What do You think about Emirates Expansion Plan?

Emirates Airline of the United Arab Emirates are one of the largest international and fastest growing airlines in the world. Last year, they ordered 120 Airbus A350XWBs. They also have 55 Airbus A380 Super Jumbo aircraft on order, and Tim Clark, the CEO of Emirates, said he would double that order if Dubai Airport could handle it. Is this growth sustainable? Do you think that all of those aircraft will be delivered? The oil prices are high right now and is Emirates growing a rate that will cripple the company? I think that part of the reason that they are growing so fast is because that they have the advantage of having an oil state backing the company. I do not think that the number of passengers they believe they will carry will ever materialize. They order plane after plane, and do no seem to evaluate the cause. By ordering these large amounts of aircraft, they are being smart with Boeing, but I believe 50% of the aircraft ordered might never be delivered. Sure Emirates Airline is raking in extra profits, but compared to Singapore Airlines, which has a smaller fleet of aircraft, they make nearly the same. Why? Emirates, which has a much larger fleet should be able to earn more, right? Yeah, but not by much. Emirates is depending on tourism to rise, but as ticket prices rise, more and more people are staying home and not traveling by plane. I hope the numbers Emirates needs will materialize, but it seems very unlikely that the Middle East can generate that much tourism. What do you think? Please Comment

The 787 Finally Moves!

On Friday, Boeing announced it has moved the static test 787 to the test rig. This is a great milestone for the Boeing Company, but I hope that they can stay on schedule with the new 787. Anyways, the first power on is scheduled for June. Good Luck to Boeing. Here is an excerpt from the press release:

Some assembly remains to be completed on the static airframe. That work will be completed concurrently with test set-up. Test set up is expected to begin immediately, with tests commencing this summer.

“During static tests we apply loads to the airplane structure that simulate both normal operation as well as extreme flight conditions,” said Randy Harley, vice president of Engineering & Technology for the 787 program. “We monitor the airplane to confirm analytical predictions and make sure the structure holds up to these conditions.”

Movement of the static airframe clears the way to begin assembly of the third 787 to enter the flight test program. Most pieces of the third airplane arrived in Everett earlier this month. All assemblies for Airplane #3 are now in Everett, and the airplane will be loaded into the first position of Final Assembly early next week.

Source: Boeing

Source: Flightblogger

McCain Influencing Tanker Deal?

In my opinion he had. Even after Boeing announced great earnings, people questioned how many billions in revenue Boeing would lose without the KC-45 tanker deal. In the early 2000s, McCain was the senator who killed the first KC-767 deal to lease a hundred of them. Why? To him, he says it does not provide him with the best value for the taxpayer. Really? Airbus’s tanker is more expensive, it is based on the A330 which costs more than the 767, but carries more fuel. The air force also ranked the Boeing tanker more survivable. Does John McCain want planes to drop out of the sky faster? I hope not. Even then, in his current bid for the presidency, he has lobbyists that once worked for EADS in the first deal. In my opinion, John McCain had influence in this new tanker deal and ever since his relations with Boeing went sour, he has rooted the other candidate. The best tanker for America is the KC-767 from Boeing. The best tanker for other countries is the KC-30. We should build American tankers built by American people, and built by an experienced American company in th tanker industry. Again, this is my opinion on the tanker deal, I hope that Boeing can get an appeal, but that looks unlikely unfortunately.

Source: Boeing