Aircraft

Category Archives for Aircraft.

American’s New Airbus A321neo Will Load Into Their Schedule Tonight – And Cram In 15 More Seats

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2018

Dec 15 2018

American Airlines has 100 A321 ‘neo’ or ‘new engine option’ planes on order (22 of these deliveries have been deferred). Back in August we learned that American would take delivery of its first neo in January. It would be a new ‘dense’ configuration with more seats than the airline has ever put into an A321 before. And that it would become the template for going back and adding seats to existing Airbus A321s as well.

This new Airbus A321neo aircraft is going to be loaded into American’s schedule overnight tonight and the first flights will be bookable starting Sunday.

A Boeing 737 MAX Went Mechanical in Iran Yesterday – And U.S. Sanctions May Make it Tough to Fly Home

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2018

Dec 15 2018

Norwegian Air Shuttle flight DY1933 from Dubai to Oslo was flying over Shiraz, Iran at 32,000 feet on Friday when the crew received indication of low oil pressure on the number one engine, shut down the engine and burned off fuel, and diverted to Shiraz.

Norwegian sent a replacement Boeing 737-800 from Oslo to Shiraz to pick up passengers. Mechanics were also flown to Shiraz to deal with the grounded 737 MAX. However sanctions on Iran complicate the airline’s ability to source parts for the aircraft.

American Improves Fleet With Used Airbus A319s from Frontier

by Gary Leff on September 10, 2018

Sep 10 2018

Six months ago I reported that American Airlines was in the market for used Airbus A319s.

There was a rumor at the time that American would pick up these narrowbody aircraft from Frontier Airlines but then time passed and nothing happened. Now it seems that American Airlines is receiving its first ex-Frontier A319, registration N922FR.

Be Careful Which Aircraft You’re Flying on American: 21 Planes to Avoid

by Gary Leff on September 9, 2018

Sep 09 2018

At the end of June American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told employees, “We’re not going through the whole fleet and adding a bunch of seats to airplanes or taking out larger bathrooms and putting in smaller ones.”

That wasn’t true. Not only is American Airlines taking delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with more seats squeezed into the same air frame than ever before, they’re going through their existing fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft and “adding a bunch of seats” (from 160 currently up to 172) and “taking out larger bathrooms and putting in smaller ones” (in order to fit more seats).

New Aircraft Lavatory Offers Urinals

by Gary Leff on May 24, 2018

May 24 2018

I’d be concerned about passengers figuring out how the setup works, since they’re used to lavatories pretty much all operating the same way. Given the behavior and intellect of some of your fellow passengers, airlines would probably need to hang a sign inside that says “don’t eat the big white mint.”

Airbus A330 Landed Without a Nose Gear, Sparks on Runway and Passengers Evacuated

by Gary Leff on May 21, 2018

May 21 2018

Saudia flight SV3818 from Medina, Saudi Arabia to Dhaka, Bangladesh reached 37,000 feet when the crew diverted to Jeddah. It made a go-around on its first approach because a landing gear hadn’t gone down.

Then the aircraft circled for an hour while it worked through emergency checklists. Ultimately they decided to land without the Airbus A330-200’s nose gear deployed.

American’s CFO Explains the Decision to Buy More 787s, Kill the A350, and Defer Delivery of 737 MAXs

by Gary Leff on April 7, 2018

Apr 07 2018

American Airlines has ordered 47 Boeing 787s. 22 Boeing 787-8s will replace their 24 Boeing 767s, and 25 Boeing 787-9s will replace their 15 Airbus A330-300s and older 777-200s.

American’s CFO recorded a podcast to talk about the reasons for the big Boeing order.

American Confirms Big 787 Order, Kills the A350 and Defers 737 MAXs

by Gary Leff on April 6, 2018

Apr 06 2018

American’s new Boeing 787 order was leaked and now it’s official.

And there’s more detail available about the airline’s fleet plans.

Leak: American Ordering 47 Boeing 787s, Possible Replacement for A330s, 767s

by Gary Leff on April 6, 2018

Apr 06 2018

A couple of weeks ago there was a strong rumor that instead of American Airlines swapping out their orders for Airbus A350s for A330neos, they would be ordering more Boeing 787s instead.

Leeham News reported that an order announcement was expected by American’s earnings call later this month. But this appeared briefly on the Boeing website:

Flights Cancelling Over Airbus A320neo Engine Problems

by Gary Leff on February 10, 2018

Feb 10 2018

The Airbus A320neo or ‘new engine option’ was first delivered to Lufthansa in 2016. Over 6000 of the family have been ordered. The plane comes with either a CFM or Pratt & Whitney engine..

And the Pratt & Whitney version has problems. European air safety officials have issued emergency restrictions grounding affected aircraft after “several occurrences of engine in-flight shutdown.”