Random

Three Points

The Irkut MC-21-310 with Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines made its first flight on Dec. 14, 2020.

Three Points: Russia’s western aerospace uncoupling, the vaccine airlift, U.S. recovery exceeding forecast

Jon Ostrower·December 20, 2020

MC-21-310 first flight with PD-14 engines accelerates Russia's aerospace industry uncoupling with the west. Pratt & Whitney's involvement is "on life support" as U.S.-Russia relations continue to deteriorate. The first approved COVID-19 vaccine is fanning out across the world, kicking off what is possibly the largest humanitarian airlift in the history of aviation. The global effort requires a highly-coordinated logistical and operational dance. The second big wave of COVID-19 cases is causing an expected decline in air travel, but the overall recovery is ahead of forecast.

Three Points: AA and Max trust re-building (without Boeing), Raytheon/UTC, Flight Sim 2020

Jon Ostrower·June 10, 2019

Restoring trust in 737 Max (without Boeing) The Wall Street Journal’s headline read “Inside the Effort to Fix the Troubled Boeing...

Three Points: Airbus production cuts, a Boeing bailout, future freighters

Jon Ostrower·April 11, 2020

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this...

Three Points: Joby’s crash, FAA’s Dickson resigning, EK231 update

Elan Head and Jon Ostrower·February 17, 2022

Joby Aviation's lead test aircraft crashed on Feb. 16, kicking off an NTSB investigation that could have implications for the aggressive timeline the company has embraced to be the first eVTOL company to fly passengers in 2024. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson has resigned. The U.S.'s top aviation regulator was about half way though his five year term. His dealings with Boeing will be the defining characteristic of his time at the agency. The UAE offered its preliminary report on the bizarre circumstances around Emirates 231. The brief report confirms much of The Air Current's reporting on the Dec. 20 botched takeoff out of Dubai.

Three Points: Monday for Max, divesting Belfast, Aeroflot’s evacuation disaster

Jon Ostrower·May 6, 2019

Second Monday for Max Before the week even got rolling, there was a gush of reporting Sunday on Boeing and...

Three points: Exhausted Gulf pilots, Wisk’s pilotless ambition, United’s new academy

Elan Head and Jon Ostrower·February 2, 2022

Reuters took a close look at Qatar Airways and claims its pilots are making around crew scheduling in the wake of the pandemic, which significantly resized the airline. The result is a broader discussion around fatigue and the risk of cockpit mistakes that should serve as context given other recent incidents, including Emirates 231. Boeing is betting on Wisk to be its pathfinder to autonomy, so how does the eVTOL entrant plan to do it? United Airlines formally launched its own flight academy, giving aspiring pilots a private certificate and a leg up to an eventual job flying with the airline. Yet, there are still very real obstructions that are clogging the pipeline of pilots.

Three Points: Artemis scrub, Beta’s battery fire, ATC’s eVTOL capacity

Jon Ostrower and Elan Head·August 29, 2022

‘Incandescently expensive’ SLS scrubs first attempt at lunar test flight The Space Launch System, NASA’s largest-ever rocket for human spaceflight...

Three Points: Mass shootings & plane crashes, Neeleman on TAP, Azul and Moxy, Boeing and the FAA

Jon Ostrower·August 5, 2019

Plane crashes and mass shootings What if mass shootings were treated like plane crashes? There were two this weekend in America...

Three Points: Non-Farnborough, predicting traffic, BA sunsets 747

Jon Ostrower·July 20, 2020

There was supposed to be an air show in Farnborough this week. And even if there was, Americans wouldn't be able to attend. Our Travel Sentiment model is reliably predicting the ups, downs and stagnation of the U.S. air traffic recovery. Here's an update. British Airways decommissions its 747 fleet, another in a series of the long goodbye to the Queen of the Skies. It's hard out there for big airplanes.

A General Electric GE9X engine on display at the 2019 Paris Air Show.

Three Points: Slattery to GE, 777-8F & A380 combi, staggering airline losses

Jon Ostrower·June 15, 2020

Major leadership changes at GE, Embraer and Mitsubishi. What if the 777X freighter is too small? And what of an A380 combi? COVID-19 will wipe out 20 cents of every dollar earned by airlines for the last half century.

Three Points: Zunum & start-up skepticism, Flyadeal walks on Max, Embraer profit hunting in China

Jon Ostrower·July 8, 2019

Air service as HQ2 bellwether: Alaska Airlines on Wednesday announced they will launch new flights from Seattle to Columbus, Ohio...

Three Points: Buffett units bet on UAM, Chorus acquires Falko, U.S./U.K. bilateral eVTOL cert

Elan Head·March 9, 2022

NetJets and FlightSafety International – both units of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway – have jumped into the electric vertical take-off and landing market, announcing plans for a strategic partnership with the German eVTOL developer Lilium. Buffett’s aviation investments have been stretched across the aerospace chain and with varying success. Chorus Aviation is acquiring Falko Regional Aircraft, kicking off a fresh round of consolidation in the leasing space -- this time among those who focus on regional aviation. The Federal Aviation Administration and U.K. Civil Aviation Authority have started working toward a bilateral agreement for the future certification and validation of eVTOL aircraft. It’s a post-Brexit signal that the CAA is not looking exclusively to Europe for guidance.