine aircraft including two A320s and expects to transport around 1.6 million passengers this fiscal year and generate turnover of [euro]250-[euro]260 million, MD Thomas Surtisch said. May 22, 2006

Shanghai Airlines took delivery last week of a 737-800 leased from ILFC. May 22, 2006

Varig has confirmed one of its Boeing 777s has been seized by lessors in JFK in New York due to nonpayment. The airline said representatives of the leasing firm seized the plane after presenting themselves to airport authorities as the owner of the aircraft. The Brazilian carrier has run up millions of dollars of debt and sought bankruptcy protection last year. Most foreign embassies in Brazil are recommending to their nationals not to use Varig. May 26, 2006