Aircraft

Category Archives for Aircraft.

American Airlines Orders 20 Supersonic Jets, Fly To Europe In 3.5 Hours Or Asia In 5 Hours

by Gary Leff on August 16, 2022

Aug 16 2022

Last summer United Airlines placed an order with Boom Aerospace for supersonic jets. Now American Airlines has placed an order, too. American claims they’ll have the biggest fleet of supersonic jets since their order is for 5 more planes than United’s.

American made a non-refundable deposit on the first 20. It’s unclear what non-refundable means: probably non-refundable in the case Boom Aerospace winds up in bankruptcy, but non-refundable if there’s never an engine for the plane?

A Better Site Than SeatGuru For Seat Maps, Choosing Seats On Planes

by Gary Leff on August 11, 2022

Aug 11 2022

How did I never know about this? I’ve been using SeatGuru for years, but I don’t find itearly as useful as it once was. It turns out there’s a much better source for airline seat maps.

A ‘LOPA’ is a Layout of Passenger Accommodations. It doesn’t just show seats. It’s a detailed schematic of the passenger cabin that’s drawn to scale. And there’s a site that has these for a number of airlines, both foreign and domestic.

Desperate Boeing Giving Unprecedented Deal to Delta On 737 MAXs, But Threatens Not To Build The Planes

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2022

Jul 17 2022

If Delta is buying new Boeing aircraft, it necessarily means they’ve gotten a nearly unprecedented deal on the planes. With Boeing losing numerous orders as a result of delays and groundings, compounded by Russian sanctions and China’s state-controlled carriers going with Airbus narrowbodies, they’re desperate to put better numbers up on the board.

Meanwhile adding these planes to their order book will likely mean making cancellation of the program even less likely and far more costly, so Boeing’s threats to legislators and regulators – already reminiscent of Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles – ring even more hollow.

Boeing Threatens To End The 737 MAX 10 Unless It’s Exempted From New Safety Requirement

by Gary Leff on July 7, 2022

Jul 07 2022

Newly certified aircraft have to have upgraded alert systems for pilots. Issues with the Boeing 737 MAX MAX that led to the Lion Air and Ethiopian crashes are, in part, addressed by mandatory new alerts for pilots that will apply to all newly-certified aircraft types. But unless the FAA agrees to exempt the Boeing 737 MAX 10 from this requirement, which they can only do by the end of 2022, Boeing’s CEO says they’ll walk away from the plane project and all of the orders it represents.

Wide Open Business Class Awards On Singapore Airlines, U.S. – Europe

by Gary Leff on July 3, 2022

Jul 03 2022

Singapore Airlines doesn’t just fly to Singapore. They have two routes that operate between the U.S. and Europe (offering continuing service to Singapore, but you can use these flights to travel on a top-notch carrier just to Europe if you wish)

Delta On The Verge Of Buying 100 Boeing 737 MAXs

by Gary Leff on July 2, 2022

Jul 02 2022

Delta is about to finalize a deal for 100 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft. The possibility of the deal between the airline and aircraft manufacturer were first reported in March.

Delta is known for buying only planes from foreign manufacturers. While they have taken delivery of new Boeing aircraft from legacy orders, they haven’t placed a major Boeing order in a decade and their entire current order book over more than 220 aircraft is entirely with Airbus.

United’s CEO Blames Fuel Prices For High Fares But That’s Not Really True

by Gary Leff on June 22, 2022

Jun 22 2022

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby blames high fuel prices for unprecedented increases in airfares. That’s a new tune for Kirby who argued for a doubling of airfares even in 2018.

Airfares increased 18% in April, the biggest increase for a month since the government began tracking this nearly 60 years ago. Fuel prices, though, aren’t the reason why.

Delta On Verge Of Buying 100 Boeing 737 MAXs

by Gary Leff on March 18, 2022

Mar 18 2022

Delta is known for buying only planes from foreign manufacturers. If they buy Boeing, it’s used. But proving that Boeing will sell to anyone, and Delta will buy anything if it’s cheap enough, Delta Air Lines is reportedly in talks for 100 Boeing 737-10 MAX jets in a deal that could be announced in the coming weeks.

Donald Trump Asks Direct Mail Donors To Pay For His New Plane

by Gary Leff on March 14, 2022

Mar 14 2022

Donald Trump no longer has a 747 flying under the Air Force One call sign. He no longer has his Boeing 757 in flying condition either. It has fallen into disrepair needing maintenance and missing parts.

He recently had a well-publicized incident where the plane he was in – not his own – had to make an emergency landing. The Dassault Falcon 900 which was taking him from an event in New Orleans to Palm beach suffered an engine failure. His team used the opportunity to fundraise for a new plane.

Here’s When American Airlines Expects To Get Brand New International Planes

by Gary Leff on January 24, 2022

Jan 24 2022

New aircraft are always exciting, even when they’re domestic planes with Oasis interiors. But we’re expecting new premium seats, more business class seats, and aircraft that allow flying to more non-stop destinations and more destinations to be served year-round.