February 2009 Archives

Boston bound. Unexpected earlier flight. Fresh content coming this
afternoon. What a strange, strange week this has been. Thanks for
hangin' on with me.

Boeing has shaken up the leadership of the 747 program with the reassignment of its top executive.

Mohammad "Mo" Yahyavi will assume the leadership of the 747 program, departing his vice president position on the Commercial Airplanes 737 P-8A Poseidon team.

Yohyavi replaces Ross Bogue (pictured) who has served as head of the 747 program as VP and general manager since September 2007.

Bogue also served as Vice President and general manager of Boeing's Everett Site, and has been reassigned as Vice President for the Fabrication Division, a position which he previously held until he was promoted to site leader in February 2006.

This change in the 747 program represents a second shake-up of program leadership in eighteen months. Dan Mooney previously served as head of the 747 program until Bogue assumed the position.

Boeing announced a delay to the 747-8 program of six to nine months in November of 2008, citing scarce engineering resources and a supply chain unable to accommodate the volume of engineering changes required to meet design release deadlines.

Boeing has earned 78 orders from nine customers for the freighter version and 28 orders for the passenger variant of the aircraft. Lufthansa currently stands as the only passenger airline to select the 747-8I, with an order for 20 of the type.

The limited orders for the -8I variant have sparked questions about the commercial viability of the 747-8I aircraft with only one airline customer, though internally Boeing continues to actively pursue its development. Flight International previously reported that Boeing has studied various options for the program, including terminating the 747-8I and running the 747-8F as a standalone program.

Delivery of the first 747-8F to Luxemberg-based Cargolux is expected to take place in the middle of 2010 following a flight test and certification program beginning late in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

UPDATE 2:40 PM 2/25: Yohyavi will be replaced by John Pricco as head of the P-8A program. Also, Bogue replaces Pat McKenna who will be leading a team to find and implement opportunities to improve the efficiency of the 787 supply chain.

Photo of Ross Bogue courtesy of Boeing

IATA Numbers
A key economic indicator is set to be released by IATA this week, when the organization tells us just how big the drop in passenger and cargo traffic was for the month of January. This is definitely a indicator of the health of the economy and could give way to another airline crisis, which is arguably being held off right now with oil trading around $40.

Embraer and Gulfstream Production Cuts
After last week's announcement of significant layoffs, Embraer has released its expected breakdown of aircraft deliveries for the remainder of the year. The Brazilian airframer now expects to deliver 115 commercial aircraft (E170/190) instead of the originally planned 162, a roughly 30% drop in production from 2008. The remainder of the 242 aircraft are expected to be 110 Phenom 100s, as well as 17 Legacy and Lineage aircraft.

Gulfstream, the Savannah-based business jet producer, plans to slash production by 20% in 2009. The airframer expects to deliver 124 aircraft this year. Gulfstream will reduce midsize jet (G150, G200) production from 69 to 30 and increase large aircraft (G350, G450, G500, G550) production from 97 to 94.

A350 XWB Wing Spars
GKN, which is based in the UK, has begun prototype fabrication of the composite rear wing spars for the A350 XWB wing box demonstrator at its facility in Yeovil. The company expects to start manufacturing the rear wing spars within the next 12 months at its Filton plant, where production parts will be made for the XWB.

As the Cro(ft) Flies
My colleague John Croft, who serves as Americas Editor for Flight, is covering Heli-Expo this week in California and has launched his own blog (after much prodding from yours truly). John is a CFI and aviation safety expert who is more the eager to share his unique viewpoint on aviation. Make sure to keep an eye on his regular video updates from on location. This is one blog worth bookmarking.

10th for SIA flies!
The 10th, yes the 10th, A380 for Singapore Airlines has now left the nest in Toulouse for its new home in Hamburg. The aircraft, MSN045, departed Toulouse this morning enroute to Germany for painting and cabin outfitting. This superjumbo will eventually be 9V-SKJ.

777F Fly Away
Air France Cargo took delivery of the first 777F last week and after receiving a water cannon salute on Friday before its departure from Everett.


777 Take-off from Liz Matzelle on Vimeo.

Happy Monday everyone! This week's movie tracks the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and its evolving role over the last half century from high-altitude strategic bomber of the 1960s to low-level tactical bomber of the 1970s. What's missing from this documentary is the B-52's significant role in advancing the cause of aeronautics as a flying testbed and drop ship for numerous technology demonstrators, though the examination of its military applications are important for understanding the context for its long survival as an operational bomber aircraft.

On my very first assignment for Flight, I was sent to cover the Dubai Air Show. It was November 2007 in the midst of one of the most extraordinary expansion years commercial aviation had ever seen. The A380 successfully had entered service with Singapore Airlines a few weeks before and the 787 was accumulating orders after a spectacular rollout ceremony preparing for a first flight that was intended for March of 2008. The industry looked virtually unstoppable.

One particular memory still stands out in my mind from that show that had Emirates spending $38 billion for firm orders on 82 aircraft (70 A350s, 12 777-300ERs).

I was heading to a press conference on the upper level catwalk that surrounded the show floor when something completely out of place caught my eye. As I reached the top of the stairs, I noticed about a dozen workers, all men, who appeared to be of South Asian descent sleeping behind two skillfully crafted artificial walls.

From the upper level on the catwalk I could look down into the space they were using to sleep. They were piled on top of one another, using each other as pillows. Feet from where these men were sleeping, billion dollar deals were being done. A person could easily walk by and have no awareness of what was going on just behind the wall.

That, in essence, was the global economy in 2007: Growing at such an astonishing pace that no one stopped to realize that just behind the artificial walls was a world without real foundation.

And so, what we face today is the end of Globalization 1.0; a world built upon the principles that made the Field of Dreams: If you build it, they will come. The only problem was that the 'it' was always open for debate.

It was the reason for the housing bubble and the overleveraged credit markets that supported them, it was the reason for Dubai. It was unsustainable.

There was always trepidation in the voices of the Airbus and Boeing executives who constantly stressed that they weren't overleveraged in any one region of the world, always cognizant that a region, or regions, could collapse. In many ways the disclaimer they provided was more intended for self reassurance than for others. It felt too good to be true.

Airlines have already begun adjusting to the dynamics of the new economy with cuts in capacity, aircraft deferrals and cancellations. The only major airline, it appears, that is attempting to buck the trend is Emirates, with 14% capacity growth planned for the coming year. Emirates' proposition, which is based in some well founded airline dynamics, intended Dubai to be a hub to the world. But a hub is only as strong as the people traveling through it: if they aren't coming, you can't built it.

IATA General Director Giovanni Bisignani said that January figures for international travel will be even worse than the 5% plunge that came the month before.

We've seen this in the not so distant past. Just eight years ago, Web 1.0 was crumbling under not entirely dissimilar circumstances.  The justifications that inflated that bubble were the same then as they are now. Just because you have a business based online, success was far from guaranteed, even if the artificial IPOs told a different story. Businesses like Kozmo.com and Pets.com all saw the web as a tool, but the product they were selling wasn't fast delivery or pet supplies, it was the novelty of the internet itself. The fad then was the web, today it is buy now, pay later.

Though the fall of Web 1.0 gave way to an organic, and fundamentally more sustainable internet in Web 2.0: bottom up, not top down, driven by genuine growth that saw the web as a vehicle for product growth, not the product itself.

I don't suggest that Globalization 2.0 will be much different than 1.0. The free flow of ideas, people and capital will always be the underlying drivers for the global economy, but the foundations upon which the 2.0 economy is sustained must be different.

Aircraft have been the centerpiece of globalization before 'globalization' was a coined term. A search of the New York Times archive reveals its first reference to globalization found its way into the paper in February of 1981, more than a decade after aircraft like the 747 was flattening the world and connecting points on the globe 5,000 miles apart.

Perhaps ironically, the first reference came in an article titled OUTLOOK: Toughening attitudes on world trade.

Aviation finds itself in a particularly precarious situation, as the industry has always been both driven by, and a driver of, the global economy as both leading and trailing indicator of its health. Aviation will ultimately play a vital role in its recovery as the United States highest value export.

Though the challenge to both Airbus and Boeing is found in having charted different paths as the global economy ballooned in the last decade. Each thrived on the premise that twice as many people will be flying in 2020. Yet, slower growth of the once hot, but small, global markets may give large hub-to-hub travel the leg up or a global economy in recession means operating higher load factors on once high traffic routes with smaller long range aircraft. Each can find a way to thrive, but the interconnectedness that each manufacturer helped to create will also be our salvation in creating a 2.0 global economy.

Later this afternoon in Everett at the Future of Flight Aviation Center, the first 777F will be handed over to Air France Cargo in a formal delivery ceremony. The video above shows F-GUOC, the third 777F built, being rolled into position next for the festivities. The 777 Freighter is expected to depart Everett for Paris tomorrow.

Special thanks to Liz Matzelle for the great video. Make sure to watch the video in HD also, it's the last time you'll probably see this Air France jet so sparking white and clean.

All I have to say is: Nice parking job.

Embraer announced today (PDF) that it plans significant cuts in aircraft production and its workforce as a result of the "unprecedented crisis affecting the global economy."

The reduction in personnel represents approximately 20 percent of its 21,362 employees and is concentrated in the production and administrative areas, including the elimination of one layer in the management structure. The significant majority of the engineering workforce will be kept engaged in programs for development of new products and technologies, which will be kept unchanged.
 
In light of this new scenario, Embraer has revised its revenue guidance for 2009 to US$ 5.5 billion, corresponding to 242 commercial and executive aircraft deliveries. As a result of this reduction in revenues, the Company has also revised its investment guidance to US$ 350 million for the year.

Embraer initially expected to deliver 270 business and commercial aircraft in 2009, a cut of 10%. The Brazilian manufacturer did not specify if the cuts would impact the business or commercial side of the business. Though, if competitors Bombardier, Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft are a guide, then the production cuts could predominantly impact business aircraft production.

Earlier today, Airbus also announced a production cut for its A320 Family aircraft from 36 to 34 /month, while holding A330/A340 production at 8.5/month. The delivery forecast of 21 A380s in 2009 was still in effect, though overall production would be "similar" to 2008's 483 aircraft delivered. The European airframer did not specify any reduction in workforce, but warned that further cuts may be possible.

A massive A380 convoy wound through the roads in Southern France earlier this week to deliver the 3 fuselage sections, wings and horizontal stabilizer of Lufthansa's first A380. The aircraft should find its way into the airline's hands early in 2010. MSN038 will eventually wear D-AIMA as its formal registration.

As far back as May of last year, Boeing publicly discussed that the brake control system was a key pacing item for the 787 program. Tracing the evolution of this issue, which Crane and Boeing have stated is resolved, today we find Crane announcing they need to develop a new version of the software, potentially for the 787-9, later blockpoint 787-8s, or even an additional evolution for initial certification. The recipient of the new software is unclear at this point, but it certainly something to be aware of moving forward.

Aviation Week - May 23, 2008:

While Boeing VP and 787 General Manager Pat Shanahan says most systems are ready to go, the airplane's brake control monitoring system supplied by Crane Aerospace to the former Smiths Aerospace division of GE Aviation has fallen behind schedule and remains a threat to first flight in the fourth quarter this year.

Design concerns about the brake monitors arose during build and test reviews by GE and Crane. As those issues were being worked out, power supply issues also cropped up. A joint GE-Crane team is addressing the problems at Crane's Burbank, Calif., facility.

A GE manager says the team is making "good progress" toward supporting Boeing's flight test schedule. "They are later than we want, but they will support first flight," the manager said.

FlightBlogger - August 5, 2008:

Boeing expects to have all of the hardware on Dreamliner One qualified by the second or third week of August, "with the exception of the brakes."

Boeing - October 31, 2008:

"The issues with the brake software are behind us, functionality required for flight test is in the labs and is working well. (The final "blue label" version -- for flight test -- is in the lab and is undergoing tests, all known software problems are resolved. The formal "red label" version will follow in two weeks. We plan on a service-ready update during flight test that adds some additional functionality including tire pressure, operator initiated test, and dataload)," said 787 spokeswoman Yvonne Leach.

Crane Co. CEO Eric Fast - February 18, 2009:

"The Company expects to complete development of the brake control system for the Boeing 787 that meets the originally specified requirements during the second quarter of 2009 although engineering efforts at reduced levels will be needed to support test flights.

However, Boeing has communicated certain changed aircraft requirements that affect the brake control system, and we have recently entered into discussions with our customer, GE Aviation Systems, regarding development of a new version of the 787 brake control system, including whether this additional development work will be funded by the customer.

It is the Company's position that it is not required to undertake this additional development work without customer funding, and the costs of such work, which could be material, are not included in our guidance." Emphasis added.

Air France Cargo is set to take delivery of its first Boeing 777 Freighter 19 February in a ceremony the company's Everett facility.

The aircraft, which is the third 777F assembled, is registered F-GUOC and is set to depart Everett, Washington on 20 February for Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.

The first two 777F aircraft will also be delivered to Air France Cargo. Both are currently undergoing refurbishment after a roughly 350-hour flight test program during the 2nd half of 2008.

The new Freighter, which is based on the 777-200LR platform, first flew on 14 July and was certificated on 3 February by the US FAA and validated three days later by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

F-GUOC first flew on 7 February 2009 and will operate along side Air France's fleet of 51 777 passenger aircraft, including -200ER and -300ER models. All of the fleet's 777 aircraft are powered by General Electric GE90 engines.

This first 777F delivery to Air France Cargo was initially expected in late 2008, but was delayed two months due to the 57-day International Machinist and Aerospace Workers Union Strike that halted jetliner production.

According to Boeing, 12 customers have ordered a total of 73 777 Freighters.

Photo Courtesy Matt Cawby

Well, as you may have noticed, I was not around last week. It was time for a long overdue vacation. My trip took me to beautiful St. Maarten for five days last week and it was just what the doctor ordered. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but it was my first vacation since September of 2007. I can now reset the clock on that counter thankfully.

This was a vacation in the truest sense: No email, no phone, no twitter and no blogging. I'm quite glad to be back, though the spectre of 1000 emails upon my return was less than appealing. Things are starting up a bit slowly this week as I regain my footing, so bear with me.

I realized quickly that I picked the right spot when I found I could go spotting with an 18mm lens. The Sunset Bar and Grille at Maho Beach might be my new favorite spot on the planet. My whole vacation was not spent looking at airplanes, but here are a bunch of my favorite aviation-related photos from the trip.

Not exactly breaking news as it happened on the 12th of February, but MSN033, Air France's first A380 made its maiden flight after about 13 months in final assembly in Toulouse. The aircraft was ferried on February 16 to Hamburg (photo below) for painting and cabin outfitting. Air France (which recently unveiled its new logo) will be the fourth airline to operate the A380, which should be delivered later this year.

Photo Credit David Barrie

Last week's crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 brought the reality of aircraft icing back to the forefront of the aviation safety discussion. The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 was on approach to Buffalo Thursday night in wintry conditions when the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of control leading to a crash about five miles away from the airport.

Early indications have pointed to icing buildup as a potential cause for the loss of control. NASA has done extensive research on aircraft icing including exploring the impact on small turboprop aircraft:

"With the increasing take off and landing cycles of turboprop aircraft each year, these aircraft are statistically more exposed to potential icing conditions for a greater percentage of flight time than aircraft flying longer and higher altitude routes."

The video explores, in a highly controlled flight test environment, the kind of techniques used to safely fly an aircraft that is facing tailplane icing.

Quite chillingly, the narrator discusses the results of testing:

There are three paths that can lead to tail stall conditions if the horizontal stabilizer is contaminated with ice. These are:

• Increasing flaps
• Increasing speed
• Increasing power

Adding:

"If you are flying on autopilot, you would almost certainly miss these symptoms because you would not get any tactile feedback from the controls."

Unfortunately, the video is not embeddable here due to the permissions, though I highly recommend viewing it directly through Google Video. Special thanks to Nick Oakley for letting me know about this video.

Photo Courtesy of Bombardier

Several people sent me emails recently asking if I could find the 11 minute CNN interview of USAF Col. Mark Tillman. Col. Tillman served as President Bush's Air Force One pilot for eight years from 2001 to 2009. In case you were wondering, Col. Scott Turner now serves as President Obama's Air Force One pilot.

I recently found that the interview was put online, so while this blog is flying on autopilot this week, I thought it was a nice item to share, especially in honor of this week's 40th anniversary celebration of the 747s first flight in 1969.

On Sunday evening, the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 sat down with Katie Couric from CBS News to discuss the extraordinary events of January 15, 2009. There's not much I can add to this amazing story, so I'll let Captain CB Sullenberger, First Officer Jeffrey Skiles and Flight Attendants Shelia Dail, Donna Dent and Doreen Welsh tell the story in their own words.

Parts II and III are after the jump.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 747's first flight, I offer a second documentary produced in 2002 that explores the evolution of the 747 into the -400  and the production improvements that have marked the 747's tenure in Everett.  For a full exploration of the 747-400's internal systems, take a look at a previous post that takes you inside the flight deck of a Cathay Pacific 747-400.

I will admit to some overlap in this documentary from the last one, but it features interviews with Joe Sutter, the father of the 747 program, Brien Wydell who served as First Officer on that first flight and Jack Jones who is currently VP of 787 Final Assembly. If nothing else, take this video from the perspective of a historical juxtaposition and watch how the world's most recognizable passenger airplane has changed over the last four decades.

On February 9, 1969 at 11:00am PT, RA001 - The Spirit of Everett, changed the way the world travels with the first flight of the Boeing 747. The original -100 model, registered N7470, lifted off to the north from Runway 34L at Boeing's Everett, Washington plant.

Forty years later, that first 747, first flown by Jack Wadell, Brien Wygle and Jesse Wallick would go on to serve as the basis for over a dozen different passenger, freighter and special mission variants, including a fire fighting supertanker, airliner supply chain hauler, airborne laser cannon and of course, Air Force One.

That original model -100 sold for $24 million in 1967, slightly less than the $285-300 million a 747-8 sells for today. Perhaps my favorite fact about the 747, is the idea that the Wright Brothers flight could take place in the wingspan of one of the orginal jumbojets.

The following program is a fitting tribute to the more than 1400 747s that have been built over the years. The documentary, which was made around the 20th anniversary of the 747's first flight, has amazing archival footage and interviews from the 1960s during the development of the first Boeing 747s.

FlightBlogger is on Vacation
Shocking, I know! It occurred to me recently that I had not taken a vacation since, well, let's just say that it was before 2008. So, I was quite overdue for some time off. Upon instruction from every single person in my life, I have let my laptop at home and my email has an auto responder this week. Not to worry, I'll be back next Monday well rested and hopefully with some great photos. The blog, however, will be alive and well with some scheduled content this week, so keep visiting. See you in a week!

If you like FlightBlogger, may I also recommend:
Runway Girl, Flight International blog, Learmount, Left Field, The DEW Line, Airline Business, Unusual Attitude, Hyperbola, Image of the Day blog, Editor's Blog, Asian Skies, Aviation and the Environment and Terminal Q.

787 & Lightening Strike Protection
This is a must read:

FAA to loosen fuel-tank safety rules, benefiting Boeing's 787

By Dominic Gates - The Seattle Times

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has quietly decided to loosen stringent fuel-tank safety regulations written after the 1996 fuel-tank explosion that destroyed flight TWA 800 off the coast of New York state.

The FAA proposes to relax the safeguards for preventing sparks inside the fuel tank during a lightning strike, standards the agency now calls "impractical" and Boeing says its soon-to-fly 787 Dreamliner cannot meet.

Also, the aft fuselage of Dreamliner Six, the final flight test 787, should find its way to Everett as early as this week from Charleston.

Meet the Airbus A30X
The more and more I read, the more and more I'm convinced that the narrow body replacement battle will be the fiercest competition commercial aviation has ever seen. Boeing and Airbus are quietly working on what each has planned for the next generation, though it still remains that the engine technology is the key pacing item for product development.

Air France's First A380
MSN033, who's journey to Toulouse began in December 2007, and was later brought outside for the first time a year ago, is just about ready for her first flight. She was seen taxiing on Friday and her first flight should happen in the EXTREMELY near future.

Final Assembly for BA 777
The first of four (#771) British Airways 777-200ERs ordered in 2007 has entered final body join in Everett. This will be BA's first 777 delivery since 2001. We still have to wait more than a year to see the first BA 777-300ERs.

In other 777 news...
777F #1 (N5020K) is undergoing full refurbishment out on the Everett flight line for Air France. V Australia got its first 777-300ER (VH-VOZ) and Boeing got some color commentary by Sir Richard Branson. Qatar Airways took delivery of its first 777-200LR (A7-BBA) for flights from Doha to Houston starting March 30th.

757-300 with winglets!
Continental's first 757-300 (N75851) has been retrofitted with winglets. 

QODT

"Sure, a tiny fraction of business jet users are overleveraged greedbags and bailout-seeking executives; the overwhelming majority are honest and productive members of society." - Richard Aboulafia

Hawker Beechcraft has canceled the Hawker 450XP program, sources close to the program tell FlightBlogger.

Poor economic conditions appear to be at the root of the cancellation.

"The [Hawker 400XP/450XP] line rates are taking a huge beating due to deferrals and cancellations," said one source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"As far as I know, there is no change in the program," said Andrew Broom, spokesman for Hawker Beechcraft.

The Hawker 450XP light jet was officially launched at the National Business Aviation Association convention in October 2008. First delivery of the aircraft was expected in the first quarter of 2010.

The cancellation, if officially confirmed, will be the second of its kind for the 450XP, which saw a previous all-composite iteration shelved in 2002.

The aircraft is an upgraded version of the venerable Hawker 400XP with new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535D engines and Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics for improved performance.

The Wichita, Kansas based company has recently announced eliminating 2,300 jobs over the next year, and has warned more layoffs may occur in 2009.

Photo Credit FlightBlogger

UPDATE 7:37 PM:

BIDDING WAR: FAIL
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy said the aircraft maker is not in discussions to sell Ryanair Holdings Plc hundreds of short-haul planes, quashing an attempt by the Dublin-based airline to provoke a bidding war between the European manufacturer and Boeing Co., the Financial Times reported.

Ryanair, which operates a fleet of 181 Boeing 737-800s, this week said it was in early talks with Airbus and Boeing to buy as many as 400 short-haul aircraft, the report said.

Ryanair is planning to place a massive order for 400 aircraft in the next 12-24 months for delivery between 2012 and 2017. Ryanair is known for its large orders, but what makes this revelation significant is not the size of the order, but rather which aircraft manufacturer the airline may order from. Once thought to be among the most loyal Boeing customers, Ryanair is opening the door to Airbus to offer the A320 and A321 to join its all 737-800 fleet.

The Irish airline has always held closely to the low-cost tenet of flying one type of aircraft, but Deputy Chief Executive Officer Michael Cawley insists that, "We're large enough now to run two fleets. We see no cost handicaps that can't be overcome by running two fleets."

Coinciding with this revelation was Pratt & Whitney's announcement that it had completed its PW1000G Geared Turbofan demonstrator flight test program in Toulouse. The engine was flown under the wing of an Airbus A340-600 for more than 75 hours in its second and final flight test phase.

The test flight program ignited speculation that Airbus was considering flying a 30,000 lb variant of the PW1000G on A320 family aircraft for a significant mid-life performance improvement ahead of a full narrow-body replacement expected late in the next decade at the earliest.

One industry source associated with Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan development says the engine-maker has laid the strategic and budgetary groundwork for developing a PW1000G for the A320 and/or 737 in anticipation of airline demand through the heart of the next decade.

Pratt & Whitney emphasizes that its focus remains on beginning detailed design work for the MRJ and CSeries aircraft engines for a PW1000G entry into service come 2013.

Airbus has always been sensitive about this speculation saying only that flying the PW1000G demonstrator allowed them to understand the technology challenges associated with the engine and that the airframer had no plans to re-engine the A320.

Boeing has been equally quiet about its 737 're-generation' plans, but the PW1000G is thought to be in its plans as well.

Further fueling the fire of speculation, as a condition of its collaboration with Airbus, Pratt & Whitney has agreed not to release the detailed test results until after Airbus has had the chance to review them in full, potentially providing them a head start on optimizing the A320 for this purpose.

P&W insists this is a courtesy to its flying host, though the protection of the results is more than eyebrow raising and could point to early development stages for re-engining plans, which Airbus said would take 24-30 months to execute on.

Which brings us back to Ryanair and their sudden openness to purchasing 400 Airbus or Boeing aircraft.  Leading the speculation train forward, the removal of "cost handicaps" may originate from a double-digit improvement in fuel burn that could come from a PW1000G powered narrow-body. A true 737/A320 replacement wouldn't be available until 2020 at least and a mid-term solution might be the right ticket for growth.

Ryanair's proposed break with tradition is sure to put a spur to both Airbus and Boeing to squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of its venerable narrow-body offerings before it can offer all-new aircraft which airlines would love to get their hands on sometime before I turn forty.

Airbus today crossed the 200 order mark for the A380 with an order for two more of the type by Korean Air. The aircraft, which will operate in a three-class layout will link Seoul to destinations like Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

Today's announcement brings Korean Air's total A380 order to 10 aircraft, with the first eight expected between 2010 and 2013. The airline will receive the two additional A380s in May and June of 2014.

Happy Groundhog day! It looks as though we'll have six more weeks of winter. I don't think London could/would disagree with this assessment today.

GTF Update & CSeries
Pratt & Whitney is hosting a media day on Tuesday recapping the initial results of ground and flight testing and looking ahead to 2009 for the PW1000G engine. Going hand in hand with this event could be an announcement of firm orders from Lufthansa and a lessor for the Bombardier CSeries. Holding a media day for the CSeries engine in conjunction with firm launch customer announcement would give Bombardier's new narrowbody a big (and much needed) boost.

SPEEA and Boeing IDS
The union that represents 700 engineers in Wichita, KS at the Boeing IDS site will be voting on a new contract this Thursday and the union leadership has recommended a rejection of the three-year contract. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out with the significant layoffs coming for Boeing, Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft.

A380 to Auckland
Emirates launched service on the Auckland-Sydney-Dubai route yesterday with one of four  (of 58) 489-seat A380 aircraft. Auckland is the seventh city served by the A380. Also, A380 No. 10 for Singapore Airlines (MSN045) also popped up on the Toulouse flight line with its engines parked next to MSN033, the first superjumbo for Air France. MSN045 had just begun its final body join during my visit to Toulouse last May.

A Peek Inside Everett
Fleetbuzz got a tour last week of the Boeing factory in Everett and got a peek at the 787 line. He's got some photos of ZA002 at position four, with its engines mounted and plenty of work going on inside. The photos were taken early last week.

FAA Administrator
Another day, another dollar, and still no FAA administrator. Terminal Q takes a look at what qualities the new administrator might need to tackle the biggest issues facing aviation.

777F Delivery
As February gets underway, we should see the first 777F delivery to Air France sometime this month. N5020K (unit 1) returned to Everett on January 23, where it joined three other 777Fs (2 for Air France and 1 for China Southern) on the flight line.

77th 777 for SIA
In other 777 news, Boeing delivered the 77th 777 for Singapore Airlines. 9V-SWT is a 777-300ER the 91st member of the SIA fleet and its 19th 777-300ER. Finally, V Australia took delivery of its first 777-300ER on January 26 (official handover set for February 6). VH-VOZ (Didgeree Blue) was flown to Victorville on Saturday as VAU9090, leaving VH-VPE and VH-VPD in Everett. V Australia kicks off service on February 28.

N106US gets an entourage & a new home
A fully intact A320 fuselage, formally known as US Airways 1549, made its way to a Harrison, NJ scrap yard where it will remain for the next 12-18 months as the NTSB continues its investigation. It received a presidential-sized entourage on its trip, captured by Anthony Quintano with his handy HD video camera.

U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Being towed to Harrison N.J. from Anthony Quintano.

New Look Video Page
Speaking of great video, Flightglobal.com has a new set up for our video page that really takes advantage of the brightcove platform. The new layout looks great and is really easy to navigate.

This new setup will come in handy come Paris when we're going to have loads and loads of video. We've got some really exciting plans coming up to give you wall-to-wall coverage of the Paris Air Show that will top anything we've ever tried before.

Just like last week, I've got another episode of Wings for you. This week's Movie Monday details the development of the lightning-fast XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber. I'll let the video speak for itself. Enjoy!


Part II after the jump.