Filed under: Airplanes

Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.

 

EADS open to adjusting U.S. tanker bid

European aerospace group EADS is open to adjusting the price of its refueling aircraft bid if the Air Force asks for final proposal changes, but will still see significant profit from the bid, the company’s U.S. chairman said on Tuesday.

The Air Force has been evaluating rival bids from EADS and Boeing in a competition valued at up to $50 billion, since July, with an eye to awarding a contract this fall. Get the full story »

Boeing to tear down historic Plant 2

B-17E Flying Fortress airplanes being built at Boeing's historic "Plant 2" being shuttered in Seattle. (Boeing)

The dilapidated factory that helped make Seattle a high-tech town is being demolished after 75 years, a casualty of time, technology and tails that grew too tall.

Boeing Co.’s Plant 2, a sprawling but outdated building, gave birth to some of the world’s most significant aircraft. It was the site of Seattle’s biggest disappearing act and a home to “Rosie the Riveter” — women who built thousands of World War II planes.

Boeing says 787 fatigue testing has begun

Boeing Co. said on Monday that it has begun long-term fatigue testing on its new 787, a three-year program meant to simulate the stresses of years of flying.

July’s only 3 long tarmac delays all at O’Hare

Only three flights suffered excessive tarmac delays in July, all of them at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, as the threat of hefty, new fines continued to make an impact on air travel, new data shows.

But passengers don’t always benefit from the new rules, imposed at the end of April. Get the full story »

Air China buys four Boeing planes for $1.2 billion

Air China Ltd. said it has agreed to buy four 777-300ER aircraft from Boeing for a total basic price of $1.15 billion to expand fleet capacity. Get the full story »

New rules would mean fewer hours for sleepy pilots

Some airline pilots would fly fewer hours and others would fly longer under proposed rules to help prevent dangerous fatigue, transportation and labor officials said Friday.

The proposal would set different requirements based on the time of day, number of scheduled flight segments, flight types, time zones and likelihood that a pilot is able to get enough sleep, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in his blog. The proposal is being released Friday. Get the full story »

City council gives final approval to O’Hare bonds

The Chicago City Council gave final approval on Wednesday to $1 billion of revenue bonds to continue expanding O’Hare International Airport.

But the two major carriers at the airport are not saying if they plan on fighting the debt sale.

A spokesman for American Airlines said there was “no comment at this time.” Get the full story »

Boeing slims down military aircraft business

Boeing Co. is slimming down its military aircraft business and cutting workers as the U.S. tightens defense spending and profit margins shrink.

Boeing’s military division makes the well-known Chinook transport helicopters, as well as the C-17 transport and the F/A-18 fighter-bomber.

The job cuts will start with 10 percent of the group’s executives. Boeing didn’t say how many more workers will lose jobs. It will consolidate six divisions of the business into four. Get the full story »

Date for Air Force tanker deal more in flux

The target date for the much-delayed award of a possible $50 billion U.S. Air Force refueling-plane deal just got murkier and potentially more politicized.

No longer is mid-November necessarily the moment of truth in the rematch pitting Chicago-based Boeing Co. against its European rival, Airbus parent EADS. Get the full story »

Delta to upgrade seats in 747 business class

Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to upgrade the seats on its Boeing 747s next summer, while cutting the number of seats in the plane’s most expensive cabin.

Delta detailed the changes Thursday, which are part of a $1 billion plan announced in January to overhaul seats and make other customer improvements. Get the full story »

Training on Boeing 787 all virtual

Pilot Gregg Pointon "flies" from the cockpit of a Boeing 787 full-flight simulator. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

Mechanics going through Boeing Co.’s 25-day training course for its coming 787 Dreamliner learn to fix all kinds of problems, from broken lights in the cabin to major glitches with its flight controls. One thing they won’t soon do: touch one of the planes.

Using both laptop and desktop computers inside a classroom festooned with huge diagrams, airline mechanics will train on a system that displays an interactive 787 cockpit, as well as a 3-D exterior of the plane. Using a mouse, the mechanics can “walk” around the jet, open virtual maintenance access panels and go inside the plane to repair and replace parts. Get the full story »

County to help fund Boeing site at SW Illinois airport

The southwestern Illinois county that runs a 12-year-old airport that’s never turned a profit will spend $3.5 million to convert a warehouse into what Boeing Co. plans to make a 75-job manufacturing site. Get the full story »

Troubled airline Mexicana to shut down Saturday

Mexicana de Aviacion, one of Mexico’s two major airlines, will cease operations by midday Saturday while unions and new owners attempt one more time to find fresh cash to keep the ailing company alive.

“At midnight, a gradual shutdown will begin,” Transport Minister Juan Molinar said at a news conference Friday. “By Saturday at noon, operations will definitively cease.” Get the full story »

Justice Department OKs United-Continental merger

Passengers at the United and Continental kiosks at O'Hare International Airport, May 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The Justice Department approved the proposed merger of United and Continental airlines Friday, closing an unexpectedly speedy four-month investigation that paves the way for the mega-deal to close by Oct. 1.

To win the blessing of federal antitrust regulators, United and Continental agreed to lease slots for 18 round-trip flights to Southwest Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport, beginning in March 2011.

Justice officials said the slot transfer was struck in “response to the department’s principal concerns” regarding the merger, which critics have warned will speed consolidation and eventually leave the three largest U.S. carriers with a lion’s share of the market. Get the full story »

Continental to give up Newark slots to Southwest

Continental Airlines will give up 36 slots at its Newark hub to Southwest Airlines in a bid to address antitrust concerns for its deal with United Airlines, the airlines said Friday.

The deal gives low-cost carrier Southwest the right to operate up to 18 daily roundtrip flights with some flights starting in March 2011. A full schedule is expected by June 2011.

The deal is contingent on the closing of a merger between Continental and United, a unit of UAL Corp, by November 30. Get the full story »