No arguments here about Boeing's mistakes, including technical ones and deceiving the public and regulators. I was merely commenting on the airframes and the manufactures' desire to extend the missions that these airframes (and their derivatives) can handle.

(Written on 05/06/2022)(Permalink)

Both Boeing and Airbus are pushing their workhorse airframes, the 737 and A320, further and further. Clearly Boeing pushed too far with the MAX and here is a sign that the 320 (newer than the 737, of course) is being pushed to far. Of course, it's easier (quicker and cheaper) to build on an existing frame than design a new one from scratch. Unless you push too hard without proper engineering oversights (like the MAX). Then it becomes really expensive.

(Written on 05/06/2022)(Permalink)

Most of the large airlines, at the more savvy ones, heavily invest in a series of fuel futures. Basically, each quarter in the future, they pre-price a certain amoutn of fuel at a fixed prices. It's a bet. If prices go up, you win. If prices go down, you lose. But you get predictable costs, which is important to business stability and schedule planning. In the article, you see "Allegiant has said they would cut their Q2 schedules up to 10% as a result, Alaska Airlines has said they expected their capacity to be down 3-5% in the first half of the year ...". I would guess that they are under-invested in fuel futures for next couple of quarters. And then "The big three, American, Delta and United Airlines have all said that they wouldn’t cut any flights or raise ticket prices." This is a good sign that they've done their homework and prepared with enough futures.

(Written on 03/11/2022)(Permalink)

Seems like a legitimate story to me. An engine failure on a twin engine jet creates an emergency situation. At this point, you have no more backup. A landing with one engine out is an emergency action. Given the reliability of turbine engines, it is interesting to report. Given the media status of Trump (whether you like him or not), this increases the interest in the story. The story was factual and basic. They didn't seem to be trying to hype or exaggerate the story. I would've appreciated seeing more information about what led to the engine failure.

(Written on 03/11/2022)(Permalink)

Don't need experience in that make and model to criticize careless taxiing. In bad weather with reduced viz, if you're not sure where you are, you slow down. Better, you stop and ask Ground for guidance or ask Company for a lead truck.

(Written on 02/05/2022)(Permalink)

This is interesting an encouraging news. Electric propulsion is an inherently simpler system than an internal combustion engine, with fewer moving parts and less maintenance needs. Recycling lithium batteries definitely a current challenge. They cannot be mechanically shredded or chemical decomposed like other batteries. However, there is very good research going on now to address this issue. Most batteries are assembled by robotic manufacturing. So, there is work to design the batteries to be disassembled by robot to get at the key recyclable or reusable components. There is also work to be able to renew an existing battery to put it back in service. This isn't unique to planes or cars. We have these batteries in so many devices that we use and carry that it's an essential step.

(Written on 01/28/2022)(Permalink)

After more than a few thousands of hours of flight, I can’t say this never happened to me. Of course, I don’t have a half dozen ground crew helping my TR182 push back …

(Written on 12/24/2021)(Permalink)

My butt gets numb after 3-4 hours of flight in my TR182. 64 days? Yeesh! I do admire these guys but have no interest in trying to break their record!

(Written on 10/29/2021)(Permalink)

at DNev noted, this has been in place at KATL for quite a few years on international flights. Not sure why it's news now. That being said, it works fine. It's an easier technical problem than general facial recognition because it's working from a fixed set of people, those that are booked on the flight. As for privacy, they already have your picture from your passport. And that's what they're matching against. So it doesn't create any new sources of PII in their database. Whether it's faster or more efficient, I don't know. It does avoid any contact, which might help with Covid concerns.

(Written on 10/29/2021)(Permalink)

Absolutely. Every organization needs an "offboarding" check list when an employee leaves. Too easy to miss things.

(Written on 10/15/2021)(Permalink)