The British Airways A380 wakes up on day 2 of the Paris Air Show

Day 2 of the 2013 Paris Air Show started off rather cool. My train was on-time, there really wasn’t any traffic on the bus, and I even got a locker for my bag in the press center. Very quickly, however, things started to heat up. And I don’t mean just the temperature, which soared to whatever 30C is in imperial, Today turned out to be a very hot day for huge aircraft announcements and orders.

One of the first announcements of the day came in the form of the long awaited Boeing 777X, which is still not officially launched. Boeing announced that they are “adding the best of the 787 and 747-8, the 777X will provide breakthrough economics and an all-new interior.” Boeing also says that they are “looking at repositioning and resizing the passenger windows to provide more ambient light in the cabin and provide passengers with better views outside the cabin,” which would more align it with the 787. Oh, and it will have a folding wingtip, which is something that Boeing has been experimenting with for quite some time. So, we continue to wait for the official launch of the airplane we all know is coming.

Models of the 787-10 launch purchasers and airlines

Immediately after the 777x update, Boeing officially launched the 787-10 with $30 billion worth of orders already on the books. The stretched version of the 787 has a range of 7,000 nautical miles, with seating for up to 330 passengers. The buyers are Air Lease with 30 planes, GE Capital Services with 10, British Airways with 12, and Singapore Airlines with 30 and United Airlines with 20. United expects their first 787-10 in 2018.

Meanwhile, over at the ATR chalet, Nordic Aviation Capital placed a firm order for 35 ATR -600’s. easyJet also ordered 100 A320neo and 35 A320ceo aircraft. I know that order smaller orders occurred, but there are bigger, more important items that need to be discussed.

It’s just not an aircraft purchase signing without an aircraft model

During one of the earlier Boeing events, I was talking with USA Today’s Ben Ben Mutzabaugh, speculating what might happen at the next customer announcement, which turned out to be the 787-10 launch. I mentioned how great it would be if it was a 747-8i launch. Immediately, we all laughed, because that seemed so unlikely. Low and behold, several hours later, Jon Ostrower sends out a tweet citing “sources” that Korean Air ordered that very aircraft. No. Way.
Korean Air ordered five 747-8i’s, as well as six 777-300ER’s, a deal worth $3.6 billion. This was a shock to everyone who heard the news. Many people had put the 747-8i program on death watch, as the only other passenger airline to order it was Lufthansa, and no one else since. Obviously, this was huge news.

The interior of the Interjet Superjet.

Later in the day as I roasted in the French sun, the air displays occurred again. I too video of the Airbus a380 display this time, and it’s definitely worth a watch. As for the rest of the afternoon, it was so hot that I don’t even remember what I did. Oh, I was given a demo of an experimental 737NG simulator, took tours of a Qatar 787 and Interjet SuperJet SSJ100, and checked out a mock flight deck of the Airbus A350. Those are full stories for another day, however.

So that was day 2 of the 2013 Paris Air Show. It was hot, really hot. But the aviation industry news was even hotter. Only in Paris.

Soggy Paris Air Show

This year’s Paris Air Show is my first major large-scale aviation industry event. Sure, I have covered other major events in the past, but nothing even comes close to what went on today. Welcome to Paris.

The forecast for the show has been varying seemingly every time I check it. One day the forecast reads 65F and sunny, and the next day 85F and rain. The moment I stepped off the train and onto the shuttle bus to Le Bourget, it started to drizzle. After I had abandoned the shuttle bus because of endless traffic, it started to rain. Then it rained harder, and harder, and bolts of lightning started to rain down from the sky.

Thankfully, the flight demonstrations were scheduled for the afternoon, so I took that time to head to the shows indoor floors, which are vast. Over the course of several hours, I wandered around with no particular destination in mind, snapping pictures of anything I deemed worthy. Of course, as an #AvGeek, everything I saw was worthy.

The Airbus “booth” has a massive display of all the manufacturers’ aircraft, from A319 to A380 and A400M. These models were massive, some of which even had spinning engines. There were model displays from Russian manufactures, Chinese, Japanese, and any other country that is capable of putting a machine into the air. The amount of detail in these models is stunning, but soon it was time to see the real things, and break some news.

Welcome to Airbus country

After swimming to the main conference hall, it was time for a presentation from Boeing CEO Ray Conner called “State of the Business.” Conner opened the press conference with a few jokes about the “797,” which was really two drawings from an ambitious young fan. The 797 design proposal 2 holds 1,000 passengers, somehow all with window seats, and has 6 engines. Conner went on to sum up the current status of Boeing, which was quick good looking.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the show grounds, Qatar ordered nine 777-300ERs. The deal is worth $2.8 billion, with firm orders for two and options for seven more. Across the show grounds yet again, I joined another Boeing press conference, where GECAS ordered 10 787-10x Dreamliners. During the press conference, GECAS President and CEO Norman C.T. Liu was going on about how much they love the 787, and at that moment a terribly loud clap of thunder pauses the room. Just then, Boeing CEO Ray Conner states “even god likes the 787!” Yea, that was a funny moment.

Ray Conner, Boeing CEO, just sold a few of these planes. He is pleased.

Simultaneously, Boeing announced that Tokyo-based Skymark Airlines selected the 737 MAX as its next generation single aisle aircraft of choice, making it Japan’s first airline to do so. “Based at its Haneda Airport hub in Tokyo, Skymark Airlines currently operates a fleet of 30 Next-Generation 737-800s on a lease from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and other lessors,” said Boeing via press release. So there was that, and I have no idea where it actually happened.

One of the more interesting bits of the day was in the form of a regional jet. The media calendar said that Embraer had a press conference starting at 12:15pm, so I walked over to the location. As I walked in, nothing was set up, and some large model aircraft were just being unpacked. I snapped a picture and tweeted it out. I then learned that the press conference was actually at 1pm, and those models were not supposed to be seen just quite yet.

So New!

The models I took a picture of were actually of the Embraer E2 series of ERJs, the next generation of the ERJ family. The E2 series improves upon the current E175, E190, and E195 models, boasting improved capacity, better fuel economy, and overall lower operating costs. The E2 series sports a new wing, new main landing gear, improved avionics, and new engines. Fuel burn on the E195-E2 model is down ~23% over the current E195, which is a dramatic drop.

When I walked into the press conference, I did not expect to see any orders associated with the E2 series. I was wrong, very wrong, SkyWest was announced to be the launch customer, ordering 200 E-Jets E2, comprising of 100 firm orders for the E175-E2 and 100 more purchase rights. IFLC has also ordered 100 E-Jet E2s, 25 E190, and 25 E195 orders, as well 25 E190, and 25 E195 options. .Entry into service is slated for the second half of 2018 for the E190-E2, 2019 for the E195-E2 2019, and 2020 for the E175-E2.

Smoke on

With most of the day’s breaking news behind us, it was time to hit the flight line for some displays of aviation fury. Thankfully at this point, the sky turned blue and the sun came out. While I missed a couple or caught a glace or two, I made sure to be there for the main events. First up was the mighty Super Constellation. While it didn’t put on any amazing acrobatic displays, it was great just to see one in the air in person.

So graceful

Just as the Connie landed, an Air India Boeing 787 took to the skies with a very impressive steep climb. It is great to see the 787 back in the air, and Boeing pushed their new baby to the limits. Next up, the Airbus A400M, which was by far the most acrobatic display of the larger aircraft. Twisting and turning and rolling in the sky, it was quite a show.

Rotate, keep rotating.

Last, but certainly not least, the super Airbus A380. Fresh from the Airbus factory and painted in full British Airways livery, the A380 always puts on a great show. Just thinking about the sheer size of it and what it is capable of is stunning. Really, the pictures speak for themselves. You just can’t add commentary with any meaning.
All in all, it was a fantastic day, and I learned a lot about how I should attack the show in the future. For now, it’s time to dry off, get some dinner, and dream about some airplanes. Until tomorrow!

The whale of the skies!

From JFK to CDG we go!

Ah, France. The wine, the cheese, the museums! These are the things people most often associate with France. There is one other thing that people think about when they are planning trip to France: Strikes. Just days before the 50^th Paris Air Show, of course, the French Air Traffic Controllers union decided to go on strike. (Oh, and the rail workers, too.) While Air France assured passengers that their long-haul operations would not be impacted, that was far from reality.

Two days before my flight, I woke up to find a flight cancellation email from Air France. This is not a good way to start any day. I then realized that there were multiple sections to the email, and things got more interesting from there. My flight, which was to be operated by the magnificent Airbus A380, had been “downgraded” to a still great Boeing 777-300ER. However, due to the lower capacity, I had been bumped from the flight.

The plane I was bumped off of mocked me by being a special SkyTeam livery

I was now booked on the first Air France flight of the day, the one that gets into Charles de Gaulle airport annoyingly early at just before 6am. That means I would have to wait roughly 8 hours before I could check into my hotel, but at least I would be getting to France on the day I had planned to.

The first flight of the day is typically operated by an Airbus A330, the smallest aircraft of the day. However, due to the strike and capacity issues, the flight was upgraded to an A340-300. I had never been on an A340 before, so although there would been a pretty big drop in the passenger experience, I was happy to check a new aircraft type off my list.

My Air France A340-300 arriving to JFK, as seen from home.

The next day at JFK’s Terminal 1, the chaos that is the Air France boarding process commenced. Two lines were formed at the gate, one for “priority” customers, and the other for everyone else. There were no boarding groups or row sections called, just one long line. Inconveniently, a China Eastern A340-600 flight was also boarding at the gate counter, which made things quite confusing and loud.

Once on board, I took a look at the interior of my vintage 1999 plane, and realized that the nothing has been upgraded since the day of delivery. The seats were hard and the pitch was tight, but I’ve been in worse. Hey, at least the in-flight entertainment had personal, but more on that later.

Lines are not fun. Thankfully, I was at the very front.

Once the plane was all buttoned up, it was about 4:30pm, a little past our scheduled departure time. Anyone who has done any plane spotting at JFK knows that 4:30 is “arbitrary runway change time.” The airports operations would swing around from runways 31L/R to 22L/R, which means a bit of a delay as aircraft must now taxi across the airport. Oh, and then some thunderstorms popped up over Manhattan, causing an hour long gate hold. Welcome to JFK in the summer.

After a ridiculously long takeoff roll and the slowest climb out ever (the A340 is not known for its performance), it was time for dinner. Air France still prints and distributes to all passengers a menu card, which is a nice touch. The meal wasn’t the best in the world, but it was far from the worst. The free beer, wine, or champagne made the meal a bit better, as it always does.

Beef with wild mushrooms, mashed potatoes. Cheese, Entrements, Strawberry-lemon cake.

Now, back to the IFE. The system, which is a Rockwell Collins antique, was laughable compared to modern standards. The screen was roughly the same size as my five inch phone screen, and also sported an antiquated resistive screen. Resistive screens are covered in little dots that act as touch points that reduce video quality, and are generally annoying to use. There was also a horizontal line of dead pixels, which was an added bonus.

However old the IFE system was, I was quite impressed by the amount of content available on such an old system. There were plenty of new release movies, and a very good selection of older movies, such as Pulp Fiction. There were also some TV shows, but I generally avoid those on flights. The system was responsive, and even had an route map that worked. The only issue I had that wasn’t hardware related was that some selections seemed to have corrupted files, and would not play. Argo would only play in non-English languages. (Strangely, the last time I tried to watch Argo in-flight was on JetBlue, and that also only played in Spanish.)

The finest IFE system that money can buy……in 1999

I don’t usually get too much sleep in-flight, and this flight was no different. I did nod off for a brief moment, but just minutes after, the harsh fluorescent tube lights switched from their pleasant night setting to what I call “SUPER BRIGHT LIGHT OF DEATH” setting. No fancy LED morning style transitions here, just bright white light.

Before landing, the crew distributed a breakfast which consisted of a blueberry muffin and “plain” yogurt with coffee. Our A340 gracefully descended over rural France, and we landed in Paris after a very quick flight. I navigated my way through the airport, cleared customs without saying a word, and took the RER into downtown.

Welcome to France, where the local time is way too early.

While not the greatest flight I’ve been on, nor was it on the A380 I was hoping for, but it was exciting to fly on a different aircraft. The A340 won’t be around forever, as airlines don’t want to keep powering up those two extra engines, so I’m happy I can check that off the list. Now that I have recovered from my sleepless night on board the Airbus A340, it’s time to hit the Paris Air Show running!

Stay tuned to Airchive on Twitter and Facebook, and follow me on Twitter for my personal thoughts and snarky comments. Until tomorrow, au revoir!

Photography unless otherwise credited by: Chris Sloan

The first half of 2013 and has certainly been a busy year in the annals of commercial aviation. In January the worldwide fleet of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was grounded; not taking to the skies again until May. On Valentine’s Day, American Airlines and USAirways announced a blockbuster merger creating the world’s largest airline and effectively ending the legacy airlines consolidation game in the United States. In early March, Bombardier rolled-out the CSeries CS100, the first in a line of airliners that could not only be a game changing regional jet, but possibly challenge the Airbus A320 / Boeing 737 duopoly. These headlines alone would make any year exceptional, but only midway through the year another major event loomed large. On June 14^th Airbus embarked on flying for the first time what’s likely the last “totally clean sheet” large airliner for the rest of this decade – the A350 XWB. Even with roughly 2 days notice, there was absolutely no way I was going to miss this historic event. I, along with many had suspected June 13^th or 14^th would be “D-Day” for the A350 so I had my bags packed and reservations on hold just in case. As we would learn later, Airbus had this week as a target for the last 9 months. Much has been already written about the A350 over the last 7 years and its maiden flight, I want this piece to take you with me on what it was like moment by moment to be there and witness aviation history. First, let’s go back to the future for a little A350 XWB refresher.

Extra: Read Airbus A350 Timeline here.

Qatar Airways will be the first airline to place the Airbus A350 XWB into service, sometime in 2014. Qatar has 43 – 900s and 37 -1000s on order.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

Launched in late 2006 with an order from launch customer Qatar Airways, the Airbus first A350 XWB “Extra Wide Body” challenges both the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Boeing 777. This is a similar position now occupied by the now 20 year old but still extraordinarily successful Airbus A330 and the now discontinued A340. The A350 XWB’s use of advanced durable, lightweight, and low-maintenance materials such as carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, advanced aluminum, and titanium comprise more than 70 percent of the aircraft. Airbus claims the lighter weight fuselage and wings, coupled with the new more efficient Rolls Royce Trent engines not only makes it 25% more fuel efficient then aircraft it is due to replace, but is substantially quieter as well (up to 14 db below ICAO Chapter 4 regulations). With the reduced fuel burn and NOx emissions 35% below the CAEP6 environmental standard, the A350 is a thoroughly “green” aircraft.  Airbus’ latest twin marvel deploys new technologies right out of the gate such as Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), yet retains a very familiar Airbus flight-deck operation. A330 pilots will take 9 days to transfer to the A350, 8 days for A340 pilots, and only 5 days to transition from the Airbus A380 with whom the A350 shares much technological innovation.

The flight deck of MSN-1 just after it was powered up for the first time on August 2, 2013. It has a remarkably similar, but evolved layout to the A380. It is the first commercial aircraft with 6 full-sized LCD screens which allow for complete information configuration.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

The extensively redesigned cabin features 787 features like larger windows (the largest ever on an Airbus), a lower-pressurized and higher humidified cabin, enlarged overhead bins, LED mood lighting, and higher sculpted ceilings. Airbus believes that its “eXtra Wide Body” is an advantage leading to wider aisles and seats, even in economy. There are crew rest loft options above the forward and rear cabin for the flight and cabin crew respectively.

Image Courtesy: Airbus

Image Courtesy: Airbus

Though the A350 entry-into-service date will be some 3 years behind the 787, Airbus is keen to apply lessons learned from its chief rival. The most obvious of these applies to the batteries. The first few A350s will use lithium-ion battery technology that caused such severe headaches on the 787 but new build production aircraft following MSN-3 will switch to the heavier but more conventional nickel-cadmium design. The A350’s electrical architectural demands aren’t as high as the 787.

ANA’s first 2 Boeing 787s photographed at Tokyo Narita on the day of the inaugural flight – October 26, 2011.

There are initially 3 models planned in the range: the A350-800, -900, and -1000 seating between 270 and 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts with maximum range between 8,480 and 10,300 nautical miles. The A350-90 is a direct competitor to the 777-200 ER, though the A350s fuselage is slightly narrower. In a typical 3-class 9-abreast layout, the -900 seats 314 passengers. Thus far, the -900 is the most popular selling version by a 4:1 margin over its stable-mates. As the first model to fly, it is scheduled for entry-into-service by launch airline Qatar in the second half of 2014. The largest and next to fly variant is the upgauged A350-1000. With its larger wing and up to 350-passenger capacity in a 3-class configuration, the -1000 will take dead aim at the 777-300ER, upcoming 777X – 9, and replaces the now discontinued A340-600. Indeed, Airbus pitches the A340-1000, due in 2017, as a 747-400 replacement. Cathay Pacific, United, Singapore, and British Airways orders have confirmed this mission with their orders for the stretched A350. The smallest member of the range, the A350-800 will seat 270 passengers in a typical 3-class 9-abreast lineup and take on the 787-9. Prior to the Paris Air Show, The A350 family has already secured 613 firm orders from 33 customers worldwide including additional industry luminaries Air France/KLM, USAirways, Hawaiian, Emirates, Ethiad, Aeroflot, Air Lingus, TAM, Singapore Airlines, and Thai. Airbus clearly hopes the first flight will only add to its recent sales momentum.

Singapore Airlines has 70 A350-900s on order with options for 20 more. Singapore has the option to convert its -900s to the higher capacity A350-1000s. Ordered to replace the airline’s 777-200ERs, the A350-900 is due to enter service in late 2014.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

In comparison to its larger Airbus sibling, the A380; and its arch rival from Seattle the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the A350 has had a relatively smooth development phase. The European company didn’t subcontract and outsource the production process quite to the extent that Boeing did with the 787. Airbus, still chastened by the over-budget and long delayed A380 production process and fairly in-flight issues, isn’t gloating, but instead managing expectations by still calling A350 development “challenging”.

The Flight Deck for MSN-1 arrives inside an A300-600ST Beluga.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

The final assembly of MSN-1, the A350 prototype began on April 5, 2012. On February 7, 2013 the European Aviation Safety Agency certified the A350’s Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Less then 3 weeks later, the first A350 rolled out of the final assembly line on February 26, 2013. By March 26, 2013 Airbus announced the APU and RR Trent’s had been installed on MSN-1. April bought 2 major order announcements: a new A350 customer in the form British Airways’ parent International Air Group and additional aircraft from Singapore Airlines. After a flurry of production news in the month’s before, Airbus went into “radio silence” about the MSN-1’s final assembly.

A350 XWB MSN1 rolls out of its hanger in Toulouse with winglets installed in February 2013
Image courtesy: Airbus

In April 2013, British Airways placed 18 firm orders and 18 options for A350s. Due for delivery between 2017 and 2023, these will replace BA’s 747-400 fleet. The order book includes -900s and possible -1000s
Image Courtesy: Airbus

Suddenly, things really began to heat up in May as the Paris Air Show approached. On May 13^th, the first A350 msn1, rolled out from the paint shop. Instead of a splash rollout, Airbus didn’t notify the press. French network TV 3 captured fuzzy video of the aircraft, and then Airbus releasing pictures later in the day of the A350 surrounded in a relatively subdued house livery surrounded by employees. By foregoing the traditional rollout event, the media frenzy went into overdrive that Airbus would attempt to fly the aircraft for the first time just before the Paris Air Show, to permit a fly-over at the world’s premiere aviation event. Pictures of the A350 XWB logo emblazoned on the under-belly of the aircraft only added fuel to the fire of speculation. This would mean the aircraft would embark on its first flight and the test program just one month after roll out. Not only would this short window be formidable, but almost unprecedented in modern times. By comparison the 777 took 2 months to go from roll out to first flight; The Airbus A380 took 3 ½ months, and the Boeing 787 took nearly 2 ½ years. The simplistic livery and lack of formal roll out signaled an expedited timetable. Despite constant comments by Airbus executives that a “Paris Air Show fly over would be nice but not necessary”, that “the plane will fly when it is ready to fly”, and vague statements that “the first flight will come sometime in the Summer”, it was clear Airbus in fact is in fact shooting to steal some of the thunder from Boeing’s once again airborne Dreamliner.

First fuzzy images of the A350 from French Television.

Airbus released this image of the A350 surrounded by Airbus staff. This was in lieu of a traditional rollout.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

Image Courtesy: Airbus

On June 2^nd, Airbus reported that the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 engines, capable of 84,000 pounds of thrust, were run for the first time on the A350 XWB (MSN1) following the start-up of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) as part of the preparations for the aircraft’s maiden flight. 2 days later, Airbus released the names of the 6 initial international test flight crew under the command of Peter Chandler, an Experimental Flight Test Pilot with Airbus since 2000 and Chief Test Pilot since 2011. The same Monday June 4^th, the aircraft was photographed moving under its own power, with high speed ground tests captured a day later. On Tuesday June 11^th, Airbus reported that the initial ground taxi tests were complete, and that the A350 would take to the skies for the first time on Friday June 14^th at 10:00AM Toulouse (CEST) time. June 13^th had been a possibility, but an ill-timed French Air Traffic Control strike reportedly impacted those plans.

A-350 XWB Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 engines power up for the first time at Toulouse.
Image courtesy: Airbus

The A350 undergoes braking tests.
Image Courtesy: A350 Blogspot – http://bloga350.blogspot.com

Within minutes, I cleared my calendar, confirmed my flight reservations and made plans to leave for Toulouse the next day. With the ATC strike, this was no easy task but I was determined to be there, finally arriving late on Thursday June 13th. At 7:30AM on Friday June 14^th, and a jet lagged mess I was on a bus (the kind with 4 wheels) at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport heading for the Airbus Henri Ziegler Delivery Centre from where we would witness this historic milestone. It was hard to believe, the first Airbus A300, the world’s first twin engine wide-body jet had flown for the first time 41 years ago, and now the then nascent European upstart, along with Boeing is one of the world’s two leading airliner manufacturers. As we made our way to the opposite side of the airport, we noticed throngs of plane spotters lining the runways. The favorable weather forecast called for light winds and partly cloudy skies, in direct contrast to the cold, cloudy day before which seemed like it could threaten the best laid of plans. In this case, timing would be everything.

Airbus announced the A350 XWB first flight on their website and Facebook page.

We were ushered into the Henri Ziegler Delivery Center named for one of the founders of Airbus and its first president. The atmosphere inside was positively electric and confident. Airbus had closely guarded their first flight secret, but the meticulous staging revealed that the event had been in the planning stages for some time. The facility, complete with security and check-in counters looks like a cross between a general aviation terminal and small commercial airport, complete with 2 jet-ways and 2 concourses fanning out on either side of a central hall. All Airbus A320s, 330s, and 380s are delivered here. A321s and A319s are delivered in Hamburg. Despite the historic occasion, there was business as usual deliveries going on for new Japanese LCC Peach Air, Brazil’s TAM, Air New Zealand, and Australia’s Jetstar.

The main atrium overlooking the tarmac was arranged with a riser, podium, and a large projection screen as the centerpiece. 2 large-scale A350 models including a one-of-a-kind cutaway flanked the stage. The audience was configured for VIPs and press workstations complete with wi-fi. The press corps and guests could barely be shook from the generous selection of pastries and juices for a brief 9:00 AM announcement regarding the day’s agenda.  Stehan Schaffrath, the VP of Media relations and master of ceremonies had to announce over and over for people to take their seats. Airbus decided on a firm 10:00AM CEST departure and it was going to be happen whether the press were ready or not.

At 9:15AM, we were transported via busses for a 5 minute ride out to a large field parallel to runway 14R/32L where Airbus’ third-generation wide-body twin would make it’s maiden take-off. Along the way, we passed a former Air France Concorde at the delivery center that poignantly how far we had come in flight in terms of technology, fuel efficiency, etc. It also served as a stark reminder that time had moved on, and in some ways we had taken a step back since the world’s only successful passenger carrying civil SST had its wings clipped nearly 10 years ago.

The scene of the press, VIPs, executives, employees, and customers standing in a brown grass field in front of the A330/340 Final Assembly Hall felt much like the Warped Tour, except there were many more business suits and cameras with large lenses. I wondered out-loud whether anyone was working in Toulouse today. A few members of the press said it was half the turnout of the A380’s first flight back in April 2005, but it was still an impressive showing.

We all jockeyed, and somewhat aggressively, on top of tables Airbus had setup for photographers. Every airplane that took off became the focal point for test shots, especially a Cebu Pacific Airbus A330-300 that we learned was being delivered. We learned that Airbus set a record that day with this particular A330 configured in a high density, single-class 416-passenger configuration – the most ever on an A330.

 At 9:50am CEST, with winds 6 mph out of the NNE, A350 MSN-1 lined up on the threshold of the runway. Peter Chandler, Airbus’ Chief Test Pilot, and Guy Magrin, Project Pilot, and three flight test engineers: Fernando Alonso, Head of Airbus Flight & Integration Test Centre; Patrick du Ché, Head of Development Flight Tests; and Emanuele Costanzo, lead Flight Test Engineer for the Trent XWB engine went through their final pre-flight checklists.

Peter Chandler, Airbus’ Chief Test Pilot, and Guy Magrin, A350 Project Pilot make their final checks.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

At precisely 10:00am began their take-off roll. The Rolls-Royce Trent’s were so quiet that the cheers from the audience were the only clue that the big twin had begun its maiden flight. Weighing in at “only 221 tons”, F-WXWB rotated in less then 30 seconds and leaped into the sky to cheers, tears, and applause. It was a powerful moment, only interrupted by thousands of camera shutters.

A chase plane and numerous helicopters followed the XWB out on its climb. Over the next 4 ½ hours they beamed down impressive, live multiple-camera coverage of the A350 in-flight to the more then 50,000 people watching the Airbus live web-stream and millions others watching on TV across the globe. It is safe to assume that this was the most covered first-flight in history.

Image Courtesy: Airbus

A350 XWB air-to-air shot during its maiden flight.
Image Courtesy: Airbus

Normally fierce competitors, Boeing congratulated Airbus with this Tweet. Airbus responded appreciatively to Boeing’s social media gesture, but the war for orders would continue the following week in Paris.

While the flight and telemetry engineering crews were busy doing their thing, Airbus kept its guests fully entertained and engaged with an A350 Program Briefing back at the delivery center. Airbus 350 XWB Test Pilot Frank Chapman took to the stage. He drew some laughs when he said he had “placed banana peels around areas where Airbus Chief Peter Chandler would be walking”. Chapman was the relief pilot, but even though he wasn’t “manning the stick” that day, he was clearly elated at the morning’s events as he began the flight test briefing. He noted that “though this is an incredible moment, it is only the first hour of a year-long, 2,500 hour, 5 flight test campaign…The cockpit and many other aircraft systems are much further ahead then the A380 was on its first flight”, Chapman said echoing the day’s company theme of “lessons learned.” Taking the high road, Chapman nor any of the Airbus executives publicly made any mention of the 787’s battery issues and their affect on the A350 program.

Airbus Test Pilot Peter Chapman gives a briefing on the various aspects of the flight test campaign for the A350 XWB

As for today’s first test flight, Chapman reported it “is operating in medium levels of the performance envelope that widen with new tests upon successful completion of each step. We will take it steadily and go slowly. We must understand exactly where we are before we take next step and work out to extremes. We measure handling flight qualities as we change each configuration such as retracting the flaps or raising the gear”. The take-off and initial phase of the flight occurred with the flight computers disconnected in what’s called “direct law”. F-WXWB flew to around 10,000 feet and around 200 knots. Then the landing gear was successfully retracted, along with the flaps as the aircraft was cleaned up for higher speed, higher altitude tests. Next, the flight computers were switched online. 1 hour and 55 minutes into the flight we were given a live status report of the flight test by Captain Chandler direct from the flight deck. “It’s a beautiful day for flying here at 13,000 feet over the Pyrénées.  All is on schedule. The aircraft is behaving extremely well. Our landing gear retracted successfully. Soon, we will climb to 25,000 fleet for high-speed configuration”. The flight test was originally planned to be longer in duration and higher, climbing to 43,000 feet but this would have “kept you all too long waiting for the landing” said Chapman. Of course with any first flight there are going to be issues, but these weren’t going to be reported by anyone from Airbus.

The actual flight track of the maiden voyage of the A350 XWB MSN-1
Courtesy: FlightRadar24

The landing gear retracts for the first time in flight on the Airbus A350 XWB
Image Courtesy: Airbus video

Chapman then moved on to describing the next stages of the flight test program. He reported that the first virtual flight would happen in July with cabin crew and passengers. Among the developments, MSN-2, already well under assembly, would be the first A350 with a cabin fit and that this airframe would be subject to the hot/cold tests as the lab in Pensacola where Boeing had carried out similar tests on the 787. MSN-4, when completed, will be fitted with light instrumentation to test for noise and avionics. MSN-5 will be the chosen aircraft for route proving, where the aircraft flies the exact routes of its customers. Upcoming flight tests include:

• VMU – Velocity Minimum Un-stick. Lowest speed/high angle of attack test of the lowest speed the aircraft will take-off. This is used to calculate the V speeds.
• Crosswind tests – A350 and A380 have auto-compensation for crosswind handling. These tests are carried out in Iceland because there are 2 runways at 90 degrees of each other and there’s always wind.
• Water Trough Tests – operate in intentionally created very wet conditions for take-off and landing to test brake systems, hydraulic lines, and engines.
• VMCG – Minimum Control Speed on the Ground. What is minimum speed where there’s speed for safe take-off if an engine fails? First, nose wheel steering is removed, rudder is introduced for control, instant shut down cutting fuel to the engine at high power, and then deviation from centerline is measured. This test is used this to calculate V speeds. It is more risky for twin-engine aircraft, then 4-engine aircraft like the A380. Chapman said “As pilots, we love doing this exercise as long as there aren’t passengers aboard.

Chapman made no mention of when the next test flight would occur, including the much-speculated fly-over of the Paris Air Show the following week.

Chris Young, the Rolls-Royce Project Director on the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines provided the next briefing. Young boasted “The Trent XWB is the world’s most efficient jet engine. It takes in tons of air a second. The fuel is burned at half the temperature of the surface of the sun. Each of 68 turbine blades generates the power of a Formula 1 car.” Indeed, today’s first test flight was operated at the maximum 84,000 pounds of thrust on each engine at take-off.

Rolls Royce Trent XWB-84 display at the Henri Ziegler Delivery Center

Knowing a well fed press and VIP contingent is a happy one, Airbus feted its guests with a lunch that consisted of wine tasting, champagne, and gourmet small plates such as pate’, oysters, and other palate pleasing delicacies. We all would have enjoyed more being onboard MSN-1, but the catering was certainly a nice treat.

Following lunch, Didier Evrard, the EVP and Head of the A350 Program took the stage for the final briefing. Clearly pleased thus far, Evrard remarked “This (first flight) is one event, a very significant event, but the program is a fast moving body and this is just the first step. Our next challenges are maturity at EIS and production ramp-up. The A380 program has been rich in lessons for this program and has led to us to deeply rework our practices”. Given the Paris Air Show the following week, Evrard offered no real headlines but did provide some interesting facts worth recounting here.

Didier Evrard, the EVP and Head of the A350 Program gives his afternoon briefing prior to MSN-1′s landing.

The A350 has 613 firm orders from 33 customers (a number likely to be revised upward at the Paris Air Show).

• MSN-2 and MSN-3 would both be joining the flight test program in the Fall.
• A350 XWB production is already at 1 airframe per month, but will ramp up to 3 per month by the end of 2014.
• Final assembly of the first A350-1000 commences at the end of 2015. The first flight in mid 2016 will be followed by entry-into-service in 2017. Evrard said the upsizing is a low risk expansion (from the -900) by stretching current fuselage by 13 frames in front of and behind the wings. He concluded “Development is on track.”

With the A350 MSN-1 due back within the hour from its maiden sortie over Southwestern France, it was time for everyone to head back out to the viewing area adjacent to the runway. I sprinted across the field to be in the first photography position for the landing, even though the threshold point would be at some distance from our cameras. Traffic at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport came to a standstill foreshadowing the planned runway fly-over as cameras began pointing skyward. At precisely 1:50pm CEST the flight crew performed a breathtaking fly by at around 800-1000 feet before pulling sharp right bank and climb away from the crowd toward its eventual base leg which produced an excellent view of the underbelly A350 branding. It was an amazing event, seen more than heard owing to the A350 XWB’s quiet noise footprint. Seriously, the raucous cheers and applause almost drowned out the Trent engines.

Within minutes, the A350 was visible on short-finals in the distance out of the South. A collective hush (really!) fell over the crowd as at precisely 2:05pm MSN-1 flared then greased down onto the runway completing its historic 4 hour, 5 minute first flight. Thrusters were deployed right in front of the photographer’s area much to our delight as the pilots applied brakes and gradually slowed. The crowd went absolutely wild with hand shakes, back slaps, boisterous applause, and even hugs. Many in the crowd were waving A350 first flight flags that proclaimed “We Did It!”. The crowd reacted at a fevered pitch like Airbus had just won the Super Bowl or World Cup.

Many people started making it back towards the busses and the delivery center when we noticed the A350 taxiing back towards us, but this time the flight deck was open and a crew member was proudly waving the Airbus flag. Despite the company’s sober comments that this first flight was strictly about tests and proving, Airbus was clearly putting on a show!

Back at the Ziegler Delivery Center, the party atmosphere kicked into high gear as the swelling (and sweating) crowd awaited the arrival of the guests of honor. The A350 emerged in the distance dramatically from the heat haze rising off the asphalt. The scene reminded me of a “Mad Max” movie. MSN-1 was first met by Airbus ground and technical crew. These folks who work around airplanes everyday themselves became paparazzi, taking pictures of their company’s newest star.

The A350 finally blocked in at the center of the ramp surrounded by a swarm of welcoming guests. Once the engines shutdown, we could see the pilots waving at the crowd through that, dare I say “sexy” windscreen. The air stairs were rolled up to F-WXWB and after what seemed like an eternity under the sweltering sun, the flight crew in their bright orange flight suits emerged triumphantly to introductions, applause, and air-horns! I looked up at the video helicopters half expecting them to drop confetti!

 With fists pumped, arms raised, and wide smiles, the crew were all excited. After a few photo opportunities, they made their way down the stairs through the crush of the exuberant crowd to the podium where Airbus President and CEO Fabrice Bregier said: “I congratulate the whole A350 XWB development team for having completed the first flight preparation in a record time. I also wish to thank the first flight crew today for taking this aircraft where it wants to be – in the sky.” He added: “I would also like to extend my gratitude to all our teams in the design offices, at program and manufacturing level, the ground crews as well as our colleagues in airlines and suppliers and many others who helped define this all-new aircraft.” He said they “had this first flight date in mind for 9 months and thanks to the miracles of the entire A350 team, we made it!”

 It was virtually impossible to get near the flight crew because of the mob of press and autograph seekers, so I stood back taking in the moment and photographing as much of the scene as I could. After much of the crowd disbursed, I stayed behind to talk to a few people key to the A350 program. Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy remarked, “The airplane really sells itself. It makes my job very easy”. Yes, this could be construed as sales hype but the numbers speak for themselves. As to answering questions surrounding a fly-over of the Paris Air Show and an additional A350 orders, Leahy remained tight-lipped but did sport a Cheshire Cat grin.

Airbus Head of Sales and Chief Commercial Officer, John Leahy is a sales powerhouse who pulls no punches and is highly sought after by the press.

Finally, I was able to spend a few minutes with Peter Chandler, Airbus’ Chief Test Pilot. He disclosed the aircraft flew up to Mach .8, the maximum airspeed at that altitude and was cleared to go fully to 43,000 feet and the airframe’s peak airspeed of .89. Chandler said the plane was ready to fly 2 weeks prior, and that they firmed the June 13^th-14^th dates contingent on weather a week earlier. With the weather looking less then ideal on June 13^th and to build in a day of margin, they opted to make the first date on Friday June 14^th. I asked him if he had any trepidation about the first flight. Chandler said in fact it was the opposite, “I was of course very excited, but highly confident. I slept like a baby the night before and rolled into ‘the office’ around 6:30am. The plane wanted to fly and so did we.”

Peter Chandler, Airbus’ Chief Test Pilot laces up his shoes the morning of the A350XWB first flight.
Image courtesy: Airbus

Peter Chandler stands proudly in front of A350 XWB MSN-1 after just completing its maiden voyage.

The party continued inside the Delivery Center. With few looking on and no fanfare, a tug unceremoniously hitched up MSN-1 and towed her away. With somewhere around 2,496 hours left on the flight test program, the A350 XWB program has a lot of work ahead of it to meet the entry-into-service date 1 year away. If there’s any concern about that aggressive timetable you couldn’t see it on Chandler’s face who as we parted company told me “I don’t see anything that gets in the way of our projected EIS. This is a very mature plane even at this early stage.”

A350 XWB MSN-1 is towed back to its hanger after its first flight.

Extra: Full Airbus A350 Maiden Flight and Airbus Delivery Center Gallery

Special Thanks to: Jack Harty for all his work on the A350 XWB Timeline

by:  Jason Rabinowitz, co-editor NYCAviation.com and Airchive.com contributor

In the past few months, I have covered some absolutely amazing events and trips for various media outlets. Delivery flights to exotic locations, Boeing factory tours, a 787 flight to the other side of the world, and more. Next week, however, comes the most exciting adventure yet. On Monday, I will be reporting for Airchive from the 50th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget! The Paris Air Show is a multi-day #AvGeek heaven of new aircraft, aircraft order, and manufactures from around the world showing off their latest and greatest.

The A350 undergoes braking tests.
Image Courtesy: A350 Blogspot – http://bloga350.blogspot.com

By far, the most anticipated attraction is the new Airbus A350 XWB, which will see its first flight just days before the show, bright and early on Friday. Chris Sloan, Airchive’s Chief #AvGeek is covering that. The A350 is the newest widebody aircraft in the Airbus family, and sports a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer fuselage and wings, but no lithium ion batteries once in production. It is expected, or maybe hoped, that the A350 will be on display at the air show in some capacity, and that we will see an airline place an order. At minimum, Airbus will have a mock flight deck and fuselage on display.

I also hope to see some other recent aircraft make the headlines, such as the Boeing 747-8i, the new 777X, and the Bombardier CSeries. Really also looking forward to seeing the 787 put on a show, having just gotten off my first Dreamliner flight myself. And in the true Airchive spirit, I’ll be on the lookout for aircraft models and displays.

This will be my first time covering a large scale air show event like this, so it will be a learning process for me. Depending on the (expensive) cellular connection and wifi availability, I plan to bring breaking news to you in real-time, via the @Airchive Twitter feed, as well as Facebook. I’ll also be writing up a daily “day in review” blog at airchive.com/blog, summing up the daily experience. You should also follow my personal Twitter feed, @AirlineFlyer, for commentary and other random thoughts. If there is any exhibit you want to see me detail at the air show, please let me know! My goal is to attempt to make this an interactive experience. You tell me what you want to see, I show it to you!

The author, Jason Rabinowitz pictured on an American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Delivery Flight after just winning keys to the plane. Jason is the New York based co-editor of the phenomenally popular NYCAviation website, a contributor to the industry-leading and B2B publication APEX Association specializing in the passenger experience, a lead correspondent to AirlineReporter.com, a plane spotter extraordinaire, and a very active member of the #AvGeek Twittersphere @AirlineFlyer. See more of Jason’s work at AviationPhotographic.com and on his AirlineFlyer Facebook page. Come for the planes, but stay for the dry wit!

British Airways Press Release and Airchive Staff – Monday, June 10, 2013

Photo Courtesy of British Airways

British Airways’ first two Boeing 787s are due to arrive at London Heathrow on June 26 and 27 around mid-morning, and their first A380 is due to arrive mid-morning on July 4. The first deliveries of the A380 and 787 to British Airways continue the £5 billion ($7.8 billion) long-haul fleet upgrade by International Consolidated Airlines Group that was started with the first delivery of the Boeing 777-300ER.

British Airways has 12 Airbus A380s on order. On the A380 there will be 14 seats in First on the main deck, with “extra personal and stowage space”. The  Club World cabin will feature 44 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, and there will be 199 seats in World Traveller, with a 3-4-3 layout. The A380 upper deck will feature 53 seats in the new Club World triple configuration of 2-3-2. World Traveller Plus will have 55 seats in a 2-3-2 premium economy (World Traveller Plus) layout, and World Traveller will have 104 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Photo Courtesy of British Airways

A380 Club World cabin
Photo Courtesy of British Airways

A380 First cabin
Photo Courtesy of British Airways

A380 World Traveller cabin
Photo Courtesy of British Airways

A380 World Traveller Plus cabin
Photo Courtesy of British Airways

EXTRA: British Airways’ A380 Website

British Airways has 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners on order. In Club World there will be 35 seats in the new Club World triple configuration of 2-3-2. In World Traveller Plus (premium economy) there will be 25 seats in a layout of 2-3-2, and in World Traveller (economy) there will be  154 seats with a 3-3-3 configuration.

British Airways’ third 787 on the assembly line
Photo Courtesy of Chris Sloan/Airchive.com

EXTRA: Boeing 787 Dreamliner Assembly Line

EXTRA: Boeing 787 Dreamliner Gallery

Keith Williams, chief executive, said: “The delivery of these exciting aircraft opens a new chapter in British Airways history.  We are proud to be leading the way in Europe in operating both these aircraft types. Over the next 12 months, we will take delivery of new long-haul aircraft at an average rate of one every two weeks.”

Once arriving at Heathrow, both aircraft types will undergo a comprehensive entry into service program. During the program, pilots and cabin crew will train at Manston Airport in Kent, and customer service trials will occur at Heathrow. After training, short-haul flights will occur, including flights within the UK.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Sloan/Airchive.com

No date for the inaugural flights have been set, but seats on the A380 are currently on sale for travel beginning October 15 to Los Angeles and beginning November 15 to Hong Kong.  British Airways says that more information about the first destinations and dates will go on sale will be “unveiled shortly.”

However, it is rumored that British Airways announced their initial 787 routes internally in March. According to a post on Airliners.net, British Airways will initially fly their Dreamliners to Calgary, Newark, Toronto, and Washington Dulles beginning on July 16. The flights have not been loaded into the system as the start date depends on the delivery date, and the inaugural flight could potentially occur before or after July 16.

Stay tuned…

On the evening of March 18, 2013 Boeing’s Renton Plant rolled out its first Boeing 737, a 737-800 bound for Panamanian Airline COPA, at the astounding new production rate of 38 aircraft per month. Boeing had only reached 35 airplanes per month, its previous historic high commercial production rate in January 2012. 2 days later on March 20, 2013, Boeing delivered the 7500^th 737, the 7,229nd example built at Renton (more on this later). By Spring 2014, the rate is expected to leap to 42 aircraft per month. In 2015, Renton will begin production of the new 737 MAX that is due to enter commercial service in 2017, 50 years after the 737 first entered service in 1967! The Boeing 737 is the best-selling and longest continuously produced commercial airliner of all time with over 10,500 deliveries and orders. As of April, 2013 between the new Max (1,234) and current the Next-Generation (4,395), the 737 backlog stands at 3,136 aircraft. With the increased production rates, the current order book will take 6 ½ years alone to clear. Boeing’s current market outlook estimates 23,000 new narrow body airliner orders in the 737 / A320 families category over the next 20 years. Three draw dropping data-points stand out:

• 40% of the world’s jetliner fleet has been manufactured at Renton.
• Renton has produced an astonishing total of over 15,000 aircraft making it one of the most prolific aircraft factories, and the most prolific jetliner factory in history.
• With approximately 5,600 737s in service, 25% of the world’s large jet fleet (non RJ) are Boeing 737s.

The first Boeing 737, a Dash 800 for COPA, to be produced at the increased 38 aircraft per month rate rolls-out of paint on March 18, 2013.
Image courtesy: Boeing

The Boeing 737 Max family is due to begin assembly in 2015, with an entry-in-service target of 2017. This 4th generation of 737s will begin to ply the skies 50 years after the first 737 first flew.

With eye-popping numbers like this, one has to ask how this relatively compact factory copes with the demands placed on it? As is often the case, history is a prelude to the present and predictor of the future. This story of superlatives dates back to the early 20^th century. The land on the marshy shores of Lake Washington, a few miles southeast of Seattle, on the Cedar River, was used mainly as a hay farm. The land was shortly transferred from its private owners to the state of Washington and finally the Federal government in 1941 as US involvement in WWII looked inevitable. According to Boeing’s Corporate Historian, Mike Lombardi “Boeing began construction in Renton of the XPB-1 Sea Ranger, an experimental reconnaissance flying boat for the US Navy. Exactly one of these was constructed when the order was cancelled to make way for production of the B-29 Superforetress for the US Army Air Force. This was the most technologically advanced airplane of its day and at the height of production, Renton built 5 airplanes built per day and 160 built per month over 4 lines”. By the time production ceased in May 1946, Boeing had built an incredible 1,119 B-29s over a two and a half year period. The Renton plant was returned to the government in 1946, but re-opened in 1948 by Boeing to build the C-97 Stratofreighter, which became the basis for the famous Boeing 377 Stratocruiser airliner. The uber-luxurios “Strat”, with its double deck cabin was considered the “747 of the 1950s”. Boeing built 883 C/KC-97s and 56 377s at Renton.

Renton is no stranger to high production rates. During WWII 1,119 B-29 Superfortresses were produced at Renton.
Image courtesy: Boeing

At the height of production, B-29s for the Air Force were assembled on 4 lines at Renton.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Boeing KC-97s under production in the late 1940s at Renton. The 377 Stratocruiser airliners were built at Boeing’s Plant 2 near Boeing Field.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

Extra: Original Boeing 377 Memorabilia here.

 The next Renton milestone literally changed the world. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 60 years since the May 1954 rollout of the Boeing 367-80 at Renton. This Dash 80 was the prototype for the KC-135 Stratotanker and set the stage for the first commercially successful jet airliner, the legendary Boeing 707 which kicked off the jet age. The first production Boeing 707 was rolled out at Renton on 28 October 1957 and production continued to the last commercial 707 in 1978 and E-3 AWACS in 1991. There were a total of 820 KC-135s and 1,010 707s built at Renton, including 154 Boeing 720s.

Extra: Original Boeing 707 Sales Brochures and Technical Briefings here.

The predecessor to the Boeing 707, the famous 367-80, rolled out at Renton on May 15, 1954. It was the only one built; and is narrower then a 707. This is the very aircraft that famed Boeing test pilot Alvin “Tex” Johnston barrel rolled in front of a demo to Boeing customers over Lake Washington in 1955. On May 26, 1972 Boeing donated the Dash 80 to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which had designated it one of the 12 most significant aircraft of all time. For the next 18 years the aircraft was stored at a “desert boneyard” in Arizona before being retrieved by Boeing in 1990 for restoration, though it was used for some flight testing sporadically during that time. The Dash 80′s final flight was to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. on August 27, 2003. it is now on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
Image courtesy: Boeing

The first 707 jetliner conducted its first flight on December 20, 1957. This photo was taken over Puget Sound in Washington State on the airplane’s second flight, after unpredictable weather ended the first flight after just seven minutes. The skies cleared later in the day, and the crew took the 707 for a 71-minute second flight.
Image courtesy: Boeing

The same location was the home of the iconic Boeing 727. Up until the 737 surpassed it, the 727 was the world’s highest produced commercial jetliner with all 1,832 built between 1963-84 at Renton. All 1,050 of the 757, the 727’s heir apparent were built between 1981-2004, on what is now line 2 of the 737 program.

Extra: Original Boeing 727 Sales Brochures and Technical Briefings here.

On November 27, 1962, Boeing rolled out the prototype of the Boeing 727 trijet at Renon. The 727 would become one of the most successful jet airliners of all time, until first eclipsed by 737. Production ended in 1984 with the last passenger delivery in 1983 to USAirways.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Extra: Original Boeing 757 Sales Brochures and Technical Briefings here.

The rear fuselage section of the first Boeing 757-300 is lifted into place on the assembly line at the Boeing factory in Renton on March 19, 1998. The 757 production line is now the site of the 737′s 2nd production line.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Lombardi points out a little known fact that “Everett wasn’t the only place for Boeing 747 work as the first 4 747s built were refurbished at Renton.” In December 1969, a Jumbo destined for Pan Am (N732PA) landed short when landing on the 5,382 foot-long runway at Renton Municipal Airport. The right wing landing gear was torn from the aircraft and the number 3 and 4 engine nacelles contacted the runway. Up until, the building of 747 Factory at Everett in the late 1960s, the Renton final assembly hall for the 707s and 727s was the largest building in the world by volume. Today, Everett receives the lion’s share of the buzz, but Renton rules by sheer numbers.

The original prototype 727-100, which was eventually delivered to United, is surrounded by Boeing 707s at Renton in 1962. 737 production began at Boeing Field as Renton was tied up at the time with other projects during the 1960s “Jetliner Boom”.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Renton production wasn’t just limited to things with wings either. 24 Boeing Jetfoil commercial hydrofoil ship and 6 PHM USS Pegasus Class Missile-ships were built here as well.

Planes weren’t the only thing built at Renton. Boeing launched three Jetfoil 929-100 hydrofoils that were acquired in 1975 for service in the Hawaiian Islands. When the service ended in 1979 the three hydrofoils were acquired by Far East Hydrofoil for service between Hong Kong and Macau.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Renton Production Numbers (as of February 2013)

• 1 x XPPB-1 Sea Ranger
• 1,119 x B-29A Superfortress
• 24 x TB-50H Superfortress
• 888 x C/KC-97 Stratofreighters
• 1 x 367-80 (Dash 80 prototype)
• 820 x C/KC-135
• 1,010 x 707/720
• 1,832 x 727
• 1,050 x 757
• 24 x Jetfoil commercial hydrofoil ships
• 6 x PHM USS Pegasus Class Missile-ships

737 production at Renton (7,491 through February 20, 2013)

• 1,114 x 737-200 (1967- 1988)
• 1,113 x 737-300 (1984-1999)
• 486 x 737-400 (1988 – 2000)
• 389 x 737-500 (1990-1999)
• 69 x 737-600 (1998 – 2006)
• 1,089 x 737-700 (1997 – 2013)
• 111 x 737-700 BBJ
• 15 x 737-700C
• 14 x 737-700 AEW&C
• 2,809 x 737-800 (1998 – 2013)
• 21 x P-8A/I
• 18 x 737-800 BBJ
• 52 x 737-900  (2001-2005)
• 155 737-900ER (2007-2013)
• 6 x 737-900 BBJ

The first Boeing 737 under construction at Boeing Field in 1966.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

Birth of a legend: The Baby Boeing

Due to the bustling production of the 707 and 727 production and future Boeing SST production during the 1960s jet boom at the plant, 737 production didn’t begin at Renton. At 95 acres and 2.3 million square foot, the plant was just too busy to take on another program. The first 271 Boeing 737-100s and 737-200s, built between 1966 and early 1970, were produced at a factory adjacent to Boeing Field.

The prototype Boeing 737 rolls out of the original factory adjacent to Boeing Field. The factory wasn’t tall enough so the tail had to be attached after each one rolled out. At the time, Renton was at capacity with the 707 and 727 production. After 271 aircraft, production was moved to Renton in late 1970. This coincided with an aircraft production slow-down due to the recession of the early 1970s.
Image courtesy: Boeing

The original Boeing 737 prototype is given a champagne christening during the January 17, 1967 roll out event by flight attendants representing the aircraft’s customers.
Image courtesy: Boeing

It’s hard to comprehend that the world’s most successful airliner was almost killed. Initial airline reaction to the 737 was tepid at best, with Lufthansa taking the first 21 Boeing 737-100s, entering service in February 1968. United placed the second order for the 737 with 40 orders for the stretched 737-200. The Dash 200 became the successor to the 737-100 (only generating 30 orders) and new standard of the first generation. United’s 737-200s began service in April 1968. Due to industry capacity and a severe economic downturn in 1970, airliner orders nearly came to a halt. Boeing having just launched the 747 was seriously affected and had it not been for the Air Force’s order for 19 T-43s (military 737), the program would likely have been cancelled. In an effort to cut cost and increase efficiency all singe aisle programs were consolidated at Renton The 737 moved to the major assembly building 4-82 at Renton beginning with L/N 272.  737s and 727s were built in same building, with aircraft arranged in 2 rows at angles to the wall. This production system would last well into the 1990s and have severe consequences in the years to come as we’ll delve into later.

Extra: Original Boeing 737 Sales Brochures and Technical Briefings here.

Lufthansa Boeing 737-100 D-ABEC was the 4th 737 off the line and one of the 6 originally involved in the test program. Long since scrapped in 1995 at Marana, AZ, it was last registered to Ansett New Zealand. This 737 was also owned by America West AIrlines.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

The US Air Force version of the 737, the T-43A, essentially saved the 737 program in the early 1970s when commercial orders had dried up.
Image courtesy: Boeing

The original Boeing 737 assembly line at Boeing Field’s Thompson facility in the late 1960s before production moved to Renton.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

From 1970, this is the first 737 to be produced at Renton. After 271 Boeing 737s were produced at the Boeing Field factory, production of Boeing’s small twin switched over to Renton, joining 727s and 707s at the site.
Image courtesy: Boeing

From a sales standpoint, the 737 wasn’t exactly a barn burner through the 1970s as it took 10 years to reach 500 planes sold with the 500^th example delivered to Gulf Air in 1977. Nevertheless, the order book gradually began to gain momentum especially as airlines such as Southwest, Frontier, United, Delta, Lufthansa, Air California, and British Airways warmed to the type’s economics with its ability to fly profitably on short-haul segments because of its fuel-efficient twin-engine and 2-man crew configuration. The June 1971 introduction of the 737-200 Advanced model after L/N 135 that gave the Boeing baby twin a 15% increase in payload and range over the original -200s was a particular boost, even in the face of rising fuel prices and the weak economy of much of the 1970s and early 1980s. The 200s were produced until 1988 with 1,114 aircraft rolling off the line.

On December 6, 1968, United, the 2nd customer for the 737 after Lufthansa, received the 100th 737, a Boeing 737-200.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Bahrain based Gulf Air received the 500th Boeing 737 on September 13, 1977 just 10 years after the aircraft entered service with Lufthansa.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

Delta accepted the 100th Boeing 737, one of its first, in December 1993. This was just 5 years after the 500th 737 was delivered.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

The Boeing 737 really came into its own when the 2^nd generation 737 series entered service in 1984, beginning with Southwest Airlines. First flying on February 24, 1984 as the 1,001^st 737 built, the 737-300 featured many improvements including a CFM56-3B-1 high-bypass turbofan which generated significant improvements in fuel economy, range, and reduction in range. The fuselage was stretched by 9 feet, 5 inches over the 737-200 adding passenger and cargo capacity that led to improved cost per passenger mile. The flight deck was updated with a “glass” cockpit, a first in a single-aisle airliner. The wing and tailfin incorporated additional changes enhancing the Baby Boeing’s aerodynamics. The 737-400 stretched the platform even further entering service in 1988. A 737-200 sized version, the 737-500 entered service in 1990. The 2^nd generation 737 family became a phenomenally successful workhorse for the world’s airlines for a variety of missions. Its success partially led to the demise of the 727 as many airlines built their fleets around the 737, particularly LCC phenomena’s Southwest and America West, as well as Chinese carriers who began to order in large numbers. A total of 1,988 of the 2^nd generation 737s, now known as Classics, were built between 1984 and 2000. The 2,500^th 737, a 737-300 was delivered to Southwest Airlines in June 1993.

The prototype model of the 2nd generation 737, the Boeing 737-300, now known as the “Classic” was rolled out at Renton on January 17, 1984. It first flew on 24 February 1984 and was eventually delivered to USAir. 1,113 737-300s were produced making it the most successful variant of the 2nd generation.
Image courtesy: Boeing

On November 30, 1984 Southwest took delivery of its first Boeing 737–300, N300SW. It was the launch customer and as of May 2012 is the largest operator of the aircraft type with 125 still in service – many with winglets. The first 737-300 was dubbed “Kitty Hawk.” It flew its final flight from Paine Field on April 18th, 2011 the first 737-300 is now preserved at the Museum of Flight at Dallas Love Field.
Image courtesy: Boeing

The 737-500 was launched in 1987 by and entered service in 1990 with Southwest Airlines. The length of the 737-500 is similar to that of the 737-200. Southwest went on to operate The 389th and last -500 was delivered to All Nippon Airways on July 26, 1999. Southwest is down to a fleet of 19 -500s.
Image courtesy: Boeing

Clearly the pace was quickening, but all this success attracted unintended and unwanted attention from a certain competitor in Toulouse. In part 2, we’ll look at how Boeing responded to the Airbus A320 threat, the highs and lows of the 737 program in the 1990s, the reinvention of the 737 production process including the moving assembly line and “move to the lake”, and how Boeing is ramping up production to 42 737s per month and gearing up to build the Max beginning in 2015. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with some surprising factoids on the “Baby Boeing”.

The first flight of the Airbus A320-100 came 25 years ago on February 22, 1987. The advanced aircraft flew for 3 hours 23 minutes on its first test. The A320 was the first direct challenger to the 737. Note that many of the original 100 series didn’t have the trademark 320 wing fences.
Image courtesy: Airbus

The Renton Assembly Line #1 as it appeared in April 2013, just a few months after it had ramped up to a record 38 aircraft per month.
Image Courtesy: Boeing

Big Facts for The Baby Boeing

• Typically, about 50 gallons (189 liters) of paint are used to paint an average 737. Once the paint is dry, it will weigh approximately 250 pounds (113 kilograms) per airplane, depending on the paint scheme.

• With approximately 5,600 airplanes in service, the 737s (early 737s, Classic and Next-Generation) represent a quarter of the total worldwide fleet of large commercial jets flying today. 

• More than 331 airlines in 111 countries fly 737s.

• On average, over 2,000 737 airplanes are in the air at any given time.

• One 737 takes off or lands every 2.0 seconds.

• For all 737 models, there are approximately 54,500 scheduled flights per day. This means that nearly 1/3 of all commercial flights are on 737s

•  The 737 family has carried more than 16.4 billion passengers; that is equivalent to every single man, woman and child flying at least twice. (2012 world population was 7 billion)

• The 737 has flown more than 113 billion miles; equivalent to approximately 608 round trips from the earth to the sun.

• The 737 family has flown more than 176.5 million flights.

• The 737 family has flown more than 251 million flight hours; the equivalent to one airplane flying more than 28,656 years nonstop.

• 10,000 737s stacked on top of one another would be approximately 406,000 feet or 77 miles (124 kilometers) high, and is equivalent to 149 Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, stacked on top of one another.

• 10,000 737s at any one time would carry approximately 1,500,000 passengers.

Extra: View Full Boeing Renton Tour Photo Gallery here.

Special thanks to: Boeing’s Doug Alder, Jr; Michael Lombardi, and Erik Nelson for their invaluable time, expertise, and assistance in the writing of this post.

San Francisco based Virgin America is consistently noted to be the “best” domestic airline in the America. With excellent onboard service, new aircraft, and superb integration of technology, travelers consistently rate Virgin America as providing a top class travel experience. Yet for all the plaudits, Virgin America has not been able to translate its product appeal into consistent financial results. As it charts another round of expansion this year, after taking a year off, the time has come to examine Virgin America; its finances and its business model.

Extra: Onboard Virgin America’s Inaugural Flight from LAX to Ft. Lauderdale.

Virgin America First Class seats offer 55 inches of pitch and 28″ wide, in a standard 2 X 2 configuration. The 55 inch pitch was highly unusual for a narrow-body domestic airliner and only recently are the legacy domestic airlines attempting to catch up with this offering, yet mainly on transcontinental flights. Virgin America offers this level of 8-seat First Class exclusivity on all of its flights and aircraft. This product though is not necessarily optimized for the short-to-medium haul routes that make up much of the schedule.

Renowned for its innovation in the passenger experience, Virgin America was the first U.S. carrier to bring LED mood lighting to its aircraft. In Economy, Virgin offers a Main Cabin Class with 32″ pitch and Main Cabin Select Class with an expanded 38″ pitch. Unlike other domestic airline, this is a true Premium Economy Class product with free alcoholic beverages, meals, free premium TV channels, and priority baggage.

Pursuing an aggressive expansion

Amidst the hubbub earlier this year surrounding the merger between American Airlines and US Airways, low fare boutique carrier Virgin America announced new services between its largest hub in San Francisco and Anchorage, Alaska and Austin, Texas. The new daily year-round service to Austin began May 21^st , while six times per week red-eye service to Anchorage will run from June 6^th to September 9^th. The schedules for the new routes are as follow; both services will utilize Airbus A320 equipment.

Almost immediately following Virgin America’s announcement, JetBlue struck back at Virgin America, seasonally doubling its existing daily flight between San Francisco and Austin for the summer of 2013, and, adding a second daily red-eye flight with schedules as follow:

JetBlue also added a second daily flight between San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale after doubling to twice daily between Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale on January 7^th. Schedules for Fort Lauderdale-Austin are as follows.

Meanwhile, legacy rival United also increased its frequencies on San Francisco-Austin for the peak summer period, moving from 4 daily flights to 6 for June and July, and 5 for May, August, September, and October. United also increased the mix of mainline aircraft versus regional jets on its San Francisco-Austin services.

However, the competitive response from two rival carriers didn’t significantly phaze Virgin America, who launched services to Austin amidst great fanfare. “Austin and San Francisco share deep cultural and economic ties, so it made perfect sense for us to expand our network into this area that deserves not only increased flight options, but a better brand of service,” said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush. But will passengers trade price for quality, especially on the short-medium haul routes when the airline’s superior passenger experience product is optimized for more medium-long haul routes. More importantly, will business passengers trade schedule flexibility for the inflight product?

Indeed Virgin America has pursued an aggressive path of expansion during the spring of 2013. Since the start of April, Virgin America has already launched new flights from both San Francisco and Los Angeles to Newark, from San Francisco to Austin, and from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and San Jose with San Francisco-Anchorage coming soon. Some of their expansion doesn’t seem particularly risky or expensive due to existing economies of scale, market, awareness, and under-utilized aircraft. These include Anchorage which is seasonal and uses red-eye flights to increase utilization, as well as Newark and San Jose which are just new stations as opposed to complete new cities. Other markets are riskier given the airline’s strategy, however.  Austin is an example according to noted travel analyst Henry Harteveldt of Hudson Crossing where Virgin America misses the boat on appealing to the high-yield, loyalty program driven business customer: “Despite their true product benefit, Virgin America lacks a confidence in opening up new routes. They leave money on the table by not having the most optimum schedules and, in the case of San Francisco-Austin, just 1 flight per day.” Harteveldt classifies the airline’s current market position as one appealing to the “Premium Leisure Traveler” because the lack of optimum scheduling exists across the system which “hurts their utility, making them less viable for corporate accounts (outside the San Francisco Bay Area). They don’t offer the first and last flight of the day and they generally don’t offer particularly strong frequency.”   The expansion  during the course of the second quarter came after capacity (in available seat miles [ASMs]) fell 4% year over year in the first quarter of 2013.

Virgin America CEO David Cush (left) and Virgin Group Founder and Chairman Sir Richard Branson (right) at Virgin America’s November 2009 launch at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Branson is deservedly a press magnet who is onboard the majority of Virgin America’s inaugurals. VX slowed its expansion in 2012 but has picked up the pace in 2012.

Virgin America’s launches to a new destination are typically splashy, press-worthy affairs. These images were taken at Ft. Lauderdale on November 18, 2009 when Virgin inaugurated nonstop service between South Florida and Los Angeles and San Francisco on the same day. Both aircraft flew in virtual formation, lading one right after the other.

Never one to shy away from fun or good P.R. stunt, at the South Florida inaugural Sir Richard Branson climbed onboard one of the Ft. Lauderdale Airport fire trucks to personally douse the aircraft in the traditional water cannon salute.

In short, Virgin America has survived from a tumultuous beginning to develop into a solid, if still financially tenuous airline, and a major competitor on the west coast, particularly against United and Alaska, and to a lesser degree Southwest.  Their fleet numbers 53 Airbus A319 and A320 mainline jets, serving 23 destinations from 2 hubs, and carrying 6.2 million passengers and surpassing $1.3 billion in total revenue per year.

Virgin America’s main hub is at San Francisco, but it operates a focus city at LAX Terminal 3 where it is engaged in particularly fierce competition with Alaska and United. It is ranked 5th in the market.

Finances don’t hold up on inspection

Yet despite the growth, Virgin America continues to struggle financially. For the most recent fiscal year (2012), Virgin America reported a net loss of $24.99 million, down from $30.83 million in 2011, but still a third consecutive net loss during the most profitable 3-year stretch for the US airline industry since the late 1990s (2010-2012). Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) was a positive sign, growing 7.3% year over year to 10.26 cents, but that was offset by a 4.1% rise in cost per available seat mile (CASM) to 11.17 cents, and more disturbingly, a 6.0% rise in CASM excluding volatile fuel prices (CASM ex-fuel) which are beyond the carrier’s control. The rise in revenues came despite a 27.3% increase in ASMs for the full year, while passenger traffic in terms of revenue passenger miles (RPMs) grew 23.4%, enough to drop Virgin America’s load factor by 2.5 percentage points to 79%. PRASM for the first quarter of 2013 grew and even more robust 16.5% despite a 4.2% decrease in ASMs and an 8.1% decline in RPMs.

Admittedly, there were some positive signs for Virgin America. It reported its first ever fourth quarter operating profit ($5.11 million) in Q4 of 2012 and its operating loss for the first quarter of 2013 (typically the weakest quarter for airlines) was a modest $15 million, down $33.6 million, or 69% year over year. Virgin America also managed to eliminate $290 million dollars in debt by December 31^st, 2012, which will have a roughly $20 million positive effect every quarter for Virgin America moving forward. They also secured $75 million in additional debt financing to boost liquidity.

“With the strong improvement in first quarter 2013 financial performance, we are on track for a significant operating profit for the full year,” said David Cush. “The agreements reached with our investors enhance the improvements we are seeing in our business, and are a first step in modifying the Company’s capital structure to one more in line with public companies. With this solid improvement to our capital structure, we now expect to achieve a net profit in the second half of 2013, and are well positioned for sustained healthy financial performance in 2014 and beyond.“

But these small signs of hope do not change the reality of Virgin America’s financial performance. This is a carrier that recorded an operating loss of $31.73 million and a net loss of $145.39 million both significantly worse than their corresponding 2011 figures. Virgin America had an operating margin of -2.38% and an atrocious net margin of -10.91%, which is contextually bad in an industry where each and every one of its competitors had a positive operating margin and a better net margin. Even bankrupt American Airlines parent AMR made a slight operating profit of $107 million on revenues of $24.86 billion, and recorded a net margin of -7.54%. All of the balance sheet improvements in the world can’t hide the fact that Virgin America still hasn’t found a way to make money with its existing business model. This is an airline that hasn’t recorded an operating profit, let alone a net profit, in its entire existence dating back to the August 2007 launch. It has spent the past 3 years in the best airline financial environment in years, posting lukewarm financial results and underperforming its peers.

But what all of the balance sheet improvements can do is; make Virgin America look better as a candidate for an initial public offering (IPO). A loss-making business with high debt totals doesn’t look good as an IPO candidate and that’s what Virgin America was.  But once you get the debt levels down, the narrative can shift. Cush and co. are moving themselves into a position where Virgin America is a fast growing business with low debt levels and a strong asset base (at least so long as the narrow body aircraft pricing bubbles persist). Despite the tenuous financial performance, that sort of framing makes Virgin America an attractive IPO target in the same vein as businesses like Groupon, Twitter, and dare I say it; Facebook.

And it’s easy to see why Virgin America is being pushed towards an IPO. There are two ways for investors to make money in a business. One is for that business to make steady profits and for investors to take a share of those profits each quarter. Despite Cush’s promise of ‘significant’ operating profits and a net profit for Virgin America in 2013, it is clear that Virgin America is not at that stage today and unsure that they will ever reach it given the shaky fundamentals underlying their business. The second is by making their money back through an IPO – the investment will push up Virgin America’s valuation, giving investors a viable return on invested capital (ROIC). For investors who have already poured millions into Virgin America and still have money tied up in the airline, an IPO might be the only way that they make their money back. Thus it’s little wonder that investors are making the little moves that temporarily make Virgin America a more attractive IPO candidate; forcing debt reduction and reducing interest on outstanding debt to push down Virgin America’s net losses. If the US economy continues to perform reasonably well through 2013, housing recovers, and Virgin America is able to show further financial “progress,” they just might be able to time an IPO correctly and make their money back for investors.

Virgin America currently operates a fleet of 10 Airbus A319-100s and 43 A320-200s. They cancelled 20 A320 orders due to 3Q 2012 loss. The airline was the original A320 neo launch customer, but they deferred delivery on their 30 A320 neos from 2016 until 2020, slowing their expansion. The Airbus’ excessive capacity on certain routes, hurt the ability to grow into them or provide additional frequency. Virgin America reportedly analyzed ERJ equipment for use in its shorter haul and less mature markets and for adding frequency, but has yet to give any indication that this is part of its business plan.

Is Virgin America’s business model flawed beyond repair?

Even if Virgin America is able to pull off a successful IPO, their business model and future prospects still look highly uncertain. At its core, Virgin America is an airline that tries to sell itself on superior service, as well on being “hip and cool.” At the bottom of every press release, the airline proudly declares that it “was named “Best Domestic Airline” in the Condé Nast Traveler 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 ‘Readers’ Choice’ Awards and “Best Domestic Airline” in Travel + Leisure’s 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 ‘World’s Best’ Awards.” Virgin America operates from a sleek new terminal at San Francisco, its aircraft are outfitted with industry leading in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC – featuring both in-seat video and lightning fast, at least by airplane standards, WiFi) and power outlets in every seat, and the airline’s marketing highlights the quality and unique service provided on Virgin America’s flights. Much as quasi-parent Virgin Atlantic introduced a new gold standard in service on long haul flights, Virgin America “offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel.” That last phrase is key; reinventing air travel. Much of what Virgin America does can certainly be considered innovative in the domestic market; their embrace of IFEC has pushed legacy carriers into tentative, if unwilling investments in their own IFEC. They certainly are the new standard for passenger service on domestic flights; they’ve even taken to referring to passengers as “guests.” In fact, their balance sheet refers to passenger revenues as “guest revenues,” and passenger traffic as “guests,” indicative that Virgin America is applying a hospitality industry mentality to the airline business. Harteveldt sees this as a good and bad thing “Virgin America is like a boutique hotel. You look forward to staying there but it lacks the scale and loyalty programs of a big chain where you have multiple properties in multiple locations. They lack strong, viable hubs with connecting opportunities, even at SFO and LAX where the bulk of their flights are concentrated, and potential for business accounts. You can’t be a boutique airline and succeed. You have to have scope and utility.” Legacy carriers such as American, United, and Delta are catching up to Virgin America’s inflight product with stylish new cabins, personal IFE’s, and wi-fi. In some cases are starting to exceed it in premium cabins such as by offering flat-beds on transcontinental flights and in the case of American’s new A321 fleet, an even more rarified first class experience with 1-1 seating. Arch-rival JetBlue is getting into the game as well with its new premium cabin “suites” on its upcoming A321 transcon runs.

Virgin’s flair and innovation extends to its check-in desks which look more like those found in a hip boutique hotel as seen here at LAX Terminal 3.

The VirginAmerica cabin crew exude not only personality, enthusiasm, and style but a certain amount of hipness. Food and drink can be ordered from the RED system which is another reminder that VX is anything but a low-cost, low-frills airline. This photo was taken on the airline’s inaugural flight from Los Angeles to Ft Lauderdale, Florida. On that day in November 2009, VX began service from LAX and SFO to FLL.

Virgin America is especially known for its cutting edge innovation in inflight-entertainment systems. While other carriers are just now introducing advanced seat-back IFE’s on domestic U.S. Flights, every Virgin America seat has had this since the airline’s 2007 launch. Their system, known as RED leaped frogged jetBlue’s pioneering LiveTV system which is only now in the midst of its first upgrade since the airline’s 2000 launch. On May 21, 2009, Virgin America became the first U.S. airline to offer Wi-Fi access via Gogo Inflight Internet on every flight. VX’s Panasonic Avionics’ IFE’s are already being updated to their 3rd version in 2013.

Virgin America’s hip ways extend even to the flight deck with their stylish uniforms. Virgin’s inflight crew are clearly enthusiastic about their jobs. The pilots are seen just before departure from LAX on the inaugural flight between Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in November 2009.

But airline flying has evolved into almost a commodity business; where seats are a commodity like oil or gold. Virgin America had banked on consumers paying a premium for its service, but in today’s airline market the only premiums that exist are those for superior networks, better schedules, and frequent flyer benefits. Virgin America has a network and schedule that are replicated by multiple competitors at its two core hubs, and a relatively stingy frequent flyer program that lacks global reach. So Virgin America is at a disadvantage relative to not only its legacy competitors, but even hybrid carriers JetBlue and Southwest Airlines, both of whom have far superior networks to Virgin America, which is reflected in its poor unit revenues, which are consistently amongst the worst in the industry.

And upon further rumination, it is unsurprising that Virgin America has been relatively unsuccessful in making its business model work. Carriers that try to sell themselves on service have an abject record of profitability and sustainability. The last carrier to try it – Milwaukee based Midwest Airlines – wilted during the post- 9/11 LCC boom, folded into Frontier Airlines in 2009, and saw its network dismantled under the Frontier umbrella within 2 years.  Airline history is littered with the carcasses of airlines that tried and failed to make money off of their service (eos, Legend Airlines, MaxJet, et. al). That strategy led Virgin America to post a cumulative net loss of $671 million, and an operating loss of $447 million since its inception.

But to its credit, Virgin America appears to have recognized the pitfalls of relying solely on its service reputation to garner profitability, and appears committed to developing and diversifying its network with recent rounds of expansion.  But the US airline industry has increasingly diverged into two strategic extreme; ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs) with completely unbundled product offering targeting passengers with extremely low base fares; and network carriers offering a partially unbundled base product with some sort of premium option, and competing on network strength and connectivity. Virgin America is stuck in limbo between these two factions; its costs (with a CASM of 11.17 cents) are too high to effectively compete with ULCCs, yet its network is too weak to compete effectively with network carriers. The following chart shows the PRASM of US network carriers as well as Virgin America for Q1 2013, and clearly shows the gaping PRASM disparity faced by Virgin America.

At the same time, two things bode poorly for Virgin America’s ability to grow PRASM and improve profitability. The first is the intense competition it faces at its two core hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Admittedly, Virgin America has begun to build out its network in these two markets, serving 15 destinations on roughly 45 daily flights from Los Angeles, and 18 destinations on around 54 flights per day from San Francisco during this summer’s peak schedule. Yet the airline faces immense competition on every single one of its routes from both hubs; as the following tables show. The first table is for San Francisco and the second for Los Angeles; schedules are for a week in mid-July, after Orlando service is dropped from San Francisco.

San Francisco SFO Weekly Departures

Los Angeles LAX Weekly Departures

The competition in Los Angeles is particularly fierce, and has only gotten worse for this upcoming summer; Delta added 18 new daily flights (equivalent to more than 1/3 of Virgin America’s entire operation!) to 7 new destinations, while American countered with 8 new flights to 7 new destinations.

Both of these are large markets to be sure, and San Francisco has seen significant personal income growth (which is correlated with increased air travel demand) while Southern California’s economy finally appears to be recovering. But Virgin America is the second and fourth/fifth largest players in these markets, and the competition is slowly bleeding it dry. Sure Virgin America can keep adding destinations and building that all-important network, but it will bleed money while doing so; investor pressure likely will not allow that.

Another problem is that Virgin America has a maturing workforce and ageing fleet. For the former, older workers cost more than younger ones due to increased health costs and contractual wage increases, while the ageing fleet puts pressure on maintenance expenses. And these costs grow exponentially with age; meaning that Virgin America’s 6% increase in CASM ex fuel in 2012 might be a harbinger of worse things to come.

So in short, Virgin America has an unproven business model that has yet to make money; and is squeezed on either side by competitors with lower costs and/or better networks. It operates from two of the most competitive markets in the US, with no other clear avenues for expansion (the markets in the US that can support 50+ flight full service operations already have them), and faces a rising cost base. With their unique customized fleet, and inflight product and lack of strong corporate accounts, the airline doesn’t make the strongest acquisition target or alliance member either. It’s almost a similar situation to sister-carrier Virgin Atlantic, except Virgin America is less desirable as an acquisition target. Their salvation was the 49% of acquisition by Delta. The real value of VS were access to the Heathrow slots to combat the AA/BA OneWorld Alliance at LHR. Virgin’s LAX and SFO slots aren’t worth strategically anywhere near as much.  It really is a shame, but the airline that legitimately has one of very the best, if not the best, on-board domestic services in the US faces a troubled and uncertain future.

About Vinay Bhaskara

Vinay Bhaskara is an aviation correspondent and analyst for Airchive.com  based in Chicago, Illinois. He has been covering the industry in some form since 2008, and currently covers the industry for Bangalore Aviation and Aspire Aviation in addition to his duties for Airchive. His area of specialty lies in airline finance and business practices, as well in data analysis. Bhaskara has been an avgeek since his first long haul flight, when his fascination with Delta’s route map birthed a lifelong passion. In his life beyond aviation, Bhaskara is a software entrepreneur with a passion for business and economics. In what little free time remains, he enjoys watching and playing all types of sports, as well as binge-watching USA Network television shows and Bollywood films. Follow him on Twitter @TheAbVinay or reach him via email at vinay@bangaloreavation.com

With the 787 and A350 XWB gathering most of the aviation attention, Bombardier had a blockbuster day of its own on Tuesday June 4th.

The Montreal Airframer announced orders for up to 42 CSeries CS300 from Russia’s Ilyushin FInance Company (32 firm and 10 options) and confirmed orders for up to 16 (10 firm plus 6 options) aircraft from Bahrain based Gulf Air. Press Releases after the jump.

Image courtesy: Bombardier

Image courtesy: Bombardier

Bombardier has also announced that the first flight is scheduled to fly sometime just after the first flight, likely in June. On June 4th, they released 2 photos of Flight Test Vehicle-1 (FTV-1) after visiting the pain shop. A very basic logo decal was applied to the tail and forward fuselage, but it appears the aircraft will fly “green” for its first flight. The composite surfaces will be the main areas painted on the aircraft, as composites must be protected from UV light.

As of March 31, 2013, Bombardier had booked orders and commitments for 388 CSeries aircraft, which includes firm orders for 145 CSeries airliners. It is not confirmed whether the Gulf Air order is included in these numbers.

Extra: Bombardier CSeries Rolls Out here.

Image courtesy: Bombardier

Image courtesy: Bombardier

Video from Bombardier of the CSeries FTV-1 in the paint shop.

Painting the CSeries FTV-1 Interview with Kevin Hebert, Paint Shop Manager

Gulf Air Order Press Release

Toronto, June 4, 2013 – Bombardier Aerospace and Gulf Air disclosed today that a previous firm order for 10 CS100 aircraft, with options for an additional six aircraft, was placed by Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The firm order was announced by Bombardier on June 20, 2011. The CSeries aircraft was selected following a detailed and thorough evaluation, including other competing aircraft, conducted by Gulf Air in accordance with the Bahrain Tender Board rules.

Bombardier Aerospace and Gulf Air confirmed they were working together to ensure that the CSeries aircraft meets the goals of the airline’s ongoing restructuring, in line with its mandate to achieve long-term sustainability.

“Over the past four years, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has tripled its aircraft representation in the Middle East and Africa, and altogether, more than 200 Q-Series turboprops, CRJ Series regional jets and CSeriesaircraft are in service with, or have been ordered by, operators in the Middle East and Africa,” said Mike Arcamone, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “More than 2,600 Q-Series and CRJ Series commercial aircraft have been delivered to operators around the world, covering all continents and operating in diverse and often challenging terrains.”

Ilyushin Order Finance Press Release

Toronto, June 4, 2013 – Bombardier Aerospace announced today that its purchase agreement with Moscow-based leasing company Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC) has been approved by IFC’s shareholders and is now firm. The firm purchase agreement covers the acquisition of 32 CS300 aircraft and options for an additional 10 CS300 aircraft, following a letter of intent signed by IFC in 2011 and a conditional purchase agreement announced by Bombardier on February 20, 2013.

Based on the list price for the CS300 aircraft, the firm order is valued at approximately $2.56 billion US. Should IFC also exercise its 10 options, the contract would have a total value of approximately $3.42 billion US.

“Operators in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as those based in other parts of the world, have expressed interest in acquiring the CSeries aircraft since older, less efficient aircraft designs are presenting ongoing challenges because of high fuel costs and heightened environmental awareness,” said Alexander Rubtsov, Director General, IFC. “With its clean-sheet, advanced technology design, the CS300 jetliners will help to alleviate these concerns, while offering excellent range, superior field and runway performance, and a superb cabin that will bring airline transport into the 21st century.”

Mr. Rubtsov also noted that the CSeries aircraft, with its capacity and performance, is ideally placed between the smaller Russian Superjet and the larger capacity Russian MC-21 aircraft, which IFC has committed to purchase. Additionally, he confirmed that the CS300 aircraft with the extra capacity seating option will be available for international operators interested in higher density configurations.

“This is a landmark order for Bombardier Aerospace and its CSeries aircraft, as well as for this premier Russian leasing company,” said Mike Arcamone, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “IFC’s order confirms that the CSeries aircraft is ideal for a step-change in air travel throughout the CIS and elsewhere in the world.”

Currently, 95 CRJ regional jets and Dash 8/Q-Series aircraft are in service, or on order, in Russia and the CIS. In addition, Bombardier is also exploring sale opportunities for its Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft in Russia and the CIS following the aircraft type approval that was awarded in June 2012 by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) – commonly known by its Russian acronym, MAK – and subsequent entry-into-service of a Q400 aircraft by Yakutia Airlines from the airline’s base in northeast Russia.

Additional Resources:

Bombardier CSeries Website here.

Boeing Press Release and Airchive Staff – Sunday, June 2, 2013 

First 787-9 in Factory at Final Body Join
Image Courtesy: Boeing

Boeing has begun final assembly of the first 787-9 Dreamliner. This follows a torrent of positive news about the 787 in the last few days including deliveries to 2 new airline customers: China Southern and Thomson. On Saturday, June 1 ANA and JAL re-inaugurated their 787s in long-haul service.  The stretched member of the 787 family began taking shape on schedule May 30 in Everett, Wash., when Boeing started joining large sections of the super-efficient jet. Today, Airbus also announced it had powered up its engines on the A-350 XWB man 1 for the first time. This A350-900 XWB is the primary competitor to the Boeing 787-9.

Extra: ANA Boeing 787 Re-Inaugural Inflight Review from Saturday June 2nd here.

Extra: Airbus A350 XWB Timeline and Pics of Engines Powering Up here.

“From the start, the entire 787-9 team has focused relentlessly on execution so that we fulfill the commitments to our customers,” said Mark Jenks, vice president, 787 Airplane Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Integrating the 787-9 into our production system on time is another clear sign that we are well prepared and well positioned for the work ahead.”

Boeing’s global partners delivered the first 787-9 sections to final assembly on or ahead of schedule, and strong progress continues beyond, with major assembly under way on the other flight-test airplanes. “The dedication, quality and skill of our partners are helping drive our disciplined performance,” said Jenks.

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.

The 787-9 will complement and extend the 787 family, offering airlines the ability to grow routes opened with the 787-8. With the fuselage stretched by 20 feet (6 meters), the 787-9 will carry 40 more passengers an additional 300 nautical miles (555 kilometers) while using 20 percent less fuel than similarly sized airplanes. The 787-9 leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering the features passengers prefer such as large, dimmable windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride.

The vertical stabilizer on this 787-9 reflects the new Boeing Commercial Airplanes livery, a refreshed look for the Boeing family of airplanes that started with the 747-8 and evolved with the 737 MAX. Many features of the livery on the original 787 are reflected in the new design. The prominent number designator on the tail helps distinguish various models within the same product family.

Extra: Boeing 787 Continuously Updated Timeline here.

First flight of the 787-9 is scheduled for the second half of 2013, with first delivery to launch customer Air New Zealand set for early 2014. 20 customers around the world have ordered 355 787-9s, accounting for 40 percent of all 787 orders.

Extra: United AIrlines re-inaugurates Boeing 787 Dreamliner service here.

Extra: Boeing 787 Dreamliner assembly line at Everett here.