Editorial opinion – Page 15
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Opinion
OPINION: New boss, new Leonardo?
Corporate chiefs are fearful of missing out on the Next Big Thing, of leaving it to bold, visionary rivals to anticipate a future that they themselves were too short-sighted, or too timid, to grasp.
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Opinion
OPINION: Is the CSeries ruling a seismic shift?
Over the past four months, the competitive landscape in the small-narrowbody jet market has been turned upside down. Bombardier has agreed to give Airbus control of the CSeries programme and open a new final assembly line in Alabama. Boeing is in discussions to construct some kind of combination with Embraer. ...
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Opinion
OPINION: X6 delay could be a regret for Airbus Helicopters chief
For his final annual press conference as head of Airbus Helicopters, Guillaume Faury adopted the Édith Piaf approach, declaring that he had “no regrets” about any aspect of his five-year stint as chief executive.
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Opinion
OPINION: ATR in pole position to launch new turboprop – for now
ATR is an enviable position: the Airbus-Leonardo joint venture supplies more than three-quarters of the annual demand for regional turboprops, has an order backlog – significantly bolstered in 2017 – equating to around three years of production, and, perhaps most significantly, its sole Western competitor, Bombardier, is currently occupied with ...
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Opinion
OPINION: Market looks rosy, but beware the unknown
If Boeing intended to antagonise Airbus ahead of the annual order tussle, it chose to tweak the European airframer’s most sensitive nerve.
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Opinion
OPINION: Leahy leaves lasting legacy with Emirates deal
Any doubts that the future of Airbus’s flagship product was genuinely under threat were demolished by the blunt assessment from outgoing head salesman John Leahy. If Emirates did not buy more, the A380 programme was finished, he said.
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Opinion
OPINION: BAE research project promises stealth advance
Most of the magic in stealth aircraft design is created by geometry. By shaping an aircraft surface to reflect transmitted radio waves away from their source, the radar is effectively blinded. This works fine as long the stealthy aircraft has no need to manoeuvre. Any change in direction or altitude ...
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Opinion
OPINION: Airframers should approach further rate rises with caution
Boeing in 2017 successfully transitioned to a production rate of 47 aircraft per month on its 737 line, as it works to address its swelling single-aisle backlog, which hit 4,668 firm orders at year-end.
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Opinion
OPINION: Engine arrival signals China's supply chain progress
By rolling out the first locally designed high-bypass turbofan on 29 December, China joined one of the most exclusive clubs in the global aerospace industry.
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Opinion
OPINION: Boeing and Embraer have much to gain from tie-up
A combination of Boeing and Embraer would make a powerful team in commercial aviation, deepen a potentially disruptive alliance with Saab in the defence market, and could upset the business aviation status quo.
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Opinion
OPINION: A fresh start at Airbus
Not since the extraordinary round of musical chairs which followed the A380 crisis of 2006 has Airbus faced a more substantial overhaul of its senior management.
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Opinion
OPINION: Singapore's cabin shines, but will it sell more A380s?
The plight currently facing Airbus on its A380 programme is neatly – although perhaps inadvertently – summed up by customer Singapore Airlines (SIA).
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OpinionOPINION: The airline industry's success stories from 2017
Airlines’ headline figures for 2017 are impressive, reflecting another year of rising traffic and impressive profits.
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Opinion
OPINION: Travel disruptors are airline investment opportunity
Japan Airlines flight JL001, operated with a Boeing 777, needs roughly 12h to fly about 4,500nm (8,330km) from Tokyo to San Francisco. A Mach 2.2 airliner could cover the same distance in about 5.5h, or around the time it takes a subsonic airliner to fly across the USA.
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Opinion
OPINION: CSeries deal presents wider opportunity
Aside from the obvious benefit for the health of the programme and for the wider company, Airbus's planned acquisition of a majority stake in the Bombardier CSeries could present another opportunity.
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Opinion
OPINION: Aviation must be more ambitious than CORSIA on emissions
Just over a year ago, the aviation industry – via the UN body ICAO – was patting itself on the back after reaching an agreement on a global scheme to address carbon dioxide emissions.
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Opinion
OPINION: E-Fan X is vital stepping stone
If you want to understand how electric power fits into the future of aviation, pay close attention to the progress of the E-Fan X, the hybrid-electric demonstrator launched by Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens.
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Opinion
OPINION: Leahy will be missed, although not by Boeing
When John Leahy’s name first appeared in Flight International it was within a 14-word brief about appointments at Piper Aircraft, and his was not even the main one.
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Opinion
OPINION: Big challenge lies ahead after A350-1000's certification
One thousand. It's a number which has literary and poetic power – the symbolism of the beginning of a new cycle – and whose digits resemble, fortuitously, the wheels of a triple-axle main landing-gear.
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Opinion
OPINION: UK government must give industry Brexit clarity
For all its corporate reshaping, Airbus is still a highly political animal, and remains attuned to the winds blowing from Berlin and Paris.
