December 30, 2010 – 9:00 am
This photo of a newly delivered Qantas A330-200 has been circulating on the web since before Christmas. No, it’s not economy class, where the self employed like the writer sit, it’s the new domestic business class cabin of a recently delivered Qantas jet, with middle seats and crummy legroom. Presumably it must also be seen [...]
December 27, 2010 – 9:04 pm
By our Moscow correspondent It’s one thing for airports to close because of really heavy snow (as in New York and nearby tonight), and one thing for airports to close in light snow because of greedy, foolish airport owners (as in the case of London Heathrow recently, to paraphrase the more forgiving accounts in the [...]
December 24, 2010 – 8:14 am
The wording of today’s announcement of the resumption of test flights by some Dreamliners suggests that a definitive statement on further delays to deliveries has itself been delayed. That is, the delay statement promised for late November and then delayed for a few weeks until late December is now delayed until sometime in January. EVERETT, [...]
December 22, 2010 – 10:05 am
Flightblogger, Jon Ostrower, has published an analysis of how Boeing has discounted the 787 Dreamliner into a hole which many others have seen as being primarily dug by serious design and manufacturing short comings. One of the conclusions is that unless exceptional cost slashing takes place immediately Boeing will not make a profit on the [...]
December 21, 2010 – 2:44 pm
Boeing Australia has contradicted expectations of a 787 delay update by Christmas with a statement today in response to a query from Plane Talking. Our query: Multiple sources. A delay of 6-8 months for first NH jet with strong risk of additional delays beyond that estimate, worsening for deliveries that were originally scheduled to follow [...]
December 21, 2010 – 6:15 am
It is too early in the day to know if Qantas has changed its stance on the Boeing 777-300ER but the crisis that is becoming more apparent by the hour in the 787 project has created a fresh opportunity. Boeing confirmed further production increases in the 777 line a short while ago. SEATTLE, Dec. 20, [...]
December 21, 2010 – 5:42 am
Joe Eakins, the whistleblower pilot fired by Jetstar last month for expressing his concerns about the carrier’s safety standards, has been reinstated by the Qantas low cost subsidiary. The development is part of a confidential settlement reached in advance of legal action in Fair Work Australia appealing his dismissal. It also comes in advance of [...]
December 20, 2010 – 6:12 pm
Let’s clarify the latest government posture on Sydney Airport. The Minister for Infrastructure, Anthony Albanese, today issued a short statement supporting regional airline access to Sydney Airport. But the government is legally obliged to support that access, whether it likes it or not, so that particular claim is like saying the government has decided to [...]
December 19, 2010 – 7:34 pm
Very little original news on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner comes to light in Australia, and it is very obvious from what Qantas has to say on the topic that it isn’t always finding out about developments from Boeing before it reads them in Flightblogger or in The Seattle Times. The latest edition of the latter [...]
December 18, 2010 – 11:33 am
Richard Branson’s space ambitions have come into sharper focus after he revealed his rocket ride venture, Virgin Galactic, is joining two other highly credentialed US organisations in submissions to NASA on private sector participation in orbital spaceflights. The language of his announcement is right from the play book of successful Virgin ventures too, in referring [...]
