Editorial opinion – Page 6
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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.
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OpinionSafran must take blame for Silvercrest failure
To lose one flagship aircraft programme may be regarded as misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. It may be unfair to aim that paraphrasing of Oscar Wilde at Textron Aviation which has suspended the large-cabin Citation Hemisphere 10 years after ending its last attempt to break into unfamiliar territory, with the Columbus.
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OpinionHow the Airbus effect transformed A220 sales
Back when the Airbus A220 was still the Bombardier-owned CSeries, there was always the sense that the twinjet was a good product whose potential was hamstrung by, well, everything else.
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OpinionSaratov and the spectre of fatal fixation
There can be fewer more frustrating accidents than those involving an aircraft that would have been perfectly capable of remaining airborne, if only the crew had concentrated on flying it at the time.
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OpinionPiaggio must spell out role to secure future
If anyone requires a wonderful example of short- versus long-term planning - or tactics versus strategy, perhaps - then they could do worse than study the €700 million ($800 million) lifeline thrown to Piaggio Aerospace by the Italian government.
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OpinionWinning the loser's game of Indian defence procurement
What is worse than losing a military aircraft competition in India? Winning one, say cynics about New Delhi’s dysfunctional procurement system.
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OpinionHow price and convenience will dictate supersonic travel
Decades ago, test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the rocket-powered Bell X-1. Now, Lockheed Martin is building a new supersonic aircraft for NASA designed to reduce the noise from a sonic boom.
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OpinionBoeing should yield to pressure and rename the 737 Max
What’s in a name? For Boeing, that question could become increasingly pertinent as it seeks to rehabilitate the 737 Max.
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OpinionHow will Boeing respond to A321XLR launch?
Ask Airbus about the Boeing NMA and you might start to believe the acronym stands for No More Argument.
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OpinionEnvironmental concerns powering electric shift
Twenty years ago, electric or hybrid-electric cars seemed unlikely to catch on. Worries about their performance and reliability, high prices, and a lack of charging infrastructure slowed take-up even among the environmentally concerned.
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Opinion
Will bigger mean better for merged Raytheon/UTC?
The argument for combining disparate businesses under a corporate umbrella may seem compelling. Operations exposed to a variety of markets buffer a parent company from boom-bust cycles. While industry-expert leaders of the subsidiaries get on with running their businesses, professional managers in head office look after strategy, with access to far greater financial resources.
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Opinion
How superior skills saved the day for E190 crew
Apollo 8 astronaut and former Eastern Air Lines chief Frank Borman once defined a superior pilot as one who used their superior judgement to avoid situations that require the use of their superior skills.
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OpinionNext generation of fighters offers new opportunities
The Paris air show serves many purposes, but none so much as an arms bazaar – expect Le Bourget to be crowded with spangly generals shopping for new fighters.