AirInsight reports that five major US airlines “have formed a sustainable aviation coalition that will provide feedback to Boeing and NASA on the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) demonstrator aircraft, also known as the X-66A.” American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Air Lines “have joined the advisory group.” The TTBW concept “was designated X-66A by the US Air Force in June, having received funding from NASA in January.” The Boeing Company and NASA “will jointly develop a demonstrator aircraft based on a McDonnell Douglas MD-90, which should fly in 2028.” The high and thin wing “with a high aspect ratio has demonstrated a nine-percent fuel burn improvement during numerous wind tunnel tests.”
Full Story (AirInsight)
Tag: Airlines
Airlines See Demand Rise as Rebound from COVID Continues
The Houston Chronicle reports that airlines “that cut back to survive the crisis are now blowing through profit forecasts and luring back investors.” One example of this is Virgin Australia, which has “undergone a remarkable transformation under new owner Bain Capital and plans to relist in Sydney.” Another is Ryanair, which “returned to profit in the quarter through December and sees no end to its lucrative run.” These and other “freshly streamlined carriers are capitalizing on a surge in travel since virus restrictions fell away.” The International Civil Aviation Organization “expects passenger demand to recover to pre-Covid levels on most routes this quarter and then to about 3% higher than 2019 levels by year-end.”
Full Story (Houston Chronicle)
Top 10 Safest Airlines in the World for 2023
CNBC reports that this month, AirlineRatings.com “announced its safest airlines for 2023. The study looked at 385 airlines at the forefront of safety, innovation, and launching new aircraft.” According to a press release, the study analyzed the following to determine the safest airlines in 2023: crashes over five years, serious incidents over two years, audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations, fleet age, expert analysis of pilot training, and COVID protocols. It’s important to note “that although Alaska Airlines was the only U.S. carrier to land the top 10, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines did make the top 20.”
Full Story (CNBC)
Airlines Set to Announce Strong Earnings, but Economic Uncertainty Raises Fresh Concerns
Reuters reports major US airlines “are expected to reiterate the strength of travel demand when earnings season gets underway later this week.” At the same time however, “with rising interest rates, high inflation, mounting job losses and turmoil in the banking industry increasing the odds of an economic recession, the spotlight will be on the elasticity of consumer demand.” While pent-up travel demand as well as “constrained airline capacity due to shortages of aircraft, spare parts, and labor have, thus far, allowed the industry to avoid the fallout from a slowdown in the broader economy,” it is still not clear “how long this travel boom will last.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Japanese Airlines Make Use of Predictive Maintenance Platforms
Aviation Week reports that Japanese airlines such as All Nippon Airways (ANA) operate a mix of Boeing and Airbus jets. However, due to the advanced age and smaller number of Airbus aircraft in the fleet, the carrier does not use Airbus’s Skywise predictive maintenance program. Instead, ANA utilizes The Boeing Company’s predictive tools including Airplane Health Monitoring, Self-Service Analytics and Insight Accelerator.
Full Story (Aviation Week)