Aviation Week reports that US maintenance provider StandardAero “has commenced test services for the CFM56-7B engine at its engine hospital shop close to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.” Earlier this year, the company “completed test cell correlation for the CFM56-7B, the powerplant for Boeing 737NG aircraft.” StandardAero “holds a CFM International general support license agreement for the engine type, which was added to the MRO’s operations specifications for its FAA Part 145 repair station at the beginning of this year.” Now with test capability, StandardAero “is able to conduct engine performance tests following line maintenance or long-term storage.” It is also “able to undertake exploratory engine runs to investigate potential issues.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: Commercial Aviation
Value of Older Commercial Aircraft Increases as New Models Experience Problems
The Wall Street Journal reported the value of 10-year-old planes, particularly the Airbus A320-200, has surged by 10% since August, recovering from the pandemic. This increase is attributed to problems with the newer A320neo model due to engine issues. Pratt & Whitney found contaminants in the engines, affecting around 40% of the A320neo fleet, potentially grounding hundreds of planes until 2026. Older aircraft models like the Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 777-300ER have also seen increased value. This trend suggests that investors are favoring older aircraft, which appear more reliable and insulated from manufacturing problems affecting newer planes.
Full Story (Wall Street Journal – Subscription Publication)
American Airlines Exceeds 3Q Profit Estimates
Reuters reports on Thursday American Airlines posted its third-quarter earnings, which “beat estimates for third-quarter adjusted profit.” American “said bookings for the upcoming holiday season have been steady, sending its shares up nearly 5% in morning trading.” According to Reuters, “U.S. airlines with international operations are seeing relentless demand for long-haul flights as a stronger dollar encourages more Americans to plan holidays abroad.” American CEO Robert Isom said, “Domestic demand remains steady, while international demand continues to drive revenue growth led by the Atlantic, Caribbean and Central America.”
Full Story (Reuters)
US Airlines Moving to Larger Aircraft to Combat Operating Challenges
Reuters reports that United Airlines 110 aircraft order from The Boeing Company and Airbus this week is part of a trend of US carriers moving to larger aircraft in order to deal with supply chain issues causing jet delivery delays. United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said, “The country is just not building a lot more runways and that’s just going to cause us to need to upgauge our aircraft to respond to growing demand.” Nocella “added that travel demand cannot be met without bigger planes.” The company “aims to increase average seats per departure in North America by more than 40% in 2027 from 2019.” United’s latest order “includes 50 Boeing 787-9 planes that it plans to operate on many routes currently being serviced by 767s.” That version of 787 “holds up to 129 more seats than the 767s in its fleet.” Similarly, the 60 Airbus A321neos “that United is buying can accommodate up to 30% more seats than some of Boeing’s 757s that it has been flying.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Boeing Plans to Set Record 737 Production Goal for July 2025
Reuters reports that two sources with knowledge of the matter say Boeing “plans to push production of its bestselling 737 narrowbody jet to a record of at least 57 per month by July 2025.” The sources said the plan was in Boeing’s “latest version of its master schedule for suppliers, which was reaffirmed by the planemaker in mid-September.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Airbus Working to Improve A220 Autothrottle Design
Aviation Week reported that Airbus is “working on improving the A220’s autothrottle design, after several reports of crew errors that could have led to a tail strike or more serious incidents.” The aircraft’s autopilot “will be modified, too.” In the meantime, procedures “are temporarily added in the takeoff phase.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Aircraft Manufacturers Prepare for Uncrewed Future
Politico reports that every commercial flight “has two pilots at the controls – but some planemakers are now designing cockpits that need fewer pilots, or someday even none.” So far, their airline customers “have been quiet on the issue, but pilots’ unions across the globe are getting louder, saying any fewer than two pilots is dangerous.” The idea “is most active in Europe, where French manufacturers Airbus and Dassault are pushing for regulators to allow passenger planes to operate with only one pilot in the cockpit for the majority of a long-haul flight.” European Cockpit Association President and KLM Captain Otjan de Bruijn said, “It’s a commercially-driven initiative with enormous risks for passengers, for pilots, and for cabin crew.” At present, this is theoretical, but manufacturers “are actively developing and testing a host of autonomous flight projects, including for commercial uses.” And EASA, the European Union’s aviation regulator, “is considering a concept that would have two pilots in the cockpit only for take-off and landing.” For the rest of the flight, the second pilot “would rest outside the cockpit, swapping shifts mid-way through a long-haul flight.” EASA is “expected to sign off on this by 2027.” A FAA official “said the agency is not considering any of the proposals that EASA is weighing.”
Full Story (Politico)
IATA Data Shows Strong Air Traffic Recovery to Prepandemic Levels
Aviation Week reported that while IATA data released for June “showed a 31% increase in year-on-year air traffic, taking the global total to 94.2% of pre-pandemic levels,” the good news is relative to the three preceding years, which were the worst in the air travel industry’s history, “disguises a bleaker reality.” First, the air traffic recovery “to almost 2019 levels does not show where passenger numbers would have been in 2023 had the pandemic not occurred.” The gap “between air traffic yearly growth predictions made in 2019 and where the industry now stands remains wide.” Back in 2019, the world’s airlines “carried some 4.5 billion passengers – and were profitable as a collective.” IATA forecast then “that there would be a 4% increase in traffic in 2020, taking passenger numbers to over 4.7 billion.” Had that annual increase trendline “continued through 2022, airlines would be expecting to carry well over 5 billion passengers this year versus the 4.35 billion that IATA currently forecasts.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
FAA to Hold Safety Meetings at US Airports Following Multiple Close Calls
Fox Business reports that the FAA “is expected to hold runway safety meetings at 90 major airports through September as part of its ongoing effort to prevent close calls between aircraft.” Several close calls earlier this year have spurred the decision. FAA Air Traffic Organization COO Tim Arel said, “Sharing information is critical to improving safety. These meetings, along with other efforts, will help us achieve our goal of zero close calls.” These meetings will involve representatives from the FAA and airports working “to identify unique airport-specific risks and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate them.” These discussions will “include representatives from the FAA air traffic organization, airlines, pilots and airport vehicle drivers.” Major airports hosting the meetings will include DCA, BWI, LAG, DFW, and CLE.
Full Story (Fox Business)
FAA Orders Inspections of 20 Pratt & Whitney GTF Engines
AP reported that “U.S. regulators are requiring immediate inspections and possible repairs to Pratt & Whitney engines on some Airbus passenger jets because of a manufacturing problem that could cause parts to wear out sooner than expected.” The FAA said it would “require ultrasonic inspections of 20 engines on U.S.-registered planes within 30 days. The same flaw affects 202 engines worldwide.” The new FAA rule “replaces a directive from October, which told aircraft operators to have the engines checked at their next shop visit, and followed a disclosure last month by Pratt that about 200 engines around the world would need quick inspections and potential replacement of engine disks.”
Full Story (Associated Press)