Airbus and Boeing products running behind schedule

[Samsonite 181]

Because gross orders isn't the real figure...

Well, no. The gross figures are the real as they represent the number of actual orders for the year, before cancellations of orders placed in prior years are figured in.

[TheFiend 1,181]

Well, no. The gross figures are the real as they represent the number of actual orders for the year, before cancellations of orders placed in prior years are figured in.

 

Net figures give the true picture of how a business is really doing, not gross figures.

 

If you look at the 7LATE7, looking at the orders for the year there was 37...... now that doesn't look bad....... but when you figure in the cancellations the truth is Boeing are losing orders for it because of the continuing delays...

[TheFiend 1,181]

Not very well. It is only a rumor that there was anyone there from GE.

 

"Quoting Aesma (Reply 5):

I guess one week of maintenance can't undo the damage done during months/years of poor oversight.

****************

I read today that they're now trying to blame Boeing for it. LOL. Hundreds of 777's with GE engines are operating in the world and all 3 of theirs have a problem. Gee, I wonder where the real problem is.

********

Quoting MHTripple7 (Reply 7):

Right, but an engine failure still shouldn't happen literally a day after the aircraft gets out of heavy maintenance in Portugal. Shouldn't they have seen the problems in Portugal before letting the aircraft fly again?

*************

Quoting MHTripple7 (Reply 14):

Again, I don't have an official source but from what I've heard a team from GE was in LIS doing some work on the engines of both D2-TEF and D2-TEE.

********

I'm not sure where you got that from. The 777 from the accident at LIS is still parked at LIS, without an engine, and it's not going anywhere any time soon. There is no GE90 maintenance at LIS. TAP maintenance is not certified on the GE90."

 

 

The only person trying to defend TAAG is an Angolan citizen and here is a respond to some of his statements:

 

"UAL747DEN From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 1931 posts, RR: 16

Reply 37, posted Mon Dec 27 2010 20:10:33 your local time (3 days 23 hours 25 minutes ago) and read 3208 times:

 

Quoting Speedbird741 (Reply 30):

 

Quite frankly, 2 (serious) engine failures within one month in a fleet of 3 state of the art, well maintained and appropriately operated aircraft is reason enough for me to believe something out of TAAG's control is happening.

 

Response:

I would think that this would lead you to believe that the only reasonable explanation is that TAAG is doing something wrong and that the problem is completely within their control. With over 900 Boeing 777's flying everyday without major problems how can an airline who only has 3 of them experience these problems without being the cause of the problem?

When you look at the fact that TAAG's maintenance and operational standards have been seriously lacking behind worldwide standards I think it should be more than obvious that the problem with these aircraft is TAAG not Boeing or GE.

 

Quoting Speedbird741 (Reply 30):

This is ridiculous. TAAG is a good airline with appropriately trained flight crews that follow the operational procedures recomended by Boeing and set by leading international carriers.

 

Response:

The only ridiculous thing here is your statement, TAAG is nowhere near the leading international carriers when it comes to operational procedures, maintenance, or anything else that goes into running an airline. TAAG was just recently taken off of the EU blacklist and must prove itself worthy to stay off of that blacklist constantly. With the upcoming audit from EU authorities I have a strong feeling that they will find themselves banned again from Europe.

 

When you compare the practices and procedures of TAAG to an airline like United I find it extremely offensive. We work very hard to have a safe efficient operation and we are so far beyond TAAG on all levels that its upsetting to hear someone say that their crews are trained to the same level as ours. (see below!)

 

Quoting Speedbird741 (Reply 30):

Furthermore, even if crews were using more thrust than is required for takeoff and climb (which they are not), GE have committed some quite serious mistakes as they have built an engine that either explodes or fails after no more than two years of operation within the limits of maximum continuous thrust.

 

Response:

Again another ridiculous statement! The problem here is not GE the problem is TAAG. GE has thousands of engines flying around on 777's all over the world without problems, TAAG has a total of 3 aircraft and cannot even keep those airworthy. There is a reason TAAG is blacklisted and it has nothing to do with GE or Boeing.

 

Quoting cahmc85 (Reply 23):

It might have nothing to do with this but let's not forget that these aircraft were grounded in Seattle waiting delivery because the pilots were having difficulties in learning to fly the aircraft.

 

Response:

Hmmmm I guess thats Boeing's fault for not being up to the high international standards of TAAG, right speedbird?!?!?"

 

 

Interesting read - a report on one of the TAAG engine failures.....

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS

From all groups’ activities and research the following provisional conclusions were extracted:

 

1st Aircraft Airworthy Certificate was valid and the approved maintenance program

has been complied with;

 

2nd Flight Crew Licenses & Medical Certificates were valid and both pilots were entitled

to operate the aircraft and the route, without restrictions or limitations;

 

So, despite TAAG having a poor history with aircraft maintenance, they are now complying with the approved maintenance programme.

 

GE technical services and customer support are developing a follow-up program on

(apparent) similar cases occurred with another operator fleet, which suffered damages on

six unities, supposedly due to abnormal operation of fuel injectors.

 

So GE have admitted similar failures have occurred with another operator.

[Samsonite 181]

Net figures give the true picture of how a business is really doing, not gross figures.....

Hasn't most of the world, at least the Western world, been in a recession for the last couple of years?

 

"DATE:07/01/11

SOURCE:Air Transport Intelligence news

Boeing posts sales rebound after two-year decline

By Stephen Trimble

 

Boeing has posted a dramatic sales rebound for commercial aircraft in 2010 as the airline market recovered from the two-year, global recession.

 

Net sales rose from 142 in 2009 to 530 aircraft a year later, with overall orders dominated by the 737 next generation family.

 

But Boeing's overall sales still remain far below the historic, four-year run of 1,000-plus aircraft orders posted from 2004 through 2007. After the recession struck credit markets near the end of 2007, Boeing's aircraft sales dropped to a then-low 662 orders in 2008.

 

The latest figures show Boeing's sales campaign still has not rebounded to the heady days before 2008. Nor has the company's orders achieved a healthier balance between narrow- and widebody aircraft sales.

 

Of the 530 net orders in 2010, only 49 sales came from widebody programmes, with 46 orders for 777s and 3 for 767s. The 787 and 747 programmes posted net declines for new orders in 2010 due to cancellations. Meanwhile, the 737 family accounted for 486 aircraft sales last year.

 

Boeing's gross orders, not counting cancellations, totalled 625 aircraft last year. The company's overall backlog grew by 68 aircraft to 3,443, or roughly eight years of lead-time at current production rates. Boeing delivered a total of 462 aircraft last year."

 

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/...ar-decline.html

Edited January 10, 2011 by Samsonite

[BigDUSA 71]

Boeing hits 767 milestone and preps for second Everett 787 line

 

Boeing marked the imminent completion of the 1,000th 767 wide-body jet at a ceremony Monday, as the fate of the airplane program hangs in the balance.

 

By Dominic Gates

 

Seattle Times aerospace reporter

 

PREV 1 of 2 NEXT

 

 

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

 

This is the 1,000th Boeing 767, and it will be the last one assembled in this bay at Everett. The next will come off a new assembly line at the building's rear. This bay will be converted for use in a new 787 Dreamliner "surge" line.

 

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Boeing engineer Duncan T. Moore, who worked on the first 767 in 1981, today works on the 787 Dreamliner.

Related

 

Daley resigns from Boeing, Abbott boards

Boeing 767

 

Launch and development: Launched in 1978. First flew in September 1981.

 

Size and market: A twin-engine jet with variants carrying 180 to 375 passengers, as well as freighter models. Now the most common jet flying transatlantic routes.

 

Competition: In the late 1990s, the new Airbus A330 began to supplant the 767 in the midsize airliner market. In 2003, Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner as a 767 replacement.

 

Future: Boeing is now assembling the 1,000th 767 and has taken orders for a total 1,044 of the jets. Its life span will be extended only if Boeing wins the U.S. Air Force tanker contract, a decision expected next month.

 

 

At a ceremony Monday inside Boeing's jet plant in Everett, about 100 employees marked the imminent completion of the 1,000th 767 wide-body jet.

 

The landmark arrives as the fate of the airplane program hangs in the balance, dependent on the outcome of the U.S. Air Force tanker competition.

 

As soon as this 767 is rolled out, engineers will begin converting the bay to accommodate a new 787 assembly line. This "surge" line is supposed to be temporary, aiding the production ramp-up until the assembly line being built in Charleston, S.C., is fully operational.

 

However, many Boeing observers, including Machinists union district President Tom Wroblewski, hope the second line in Everett will become permanent.

 

Thirty years after the first 767 rolled out, the 1,000th jet will go to All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, which ordered nine 767s to cover its needs as the airline waits for its delayed 787 Dreamliners to arrive.

 

Boeing has 50 orders for the 767 still to deliver, and several hundred people in Everett currently work to assemble the plane.

 

After those jets roll out, the program will close in less than two years unless the Air Force picks the 767 as its air-to-air refueling tanker.

 

The decision on that $40 billion contract is likely next month, and some defense-industry analysts predict the competing Airbus A330 tanker will win.

 

Kim Pastega, vice president and general manager of the 767 program, said at Monday's ceremony that Boeing will offer the Air Force its final price on the tanker work contract "over the next month or so."

 

Darrel Larson, director of 767 manufacturing, added that his team had "earned our right to build 1,000 units, and we're working to earn our right to build a couple more generations of this aircraft."

 

Pastega focused her remarks upon the day's remarkable milestone of commercial success and on Boeing's intricate preparations to keep the jet's production going.

 

"Very few (wide-body) airplanes ever get to 1,000" deliveries, Pastega said.

 

No Airbus wide-body jet has, nor did any McDonnell Douglas wide-body before that company merged with Boeing.

 

Boeing's 747 jumbo jet, which launched a dozen years before the 767, is still being built after more than 1,400 deliveries. The other large wide-body program, the 777, has delivered more than 900 just 16 years after that jet first flew.

 

Even as it awaits word on whether the 767 has a future, Boeing has invested in major changes to the plane's production.

 

Pastega said the production rate increased from one per month to one-and-a-half per month in the last months of 2010 and is in the process of increasing to two per month.

 

At the same time, Pastega's team has finalized a complex move of production to a new area at the rear of the assembly plant to make room for an extra 787 Dreamliner line.

 

A new door has been constructed at the back of the giant building through which the 1001st 767 will exit from the new assembly area onto the Paine Field flight line.

 

Even before the 767 work moves out of the current assembly bay, the area is already being used for rework on a couple 787 Dreamliners.

 

In front of the ANA 767 Monday, an Air India 787 was missing its horizontal tail, which had been removed for rework necessitated by poor workmanship in the initial build in Italy.

 

As Boeing scrambles to make up for all the Dreamliner delays and deliver the 850 planes on order, it could use three production lines if it can get them operational. And once the second Everett line is running well, it would make little sense to close it down.

 

But first, Boeing has to get its initial 787 line running well.

 

Among those on hand for the ceremony Monday was Boeing manufacturing engineer Duncan T. Moore, who worked on the first 767 in 1981 and today works on the 787 Dreamliner.

 

Moore recalled a couple of late glitches on that first 767.

 

When a fuselage panel failed after a frozen fowl was test-fired at the jet to assess vulnerability to a live bird strike, engineers ordered a retrofit to stiffen the panel in the crown of the fuselage of the jets already built.

 

Moore helped manage the cascade of out-of-sequence work from that last-minute change and from another decision to standardize the flight crew at two rather than three people.

 

It worked out fine in the end. The 767 became a favored trans-Atlantic wide-body.

 

But now those workers building the 787 are overwhelmed with out-of-sequence work.

 

Does Moore think Boeing is on top of it this time around on the Dreamliner?

 

"There's work to be done," said Moore. "But it'll be a good airplane, too."

 

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com

QUOTE

[wacmedia 277]

But now those workers building the 787 are overwhelmed with out-of-sequence work.

 

Does Moore think Boeing is on top of it this time around on the Dreamliner?

 

"There's work to be done," said Moore.

 

Hi,

 

Seems like British style understatement.

[nidnoyham 30]

I've always wondered. What happened to the Boeing 717 ?

 

I liked the 757. Bit like a DC 8. They used to cause huge vortexes when landing. If you were not used to it, the noise made you jump.

 

My mate a R.R engineer, told me the problems they had using them on the Scotland shuttles.

 

It was not what they were designed for and the pilots had to adjust their flying, especially on landing, to allow for the lack of weight on board. Fuel, baggage and freight were minimal, so they had loads of spare power to control. He was saying how difficult it is to get pilots to change their ways.

Edited January 11, 2011 by nidnoyham

[Samsonite 181]

I've always wondered. What happened to the Boeing 717 ? ....

If you mean the McDonnell/Douglas MD-95, here you go:

 

"The Boeing 717.

 

 

On On May 23, 2006, Boeing delivered its final two 717 airplanes to Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways in a ceremony before thousands of employees, retirees and dignitaries in Long Beach, Calif. The deliveries conclude commercial airplane production in Southern California that began in the 1920s with the Douglas Aircraft Co.

 

The 717 program, which produced 156 airplanes, pioneered breakthrough business and manufacturing processes for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

 

The program was launched by an order from AirTran Airways in 1995, and the airplane quickly became renowned by customers for its excellent economics, performance and reliability. Based on the Douglas DC-9 and launched as the McDonnell Douglas MD-95, the 100-seater was renamed the Boeing 717 after McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997.

 

The 717 will continue to deliver unsurpassed economy and value to our airline customers for years to come. Boeing will continue to provide the outstanding customer service support for the 717s operating at carriers worldwide.

 

Douglas opened the Long Beach factory in 1941 as part of President Roosevelt's Arsenal of Democracy -- a request to the nation's industries to halt civilian production and assist in making wartime equipment. The facility produced almost 10,000 airplanes for World War II before transitioning to commercial airplane production after the war. Douglas merged with the McDonnell Aircraft Company in 1967, forming the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

 

More than 15,000 airplanes have been produced in the Long Beach factory."

 

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/717/index.html

Edited January 11, 2011 by Samsonite

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Ah well, the BigD Kiss of Death kicks in again. What was it about narrow-body orders again?

 

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Airbus SAS said Tuesday it has secured the biggest order in commercial-aviation history, after it signed a preliminary agreement to sell $15 billion worth of A320 jetliners at catalogue prices to Indian budget carrier IndiGo.

 

Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautics Defence & Space Co, said the order for 180 planes includes 150 of the latest-generation A320, to be delivered from 2016, as well as 30 A320s.

 

Airbus it expects to finalize the contract within two months.

 

The company said the order is largest ever in terms of the number of planes, while several reports said it could also be one of the biggest by value. A Wall Street Journal report cited Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy as saying the company looked at commercial-jetliner contracts going back decades to confirm the record.

[BigDUSA 71]

The Boeing Co. quietly brought its newest plane, the 787 Dreamliner, into Denver International Airport today on a series of landings and takeoffs as part of the test program for one of the world's most advanced aircraft.

 

The company is in the midst of a rigorous testing program with its first six 787s.

 

The plane made three landings and three takeoffs on DIA's runway 16Right/34Left to test the interaction between the aircraft and runway instrumentation, according to airport officials. The runway, at 16,000 feet, is DIA's longest and one of the longest runways among major airports throughout the world.

 

In November, Boeing halted its 787 flight-test program when one of the planes, on a flight near Laredo, Texas, suffered a fire in a power distribution panel. The fire "self-extinguished" and the plane landed safely, according to the company.

 

Boeing resumed flight testing of the 787 on Dec. 23.

 

The plane, which will seat between 200 and 300 passengers depending on cabin configuration, is fabricated using 50 percent composite materials and only 20 percent aluminum, according to the company. The structure is 15 percent titanium and 10 percent steel.

 

In comparison, the Boeing 777 — the company's newest plane before the 787 — is 50 percent aluminum and relies on composites for about 12 percent of its makeup.

 

Boeing claims the 787 will be 20 percent more fuel efficient than similarly sized planes and produce 20 percent fewer emissions.

 

Major assembly of the 787 began in June 2006.

 

DIA has been courting Japan's All Nippon Airways, or ANA, to operate nonstop service between Denver and Tokyo using the 787, once the carrier takes delivery of the long-haul jet and certifies its use for trans-oceanic flights.

 

"ANA is still saying Denver is one of the top markets," said DIA communications and marketing chief Sally Covington, about the Japanese airline's assessment of which U.S. cities it might serve with the 787.

 

Officials from DIA, the state of Colorado, the city and county of Denver, and the metro Denver business community have made a number of trips to meet with ANA executives in Japan in an effort to win the Tokyo nonstop service.

 

"It's about having face time and building relationships," Covington said.

 

"Tokyo brings us all of Asia," she added, referring to the ability of passengers arriving at Narita International Airport from Denver to connect with major destinations in China, South Korea and elsewhere in the region.

 

Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com

QUOTE

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

This is the order Cheshire Tom mentioned earlier. Good to get orders from developing markets.

 

http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-even...n-history/3103/

 

IndiGo commits to 180 A320s, largest jet order in aviation history

Becomes a launch customer for the A320neo

 

11 January 2011 Press Release

 

India's largest low-cost carrier, IndiGo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be A320neo’s and 30 will be A320s. It is the largest single firm order number for large jets in commercial aviation history, and also makes IndiGo a launch customer for the A320neo. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.

 

The A320neo, available from 2016, incorporates new more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets delivering significant fuel savings of up to 15 percent, which represents up to 3,600 tonnes of CO2 annually per aircraft. In addition, the A320neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.

 

“This order for industry leading fuel efficient aircraft will allow IndiGo to continue to offer low fares,” said Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, co-founders of IndiGo. “Ordering more A320s was the natural choice to meet India’s growing flying needs. The opportunity to reduce costs and to further improve our environmental performance through the A320neo were key to our decision.”

 

“The A320 Family is the recognised market leader. The A320neo, offering maximum benefit for minimum change, will ensure that this continues to be the case for many years to come,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers. “This order positions IndiGo to take full advantage of the predicted growth in Indian air travel and we are delighted that they continue to build their future with Airbus.”

 

The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Some 6,800 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and some 4,500 delivered to more than 310 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. With 99.7% reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. The A320neo will have over 95% airframe commonality with the A320 Family whilst offering up to 500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload.

[TheFiend 1,181]

Boeing hits 767 milestone and preps for second Everett 787 line

 

Boeing marked the imminent completion of the 1,000th 767 wide-body jet at a ceremony Monday, as the fate of the airplane program hangs in the balance.

 

By Dominic Gates

 

Seattle Times aerospace reporter

 

PREV 1 of 2 NEXT

 

 

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

 

This is the 1,000th Boeing 767, and it will be the last one assembled in this bay at Everett. The next will come off a new assembly line at the building's rear. This bay will be converted for use in a new 787 Dreamliner "surge" line.

 

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Boeing engineer Duncan T. Moore, who worked on the first 767 in 1981, today works on the 787 Dreamliner.

Related

 

Daley resigns from Boeing, Abbott boards

Boeing 767

 

Launch and development: Launched in 1978. First flew in September 1981.

 

Size and market: A twin-engine jet with variants carrying 180 to 375 passengers, as well as freighter models. Now the most common jet flying transatlantic routes.

 

Competition: In the late 1990s, the new Airbus A330 began to supplant the 767 in the midsize airliner market. In 2003, Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner as a 767 replacement.

 

Future: Boeing is now assembling the 1,000th 767 and has taken orders for a total 1,044 of the jets. Its life span will be extended only if Boeing wins the U.S. Air Force tanker contract, a decision expected next month.

 

 

At a ceremony Monday inside Boeing's jet plant in Everett, about 100 employees marked the imminent completion of the 1,000th 767 wide-body jet.

 

The landmark arrives as the fate of the airplane program hangs in the balance, dependent on the outcome of the U.S. Air Force tanker competition.

 

As soon as this 767 is rolled out, engineers will begin converting the bay to accommodate a new 787 assembly line. This "surge" line is supposed to be temporary, aiding the production ramp-up until the assembly line being built in Charleston, S.C., is fully operational.

 

However, many Boeing observers, including Machinists union district President Tom Wroblewski, hope the second line in Everett will become permanent.

 

Thirty years after the first 767 rolled out, the 1,000th jet will go to All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, which ordered nine 767s to cover its needs as the airline waits for its delayed 787 Dreamliners to arrive.

 

Boeing has 50 orders for the 767 still to deliver, and several hundred people in Everett currently work to assemble the plane.

 

After those jets roll out, the program will close in less than two years unless the Air Force picks the 767 as its air-to-air refueling tanker.

 

The decision on that $40 billion contract is likely next month, and some defense-industry analysts predict the competing Airbus A330 tanker will win.

 

Kim Pastega, vice president and general manager of the 767 program, said at Monday's ceremony that Boeing will offer the Air Force its final price on the tanker work contract "over the next month or so."

 

Darrel Larson, director of 767 manufacturing, added that his team had "earned our right to build 1,000 units, and we're working to earn our right to build a couple more generations of this aircraft."

 

Pastega focused her remarks upon the day's remarkable milestone of commercial success and on Boeing's intricate preparations to keep the jet's production going.

 

"Very few (wide-body) airplanes ever get to 1,000" deliveries, Pastega said.

 

No Airbus wide-body jet has, nor did any McDonnell Douglas wide-body before that company merged with Boeing.

 

 

Considering the A330 Programme wasn't launched until 1987 and 1st delivery made in 1993, the A330 will easily beat the 767 for deliveries.

[TheFiend 1,181]

The Boeing Co. quietly brought its newest plane, the 787 Dreamliner, into Denver International Airport today on a series of landings and takeoffs as part of the test program for one of the world's most advanced aircraft.

 

The company is in the midst of a rigorous testing program with its first six 787s.

 

The plane made three landings and three takeoffs on DIA's runway 16Right/34Left to test the interaction between the aircraft and runway instrumentation, according to airport officials. The runway, at 16,000 feet, is DIA's longest and one of the longest runways among major airports throughout the world.

 

Wow.... amazing....... A 7LATE7 performs take off and landings....... Is that something that no other airplane manages???

 

Next you'll be telling us somebody successfully used a toilet in a 7LATE7

[Samsonite 181]

This is the order Cheshire Tom mentioned earlier. Good to get orders from developing markets.

 

.......indigo-commits-to-180-a320s.....

 

A Memorandum of Understanding is not an order. Until the contracts are signed and the deposits paid there is no order.

[TheFiend 1,181]

A Memorandum of Understanding is not an order. Until the contracts are signed and the deposits paid there is no order.

 

Good old Scallywally..... being pedantic as ever!!!!

[jacko 8,813]

A Memorandum of Understanding is not an order. Until the contracts are signed and the deposits paid there is no order.

Good point, I do hope someone remembers to post it again when it does become the worlds biggest ever aircraft order! Edited January 13, 2011 by jacko

[nidnoyham 30]

If you mean the McDonnell/Douglas MD-95, here you go:

 

"The Boeing 717.

 

 

On On May 23, 2006, Boeing delivered its final two 717 airplanes to Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways in a ceremony before thousands of employees, retirees and dignitaries in Long Beach, Calif. The deliveries conclude commercial airplane production in Southern California that began in the 1920s with the Douglas Aircraft Co.

 

The 717 program, which produced 156 airplanes, pioneered breakthrough business and manufacturing processes for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

 

The program was launched by an order from AirTran Airways in 1995, and the airplane quickly became renowned by customers for its excellent economics, performance and reliability. Based on the Douglas DC-9 and launched as the McDonnell Douglas MD-95, the 100-seater was renamed the Boeing 717 after McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997.

 

The 717 will continue to deliver unsurpassed economy and value to our airline customers for years to come. Boeing will continue to provide the outstanding customer service support for the 717s operating at carriers worldwide.

 

Douglas opened the Long Beach factory in 1941 as part of President Roosevelt's Arsenal of Democracy -- a request to the nation's industries to halt civilian production and assist in making wartime equipment. The facility produced almost 10,000 airplanes for World War II before transitioning to commercial airplane production after the war. Douglas merged with the McDonnell Aircraft Company in 1967, forming the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

 

More than 15,000 airplanes have been produced in the Long Beach factory."

 

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/717/index.html

 

Thanks for that, but I am sure I flew in a 727 in the 60's ? LH from LHR to DUS ?

That is some gap from the old 707's I remember in the late 50's.

[BigDUSA 71]

Good point, I do hope someone remeembers to post it again when it does become the worlds biggest ever aircraft order!

 

It will be interesting if they can arrange financing. I read where the other Indian Airlines are running into money troubles.

[jacko 8,813]

It will be interesting if they can arrange financing. I read where the other Indian Airlines are running into money troubles.

The European Union will lend it to them.

[TheFiend 1,181]

It will be interesting if they can arrange financing. I read where the other Indian Airlines are running into money troubles.

 

Really???

 

2010 ENDS ON A HAPPY NOTE FOR INDIAN AIRLINES

 

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Indian airline companies are on the way up again and the future is beginning to look very rosy thanks to continual growth. According to experts, 2011 should be an even better year than 2010.

 

All Indian airlines carried 50 million passengers in 2010, leading to an 18% increase on the previous year. These results are particularly impressive as the situation beforehand was quite bleak. In the previous years, numbers of passengers and revenue were sinking at equally alarming rates. Indian airlines were no exception to the general global rule that airlines were going through a hard time. The reported 8.75% growth for the current fiscal period has certainly brought a smile back to many faces.

 

The Gulf area is particularly important for Indian airline companies, especially Saudi Arabia. Whereas the national airline company used to have a monopoly in flying to destinations around the Middle East, other competitors such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have entered the fray. Due to the amount of revenue available for flying between India and the Middle East, the competition is expected to get a lot stiffer. India, after all, is just three or four hours away from major Middle Eastern destinations such as Dubai.

 

The fact that India has experienced massive economical growth over the past few years resulted in a huge boost to the airline industry. As businesses have grown and international contacts have increased, Indians have found the necessity to fly ever more pressing. Business centers such as Bangalore and Mumbai are churning out more air travelers than ever before, which is music to the ears of the airline companies of course.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

A Memorandum of Understanding is not an order. Until the contracts are signed and the deposits paid there is no order.

 

Very true. Just as there is no sale until ...

 

Mango will explain ....

Edited January 13, 2011 by CheshireTom

[CheshireTom 1,377]

It will be interesting if they can arrange financing.

 

A bit like you're Pattaya trips, eh?

[BigDUSA 71]

A bit like you're Pattaya trips, eh?

 

Your a silly little man.

[Samsonite 181]

Thanks for that, but I am sure I flew in a 727 in the 60's ? LH from LHR to DUS ?

That is some gap from the old 707's I remember in the late 50's.

The 727 was the first tri-jet airliner and wasn't retired by many airlines until the early 2000s. It is still in use with some

of the smaller airlines and as freighter.

Over the years I've heard the number 717 was used internally by Boeing to designated the KC-135 (tanker).

I just found this on Wikipedia,

 

"After McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in August 1997,[10] most industry observers expected that Boeing would cancel development of the MD-95. However, Boeing would go forward with the design under a new name, Boeing 717. Some believed Boeing had skipped the 717 model designation when the 720, and then the 727 followed the 707. The 717 name had actually been used within the company to refer to the KC-135 Stratotanker. 717 had also been used to promote an early design of the 720 to airlines before it was modified to meet market demands. A Boeing historian notes that the air force plane had the designation "717-100" and the commercial airliner had the designation "717-200".[11] The lack of a widespread use of the 717 name left it available to rebrand the MD-95."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_717

Edited January 13, 2011 by Samsonite

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Your a silly little man.

 

Perceptive though ....