Company Watch - Boeing.

Aug 27, 2007

A US navy ship with specialized equipment detected signals in January which were thought to be from the plane's flight recorder, when the ship was part of the search for the missing Adam Air Boeing 737 plane in Indonesia. Adam Air spokesman Danke Sudrajat said that crew from the salvage ship would first survey the area where the plane crashed off Sulawesi island. Efforts to recover the black box, which refers to the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, were delayed due to disagreements between the government and Adam Air over who should bear the cost. Experts said in January that retrieving the flight recorder, set up to give off a signal for 30 days to aid detection, may be difficult as it could be at a depth of up to 1,700 metres (5,600 feet). Locating the black box may be even tougher now as it may have shifted position or been covered by sediment. The 17-year-old plane was heading from Surabaya in East Java to Manado in northern Sulawesi when it vanished in bad weather. The plane made no distress call, although the pilot had reported concerns over crosswinds. Aug 23, 2007

Search Restarts For Crash Plane's Black Box. A US-operated salvage ship has arrived at the coastal area where an Indonesian plane crashed with 102 passengers on board, and will try to recover the aircraft's black box, an airline official said on Thursday. The Boeing 737-400, operated by budget carrier Adam Air, went down on New Year's day in the sea off south Sulawesi in one of the country's worst air disasters. No survivors were found, and while wreckage from the plane showed up weeks after the crash, the black box has never been retrieved, making it difficult to determine the cause of the disaster. Aug 23, 2007

Aeroflot To Buy Boeing 787s, Airbus A350s. Russia's national airline, Aeroflot, will pay USD$5.81 billion for a total of 44 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, a discount of about 17 percent, Vedomosti business daily reported on Monday. Aeroflot has agreed to pay USD$2.906 billion for 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and USD$2.904 billion for 22 of Airbus's A350 XWB planes, the paper said, citing a report by Interfax news agency. Aeroflot announced the deals earlier this year but has never said how much it was going to pay for the aircraft in one of the biggest-ever foreign plane orders by a Russian company. Analysts told the paper the discount was so large because Aeroflot had managed to play off both companies against each other. Under the deals, Aeroflot will get its first Airbus in 2014 and the last in 2019, and its first Boeing in 2014 and the last in 2016, the paper said. Aug 20, 2007

Aeroflot Cargo currently operates four McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 Freighters. In addition to these two McDonnell-Douglas MD-11s, Aeroflot-Cargo has committed to lease three more MD-11 Boeing Converted Freighters from the Boeing Capital Corporation within the 2007-2008 timeframe. Boeing Commercial Aviation Services will provide detailed engineering design work and oversight of the Aeroflot-Cargo conversions, with SASCO, a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Aerospace, providing touch labor on the airplanes. In total, Boeing has converted more than 100 MD-11 passenger airplanes to freighters. Aug 23, 2007

Boeing is helping Aeroflot-Cargo improve its operational efficiency and adapt to growing cargo market demands by converting two MD-11 passenger airplanes into freighters and updating their flight deck features and cargo-handling system so that they are consistent across Aeroflot-Cargo's fleet. A converted MD-11 has a capacity of 205,400-pounds (93.2 tones) structural payload at a range of 3,486 nautical miles (6,456 kilometers) and is capable of 630,500-pounds (286,000 kg) maximum takeoff weight. The main and lower deck cargo compartments hold a total of 36 96-by-125-inch pallets or containers. Modification work will begin in November 2008. Aug 23, 2007

Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems received both Supplemental Type Certification and Technical Standard Order Authorization from US FAA on Boeing 757s for SafeRoute, its ADS-B-based program that provides on-ground situational awareness and merging and spacing assistance to pilots. It still is awaiting operational approval from FAA that would allow the technology to be used on commercial flights. "The ball's basically in FAA's court," an ACSS spokesperson said. "We've done all the work on our part." SafeRoute currently is installed on one UPS 757-200F for testing and demonstration. Once it is approved, UPS plans to install the system gradually on all of its -200Fs during routine maintenance checks. ACSS said discussions have begun with FAA toward certifying SafeRoute for 767s and 747s. Aug 22, 2007

Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP-Sales-Russia/CIS Craig Jones said. "Both domestic and international air traffic has increased in Russia and the CIS by 36% over the last 10 years. Most indicators point toward continued economic growth for the region. . .Liberalization of air traffic regulations, airline consolidation and the reduction or elimination of high tariffs on new airplanes could generate additional demand for new airplanes." Aug 23, 2007

Boeing is set to perform a crash test today on its 787 Dreamliner - by dropping a section of the fuselage from the height of a second-story window. Boeing has not done crash tests to get previous jets certified to fly. It's necessary this time because the 787 is the first airliner built largely out of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, which is more brittle and less shock-absorbent than metal. The procedure, which federal aviation regulators will monitor, may not seem like much of a trial for a jet that will travel 550 mph at 35,000 feet. But the test isn't designed to simulate a full-tilt fall to Earth. Rather, it replicates the vertical impact of an emergency landing in which the plane hits the ground harder than normal - often referred to as a crash landing. Aug 23, 2007

Boeing predicts Russia, former Soviet states to spend $70B on planes. Boeing says airlines in Russia and the 11 other former Soviet republics in the Commonwealth of Independent States may buy more than 1,000 new passenger planes worth $70 billion over the next two decades. Boeing forecasts that airlines in the region will order 470 planes the size of Boeing's 737, worth $30 billion. Another $20 billion will be spent on twin-aisle jets, with the remainder spent on smaller regional aircraft. Aug 23, 2007

The Moscow Times reported that Boeing announced the creation of a joint venture with VSMPO-Avisma to produce titanium components for the 787. Ural Boeing Manufacturing will be based near Yekaterinburg, the paper said. Aug 23, 2007

Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will require 1,060 new airplanes worth about $70 billion over the next 20 years, according to Boeing updated annual forecast for the commercial airplane market. The complete forecast, known as the Boeing Current Market Outlook, is available on the Boeing web. This year marks the first year that Boeing has published its forecast for the Russia/CIS region as part of the Current Market Outlook. Airplanes in the Boeing 737 size range will account for 44 percent of all commercial jetliners delivered to Russian and CIS airlines during the next 20 years, amounting to 470 units valued at $30 billion. Eleven percent -- or 110 units at a value of $20 billion -- will be twin-aisle airplanes like the Boeing 777 and 787. Forty-three percent will be smaller regional jets while airplanes of the Boeing 747 size or larger will comprise 2 percent of the market. Aug 22, 2007

The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which rolled out with great fanfare July 8, is now sitting in the assembly bay in Everett, Wash., missing big structural pieces though Boeing says its first flight is just over a month away. The airplane on display in July appeared complete on the outside. But it was a partially empty shell, and its engines, vertical tail fin and doors were dismantled after the rollout ceremony to allow installation of systems and interiors that had been left unfinished. Now mechanics are working long hours, clambering over scaffolding that surrounds the plane to complete the installation and reassembly work. Aug 22, 2007

Boeing may decide soon on 787 production rate. Boeing in the next few weeks may decide to boost 787 production to 10 a month, said Finmeccanica SpA General Manager Giorgio Zappa. Finmeccanica builds fuselages for the plane. A Boeing spokesman said the company is studying its production rates but does not have a specific time line for making a decision. Aug 21, 2007

Boeing named Daniel Gillian, an avionics program manager with its Integrated Defense Systems, as director-enterprise sourcing for India. Aug 21, 2007

Boeing plans to demonstrate high power lasers. Boeing recently told journalists that it will demonstrate its laser energy battlefield weapons in the coming months. However, the company's Airborne Laser jumbo jet blaster-cannon system is not scheduled for a live test until 2008. Aug 21, 2007

Boeing studying alternate plans for Dreamliner test flights. Boeing officials are planning Dreamliner flight tests for the end of September, but they are making backup plans in case the jet isn't ready in time. "We're aware of the complexities which are in front of us, and we know it could move further back into the fall," said a company spokesman. Aug 20, 2007

Boeing and Atlant-Soyuz announced today at the 2007 Moscow Air Show that the Moscow-based carrier is the customer for four Next Generation 737-700s. The order, worth $249 million at 2007 list prices, was listed as unidentified on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries Web site in 2006 and is accounted for in 2006 order totals. Atlant-Soyuz is one of the largest charter carriers in Russia. Currently the airline offers scheduled domestic and international charter flights from its base airport, Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport. Atlant-Soyuz is an official carrier for the Government of Moscow. Aug 23, 2007

What has changed in the year since Alan Mulally left Boeing to be chief executive at Ford Motor? Everything, and nothing. Since his appointment last September, making him the first outsider in recent memory to run a Detroit automaker, Mulally has brought discipline to a company known for rivalries and infighting. An admirer of the development team that created the Ford Taurus sedan, he revived the famed nameplate, most recently relegated to a rental car. He mortgaged virtually all of Ford's assets to amass the billions the company needs for its restructuring, and has put its British luxury name plates, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, up for sale. Aug 22, 2007

According to many in a group of about 30 passengers of the China Airlines 737 who returned to Taipei on Thursday and spoke to reporters, passengers were crying and screaming for help inside the 737-800 aircraft that caught fire on Monday after landing on the southern Japanese island. The fire had broken out as the plane neared its gate following its flight from Taipei to Okinawa's Naha Airport. All 157 passengers and eight crew escaped unhurt minutes before the plane's left engine exploded and ripped the plane apart, sending flames and columns of black smoke billowing into the air. Aug 23, 2007

China Airlines 737 crew-members did not see the fire as early as passengers looking through the plane windows did, causing panic among the 157 passengers and attempts to open the doors, the returning passengers said. They said emergency exits didn't open fast enough and they didn't know where to gather for evacuation. "Inside it was normal, but outside you could see smoke," said Lin Hsiu-cheng, 52, a returning tourist from southern Taiwan. "Everyone was scared, and why couldn't (the crew) see it? A Japanese Transport Ministry team investigating the fire said a bolt on the right wing of the plane appeared to have ripped through a fuel tank. China Airlines has a troubled safety record, with four deadly accidents in the past 13 years, including a crash in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1994 in which 264 people were killed. Aug 23, 2007

China Airlines Boeing 737 maintenance error cited in jet blaze. Joints of a fuel pipe inside the pylon holding the engine under the right wing of the China Airlines airplane that burst into flames Monday at Naha Airport were not properly secured, according to investigators. Accident investigators believe the joints were knocked out of position when the plane landed, causing a large amount of fuel to leak and trigger an explosion. A China Airlines spokesman said the airline had carried out a regular inspection on the aircraft's engine in July--including an endoscopy of the inside of the combustion chamber and turbine. Aug 23, 2007

China Airlines Boeing 737-800 CFM56 engine fuel pipes are made of metal and have a diameter of about three centimeters. They are strong enough not to rupture under high pressure and curved sections are connected using joints. The Boeing 737-800 had such joints in several locations, held in place by metal bolts passed through rubber O-rings to prevent fuel leaking through gaps. The thickness, material and replacement date of O-rings are clearly determined so that fuel, lubricating oil, water or other fluids does not wear away the components they protect. The component may deteriorate if the wrong type of O-ring is fitted. Aircraft always undergo a heavy impact during landing. A great deal of force is exerted on the pylons, which shake violently when planes decelerate to land. These vibrations also affect the fuel pipes. The accident investigators believe that before the accident, the joints on pipes that pass through the inside of the pylon came loose, making it likely the joints were jerked far out of position when the plane landed at the airport. Aug 23, 2007

The Construction and Transport Ministry's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission suspects a mistake was made during maintenance or other work on the China Airlines Boeing 737-800, which underwent a regular inspection in July, and is looking into whether appropriate maintenance was carried out. The investigators believe fuel that leaked from the pylon under the right wing was heated by the second engine causing the fuel to vaporize and ignite. It is not thought that fuel leaked during flight, but a ground mechanic confirmed that a large volume of fuel had leaked at the aircraft parking apron, leading the investigators to believe the leak started while the airplane was moving between the runway and the taxiway. Aug 23, 2007

Boeing and U.S. aviation experts began investigating Wednesday why a China Airlines aircraft exploded minutes after landing at an airport in southern Japan earlier this week, focusing on a suspected fuel leak. The China Airlines Boeing 737 exploded in a fireball Monday just seconds after all 157 passengers and eight crew had evacuated safely on to the tarmac at Okinawa's Naha airport in southern Japan. Aug 22, 2007

China Air Boeing 737 Explodes In Japan. Passengers slid down emergency chutes with moments to spare before their Taiwanese airliner exploded and caught fire on Monday, a few minutes after the jet landed on Japan's southern resort island of Okinawa. The left engine of a Boeing 737-800 jet belonging to Taiwan-based China Airlines exploded shortly after arrival in Naha city from Taipei, ripping the plane apart, officials and witnesses said, but all 165 passengers and crew escaped safely. Aug 20, 2007

China Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet crashed and after the flames were extinguished, the charred remains of the plane lay broken on the tarmac near the terminal. The nose of the plane sagged on its side, while the tail -- emblazoned with the airline's pink plum blossom symbol -- was intact at the other end. In between, the blackened remains of the interior could be seen, with much of the roof of the plane gone. Early investigations in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, raised the possibility that leaking fuel may have caught fire. One member of the ground crew had been injured, Kyodo news agency reported. The airline said the plane, which had 157 passengers and eight crew, had just undergone scheduled maintenance. Aug 20, 2007

China Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet exploded shortly after arrival in Naha city from Taipei." I saw several passengers evacuate from the plane using a chute. After a minute or so, I heard the sound of an explosion. It was a big explosion," said Tadahiro Hasuo, who told NHK he felt the heat of the blast while passing Naha airport in a taxi. Video shot by a witness and broadcast on TV showed passengers sliding down two chutes on the right side of the plane, while flames and thick black smoke billowed from the left. Aug 20, 2007

China Airlines has a troubled safety record with four deadly accidents in the past 13 years, including a crash in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1994 in which 264 people were killed. Okinawa is a popular spot for beach holidays and the number of visitors to Japan from other parts of Asia has increased in recent years, with the lifting of visa restrictions. Taiwan's civil aeronautics administration said it would send three people, along with China Airlines officials, to Okinawa to investigate the cause of the accident. Aug 20, 2007

The crashed China Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet's engines were made by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and Snecma, a Japanese Transport Ministry official said. But he said it was not clear whether the engine was to blame for the accident. Aug 20, 2007

China Southern to buy 55 Boeing planes. China Southern Airlines will buy 55 more Boeing planes to update and expand its fleet. The new Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 planes are scheduled for delivery between May 2011 and October 2013. Details of the deal were not disclosed, although airline officials said they would pay less than list price for the planes. Aug 22, 2007

Boeing declines to comment on the status of talks with Emirates, saying only that it is in "active discussion with approximately 15 airlines worldwide over the 747-8". Other potential orders for the 747-8 passenger and cargo versions are under discussion with Asian carriers including Cathay Pacific Airways and China Airlines, which both have evaluations under way. The latter is understood to be the closest to a decision, with a deal expected by year-end, while Cathay Pacific is not expected to finalize its plans until early next year. Sources say that the 747-8I is a serious contender at British Airways, where it is head to head with the Airbus A380 to replace the airline's older Boeing 747-400s. A decision is expected to be announced in the autumn. Aug 20, 2007

Boeing is in discussions with key new potential customers, including Emirates, about 747-8 orders, with the airline understood to be closing on a major deal for the -8 Intercontinental passenger version. According to industry sources, Boeing is confident it is close to securing additional airline orders for the 747-8I in the coming months to add to the sole existing deal from Lufthansa for 20 aircraft. More deals for the 747-8 Freighter are also imminent, say sources. Aug 20, 2007

Emirates, which has orders for 10 Boeing 747-8Fs for its cargo arm, has been in long-running talks with Boeing about a deal for the passenger version. Although the airline is Airbus's largest customer for the ultra-large Airbus A380 with 47 on order, it has a need for a 400 seater for certain long-haul routes. Chances of an early Emirates 747-8I deal were dropped last year when the airframer traded range for capacity and stretched the aircraft slightly, as this prevented it from being able to operate Emirates' planned Dubai-Los Angeles route with a viable payload. However, industry sources say that an Emirates 747-8I deal is back on, with the airline in talks for up to 20 aircraft and November's Dubai air show seen as the likely venue for any announcement. Aug 20, 2007

In Africa, Ethiopian Airlines plans to open its new hub in Lome by October. "We will lease two Boeing 737-300s or -400s for this operation and try to fly from Lome to five stations," he said. Opening further hubs on the continent is under discussion, with Lusaka and Harare among the options. Ethiopian, which operates 24 Boeing jets and five turboprops, will take delivery of its 12th 767-300ER in about two weeks, with a 13th to follow. It introduce its first 787 in September 2008 and will take a second the following month. "By 2010, I expect to have a total fleet of 30 jets," Wake added. Aug 20, 2007

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