Boeing to increase 737 production rate in 2017

By BA Staff

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Boeing announced that production on the 737 program will increase to 47 airplanes per month in 2017, the highest rate ever for the best-selling airliner in history.

Once implemented, the 737 program will build more than 560 airplanes per year, and will have increased output by nearly 50 percent since 2010.

Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager, 737 Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes said:

"We're taking this step to make sure our airplanes get into the hands of our customers when they need them. Our employees and our suppliers have successfully increased the production rate to unmatched levels over the last three years. This increase will lay a solid foundation as we bridge into production on the 737 MAX."

Boeing currently produces 38 airplanes per month from its Renton, Wash., factory and will increase the rate to 42 per month in the first half of 2014. First delivery of the 737 MAX is on track for third quarter of 2017.

The rate increase announced is not expected to have a significant impact on 2013 financial results.

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Video highlights of Airbus A350 AWB maiden flight vs. Boeing 787 first flight

In case you missed the first flight of Airbus' newest aircraft the A350 XWB on June 14th, below are the video highlights.



Compare with the first flight video highlights of the Boeing 787 3.5 years earlier, on December 15, 2009. Both flights picture perfect. The US airframer was gallant in congratulating its main competitor for its achievement.

We congratulate @Airbus on today’s first flight achievement.

— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) June 14, 2013

Have a great week ahead.

Videos courtesy Airbus S.A.S. and Boeing

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Boeing commences production of the first larger Dreamliner 787-9

Boeing has commenced final assembly of the first 787-9 Dreamliner, the newest variant of the new generation largely composite aircraft.

The 787-9 is the longer version of the existing 787-8 with its fuselage stretched by 20 feet increasing the aircraft length to 206 feet. The 787-9 will be able to carry 40 more passengers an additional 300 nautical miles (555 kilometers).

The first flight of the 787-9 is scheduled for the second half of 2013, and first delivery is expected in early 2014, to launch customer Air New Zealand. About 40% of all Dreamliner orders, 355 aircraft, are for the -9 variant from 20 airline customers. However, Air India is not one of them.

Boeing will build the first three 787-9s on its Temporary Surge Line in Everett to allow for smoother integration of the 787-9 into the production system while continuing to ramp up production across the 787 program.

In the photo above, courtesy Boeing, the vertical stabilizer on the first 787-9 reflects the new Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) livery, last modified for the 737 MAX.

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Lufthansa to commence Boeing 747-8i service to Bangalore from September 13

As Bangalore Aviation had predicted about three weeks ago, German carrier, and Boeing 747-8i launch customer, Deutsche Lufthansa will upgrade its daily Frankfurt Bangalore service, LH754/LH755, from September 13 ex-Frankfurt and September 14 ex-Bangalore, from the current Boeing 747-400, to the brand new Boeing 747-8i aircraft featuring the carrier's newest business class, and the upgraded economy class cabin products. (See photos and video.)

India was the first Asian destination for Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8i, when the carrier upgraded its Frankfurt New Delhi service from August 6. Lufthansa commenced its maiden Boeing 747-8i service the Frankfurt Washington Dulles route in June. The Bangalore route will be operated as the carrier receives its third aircraft from airframer Boeing. Chicago and Los Angeles are expected to be the carrier's fourth and fifth destinations as it receives more aircraft.

Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i seat map

India is the second largest international market for the carrier, after the US, and Bangalore is an important destination for Lufthansa. Bangalore is home to many German companies like auto parts major, Bosch, medical and systems major, Siemens, and IT major, SAP, to name a few.

After Bangalore's HAL airport was opened up for international operators, the airline was one of the earliest entrants in September 2001, and has maintained an uninterrupted presence since then. Lufthansa continues to be one of the most preferred international airlines at Bangalore. The Bangalore San Francisco route, with its high corporate demand for premium cabin seats, is an especially lucrative flight for the airline.

For the last few years, the carrier was loosing ground to rival, Emirates airline, which offered a superior cabin product. The airline has an modern cabin product on its Airbus A380, but could not operate the aircraft to Delhi, due to hinderance by the Indian civil aviation authorities, and to Bangalore, due to a lack of capability of the airport to receive the superjumbo Code F aircraft.

With the Boeing 747-8i, Lufthansa has introduced its newest cabin products and addressed this long standing complaint of many a traveller. The aircraft is configured with 8 First, 92 Business and 262 Economy Class seats. Full details on the features of each of the cabins can be read in this white paper.

Axel Hilgers, South Asia Director for Lufthansa says

“Bengaluru is an important destination in our global network and we expect an enthusiastic passenger response for the B747-8 and its great new on-board products. Serving India’s High Tech capital with this exceptional aircraft underlines our strong commitment to build on our success story there,” “The B747-8 features outstanding innovations in terms of technology, efficiency and in-flight comfort. In particular, introducing Lufthansa’s new Business Class to Bengaluru highlights our endeavour to provide customers there with the best Lufthansa products worldwide,”

Lufthansa has ordered a total of 20 Boeing 747-8i.

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Ethiopian Airlines beats Air India to become first non-Japanese Boeing 787 Dreamliner operator

National carrier Ethiopian Airlines beat out a dithering Air India to become the third overall, and first non-Japanese carrier to take delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

After taking delivery, Ethiopian flew its first Dreamliner ET-AOQ, to Washington D.C. Dulles airport, where the aircraft was displayed to VIP guests and media. It then made its inaugural trip to Africa and its first revenue flight from Dulles International Airport to Bole Addis Ababa International Airport.

Ethiopian Airways has nine more 787 Dreamliners remaining on order. The airline was the first African airline to operate the 777-200LR, the first to order the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the first to order the 777 Freighter. Ethiopian Airlines currently operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737, 757, 767 and 777, and now 787 airplanes in passenger service and a 757, MD11 and 747 in cargo operations.

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Ethiopian Airlines orders additional Boeing 777-200LR

Boeing announced that Ethiopian Airlines has ordered an additional Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, in addition to the airline's fleet of five 777-200LRs.

Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines said

"The 777-200LR has been a fantastic airplane for Ethiopian Airlines," "The performance and range of the airplane allowed us to open direct routes from Washington D.C to Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa to Beijing, Toronto to Addis Ababa, as well as other long range routes . In line with our Vision 2025, we plan to provide more and more non-stop long haul flights to connect east, west, north and south, using the strategic location of our Addis Ababa hub. We need at least two airplanes on each route to operate daily service efficiently to long range routes. This additional airplane will let us take full advantage of the performance and economics of this great airplane."

No details on the delivery schedule of the aircraft were provided at this time. The carrier also has an outstanding order for six Boeing 777F freighters.

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Emirates Launches Dubai-Washington DC

Earlier this week, Middle Eastern giant Emirates announced that it had plans to add service to 3 or 4 destinations in the US from its Dubai hub over the "next few years."

As an interesting start to this latest round of US expansion, the carrier has announced new service to Washington-Dulles International Airport effective September 12th. The route will be served with 354 seat Boeing 777-300ERs, with 10-abreast economy class (304 seats), 42 business class seats, and 8 first class suites.

The flight schedules for the new route are as follow:

EK231 DXB 02:20 IAD 08:50
EK232 IAD 10:55 DXB 08:00+1

Washington D.C. becomes Emirates' 7th destination in the United States and third to launch in 2012 after announcing Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle in late 2011.

Some industry observers were surprised at the choice of Washington, considering that such central US cities as Chicago and Miami have yet to receive Emirates service. But at the same time, Washington D.C. is one of the fastest growing business regions in the nation, thanks to its proximity to the federal government. The region (including parts of Virginia and Maryland) is home to more than 120,000 Indian-Americans (more than 150,000 South Asians in all), third largest in the US behind New York City/New Jersey and Chicago.

Thus there is a very strong case for service to Washington D.C., as evidenced by the strong success of Qatar Airways on their Doha-Dulles flights.

Moreover, with Etihad having announced their service to Washington D.C. almost a year in advance, Emirates has now managed to upstage their "quasi-rivals" from Abu Dhabi, gaining valuable customer recognition before having to deal with Etihad.Expect to see Emirates announce at least 1, maybe 2 more US destinations before the end of this year; most likely to Chicago, Miami, or maybe even Atlanta or Boston.

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Lufthansa to use biosynthetic fuel on long-haul transatlantic flight

German carrier Deutsche Lufthansa announced that it will operate the first scheduled transatlantic flight using biosynthetic fuel from 12 January 2012 under its PureSky program.

Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 D-ABVX at Mumbai CSI airport.

A modified Boeing 747-400, carrying about 40 tonnes of a biosynthetic fuel mix, will fly from Frankfurt to Washington. With this flight alone, Lufthansa expects to reduce CO2 emissions by 38 metric tonnes, equivalent to the CO2 emissions of six scheduled flights between Frankfurt and Berlin.

The flight comes after Lufthansa announced positive results of a six-month practical trial involving biosynthetic fuel in which 1,187 biofuel flights were operated between Hamburg and Frankfurt which appear to have reduced CO2 emissions by 1,471 metric tonnes.

Lufthansa A321 D-AIDG fitted with a biofuel engine

From 15 July to 27 December 2011 a Lufthansa Airbus A321 was used to operate scheduled flights on the Hamburg-Frankfurt route. One of the aircraft’s engines was powered by a 50-50 blend of regular fuel and biosynthetic kerosene. Apart from gaining experience on the use of biofuels, the test allowed the carrier to collect long-term data and examine the effects of the biofuel on the engines and the environment.

Biosynthetic kerosene is just as reliable as conventional Jet A-1 fuel which in addition to reducing CO2 emissions by 50% also allows a 1% reduction in fuel consumption with its higher energy density. Furthermore, biosynthetic fuels are free of sulphur and aromatic compounds.

Lufthansa's biofuels project manager Joachim Buse stressed

“As a next step, we will focus on the suitability, availability, sustainability and certification of raw materials. But first we must tap into this market. However, Lufthansa will only continue the practical trial if we are able to secure the volume of sustainable, certified raw materials required in order to maintain routine operations,”

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