First of two Boeing 787 test flights completed

9:00 AM Boeing, completed, first, flights No Comments

Alwyn Scott and Andrea Shalal-Esa , Reuters – 4 days

NEW YORK - Boeing said on Monday that the first flight test of its reworked battery system for the 787 Dreamliner went "according to plan," enabling it to move on to formal testing.

The successful mission means Boeing can conduct a second flight test that will gather data for the Federal Aviation Administration, which must approve the new system before the 787 can be used for commercial service.

Regulators grounded the global fleet of 50 Dreamliners in January after a battery burned aboard a jet on the ground in Boston, and a second battery overheated on a flight in Japan.

"During the functional check flight (on Monday), crews cycled the landing gear and operated all the backup systems, in addition to performing electrical system checks from the flight profile," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in a statement.

The flight carried six crew members: two Boeing pilots, two instrumentation engineers, a systems operator and a flight analyst, Boeing said.

"More than 600 of these functional check flights were completed in 2012 across Boeing commercial airplane programs."

Resuming flights would be a huge boost for Boeing, which is losing an estimated $50 million a week while the 787 is grounded, and for airlines, which are barred from flying the 787. Boeing also is prevented from delivering the planes to customers during the grounding, though it continues to build them.

Some Boeing officials have said the jet could be back in service by May 1. But some experts cautioned it could take longer.

Oliver McGee, an aerospace and mechanical engineer who was a deputy assistant secretary of transportation under President Bill Clinton, said he was skeptical that federal regulators would allow the 787 to resume flights as early as May 1.

"Take whatever date is agreed upon and add three to six months to it," McGee told Reuters. "I don't think that you're going to see any type of quick fix or compromising on the FAA side."

Once data from the flight has been analyzed, Boeing said it would prepare for a ground and flight demonstration aimed at certifying the company's proposed changes to the battery system, a key step toward getting permission from the FAA to resume flights of the grounded plane.

Birtel said it wasn't clear if the demonstration test for the FAA would conclude Boeing's testing of the new battery system, which was unveiled in Tokyo on March 15. The tests are being conducted in the laboratory, in planes on the ground, and in flight.

"Obviously, progress is being made on all three fronts," Birtel said.

The battery system is made by Thales SA of France, while the battery itself is made by Japan's GS Yuasa Corp.

Boeing plans to conduct one certification demonstration flight using the same LOT plane, Line number 86, to show that the new battery system performs as intended during flight conditions.

Separately, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Monday said it would hold a two-day forum April 11-12 to examine the design and performance of lithium-ion batteries in transportation -- a comprehensive review sparked by the battery failures on the two Boeing 787 Dreamliners in January.

The public forum will examine the design and development of various lithium-ion batteries, how their use and manufacturing are regulated, and the use and safety of such batteries in various modes of transportation.

The FAA grounded all 50 Boeing 787s in use worldwide in January after failures of two batteries on two separate aircraft - one parked at the Boston airport, and the other forced to make an emergency landing in Japan.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Boeing completes 'uneventful' 787 test flight

10:30 AM Boeing, completes, flight, uneventful No Comments

Reuters – 7 days

CHICAGO - Boeing Co. completed what it called an uneventful flight on Saturday of a test 787 Dreamliner, its first since the airplanes were grounded more than three weeks ago after a series of battery-related problems.

The test flight to gather detailed information on the airplane's lithium-ion batteries lasted two hours and 19 minutes, taking off from and returning to Boeing Field in Seattle, Boeing said.

"The crew reports that the flight was uneventful," Boeing said in a statement.

The 50 Dreamliners in commercial service were grounded worldwide on Jan. 16 after a series of battery-related incidents including a fire on board a parked 787 at Boston's Logan International Airport and an in-flight problem on another airplane in Japan.

The groundings have cost airlines tens of millions of dollars, with no solution yet in sight.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it would allow 787 test flights, under more stringent rules, to monitor the batteries in flight.

Boeing said the information gathered during the flight was part of the investigations into the battery events that occurred in January and that additional details could not be shared.

The airplane is Boeing's fifth 787 flight test airplane, marked as ZA005, and the only member of the test fleet in service. The flight had a crew of 13, including pilots and testing personnel, Boeing said.

Boeing said no flights of the airplane were planned on Sunday, but it planned to resume flights early in the coming week. Boeing does not provide advance flight schedules.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Boeing 787 suffers third mishap in as many days

1:36 AM Boeing, mishap, suffers, third No Comments

NBC News staff and wire reports

Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner jet suffered a third mishap in as many days on Wednesday, heightening safety concerns after a string of setbacks for the new aircraft.

Japan's All Nippon Airways said it was forced to cancel a 787 Dreamliner flight scheduled to from fly from Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan to Tokyo due to brake problems.

That followed a fuel leak on Tuesday that forced a 787 operated by Japan Airlines to cancel take-off at Boston's Logan International Airport, a day after an electrical fire on another 787 after a JAL flight to Boston from Tokyo.

Asian customers rallied behind the U.S. planemaker, however, saying such teething troubles were not uncommon on new planes and confirming they had no plans to scale back or cancel orders for the aircraft, which has a list price of $207 million.

Japan is by far the biggest customer for the Dreamliner to date, with JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) operating a total of 24 of the 49 new planes delivered to end-December. The aircraft entered commercial service in November 2011, more than three years behind schedule after a series of production delays. Boeing has sold 848 of the planes.

JAL spokesman Kazunori Kidosaki said the carrier, which operates seven Dreamliners, had no plans to change orders it has placed for another 38 aircraft. ANA, which has 17 Dreamliners flying its colors, will also stick with its orders for another 49, spokesman Etsuya Uchiyama said.

State-owned Air India, which on Monday took delivery of the sixth of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered, said precautionary measures were already in place and its planes were flying smoothly. "It's a new plane, and some minor glitches do happen. It's not a cause of concern," said spokesman G.Prasada Rao.

There was no immediate suggestion that the 787 Dreamliner, the world's first passenger jet built mainly from carbon-plastic lightweight materials to save fuel, was likely to be grounded as investigators looked into the fire incident.

Air China, which sees the 787 as a way to expand its international routes, and Hainan Airlines also said they were keeping their orders for 15 and 10 of the planes.

"New airplanes more or less will need adjustments, and currently we have no plans to swap or cancel orders," said an executive at future 787 operator Hainan Airlines, who was not authorized to talk to the media and did not want to be named.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, who has previously criticized technical problems or delays with Boeing or Airbus jets, said there were no technical problems with the five 787s currently in use by the Gulf carrier.

"It doesn't mean we are going to cancel our orders. It's a revolutionary airplane," he said.

Other carriers already flying the Dreamliner are Ethiopian Airlines , LAN Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and United Airlines .

40 gallon spill

The fuel leak on Tuesday was noticed at about 12:25 p.m. ET after the plane had left the gate in preparation for take-off to Tokyo. About 40 gallons spilled, and the jet was towed back to the gate, where passengers disembarked, said Richard Walsh, a spokesman for the transportation authority.

The plane departed about four hours behind schedule and was due to arrive in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.

No passengers or crew were injured in either incident, though firefighters were called out on both occasions.

Boeing shares fell nearly 2.7 percent on Tuesday, following a 2 percent drop on Monday - wiping around $2.8 billion off its market value, or more than a dozen Dreamliners at list price.

While many Wall Street analysts rate Boeing stock a 'buy' or 'outperform' - the manufacturer has delivered jets faster than the market predicted - some noted the potential for the combination of a fire and a fuel leak to affect public perception of Boeing and the new aircraft.

People working at OG Travel and Eurex, travel agents in Tokyo, said they had not seen any impact on reservations on flights using the 787 aircraft. "I've not heard of any cancellations following these incidents," Eurex staffer Yasuhiro Hirashiki told Reuters.

Carter Leake, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in Virginia, downgraded Boeing shares, noting that fires are potentially lethal and electrical issues are tough to solve, though he and others stopped short of calling it a game changer for the Seattle-based manufacturer.

"We're getting to a tipping point where they go from needing to rectify problems to doing major damage control to the image of the company and the plane," said Richard Aboulafia, a defense and aerospace analyst with Teal Group, a consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia.

"While they delivered a large and unexpected number of 787s last year, it's possible that they should have instead focused on identifying glitches and flaws, rather than pushing ahead with volume production," he said.

Battery fire

Monday's fire occurred on a 787 plane that had just arrived from Tokyo and whose 183 passengers and crew had disembarked.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday a battery in the auxiliary power unit aboard the plane jet had suffered "severe fire damage" and that surrounding damage was limited to components and structures within about 20 inches. It said the power unit was operating when the fire was discovered.

Shares in GS Yuasa Corp, the Japanese firm that makes the Dreamliner batteries, fell around 5 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday after dropping 4 percent a day earlier.

Boeing said it was cooperating with the investigations, but it would be premature to go into detail.

"However, nothing we've seen in this case indicates a relationship to any previous 787 power system events, which involved power panel faults elsewhere in the aft electrical equipment bay (where the fire occurred)," the company said.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a source, reported that United Airlines found improperly installed wiring in 787 electrical components associated with the auxiliary power unit, the same electrical system that caused Monday's fire.

United spokeswoman Christen David said the carrier inspected its 787s after the Boston fire, but she declined to discuss the findings, or to confirm the Journal report.

The Federal Aviation Administration last month ordered all 787s to be inspected after fuel leaks were found on two aircraft, due, it said, to incorrectly assembled fuel line couplings that could result in power loss or an engine fire.

Mechanical problems are not uncommon when new planes enter service and they often disrupt airline schedules, experts said.

"I think we're dealing here with a situation where this aircraft is over-scrutinized for a number of reasons, including the birth difficulties," said Michel Merluzeau, managing partner at defense and aerospace consulting firm G2 Solutions.

"Don't get me wrong. A battery fire is a very, very serious event. Especially a lithium-ion battery," he added. "And we don't know what the problem is. But the 787s is still a very safe aircraft to fly."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Read More

Boeing finally gets first 787 to customer

2:20 AM Boeing, customer, finally, first No Comments

John Froschauer / AP

The second Boeing Co. 787 to be delivered to All Nippon Airways sits outside the assembly plant in Everett, Wash., on Sunday.

Boeing officially delivered its first 787 jet to All Nippon Airways on Sunday, more than three years after the airplane maker originally promised to get the new model to its Japanese customer.

“It’s been just one problem after another,” said Scott Hamilton, a longtime aerospace analyst with Leeham Co. “It’s been the Murphy’s law of airplanes.”

The delays, caused by design and manufacturing snafus related to the company’s decision to outsource large chunks of work to others, have been a huge and costly headache for Boeing.

Mike Boyd, an aerospace analyst with Boyd Group International, said the problems not only delayed the 787 but also tied up engineers who otherwise could have been working to modernize other airplane models to better compete against archrival Airbus and other up-and-comers.

Still, in the long run, many expect the airplane to pay off for Boeing.

“It’s still going to be several years before Boeing works its way through the effects of this, but when they do it’s going to be a good airplane,” Hamilton said.

The airplane, which relies largely on lightweight composite materials instead of aluminum, promises to use less fuel and require less maintenance than comparable planes. The twin-engine airplane will seat 200 to 300 passengers, depending on configuration, and boasts new comforts such as a more humid cabin.

“It’s a superb airplane,” Boyd said.

The fuel and maintenance savings should be attractive to cash-strapped airlines trying to control costs despite economic uncertainty and big fluctuations in fuel costs. The company currently has 821 orders from 56 customers, including United Airlines, British Airways and Air India.

That should keep Boeing production lines rolling for years. Boeing has not said how long it will take to work through all the orders, but it has said that it hopes to be churning out 10 planes a month by the end of 2013.

The delivery Sunday is scheduled to be followed by celebrations Monday before the airplane flies away Tuesday to enter commercial service. The delivery ceremonies will be held at the company’s sprawling manufacturing facility in Everett, Wash., north of Seattle.

ANA said it plans to use the first plane for a few special flights in late October before beginning regular commercial service Nov. 1. It is slated to fly both domestic and international routes.

The 787 program, sometimes dubbed the Dreamliner, was launched in 2004, and the first plane originally was scheduled to be delivered in mid-2008. For the 787 more than any previous model, Boeing relied heavily on other companies to design and manufacture the airplane, as well as share part of the big financial burden. That made sense in theory, but in reality some of the outsourcing turned out to be costly and often disappointing, analysts said.

The delays may have been a big benefit for rival Airbus, which is developing a rival A350 model that Boyd thinks has a lot of promise. The long-range airplane, which is slated to seat more than 400 passengers depending on configuration, also promises lower operating costs than its current competitors.

“It has given Airbus a chance to get out from behind the 8-ball,” Boyd said.

Even after it delivers the first 787, Boeing still faces challenges related to the model.

For one, Boeing is battling the National Labor Relations Board over its decision to build a second 787 production line in South Carolina in addition to the production facility it has in Everett. In a case that has attracted a lot of attention on Capitol Hill, the NLRB has accused Boeing of violating labor law by saying it was adding the production line there because of recent union strikes in Washington state.

Boeing is undoubtedly hoping the 787 delivery goes better than efforts to deliver the first 747-8 Freighter to Cargolux last week. In a highly unusual move, the airplane company refused to take delivery of the new plane as scheduled after the two sides were unable to work out last-minute contractual issues.

Slide show: see images of the 787

Boeing delivered its first 787 aircraft – known as the Dreamliner -- over the weekend, and the company says the new jumbo jet will revolutionize the way we fly. CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports.

Read More

Airbus floats over Boeing, Saleswise,

7:05 AM Airbus, Boeing, floats, Saleswise No Comments

LE BOURGET, France - is Airbus Boeing in the race to the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, claims more than $72 billion dollar value of orders are verhauend and obligations at the Paris air show, where the popularity of its new fuel twice broke-saving jets records for the largest order ever.

Airbus success cast a long shadow over Chicago-based Boeing, which recorded only $22 billion in orders and commitments, and questions about the U.S. Planemaker competition on a market by concerns over high fuel prices dominated ability.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders and AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes signed Thursday to $18.5 billion order for 200 Airbus new A320neo aircraft, which has been the star of the leading event in the aviation industry.

The order is the largest ever, eclipsing previous record only Wednesday by another A320neo customer, Asian carrier IndiGo set. Airlines often negotiate discounts on great offers.

The recipe for Airbus wins over Boeing is deceptively simple. It changed its existing workhorse Jet, the Airbus A320 with improved engines and wingtips to 15 per cent make amended allegedly more fuel efficient than Boeing 737.

The aircraft is only started in the year 2015 provides, but Airbus is using it now to cash in on air carriers need to cut sky-high fuel costs and emissions of carbon dioxide to reduce.

Airbus Enders said that the A320neo was now "by far the best-selling aircraft in the history of commercial aviation".

The company has over 1,000 orders or obligations on the level, including 667 during the air show first four days.

Airbus success the pressure increases on his rivals U.S. response to the challenge with a newly designed version of own 737 or a completely new aircraft. Boeing says that it is this decision in the coming months make.

He played down the orders rivalry, say that it does not hold in reserve only offers to announce it at air shows.

It took orders and commitments for 142 aircraft worth $ 22 billion at catalogue prices during the show. 747-8 Intercontinentals include a commitment by an unnamed customer for it new in the value of 4.7 billion $ is coarse.

Airbus looks at this rate likely to continue to its position as an industry leader for a fourth year in a row. Last year it took prizes in orders for 574 new aircraft worth $ 74 billion to list, more than Boeing's 530.

The largest orders for Airbus aircraft of this week come from the fast-growing countries in Asia and the Middle East.

In addition to AirAsia and IndiGo Airbus caught also orders and commitments from the US airline JetBlue and Garuda Indonesia.

Boeing highlights were a 1.7 billion dollar order for 6 777 long-haul aircraft from Qatar Airways and 10 737 of Malaysian Airlines.

Although Airbus at the end the show with a bang, it had before with a series of embarrassing faux pas started the opening.

Its double-decker Superjumbo A380 founded shortly after it a fuel-saving at the maneuver on a taxiway at the airport Le Bourget outside Paris cut off, where the air show is held every two years.

Scenes from the 2011 Paris air show the show has 140 aircraft and host more than 300,000 people during the June 20-26. Play with new interest in aerodynamics, automakers angle life Inc.: I'll marry you... If you get a job captured cities in the NFL Union Kampf life Inc.: daily deals not always a good deal for business

Airbus long overdue and over budget presented, the A400M programme could not to perform a planned demonstration at the exhibition as a result of the so-called Airbus a smaller transmission problem.

And the Airbus A350 a new disappointment with the announcement, two versions of the Jet about two years would be delayed long-haul wide-body aircraft, had so that the Jet exclusive engine can develop supplier Rolls-Royce, a higher powered engine for the stretched version of the aircraft, slightly, the Airbus said that customers had asked for.

Although offers are usually during the first four days before the opening of the public on Friday, announced, the Planemakers the hope held surprises, possibly more orders for some last-minute.

"The show is not over yet,", Enders said Airbus CEO.

Copyright 2011 associated press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Any claim win Boeing, Airbus with the WTO ruling

7:05 AM Airbus, Boeing, claim, ruling No Comments

Geneva - European aircraft manufacturer Airbus received State subsidies which it violated U.S. competitor Boeing Inc., but not all of them were illegal according to international rules, said Wednesday the World Trade Organization.

The mixed decision an appeal of Panel allowed Brussels and Washington both claim a victory type in their tit-for-tat dispute over grants for aircraft manufacturers, the become the most expensive and complex is to hear from the international trade body.

The Appeals Panel confirmed an earlier decision in June, which found that U.S. Boeing, lose market share in several markets, had caused European subsidies for Airbus competitors particularly in Asia.

Concluded that financial assistance provided UK, Spain, Germany, and France for the development of several aircraft "serious damage to the interests of the United States caused by."

But the Panel lifted an earlier finding that certain scholarships, such as for research and development, had constituted a "prohibited export subsidy", and said Boeing had not market share in Brazil, lost Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan due to the subsidies.

The appeals ruling described EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht as a "significant result."

He said "The U.S. claim that receive export subsidies banned Airbus fully rejected,". "In addition a number of claims in respect of R & D and infrastructure, among other things were either rejected or partially accepted."

His counterpart in Washington, US trade representative Ron Kirk, the Panel said the decision still meant that $18 billion in illegal state aid over four decades was Airbus had.

"These subsidies have significantly damaged the United States, including Boeing caused to lose sales and market share in key markets around the world", Kirk said. "Start Help is illegal, and the European Union and the Member States aid should future launch payouts do without."

Boeing and Airbus, heralded the decision as a win for their side.

"This is clear, definitive victory for fair trade that level the playing field for America's air and workers" was quoted Chairman Jim McNerney Boeing in a statement.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders said with the results he was satisfied. "This is a great victory for Europe," he said.

Upbeat statements from all sides are a common feature of long-running transatlantic dispute over a market assuming that become worth more than $3 trillion in the next two decades.

Brussels has drawn the United States, before the world trade body over what it says are illegal subsidies for Boeing.

In March, the WTO ruled that at least $5 billion in subsidies between 1989 and 2006, which banned under international trade rules Boeing were received.

This judgment is also inserted is.

Copyright 2011, the associated press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Read More

Boeing wins $10 billion deal from China

7:10 PM billion, Boeing, China No Comments

HONG KONG - Boeing Co sealed deals amounting to $10 billion with two airlines in China, the world's fastest growing market, which will buy more than 2,000 aircraft in the next five years.

China expected job information 1,100 new transport aircraft and 1,000 general aviation, Wang Changshun county, Deputy Minister of civil aviation administration of China, at a Conference of Asian aerospace on Tuesday said.

Last minute orders for 200 aircraft in December EADS pushed subsidiary Airbus over to the U.S. rival for a third year. Both aircraft makers fly high demand of emerging economies and low-cost airlines and a shift towards less fuel thirsty jets.

Airbus said that Turkish Airlines has a firm order for 13 of its aircraft order placed $1.6 billion had ten A321 passenger aircraft and three A330-200 freighter.

"Boeing and Airbus have a backlog of something like 7,000 aircraft as a whole." "At the moment they are only the residue of deliveries is delete and so how do these new aircraft in the industry, the supply and capacity, impact", said Andrew Orchard, analyst at RBS in Hong Kong.

Air travel in China's increasingly wealthy population increasingly popular, compete are China Airlines, airlines and Cathay Pacific fleets with players such as Singapore to expand.

China's purchases of aircraft will help drive overall demand in Asia-Pacific, where traffic annual rate is 6.8 percent over the next 20 years, higher than the global pace grow average air expected, Boeing said. Asia-Pacific will be expected to demand one-third of the global level in the next 20 years.

Long range requirements
Air China Ltd., the country's flagship carrier, said that it plans to five Boeing 747-8 aircraft in the value of a list price of approximately 1.5 billion $, a step to buy, would be a boost for the slow sale of Superjumbos Jet.

Three customers have ordered the aircraft is Boeing's answer to the Airbus A380. Lufthansa ordered 20 years ago, while Korean Air ordered five last year.

"Airlines around the world talking, which have long-haul market requirements that an aircraft of around 450 have to sit," reporters Marlin Dailey, executive Vice President, sales & marketing of Boeing commercial airplanes. "I think that is a very good year for the 747 program."

The 747-8 was the last a very long series of very successful Boeing 747, said Andrew Herdman, Director-General of industry body Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. But so far it does caution concerning adoption.

"It a feeling that there are probably more derivatives thereof is not the end of the line at this particular type," Herdman said.

In a separate signed HNA group, parent of Hainan Airlines Co Ltd, a memorandum of understanding with Boeing 38 aircraft, including six Boeing 777 and 32 Boeing 787 purchase.

Story: Boeing gets $35 billion air force tanker order

The deal is worth $8.5 billion at list prices.

Boeing has delivered market share, now especially the half of China's with the rest of Airbus. Asia-Pacific demand for aircraft will be probably a significant portion of the demand from global airlines, which 30.900 new passenger and freighter aircraft by 2030 said Boeing aircraft, valued at $3.6 trillion would have to.

In the short term it is be diluted industry's Outlook but also by uncertainties in the global economy.

"This year be a bit slower than in the previous year, the reason for this is that the already sold most of the short-term production capacity that we have available," said Dailey.

"And so airlines a bit slow down before they make these decisions, because they availability within the timeframe 2014 / 15 want to speak aircraft", he said.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

Read More