How Important is Aircraft Type?
Do people really care what type of plane they’re flying on? A report from Boeing says that they do, but I’m not entirely convinced on this one.

Air Canada’s Olympic Ads Work, United’s Don’t
United and Air Canada have both put out ads as official Olympic sponsors. While Air Canada’s work for me, United’s do not.

Northwest’s Smart WorldPerks Marketing
There are plenty of reasons not to like airline marketing, but I received an email from Northwest after my latest booking that was very smart on their part.

United and American Make Opposite Fleet Moves
United is likely to cancel its narrowbody commitments while American is ramping up. Why are the two airlines taking such different tacts?

American and British Airways Apply for Antitrust Immunity
Now that open skies between the US and Europe has opened up Heathrow, American and British Airways and looking to catch up to the other alliances.

Recent media reports might make it seem like the sky is falling; as if every airplane you encounter may be unsafe. Just over the last few days, we’ve seen a rash of very public maintenance issues:

• Southwest rechecks 737s after maintenance record problems found
• United checks 747s for improperly calibrated altimeters
• American reinspects MD 80 aircraft wiring
• Delta follows American and reinspects MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft
• FAA orders 737s to be inspected for fuel leaks

It’s a pretty long and scary list, huh? Well, let me just say this.

You still shouldn’t worry about flying on any of these airlines. Many of these things have to do with record keeping issues. It’s usually just double checking something that’s already been addressed, and I haven’t heard of any major problems discovered in any of these inspections so far.

Now that the FAA has been scared into action after they messed up the whole Southwest debacle, they need to look like they’re doing good things. (And to be honest, they are, I think.) The carriers are going to comply as quickly as possible with this stepped up oversight. This can only be good, because it’ll clear out the cobwebs. I’m not expecting to see any major safety issues come out of this.

So, now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss this from the perspective of someone flying this week. You guys might want to panic. Ok, ok. Panic is a little strong, but all of these checks are causing a ton of canceled flights. If you’re booked on an MD-80/90 type aircraft (also known as Super 80 in American’s marketing speak), you might want to rethink your travel plans while the airlines scramble to get these checks done.

A friend of mine passed along a Boeing presentation called “Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flight Deck Safety, Comfort, Efficiency” (also posted here in PDF format). Most of the information in there isn’t going to get the average traveler excited, but this picture was just too cool to pass up:

As you can imagine, this plane will be packed with all kinds of technology to help improve flight safety including dual heads-up displays (where they project the vital instruments in the window so neither pilot has to look down) and an airport moving map so the pilots can figure out where they on on the airfield. This is especially important when visibility is poor, and it could have helped prevent accidents like the Comair one in Kentucky last year. That aircraft took off on the wrong runway which unfortunately happened to be too short.

There’s a lot more than just that, of course, but you get the idea. They’ve also gone and cleaned up the cockpit layout as compared to the 777. What do I mean by that? Well . . .

As you can see, instead of 22 separate instruments/radios on the main control panel, there are now only 12. The ones that remain have bigger screens to make life easier for the pilots. The plane rolls out in less than three months, and the anticipation is building.

It’s incredible to me that the plane has already surpassed 500 orders from 43 companies and it hasn’t even rolled out yet. Boeing has a habit of beating expectations in terms of performance, and I really hope for their sake that’s the case this time. So far, they say all is good.  This is easily one of the most anticipated aircraft of all time.

Any time China announces they’re interested in getting into a market, people perk up and listen. I guess having over 1 billion people will do that for you.

So when China said they wanted to get into the commercial aircraft manufacturing business, I would assume Boeing and Airbus started drawing up battle plans. It may sound crazy now, but think back to the 1970s for a little perspective. At the time, Airbus was just getting started with their first plane, the A300. Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and Lockheed all scoffed at their attempt. Fast forward and you know the rest of the story. Lockheed pulled out of the commercial market and McDonnell Douglas was swallowed by Boeing. Now the company that was laughed at in the 1970s has proven to be Boeing’s only true competitor.

There’s no reason that same thing can’t happen with China. The country has a very large sphere of influence and could likely sell aircraft through Asia, Africa, and South America with just a little political pressure. If they create a truly impressive plane, low prices and financing deals could make this take off very quickly. The idea of flying on a Chinese-made plane may sound funny now, but let’s see how it sounds in 20 years.

I think it’s been a long time since people have been as excited about seeing an aircraft roll out as they are about seeing the 787. Part of it may be that the construction process if very different from any other commercial aircraft.  Read this to see what I’m talking about.  I think a lot of people just can’t believe it’s going to happen.  Meanwhile, this latest image from the Boeing Company looks pretty good.  Enough images though, I’m ready for the real thing!

Now word is out that it’s still running on schedule.  Apparently production will begin in the next three months and rollout may very well be on July 8.  (That’s 7-8-07, get it?)  The end of August is targeted for the first test flight.  Will it happen?  Airbus’ top salesman doesn’t believe it.  It’s getting relatively close, so I would think Boeing would have a good idea right now, but I guess we’ll find out in August if not before.

People have been talking about Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner for so long that first flight always seems so far away. That’s far from being the truth. Believe it or not, the first flight is scheduled for later this year, so they better be making some good progress on building the thing.

Pictures of the aircraft have been hard to come by, and many people have been wondering if delays are in store. Well yesterday, Scott Carson, President of Boeing Commercial Airplane, gave a presentation with a ton of photos.

How about this sexy shot?

Okay, so maybe that isn’t so sexy, but it is pretty important, as you can see by the velvet, uh, chain link rope. That’s the engine pylon - the thing that keeps the engine on the wing. Like I said, it’s pretty important.

Click here (PDF) to see the presentation with a bunch more photos. This plane is being assembled all over the world, so all you see now are bits and pieces being constructed. The biggest pieces will get a ride in that enormous modified 747 on slide 46 that looks like it has a massive tumor.

The bottom line is that the plane is still on time, and I can’t wait to see it roll out.

Looks like a sweet ride, huh?

To your left is what the first 737-700ER will look like in the colors of ANA. They’re going to start flying it on March 25 from Nagoya to Guangzhou (China).

What’s so unique about it? Well on a plane that Southwest fills with 137 seats, they will have only 48. There will 24 business class seats and 24 economy class seats. Even the economy seats will be good though with more than 6″ more legroom than normal (38″).

And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the 737-700ER a little more. This plane is going to be a rockstar. According to Boeing it will fly up to 5,510 nm. As you can see on the map below from the beloved Great Circle Mapper, that gets you really far.

This map shows the range from LAX. You could fly to London, Tokyo, or Sao Paulo without problem. Of course, this means you’d have to buy all the auxiliary fuel tanks so it’ll cost a little more, but that kind of range could open up new thin routes that aren’t currently flown today.

LAX to Madrid, anyone?

I’ve had friends come back from vacations with harrowing stories about turbulence so bad they thought the wings were going to fall off. Of course, it didn’t happen, and it’s extremely unlikely that it could happen.

I came across this video this morning which is a 3:35 piece of the PBS series “21st Century Jet” about the 777 showing what kind of testing they did on the 777 wing.

As you can see, they bent that wing up more than 24 feet from level and only then did it break, at more than 150% of the strongest force that could expected in flight.

And this isn’t the only wing testing they do. They also flex the wings up and down for long periods of time to simulate sustained periods of turbulence.

The 747 has been around for a long time. In fact, the 747-100 had its first commercial flight with Pan Am 37 years ago this Sunday. So as the plane approaches its fortieth birthday, you’d think it would be on its way out, right?

Not so much.

The program was given new life back in the late 1980s with the 747-400 version. That was the first version to have a new cockpit which required two instead of three people to fly it as well as other big improvements. As orders for that plane wind down, the 747-8 has been launched to carry the torch.

Just yesterday, Boeing announced that the interior on the 747-8 will be much improved. There is a new mockup which showcases these features.

Pretty slick, huh? This shows you the larger windows (equal to the size of windows on the 777) and overhead bins embedded into the ceiling to allow for more headroom and a more open feeling. You can also see the cool lighting that can be changed depending upon the time of day. There’s also a curved staircase up to the upper deck right as you walk in. Here are some more pictures if you’re interested.

As you look through these pictures, be careful. The seats are just what Boeing put on there and not necessarily what the airlines will choose to use. Any lounges or cool sitting spaces are completely at the discretion of the airline, so it’s not going to mean much.

In case you’re not impressed, how about this flashback to an old 747

(photo credit: http://members.tripod.com/~gerardfoley/olga.html)

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

It’s time once again for the completely irregular segment I like to call random bits of info. There have been a bunch of little airline stories the last few days, so I’m just going to rattle them off here now.

• Hooray for the Brazilian courts! - It was ruled that the two American pilots being held in the Gol accident investigation cannot be held any longer. After some more interrogation and a promise to return when needed, the pilots will be free to go home. At least someone realized the gross injustice going on down there.
• Virgin Blows . . . - At least, that was the gist of the press release announcing the airline’s return to the Windy City (that’s Chicago). A daily flight between London/Heathrow and Chicago/O’Hare begins April 23, 2007. The airline used to fly from Chicago but pulled out afternoon Sept 11, 2001. I’m surprised that they’re going back, because it’s a very competitive market. American, United, and BA all fly it multiple times a day.
• . . . So Does LAWA - In the news of the lame, LA World Airports (LAWA) has announced it will rename Ontario Intl Airport to LA/Ontario Intl Airport and Palmdale to LA/Palmdale Regional Airport. Since apparently nobody knows where Ontario is (Canada?), this is the right thing to do. Actually, the Ontario renaming doesn’t bother me nearly as much as Palmdale. I mean, Palmdale doesn’t even have any flights! Do you think that airlines will start flying there just because of its new name? Lame-o.
• Lufthansa to Kick Airbus in the Nuts - Rumors abound today that Lufthansa is set to be the first major customer for Boeing’s new 747-8 with more range and more seats. This is Boeing’s competitor to the A380, and if a German airline which has traditionally ordered Airbus chooses Boeing here, it’s very bad news for Airbus.
• Does God Hate El Al? - That’s definitely a question being asked these days. Due to a general strike, El Al opted to fly on the Sabbath in order to get people home. Well, the flight to New York had rudder problems and had to return to Tel Aviv, prompting those onboard to say it was the “finger of God” punishing them for flying during the holy day. Um, ok. Now there’s a huge boycott in the works by the ultra-orthodox community, and the airline will probably be forced to sign a document saying they won’t do it again. My question is this . . . if they boycott El Al, who are they going to fly? Everybody else flies on the Sabbath. Good luck with that one.