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We May Just See The '7-Late-7' Fly For Christmas
It’s pretty clear that engineers and executives at Boeing only want one thing for Christmas, and that’s for the 787 to finally take flight for the first time. We’ve been going back and forth on when this thing will finally test things out, and once again, it seems like there just might be some good news.
The whole wing connecting to the body problem seems to have been resolved, and it sounds like no parts will fall off during a test flight, which is great news. Just to make sure, there will be all kinds of stress tests on the ground to ensure that these wings can withstand the pressures of flight, turbulence, and probably a lot worse.
Tags: Best-Factory-Tours-Map / Best Factory Tours / Boeing / Washington Travel / Airplanes / → All Tags
Tour The Boeing Factory And Enter The Largest Building In The World
Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the best factory tours the world over.
We'll admit, today's featured factory tour may be more of our dream than yours. After all, you can ride in airplanes constantly without needing to know where they, so to speak, come from; it's that old saw about watching the sausage get made. But we've always wanted to go to the Future of Flight, and we envy the lucky travel writers who have already been to Boeing's pricey but exciting factory tour.
Tags: United / Airline News / Boeing / Airplane News / 737 / → All Tags
There's Still Time To Pay Last Respects To United's 737
We’re all about praising new startup airlines with their fancy new menus, in-flight WiFi, and other nouveau niceties. But we do still have a place in our hearts for the classics, and that’s why we are a little sad to see United Airlines’ last Boeing 737 fly off into the sunset. The Airbus A320 is the new kid in town, but we’ll definitely miss the good old days of listening to Channel 9 and having to rely solely on the safety card in the seatback pocket for in-flight entertainment.
The last flight of their Boeing 737-300 will be on October 28, and fittingly, it will be flight number 737. The old bird will take off from Washington Dulles, make stops at ORD, DEN, and LAX, before finishing its career at SFO. San Francisco is where the airline will start stripping the plane of all the good bits and pieces before sending it out to pasture in Victorville, California. It’s been a long 41 years for the plane, and despite the forced retirement, United wants to send it off with a little fanfare.
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Airline Industry Is Probably Hosed All The Way Through 2011
Summer has already been a bloodbath for the airline industry, and now new projections are showing a grim situation all the way through 2011. These figures are coming from Boeing and Airbus, two companies who agree on nothing except the very high probability that they're in trouble:
International air travel, whacked by the economic downturn, is starting to stabilize but may not recover until 2011 as companies and passengers continue to scale back.... Airlines have racked up massive losses since the global economic crisis led companies to curb travel and shipping and consumers cut back on trips. Carriers, their losses already $6 billion in first six months of the year, are set to lose a total of $9 billion for all of 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association.
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Qantas Retires Plane, But Not Because It Exploded
Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man might have said that Qantas never crashed, but these days he'd be changing his tune. This week Aussie airline Qantas announced that they will retire a few of their ageing Boeing 747s in November, and we're not alone in wondering exactly why.
One of the 747s in particular has been labeled "jinxed" after it was involved in a mid-air explosion last year and an engine shutdown this week that forced a diversion to Perth and had the pilot land with only three engines going.
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'7-Late-7' May Actually Fly In 2009 After All
If you’re getting sick of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner saga, just let us know, because we’re almost over it ourselves. We thought things would be grounded until 2010, but now Boeing is claiming that the long delayed plane will fire up its first test flight by the end of this year. This is great news for airplane dorks like us, and for All Nippon Airways, as they’ve got first dibs on the new bird.
Industry analysts were thinking that Boeing wouldn’t be able to deliver the goods until 2011 at the earliest, but after test flights later this year (if they happen), the first deliveries should be happening late in 2010. Even with all the delays and trouble getting things off the ground, the plane is still expected to be a solid moneymaker for the company.
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Boeing's 787 On The Backburner Possibly 'Til 2010
At this point in the 787 saga, we feel badly for Boeing and all the issues they’ve had with their next generation airplane. The 787 Dreamliner has been taunted with unkind nicknames, but let’s be honest, the constant delays are just adding fuel to the fire. During the company’s recent earnings conference call, CEO Jim McNerney was peppered with questions about his new pride and joy. However, like any good executive, he didn’t reveal anything too damning.
The company is still assessing how long it will take to repair the recently discovered flaws and issues with the new bird, which means it’s going to be pretty difficult to provide a first flight timeline, since they’re busy arguing over how long it will take to fix everything. The company did say that they hope to release an updated test and deliver schedule within “several weeks.”
Meanwhile, The Seattle Times cited a couple of Boeing engineers who stated that some of these issues will likely take four to six months to work out, and that the first flight could be pushed into 2010. To make matters worse, the CEO over at Qatar Air is talking junk and letting everyone know that Boeing has “lost its leadership.” He has a right to be a little pissed—his company has 60 of these new planes on order and he’s got nothing to show for it.
Related Stories: [Photo: Wikimedia]
· Boeing Doesn't Know Yet How Long 787 Fix Will Take [Seattle Times]
· Qatar Air CEO Says 'Boeing Has Lost Its Leadership' [USA Today]
· Boeing coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Boeing 787 Dreamliner / 787 / Boeing / Airline News / Airplane News / → All Tags
Boeing 787 Test Flight Delayed; Now Nicknamed The '7-Late-7'
Remember just the other day when we were all excited about the Boeing 787 finally taking off? Well, due to some unforeseen issues, it looks like the Dreamliner is now no go for launch. Besides us, we’re pretty sure there are some less than pleased stockholders and airline executives.
Apparently, the new plane needs some reinforcement where the wing and fuselage meet before things can move forward. Of course we’re all for safety first, but this is still a little disappointing. Engineers insist that the composite material used in the new bird is still the right choice, regardless of the delays that they've experienced.
For now, Boeing said it would be several weeks before they reveal even a new timetable for the 787’s first flight. We’re pulling for this thing to get up in the air sooner rather than later, but we can’t help but chuckle at some of the plane’s new nicknames; Nightmareliner, Hangar Queen, and 7-Late-7 are some of our favorites.
Related Stories: [Photo: Wikimedia]
· Initial Flight of Boeing 787 Delayed Again [Seattle Times]
· Boeing 787 Dreamliner Dubbed 7-late-7, Nightmareliner, & More [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
· Airline News coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Boeing 787 Dreamliner / Boeing / Airline News / Airplane News / → All Tags
Boeing 787 Sharpening Number 2 Pencils For Its Final Tests
Update 06/23: Boeing has postponed the test flight of the Dreamliner on account of the need to reinforce an area. Uh oh.
June 28 is going to be a huge day for Boeing and its network of suppliers, not to mention for air travelers hoping for more pleasant flights. After loads of testing this week, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will hopefully take to the skies for its first test flight. Even if everything goes well, it will still be a while before we ride in the back with our iPhones set to airplane mode—but this is still pretty exciting.
Before the flight test, the plane will go through a final phase of ground testing known as the final gauntlet. For 48 hours, the plane will be pushed to its limits to further address issues that were found during factory testing and the intermediate gauntlet. This should start sometime today, and will be followed by a couple days of analysis. Sounds like the break room coffee pot will be working overtime as the engineers try to figure everything out.
If the plane does well on the ground, it will soon be taxiing under its own power as it takes its Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines for a spin. Tempting as it might be to just rip it down the runway, Boeing still has to be extra careful before putting the pedal to the medal. If everything goes according to plan, then a five-and-a-half hour test flight will take place on Sunday.
We’ll go ahead and assume that a successful test flight will be followed by a celebratory kegger on the assembly line.
Related Stories: [Photo: Wikimedia]
· Boeing Has Another Full Week Of 787 Tests [Aviation Week]
· Delta Dumps Dreamliner Because It's Sick Of Waiting [Jaunted]
· Airline News coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Airplane News / Boeing / Flydubai / Continental / Malaysia Airlines / → All Tags
Boeing Unveils a New 737 to Please the Big & Tall
Mountain men, rejoice! Freshly announced from Boeing is a new, taller 737 cabin design which will free up more headroom and actually allow passengers of average heights to stand up in their seats and stretch. Gone are the days of contorting yourself while waiting to grab your carry-ons and disembark.
To reconfigure the cabin of the workhorse 737, Boeing looked at the spaciousness of the upcoming 787 Dreamliners (set to roll out in Seattle within a week) and the pivoting overhead bins of 777s of 15 years ago. The result, the "737 Sky Interior," features these tucked-away bins to relieve the claustrophobia of the past while borrowing a Virgin America's touch of mood lighting to highlight the lofty aisle.
So where will the more statuesque folk feel more comfortable flying in the future? Boeing has already sold a bunch of these 737s, which also include fuel-conserving engine upgrades, to big and small airline names alike: Continental Airlines, FlyDubai, GOL of Brazil, Lion Air Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and TUIfly. Just don't go wearing your 10-gallon hat on board quite yet; sadly these big babies won't be hitting the tarmac until next year.
Related Stories:
· Spiffed up 737 will let passengers stand tall at their seats [Seattle Times]
· Boeing Unveils Performance, Comfort Changes to Next-Generation 737s [Bername]
· Boeing Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Seattle Times]
Tags: FlyDubai / New Airlines / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / New Routes / Boeing / → All Tags
FlyDubai Is Finally Ready To Go Starting June 1
Even though things are no longer on the up and up in Dubai, officials are finally moving forward with the low cost carrier FlyDubai. Apparently, they feel there’s still a little bit of interest in visiting the Middle Eastern hot spot. After what seems like forever, the airline is set to debut its brand new Boeing 737-800s starting this June from Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport. Just remember to keep your hands to yourself during the boarding process.
Tags: Airline News / 777 / Delta / British Airways / Boeing / Airline Safety / → All Tags
NTSB Orders Fix on Rolls Royce-Powered 777s
Lately we’ve been pretty hot and heavy about Boeing’s 777 plane, especially since that’s the bird that Branson and company have chosen to launch V Australia. However, apparently there’s some trouble with the 777 engines, and federal regulators want airliners to take a look at what’s going on. If you’re planning a trip down under on V—don’t worry—their 777s use engines from General Electric.
