Editorial opinion – Page 7
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OpinionWhy sentiment could not save Thomas Cook
Sentimentality has little place in the harsh realm of modern business. There might be an inescapable sense of injustice surrounding the Thomas Cook affair, a feeling that a company approaching its third century of trading deserved a break.
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OpinionWhy Boeing safety division must have power to act
One of Boeing’s many challenges in the wake of the twin 737 Max disasters is how the company should reshape its internal systems to ensure the errors that led to the crashes – whether of omission or commission – are not repeated.
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OpinionCan US Air Force keep pace with its ambitions?
Speed kills. To defeat a near-peer adversary such as China or Russia in a future conflict, the US Air Force must operate at a pace that such nations will be unable to match.
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OpinionWill Airbus' market forecast come close to reality?
Anyone cursing being caught in a downpour without an umbrella after believing a forecast of fine weather would doubtless agree with former prime minister Winston Churchill’s opinion on the risks of predicting the future.
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OpinionBritish Airways and Cathay Pacific woes demonstrate airline PR vulnerability
Cathay Pacific’s challenges have perhaps been more significant to the business’s long-term strategy, but they offer a similar example of how an airline can quickly lose control of its messaging.
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OpinionIs three a crowd for Tempest programme?
This year’s DSEI brought further good news for the UK’s Tempest programme, with the Italian government and leading industry players signalling their intention to work in partnership on a next-generation fighter.
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OpinionWhy B-52 remains strategic champion
Second World War dust was still settling when, in late 1945, the US Air Force (USAF) called for a new strategic bomber.
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OpinionCan urban air mobility win public confidence?
In the 12 decades since the Wright Brothers, commercial aviation has advanced greatly, but there have been only a few genuinely disruptive technologies – those alignments of science, innovation, and market opportunity that, almost from nowhere and very quickly, fundamentally change the industry.
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OpinionManufacturers must heed Emirates chief's rebuke
Tim Clark never knowingly pulls his punches, but the Emirates president has clearly run out of patience over the seemingly endless inability of aircraft and engine manufacturers to deliver service-ready hardware.
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Opinion
Why bigger is better for aerospace companies
Flight International’s latest report on the biggest companies in aerospace underscores a powerful reality about the industry: the big are getting bigger. In revenue terms, number-one-ranked Boeing has broken through the $100 billion ceiling, and billion-dollar-plus firms now make up two-thirds of the Top 100. Organic growth is broadly real, but only part of the story, because what is really driving this up-sizing are mergers and acquisitions.
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OpinionTaiwan deters the “abyss” with F-16V buy
Beijing’s reaction to the US government’s plan to sell 66 Lockheed Martin F-16Vs to Taiwan was as rapid as it was predictable.
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OpinionBusiness aviation must embrace green revolution
In business aviation, sales slumps are usually broken by the arrival of new products – and the latest shipment report from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) shows that rule still holds true.
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OpinionPausing 777-8 could give Boeing vital breathing room
The crisis meetings in Seattle have got longer and bleaker in recent weeks, as the fallout from the 737 Max grounding continues amid significant disruption to Boeing’s other existing and future programmes.
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OpinionLeonardo needs good news for Yeovil helicopter plant
What next for the Leonardo AW159 Wildcat and its Yeovil, UK production site after Germany’s selection of the NH Industries NH90 for a naval requirement?
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Opinion737 Max might make sense for BA, despite fleet upset
The latest arrival at British Airways marks the next step in the transformation of the carrier’s fleet.
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OpinionWhy doctrine may be as important as speed
A US Marine Corps captain once asked a group of officer candidates: “What do we do?” None gave the correct answer: “We fight wars.” Simple, really, and classic Marines; when called upon, be ready. Except, of course, nothing is so simple, either back then in the Cold War or today in what, increasingly, feels like a new Cold War. To be ready, soldiers – as well as politicians and arms industry bosses – had best ask some more difficult questions: Who will we fight? When? How?
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OpinionWhy the A220 is starting to count for Airbus
Considering the degree to which the A220 is quietly flourishing under Airbus’s nurturing, the twinjet received surprisingly little attention during the airframer’s half-year results briefing.
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OpinionAviation faces increasingly uncertain outlook
Glass-half-empty people generally do not run airlines; as the old saying goes, the industry has never made money. Like most old sayings, that one is not strictly true – but it is fair to note that “airlines” and “troubled” often go together.
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OpinionMax costs keep rising but airlines have few options
For months, Boeing has framed its 737 Max issues as a temporary, though unfortunate, setback to an aircraft programme that will surely rise again.
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OpinionSafety gains must not be undone by technology
Diligent application of hard-earned experience has made safety a hallmark of modern aviation; let’s not lose our grip on the basics of sound technique.
