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Air China Didn't Get the Memo

July 17, 2008 at 11:33 AM | 0 Comments

The near-term future of Chinese aviation is all about smaller planes, so when Air China needed some big jets, it had to look elsewhere. The state-owned carrier just announced that it plans to buy 45 new aircraft from Boeing, growing its fleet by 35 percent with the purchase.

Most of the new 777s and 737s will fly out of Beijing, further entrenching the airline at PEK. (You know the flag carrier gets that sweet real estate in T3.) Also on the horizon for Air China are 15 787s, if and when those next-generation jets roll off the line.

What we're still wondering about, though, is when these new planes will be delivered. After all, another carrier just jumped to the front of the Boeing production queue.

Related Stories:
· Air China Announces $6.3 Billion Deal [AP, via Google]
· Happily Welcoming Our New Chinese Aviation Overlords [Jaunted]
· Boeing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Air China's Olympics livery: Wikimedia]

Adventures of Link: A380 Coming Stateside

June 9, 2008 at 6:05 PM | 0 Comments

The A380 is finally coming to America! Emirates will run flights between New York and Dubai, starting August 1.

The massive aircraft won't be making all the runs between the two cities, but it will be the first time the A380 flies into the US in commercial service. Elsewhere, you can ride it between Singapore and both Sydney and London on Singapore Airlines.

Related Stories:
· If You Want to See a Really Big Airplane [Airline Biz Blog]
· Emirates to Launch First Service to US with A380 [AFP, via Google]
· Dreamliner to Fly by End of 2008 [BBC]
· Coming Soon: A380 Kangaroos [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Cranky Flier]

If You Haven't Flown 'Em, They're New to You

June 9, 2008 at 4:30 PM | 0 Comments


We're a bit embarrassed to admit that today was the first we'd ever heard of Hainan Airlines. We're clearly behind the times on this one, as the carrier is China's fourth-largest and the country's biggest privately-owned airline.

Hainan is now making its first flights to America, with four-times-a-week service between Seattle and Beijing, giving you another non-stop option between the US and the Olympics. (Don't get your hopes up, though: Hainan doesn't use the new Terminal 3.)

For now, Hainan is flying Airbus A330s, but once Boeing finally rolls out the Dreamliner, you'll be able to fly SEA-PEK in carbon fiber bliss.

Related Stories:
· Airport Check-in: Seattle Beijing Service Starts [USAToday]
· New Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of a 737: Drewski2112]

Boeing Announces More 787 Delays

April 9, 2008 at 10:06 AM | 0 Comments

We're beginning to think we may never fly on one of Boeing's new Dreamliners. The company announced this morning that it's yet again pushing back the debut of its fancy, fuel-efficient 787s, saying it'll get them off the ground by the end of 2008. That means the first commercial flights won't happen until well into 2009.

The news is sad for plane geeks like us, but it could be worse. Some airlines, like Australia's Jetstar, have tied their expansion plans to the 787. No new planes means no new routes--and no new cash rolling in.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are also among the carriers affected. No doubt all three airlines are hoping this is the last of the game-killing delays.

Related Stories:
· More Delays for Launch of Dreamliner [CBC]
· Dreamliner Delays Killing Jetstar's Game [Jaunted]
· Dreamliner Makes Emperor Palpatine-Style Entrance [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikipedia]

Dreamliner Delays Totally Killing Jetstar's Game

January 24, 2008 at 10:02 AM | 2 Comments

Airlines the world over are waiting for Boeing to finish building its new 787s, and with delivery now set for 2009 at the earliest, Jetstar, for one, is canceling flights. The Qantas spinoff that's supposed to challenge Virgin Blue will have to wait until 2010 to start flying its European service.

But the carrier won't simply stand for these business-killing delays; Qantas is seeking damages from Boeing, which said it would have the first 15 787s out to Australia by May 2009. We don't know how much cash the airline will be asking for, but CEO Alan Joyce cares about more than just money:

We will get compensation from Boeing for the delay. [But] we are disappointed because we would rather be flying the aircraft.

Related Stories:
· Dreamliner Delay Sets Back Expansion [SMH]
· Jetstar Delays Its European Launch [FT]
· Jetstar coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jp3g]

Boeing's Dreamliner Not Happening Until 2009

January 16, 2008 at 4:00 PM | 1 Comment

Yes, Dreamliners in 2008 was just a dream.

The eagerly anticipated Dreamliner airplane from Boeing (also known as the 787) won't be in service until sometime in 2009.

Test flights for the massive plane were delayed again until July, the second such delay for the Dreamliner. Deliveries won't happen until early 2009, meaning you won't fly one of these bad boys 'til mid-2009 at the earliest.

Production delays and parts shortages are mostly to blame for the push-back.

Boeing is building more than half of the plane with carbon- fiber composites instead of aluminum, making it the first airliner of its kind. The Dreamliner is also Boeing's first attempt at a production process where suppliers deliver fully completed wing and fuselage parts.

"Completing the first plane is setting the pace to first flight,'' 787 program manager Pat Shanahan said on the call.``If anything has been learned here, it's how long it will take to complete somebody else's work. We thought we could modify our final assembly system to accommodate suppliers' work. We were wrong.''

Meanwhile Airbus SAS has some company in the mega-airplane delays department. Their widebody A350 (an answer to the Dreamliner) won't deliver until 2013. But at least they still have the A380.

[Photo: Life of Luxury]

Adventures of Link: Countdown to the A380

October 11, 2007 at 5:00 PM | 0 Comments


We should all fit on board, right?

Singapore Airlines' first flight of the superjumbo A380 takes off in a little over two weeks, and Airbus must be chilling the champagne. After years of delays, controversy and throwing money down what seemed to be a bottomless pit, the aerospace company can now focus on selling these planes rather than building them.

In the meantime, Boeing is still struggling to get its 787 off the ground. After taking more than 800 orders, the firm has pushed the first deliveries back to late 2008. That said, airlines are still on board to use Boeing's new, high-tech jet, which has a range of over 10,000 miles and, perhaps more importantly, gets great gas mileage.

Related Stories:
· The Giant on the Runway [Economist]
· Boeing Delays Dreamliner [WSJ]
· Delta Adding New Seats and TVs to its Transcons [Official Site]
· iPhones Don't Fly with ATA [Consumerist]
· Steve Fossett and his Plane Still Missing [AP, via Google]

[Photo: af.wikipedia.org]

Adventures of Link: Boeing 787 Takes Seattle

July 9, 2007 at 4:58 PM | 0 Comments

The revolution will be at 35,000 feet, if Boeing Dreamliner has anything to say about it. While we are taking a wait-for-the-August-test-flights approach to this whole 787 craze, there were plenty of airlines that thought Boeing's big bird and pony show was worth a multi-million dollar airplane order check.

Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic, and All Nippon Airways, who will bet the first to offer 787 commercial service in May 2008 all bought what Boeing was selling.

The plane seats up to 330 passengers and is capable of flying long-haul routes using up to 20% less fuel.

Here is what the web thought of McDreamliner:
·   Photos of 787 [MSNBC]
·   Brokaw Master of Ceremonies, Yamamoto Biggest Applause [FT]
·   Dreamliner is Evolutionary Rather Than Revolutionary [Chicago Tribune]
·   Qantas A Confirmed Buyer [Reueters]
·   Dreamliner Videos Galore [Technorati]

[Photo: seattlec2]

Boeing Dreamliner Makes Emperor Palpatine Style Entrance

July 9, 2007 at 10:43 AM | 0 Comments

Yesterday, on 7.8.07, Boening's new 787 Dreamliner debuted in Everett Washington in a scene that reminded us of the Emperor's arrival on the Death Star at the beginning of Return of the Jedi. Point being, it was definitely an odd scene. Don't believe us? Just watch the video above.

To date, Boeing has won 677 order for the 787, on deliveries through 2015. Air Berlin, Kuwait Airways, and All Nippon Airways are amongst the buyers.

The 787, Boeing's first all-new jet since airlines started flying the 777 in 1995, will be the world's first large commercial airplane made mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter, heftier, and don't rust as easily--sounds fair enough. .

The Dreamliner is scheduled to enter service in the spring of 2008 and the first test flights will take place in late August or early September of this year.

Stay Tuned.

Related Stories:
· Dreamliner Coverage [Jaunted]
· Dreamliner Official Site [Jaunted]

Virgin Atlantic Orders Up A Gaggle Of Green Planes

April 26, 2007 at 12:04 PM | 0 Comments

Virgin Atlantic is hoping to become the cleanest airline in the world, and with the acquisition of at Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which burn 27 percent less fuel per passenger than A340-300s, they appear to be making progress.

The new jets have plenty of other bells and whistles, including higher air cabin humidity, larger windows, and mood lighting.

While we are sure Sir Richard Branson, and the gang are really trying to help save the world, it sure doesn't hurt that these new planes can accommodate twenty-one more passengers than the old planes. Furthermore, Dreamliners are also capable of travelling further distances without stopping. Meaning, travellers could fly the equivalent of the distance from London to Hawaii or Perth with no stopovers.

[Photo: Max Boss]

IM Incest with HotelChatter

April 21, 2006 at 4:56 PM | 0 Comments


[SFO*MEDIA editors chat about the week that was and we share their incestuous gab with you. We know what your thinking but this is actually legal in some Southern states. Enjoy.]

HotelChatter: i did learn a lot about some travel trends, like the Boeing Dreamliner. It's sooo dreamy that your butt is going to have a whole 17 inches of seat cushion!

Jaunted: wow, that's made for americans, finally

HotelChatter: the planes will have LED lighting, and a remote control for the windows that the stewardesses will control. plus there will be windows in the bathroom. so you and birds can poop together.

Jaunted: there's a bathroom where cracking the window is a poor idea

HotelChatter: then i got to peek into the aloft hotel a go-go trailer. its this thing that goes cross-country hyping aloft hotels. it was cool, but they had a big jar of hershey's chocolate bars and they didn't offer me one.

Jaunted: i'm more excited about the aloft convenience stores that they are opening in the lobbies

HotelChatter: the guy who invented the Sling Box was also at the T+L event. he was a panelist during the daytime seminar where they talked about innovative trailblazers. , this sling box thing allows you to take what's on your TiVO and put it on your computer or you iPod i think. i still use an eight-track for my music.

Jaunted: Perfect for sports fans abroad. Or spice channel enthusiasts.

To continue with the brother sister love fest IM, head over to HotelChatter.