The End Of An Era

Boeing has recently announced that production on the final 717 has commenced. There are two reasons that I feel this is the end of an era. The first is that this jet, which is to be delivered to Airtran, will be the final aircraft to ever be produced at Boeing's Long Beach, CA facility. This facility has produced many aircraft which have changed the aviation world forever, such as one of the most important aircraft of all time, the DC-3....

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Surprise, Surprise: US Airways Orders A350

The newly merged US Airways will buy 20 A350-800s, becoming the first airline to do so, and deliveries will start in 2011 and go until 2014. The plane is capable of seating 253 in a standard three-class seat layout.According to Airbus, the airline's A330 pilots won't need to undergo additional training to fly the new airplane. The deal is worth €3.42 billion, or $4.03 billion, at list prices. Keep in mind that Airbus will most likely cut a deal with...

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Air Canada Says Goodbye and Adieu to Jazz

ACE, the parent of Air Canada, said today it will spin off Jazz into an income trust. AC will get the proceeds of the deal, as well as majority control of Jazz. From the Globe and Mail of Toronto: ACE plans to market Jazz as a source of stable income because it effectively serves as a charter airline booked by Air Canada for regional flights. Jazz incurs costs for pilots and planes, but it receives a steady stream of revenue from Air Canada,...

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Northwest Goes Down The Toilet - Literally

For those that don't believe me, check out http://cgi.ebay.com/NORTHWEST-AIRLINES-model-going-down-the-toilet_W0QQitemZ6581964642QQcategoryZ10771QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemSince this link might not be around for much longer, I'll post the contents of the page here.Please note that I did not write the remainder of this post, so don't get mad at me for these rather radical views.With wage cuts, layoffs, and replacement workers… parking airplanes and cutting...

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Champagne Flows in Chicago Thanks to the Chinese

Just when the folks over in Chicago and Seattle couldn't have thought it possible t get muchhappier after the big Emirates order (see last post), they can now. Eight Chinese airlines placed an order yesterday - when President Bush was in town - for 70 737-700s and -800s worth about $4 billion. They will be delievered between next year and 2008.No specifics were given, but the planes will go to Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern. And it...

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Singapore: No Merger with Qantas

Excerpts from an article by the AP:SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singapore Airlines on Friday dismissed talk of a potential merger with Qantas, saying the issue could only be considered if the Australian government allows greater competition on the prized trans-Pacific route to the United States.On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister John Howard threw his weight behind the idea of a merger between two of Asia's biggest -- and most profitable -- airlines after...

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Olympic Airlines Is Gone.... Or Is It?

It seems that Greek flag-carrier Olympic Airlines will be replaced by a new airline company with a different name. Olympic Airlines was created by the Greek government back in 2003 to replace the old Olympic - Olympic Airways. The government has tried time and time again to privatize it, and with the latest attempt unsuccessful, it seems that they're going to shut it down and relaunch it.Details are still sketchy, but the new entity will apparently...

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Air Canada 767s Go Silver

In an effort to save cash, Air Canada is testing out the polished à-la-American look on its Boeing 767 fleet. The whole process shaves off 360 pounds of weight on each plane, which means AC will save about $24,000 per year on fuel costs. Not all 767s will be polished, and of course, Airbus crafts can't be polished because of the material they're made out of (no idea what it is, though).Personally, I think the new 'toothpaste tube' paint job is OK,...

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Delta, Air France - KLM, and Northwest

In this day and age, there are a lot airlines allinces, but none stronger than one existing within SkyTeam. Delta and Air France have, for years, had very strong ties. Northwest and KLM are considered, by many, to be one airline, especially with their profit sharing. Now that Air France and KLM are one airline, the image has almost come full circle. The one missing peice is the joining of Delta and Northwest, to create the biggest airline, ever. Together, could emerge from Chapter 11, and be the face of the all new American aviation industry. One...

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Delta: Pilots Strike Would Be 'Murder-Suicide'

Yesterday, Delta Air Lines said that if their pilots were to go on strike, it would be'murder-suicide' for the third largest airline in the U.S. That's right, folks - we're looking at a very distinct possibility that come next week, Delta may not exist anymore. Sure, we've heard it all before - United was going to fail back in '02. It was going to be curtains for American back in '03. And just how many times has everyone - myself included - stuck...

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Hello! from MD-11

Hi, I am MD-11 and I will be posting my opinions on current events in the aviation world! Today I am going to start off with the newly announced Boeing 747-8, so here it goes:Today, Boeing FINALLY announced their plan to release a new 747!But, they had to screw it up, by calling it the 747-8 Intercontinental, what's up with that? Why the heck don't they just call it the 747-800, or, even better, the 747-5, or, my personal favorite, the 747-500!How long did it take for Boeing to finally realize that they might actually be able to undercut Airbus...

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New Member Onboard

I've decided to let my friend MD-11 join the blog. He'll post his various rants, raves, etc. - not as often as I will, but it's still nice to have an opposing viewpoint now and th...

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New Boeing 747 Model Launched

Big - literally - big news. Today Boeing launched its biggest aircraft ever, the 747-8, which will enter service sometime in late 2009. Already it (well, the cargo version, at least) has gotten 5 billion dollars in orders from Luxembourg's Carolux and Japan's Nippon Cargo Airlines. Boeing says that its new plane will bridge the gap between current aircraft on the market and the mammoth A380, produced by archrival Airbus.According to Boeing, there's...

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