What Does Embraer Do For Boeing?

Here below: is the standing order book from Embraer that Boeing will work with over the next multiple years.

Wikipedia Chart as of October 31, 2018

Boeing can and will increase firm orders for the Embraer-Brazil division. The merger will give Boeing a complete suite of aircraft in which to compete from 66 passengers to 405 passengers with its aircraft. Embraer builds even smaller than 66 seats, but Boeing will focus on the E170-E195 class of Embraer aircraft.

E-170  66-78 passngers
E-175 76-88 passengers
E-190 96-114 passngers
E-195  120-146 passengers 

The Paris airshow, this year, will be an interesting affair as both Airbus and Boeing will be showing respective orders from Bombardier CS 300 and the Embraer 190-195 as an event feature for small commercial aircraft. Most orders are filled with multi-year delivery schedule giving Boeing enough time to catch the Airbus A-220-200/Bombardier(CS300) efforts. Boeing didn't buy Embraer for its scant backlog of 119 Embraer models, but it will energize sales for this type of aircraft by tying/complimenting with the 737 line of Aircraft. Expect a common avionics suite for Embraer aircraft for its  Boeing customers. Also, expect a common engine family using the leap-1B type in its line-up. These considerations will take time as in another five years before Boeing/Embraer engineers, Boeing stuff, without giving up what Embraer brings to the single-aisle table. 

E-195

CS-300

Watch the Paris show for Embraer 's presence with orders and its own workforce/lead engineers, who will be and should be demonstrated in the front and center during the 797 is announced. Delta is in a position to take those models as being the North American launch customer for the 797. If not, there are other airline friends eager to assume the prestigious spot as 797 launch customer for the 797, who would enjoy having the Embraer as a side-kick in its family of aircraft and I'm thinking of United at this point. It is a "United" front looking over Delta's shoulder and one slip by Delta will make its own aircraft buying quest, less desirable, as they would lose the leverage it has over Boeing. Airbus will make Delta another sweet deal for its new A220/ Bombardier program.

I have flown on both the Bombardier Regional Jet and was impressed by its comfort and style but it lacks some refinement. I have also flown on the Embraer and it was very efficient and comfortable with nice passenger qualities but it lacks some passenger room. Did I even know who made each respective aircraft when I first sat down in the seat, "no"?

Both needed a better manufacturing logo throughout the cabin. I rarely read my ticket, only for seating assignment.

I just liked the leather seats on the Embraer and the Bombardier was a little noisy. But it does count when the accountants and ground crew get a hold of one of those models. It's now up to to the handlers when managing the product. Both Airbus and Boeing will have something to do with each frame and it will fall into the manufacturer's grove. I would see A220 becoming slightly wider than the Embraer base by about one inch and the Embraer slightly more efficient than the A220 by the length of the final approach. Airbus continues its quest from a "more is better" attitude, and Boeing moves with a "better is better" approach, it's still a horse race at the jetway.

What does Embraer do for Boeing, It makes it competitive?

Brazil Concurs The Boeing Offer, And Gives Embraer A Whole Deal Signed

The last post on January 9. 2018 encouraged Brazil to confirm the Embraer-Boeing merger in a 20-80 partnership share. Certain high-end concerns were validated for Embraer with Boeing to make it a done deal. Below are links to two articles which tell the back story of this deal with a bloggers commentary and a journalistic report for the deal completed.

• Brazilian government approves Boeing’s acquisition of Embraer’s commercial jet operation
• The Embraer-Boeing Deal Is Waiting Government Approval

Two Things A Bird Needs, The Right Wing and The Right Power

Boeing controls its wings and has unveiled a recent sketch of its Transonic design which will take the commercial jet farther, faster and higher. World hopping will become the new normal in the next decade of airplane development. Boeing will be forced to do something in order to make Airbus a second rate builder of aircraft.



Transonic: Boeing's futuristic 'truss-brace' design was developed with Nasa. Photo / Supplied 

Birds are the next step in Boeing's progress. Boeing controls its own wing making and has unveiled a recent sketch of its Transonic design which will take the commercial jet farther, faster and higher. Once again, "World hopping" will become the new normal in the next decade of airplane development. Boeing will be forced to do something in order to make Airbus a second rate builder of aircraft.



Transonic: Boeing's futuristic 'truss-brace' design was developed with Nasa. Photo / Supplied 

Next focus, the Albatross, the peregrine and the Humming Bird are what nature provides for Higher, faster with power from its respective wings and metabolisms. The hummingbird beats its wings at an alarming 2,025 beats per second and burns its energy accordingly thus needing plentiful flower nectar every so often in order to survive. 

The Albatross just glides for thousands of miles across vast distances without even a wing beat, The Peregrine Falcon dives at 250 mph just using gravity and its aerodynamics for the dive. It goes faster than a skydiver 10 seconds after jumping from the airplane. Boeing will use the hummingbird beat in its new engines as the turbine blades rotating exceedingly fast and then use the Falcons aerodynamics to make the speed seem natural. 

NASA has been working with Boeing to achieve a concept as pictured above.

HowStuffWorks Credit  Albatross

Humming Bird Making 2,025 Stokes A Second 

Peregrine Falcon Poised to Dive

Aerodynamic Transonic Bird

Boeing 2018 Biggest Airbus 2018 Player

Airbus loves to play Boeing as it dumped 435 orders on its book in the month of December 2018 alone. Even though it fell short of Boeing by 146 orders for 2018, Boeing did nudge Airbus for world's largest aircraft builder by 806-800 units. That too is a surprising number for Airbus as it gained more ground on Boeing production. Surprise, as Airbus plays Boeing in its end of year count.

The Embaer-Boeing Deal Is Waiting Government Approval

Boeing on paper has an 80% share on Embraer commercial airplane business. The government is being wary thinking Boeing could end up with 100% of that deal. Brazil wants to maintain a partnership. Boeing could assimilate Embraer's product with a total Boeing small body using the merge of engineers from Embraer's own on the Boeing payroll. It's a tenuous position for Brazil as there are many workarounds that could lead to a complete Boeing ownership.

Brazil wants a dog in this fight going into perpetuity. Boeing needs to somehow guarantee Embraer/Brazil has a permanent 20% position no matter what Boeing does with its further development of smaller-bodied aircraft coming North to Boeing investors. Embraer does want to keep a 20% share of all things Boeing in the commercial arena. I tend to agree on the surface with Brazil's position but the government needs to step back and not make this current paper agreement void. Boeing must be able to show Brazil's future with this agreement no matter what Boeing does with this segment of Aircraft. It would benefit both the people of Brazil and Boeing that it confirms Embraer product is only an extension of both makers with a commonality interface.

Boeing needs to meet Brazil halfway with this newly acquired smaller body market segment. This would address Boeing's concerns as well as Brazil's political concerns. The deal should be finalized with the support of the nation's people beyond the private enterprise phase it had just entered. Taking Brazil's government to a sidebar would be valuable to both investment groups from Embraer and Boeing. In Brazil, private enterprise must flourish for the benefit of its people and Boeing needs to make that case and give Brazil its guarantee in behalf of Embraer when benefitting Boeing from Embraer's hard-earned aviation progress.

Boeing Has Its 893 2018 Orders

Boeing Booked 893 airplanes, meeting a moderately high Market objective during a year with Asian implication stalling the industry's order flow.

Below is the Airbus Target but further analysis will compare a type by type comparison when final Airbus numbers are reported by Airbus adjusting to the Boeing order report.

Boeing did confirm a total of 893 net units where Airbus reported by end of November 2018 only 380 ordered. It will need an additional 513 orders booked in December in "order" to catch Boeing. That goal is probably unachievable for Airbus unless it has been holding many (year's worth) of orders until year's end, as is it may be tempted to do with a show of order force if it could?

By the way, Boeing delivered a record 806 units which will make it the world's largest Airplane builder once again. Its almost a 1 to 1 book/bill ratio for 2018.

893/806= 1.108 BB Ratio is outstanding and the desired target.

The Airline Industry Pauses For The 777X

Since 2004 Boeing has with its 777

• 796 Delivered
• 38 Backloggedged

It also has 326 orders for the 777X

• 53, 777-8X
• 273, 777-9X

This does not include any LOI's or optioned 777X orders on the intent book.

Randy Tinseth, Boeing VP Marketing has observed, “It’s the airplane that will replace the 747-400, ultimately the 747-8, and it is going to replace the A380,” telling reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines assembly of presidents in Jeju, South Korea on October 19, 2018.

He also commented, “The 777-8 is really about the replacement for the 777-300ER, and we’re not going to see that replacement cycle for that aircraft until we get into the next decade.”

All-in-all, Boeing is timing the market for its 777X and not imposing a whole new type of technology into the marketplace like it did with the 787 families of aircraft. Boeing most definitely is trying for another strategy during the 777X program, by using already paid for and proven technology coming from both the Max and Dreamliner programs. In fact, Boeing is trying to reduce its deferred balance when using 787 costed technology on the ongoing 777X program. The balance acquired when funding a developmental moonshot for its 787 programs was for its whole family of aircraft from the 737 to the unannounced 797. Boeing intends to pare down those deferred costs labeled 787 when it feeds the Max and 777X with proven aviation advancements from those programs. The commonality factor is helping pay for carbon wings and avionics suites Boeing now uses on its products that came from the 787 programs during the years 2006-2012. It is also is developing new technology from each aircraft type made which could be retrofitted onto its other family of aircraft in development or use.

The pause comes for the 777-8x as it only had about 53 orders. Once the airplane concept performs in tests, Boeing sees its established 777 clients pushing 777-8X orders forward in 2022. The market will heat up for that type as many Boeing customers own 777-200ER and 777-300's. They could trade a 20 years old 777 classic in for a 777-8X starting by 2022. When first 777-9X delivery is made in 2020 an airshow will be the event and with would come more 777X orders. It sounds like the London Airshow will make some 777X excitement during that event in 2020.

As remaining 777 backlog remains but is wrapping up as the 777X starts its production run the transition from 777 to 777X is right on time when considering five years ago how Boeing will fill the order book they have just done that. The program capacity will be placed for timely orders going forward as this WB tests out over the next 18 months.

Hub and Spoke vs Free Market

The old hub and spoke model used to dominate the landscape. Briefly, the theory is to bring 1,000's of passengers to a huge hub like LAX and then redistribute its customers on an appropriately sized aircraft to a second location found on a passengers' itinerary. 

LAX Hub And Spoke Commercial Aviation Model


The direct flight model eliminates the hub found in New York, London, or Frankfurt. It can fly from a "second-tier airport "Oslo Norway to Hawaii if a market need is determined. Thus the freedom of destination is not confined to a hub. Airbus was left with only one competitive thought, bigger is better. Boeing went with the better is a better model and it sold almost 1,500 787's by 2019 when counting reliable commitments in the order pit.

It's a two to one market impact over Airbus. The hub is not a panacea for airline travel as the Euro maker was left to hope for, it is better is better open free market only using a hub when efficient, or just flying directly when the market allowed. The Boeing gamble paid off as there was a vast flight market segment untapped until the 787 moved in during 2012. 

Seven years later, the paradigm has shifted away from the A380 and B747's into direct flying into the Caribbean from anywhere. The Carribean was a place the A380 was not allowed due to its immense size. Smaller countries and smaller airlines now have a dog in the fight after buying the 787's in numbers, and it did just that, a new free market emerged without flying indirectly through a conforming hub.

The market saw this opportunity of going anywhere directly rather than having passengers sit for hours in a super hub waiting for a cramped single-aisle flight. 

However, single-aisle have a place as well and it is the main profit maker in the airplane manufacturing business. The market freedom concept has space remaining for new concepts unless counting the emergence of the 797 closes that "gap". 

Hub marketing has a place and is not the total answer. Airbus did not look at the air travel market wisely, it just wanted its pride to reflect what it could build and the A380 is dying an inglorious death. Even though the 1,500 747 production models earned a wonderful title, "Queen of the sky's", the A380 may earn the inglorious "Elefante Blanco" title.

The A-350 is just not good enough and too big for airline sensibility for the passenger buck even though passengers may enjoy the extra 5 inches spread across nine seats and two aisles. Giving the 1/2 inch advantage per item if ever utilized. The 777X is a culmination of this airplane story as it will outdo the A-350 1000, effectively, and put reasoning in boardrooms at a premium.

United Airlines Lines Up Its 787

United's own market strategy shows on its sleeve at a Texas BBQ. The airline bottom line is a 787 fleet. The metaphor spells Boeing equipment. Other airlines may seek a market strategy with a style and substance of mixed fleets. Delta is a good comparison with United Airlines as it uses multiples of Airbus product along with some Boeing sprinkled in. Delta seems to play the market and United seeks a Blue chip investing with Boeing as shown below.

Left to Right United's 787-10, 787-9 and 787-8. Photo Credit: United Airlines

The Boeing approximately recapped*

Airbus Product    170
Boeing Product   600
787 grouping       40
Fleet size           771

Important Boeing consideration is the preponderance of 737 and Boeing widebody in its fleet. Renewal skews towards Boeing product.

Delta:
Airbus Product:  241
Boeing Product: 514
A350 grouping:   11
(other MD)        123
Fleet Size:         878

An important consideration, Delta is in a flexible situation for either Airbus or Boeing fleet renewal it is rumored that Delta would like to be the 797 Launch customer. A truly plausible assumption at this point.

*planespotter data

B-21 Raider, Until The Year 2100

No, It's not 9:00 PM or 2100 hours but the year 2100. The B-21 Raider will fly for the next seventy-five years until the year 2100. Calculating the B-21 will enter its service in the year 2025 makes for a neat estimation of 75 years since the B-52 is counted on for 80 years of service. So the B-21 could be for 75 years of service. Sounds reasonable.

B-21 Raider  front and center as imagined

The B-21 objective currently stands at a 100 unit USAF proposal. If costs are contained and an open architecture remains, then more might be built during the next 30 years. It could amount to 200 units produced by the year 2080 for the Air Force. That's how many it will need replacing its remaining B-52, B1, and B-2 bombers. Of course, the B-21 itself will need replacing from its early flying copies as technology and weapons evolve. The B-21 must learn to live in its initial skin having an ability to insert upgrades and functionality.  The Raider has to become the "new" B-52 without having following on Bomber proposals very 10 years. Doing a Bomber proposal every10 years will "break the US Bank". The Air Force must adapt to one bomber concept and not keep rolling out another we should have done this prototype every so often. It must work within its own skin as well!

The B-21 bomber is perceived as that one bomber and it will not be replaced by at least fifty years unless it morphs with technological progressions. It will reach 200 units built in the long run. 

Open Those Doors will Move That Bus

Ty Pennington used to scream "move that bus", thus revealing the "Extreme  Home Makeover". Now Boeing is about to move that Airbus out of the widebody centerpiece with its own 777X makeover of a 777300ER. The first one that will fly, now has "its GE9X engines hung with care". Good old Saint Nick will approve of that comment. "Dash away, dash away, dash away all!" The 777-8X and 777-9X will begin its dash starting in a few months and well before Christmas 2019. Like going "crazy" is so hard to do when a Boeing is on the flight line. Neil Sedaka props below when breaking up the definitions. Like this is a monumental event when waiting so long. 

This could be called Metaphor Monday or Semile Sunday depending on what day of the week works for you.  Number 1 is the metaphor on Sunday which emblematically uses one thing which strangely represents another thing. Number 2 Monday compares one thing to, "well like", another thing. Above it is your job to find the metaphor and then find the word like as all good teenagers insist on using the word "like" when taking a breath mid-sentence. Is the word "insanity" like the word "normal" only different? Is this just metaphorically speaking?

Move that bus(metaphor) and open those doors(metaphor) like (simile) you mean it. 

777X Showtime Nears

It has been reported by several news outlets the engines have been hung on the 777X like on a Christmas tree in the Everet, Wa. factory.



Dominic Gates says so, so it must be true.

First Flight will light my fire.

flyadeal and Green Africa Is A Strong VOC For Boeing

Boeing has a strong vote of confidence for its Max program when closing its 2018 order book. It remains to be seen if Boeing will add to that total until final sales numbers are posted on its website. Green Africa, as mentioned before prior to this blog, it ordered 50 firm orders and 50 options for the 737 Max and then flyadeal reported its own 30 Max with 20 options.

What this means, Boeing has turned a previous Airbus customer, "flyadeal", into a Boeing customer. This becomes a strong Vote Of Confidence (VOC) for Boeing heading into 2019. The backdrop for these announcements is the Lion Air 737 crash that killed all its 189 passengers. The owner of Lion Air has rebuked Boeing by canceling its order book with the manufacturer. It looks like Boeing has almost replaced those Lion Air outstanding orders since the "accident". More importantly, airlines who are considering a 737 in light of the Lion Air accident are ordering the Boeing single-aisle over an Airbus consideration.

That in itself is a positive signal that Boeing has emphatically beat back any loss of customers in the head to head battle outside of Lion Air's cancelations. Boeing can move past this accident even as the final report on the incident has not yet been published. It appears Boeing has taken corrective actions for mitigating any misunderstandings from lack of sensor situational awareness or how to control a failure under a similar Lion Air mishap scenario it had experienced. 

It appears Lion Air knew of the unairworthy condition and did not seek assistance from Boeing on how to address the problems from its previous Max flights for the same Lion Air aircraft. The lack for Lion Air including Boeing on the perceived fault it had encountered, suggests a failure by only Lion air to include all remedies from its own experienced problem. It has fallen on the sward of its own incompetence.

Boeing cannot assume the responsibility of others when others act in an unprofessional manner which leads to a catastrophic aviation incident. Based on the scant public information reported on this crash it is natural to observe Lion Air cannot make a case when it has not addressed its own professional responsibility when knowing an aircraft had a flight problem beforehand and did not include the manufacturer with this problem as the problem exceeded beyond a mere maintenance issue having great consequences.

The legal battle is to attack any defendant having the deepest pockets and that happens to be Boeing and not Lion Air. But the cause of the problem lies with Lion Air's confusion and its lack of gaining direction from Boeing who had not experienced this type of problem nor could foresee a problem of this nature coming.  

Lion Air made the decision to launch a flight of an unworthy aircraft full of passengers. Boeing is not excused but becomes more of a victim of Lion Air's own incompetence when it did not involve the maker declaring it an unworthy or "unflyable" 737 Max. Judging from reports, it failed to notify Boeing or solicit a resolution to make it a flight worthy aircraft before embarking on its final flight. 

The Lion Air problem is systemic from the top down. The crash could have and should have been prevented if a sound procedural protocol existed and prevented this questioned  737 Max from even flying until all problematic flight conditions were resolved.

Customers who are now signing/firming for 737 Max orders have had time to digest this implication and are now ordering in the face of Lion Air's 737 Max crash that killed all 189 of its passengers. The VOC has made its round trip complete for Boeing with these recent orders.

Lion Air has Failed to "Assume Responsibility Forward To Boeing With This Crash"! In the face of known problems and lack of airworthiness of this one Max aircraft it owned. Lion Air owns this traject mishap.

Counterpoint:

Popular Mechanics Lion Air Summary Report in below link: 

Lion Air Pilots Tried to Override Technical Glitch Before Fatal Crash

Reports Mumble The 777X Will Fly This Spring

Hyperbole is hard to fathom when talking about the GE9X engines. They are huge as in the biggest jet engines in the world. The 7779X is as long as the 747-8i. It will seat up to 425 passengers, a Super Jumbo type with seat numbers. It only has two engines though. Waiting for the big factory door to open before the first flight is an insane task. Who can wait that long? The long trail to flight trials is really long. So seems the race to its first delivery! The job description has shifted from writing about everything under the sun that is new with Boeing aviation to writing new stuff every day about the 777X. It's no easy task, but blathering on and on about no change is an art form.

It is assumed, that I am some kind of typo artist and Boeing is the chosen topic. Roll up the sleeves and write something 777X that hasn't been written. 

Landing gears come to mind but there are more items on the to-do list like 777X cup holders.  777X windows should have a bloggers look-see, but I already have windows 10 on my computer. However, the 777X window will be 15% larger than the 777-300ER windows, but they will be placed at an eye level that reduces slouching when viewing clouds below. The neck is saved for another day. Can we say 737 NG?

However, and furthermore, it will be a wider interior by about a half an inch over the 777-200. That really counts when a focus group discusses 10 abreast seating before coffee and donuts are served for the select members of any focus group. The whole point of the meeting is finding out if jelly filled are preferred over cream-filled before trying to wedge into 10 abreast on a 777X. 

I say, "cream filled"! That is what is worth blogging about regarding the 777X progress as we all wait for that second enormous engine(in this case ginormous) to be hung on the first flying test 7779X. Its first engine is already one and hung. Engineers get paid too, they are figuring out when the second engine can be hung before their 401K expands further before first flight.

The engineers opted for jelly filled because it looks so engineered with this option. The donuts are not day old stuff you usually experience at a focus group. It is really present day fresh because the budget has been set for a long time. This is white-collar work anyways. So its fresh out of the parts bin. Cost over-run? "I don't see no stinking cost over-run!"

The 777X will have space to fit all those tight jeans boarding any flight and that is today's news before its first flight this spring. 

Boeing Appears To Have Beaten Airbus "Order Up"

Yes, Boeing appears to have finally beat Airbus for net 2018 orders. The Boeing numbers anxiously await the end of year recapping of orders when compared to Airbus. It has a 300 plus unit lead at the end of November 2018. It also has announced some timely single-aisle orders in December which could be finalized in December and that finalized number will drive Boeing past Airbus for annual orders. The annual production number is a foregone conclusion thus making Boeing the largest aircraft maker in the world.

The scorecard at the end of November stood at 690 Boeing's units to the Airbus' 380 units. A variance of 310 units. It is unlikely that Airbus will take the order book during 2018. It will be the first Boeing victory in five years if Boeing holds the order lead. Note that it was a sluggish year as talk of trade wars disrupted a normal order year. This would be true for both aircraft makers in this case so it would likely require Airbus to pull more than 300 order rabbits out of its hat for a 2018 win.

Boeing has loaded its order momentum with additional Farnborough LOI's from last year's show not yet booked. Even if Boeing doesn't finalize those scattered orders it is a foot up on Airbus for 2019 orders. Both makers have some outstanding or unconfirmed orders going into the 2019 cycle. If Boeing can beat Airbus orders for two consecutive years it would mean an order trend has flipped in Boeing's favor. Boeing would be keen to win both 2018 and 2019 in an orderly fashion.

However, as always there are some more battles to win going forward and as always a possibility of an Airbus order surprise remaining in the marketplace not yet announced. It is Airbus' nature to stump Boeing by the end of year wire as often found in horse racing. However, it is unlikely it can repeat the 2017 order antics it achieved in 2017 with a massive December Indigo order coop. Boeing may have repositioned its order stance for lucrative several years runs.

Been Doing This For Six Years, Now What"?

"Now what", is a good question? My mind has sufficiently recovered by blogging aviation's articles. Grammar was never my strong suit before my brain injury experience way back on June 1, 2011. This blog found a way for me to express thought and mechanical skills from a keyboard operation and using a computer for resourcing. It has given me an outlet for installing grammar and spell check. It also has given me a window on the technological world of computing and phone interface. In six years the world kept spinning while bringing us closer each day to a human outcome. Flight has been central to the theme of recording humanity's quest for perfecting anything it touches and sometimes with disastrous results.

I don't think another 2018 episode will be written, as I await with everyone, the emergence of 2019. I have noted a decrease in the number of articles written. It stands at about 180 articles on aviation for 2018. Some years have had more and some years less. I can only see a diminishing trend of fewer articles coming forward as my own mind becomes more choosy about what topics to write about.

Since no editors exist in my world. The product becomes a self journal over the topic of Boeing aircraft. If humor shows, it is meant to show because I love dry humor in every article written. The truth is that relative observation for what mankind sees, especially when it comes to Boeing progress, is also Winging Its soul. Boeing hires highly educated people for making the truth come out with a Boeing label put on it.

So far so good, I don't fly anymore due to a general health condition which makes going up in pressurized tubes risky for my well being. That situation does not stop me from dreaming with the eagles soaring.

I hope for every chance a reader enjoys my awkward attempt with writing on a tricky subject. My self-assignment of Boeing was an attempt to write one complete sentence without error on a keyboard. The trouble is I  write thousands of sentences and some of them have errors and others are just fine. Slowing down on aviation is a natural progression like landing. I am on a final approach going 150 knots before landing on runway 2019. In 2012, I was just taking off. The last six years is a journal of one topic, aviation, and Boeing's contribution to that topic. My arch villain is Airbus. It too makes aviation a better place to reside within its inner workings.

My only regret from 2018 is not doing a better job on the aviation topic. My basic joy is writing about aviation. 2019 should be a great year for aircraft flying to and fro. 

"The Boeing Book"

This time of year there is a great pondering for all Air Geeks about how any year like 2018 will shake out? How many orders will Boeing book for the year 2018? A whole journal published on a weekly basis could be devoted to this topic. In fact, each weekly publication could have an Order or new model rumor section. It could have an editorial section on pending orders not yet in play and as a strong possibility of what happened. It also could have a standing order book that would report everything happening last month and YTD orders much like Boeing's own website has tried to but has miserably failed at really informing its Av-geeks of what's really happening. It's really confusing on how it tally's what is really going on in its industry and it shows.

A real book cover below, on the subject.

I have a hard time ciphering with any degree of accuracy how it arrives at its real orders and deliveries during any part of the year but using only a brief subtotal from each quarterly report or a final annual report for a given time period, there is some relief on the subject matter. Yes, there is never a clear answer and that should be left for the professional guessers, the journalist but certainly not blogging!

A case in point is the massive speculation on what December will report from its monthly activity. Already the press reported 150 single-aisle orders from two customers, flyadeal and Green Africa (30/20 and 50/50 respectively-orders/options). Lion Air is claiming a withdrawal from the Boeing order book, amounting to about $22 billion in total. The aircraft number is for about 200 single-aisle not yet delivered but has ordered from Boeing.

The weekly article could summarize quickly if this is a repositioning its liabilities in face of pending lawsuits over the Lion Air Max crash, which so tragically claimed 189 lives just after take-off. 

It could be claimed by Boeing, Lion Air didn't fix a known problem with that one aircraft before take-off and Lion Air failed to fix it or officially instruct its pilot on how to cope with an existing failure experienced from its Boeing systems on this "one 737 Max 8 from previous flights of this model type. Lion Air who has more to lose than Boeing from this terrible incident, as even one lawsuit will take Lion Air out of business, is vengeful against Boeing. It is in a corner and fighting like a wild animal for survival. 

However, Boeing is at stake for almost 5,000 Max sold by Year's end, 2018. That is a whole feature article that should have been discussed by some journalist during December.

Another big article ticket item is the pending or hanging order situation. Emirates ordered 40 787-10 but nothing has been finalized for that extremely large order, as its right to not announce until a much later date. 

However, a good beat reporter might find out the status of this LOI for 40 787-10's. That in itself is a major article fleshed out of the woodwork from a leased building near Puget Sound. There are many more hanging orders stories ready for plucking off from the journalistic low hanging fruit tree.

What about China? It is a weekly section devoted to what's up with China? Boeing is opening a final checkout and assembly center in a quid pro quo move with China for selling more aircraft to this merging giant having a population well north of one billion people. Boeing must counter Airbus and Comac within the region for China's wealthy aviation aspirations. Once again, China's lo hang fruit changes on a weekly basis. 

Finally, why a Boeing journal focused just on Boeing? It's a lynchpin for the world's economy that's why! As Boeing goes so does the world's aviation market go. 

Another feature would define its deal with Embraer and how it parries an Airbus thrust with its Canada's/Bombardier CS300 offering. The macro view of Boeing strategy is one giant chess game out maneuvering moves made by others like Airbus and Bombardier. The Embraer deal is more significant than just another merger. It defines how Boeing is in it to win it strategy. There is a big "independent" reporting hole with aviation reporting needing a counterbalance from Boeing's own selective confusion on its website and the world's idled scatter reporting on the subject. The press is selling space for advertisers as all self-respecting press centers do at the pleasure of Google searching for its readers.

A weekly Boeing journal would plug all gaps from reporting and aviation thinking providing a true analysis for what is happening in aviation's world with a Boeing emphasis to the subject.


Just saying, a weekly and independent "All Things Boeing" journal would be nice emerging during 2019 coming from the professionals.

Becoming A 777X-Oh-phile

The 777 X mania starts during  January 2019. When the engines get hung after the first of the year, there will be stories and photos. Then the 777-9X test aircraft rolls out the big doors there will be stories, photos and lots of Boeing employees. When the 777-9X takes first flight in the spring of 2019, three will be more stories, photos, and a live web stream of the event. The point is 777X insanity has already started for me and Boeing can't keep up with my insatiable appetite for "All Things 777X". I have a problem and have already sought help for this problem. I am a 777X-Oh-phile!

The self-help group didn't help. After I gave my name and condition they just said, "hello Trapper" and moved on to watching the streaming video of the 787's first flight. It was miserable watching something happening almost ten years ago while I am looking at a 2019 calendar cliched firmly in my right hand. No one can help until Boeing puts out another video on its Boeing.com Web site.

I went to DJ's website on youtube for some help, he showed (I watched after clicking on youtube) me his video.

Let's Talk 777X

I went for the cheap beverage in the frig and it shows. If you haven't shaved nor will do so until it successfully first flies, then you are in need of a bath too. 

I went to another 777X video:

This one is from Boeing 

I have a problem and it is; I don't know when the next 777X Video will come out on youtube and Boeing is being lame on purpose as it knows any of the 777X-Oh-Philes out there can just "suck it".

Guy Norris comes into play and teases the 777X on a three-minute video. It just isn't fair Guy. You are a bad man not taking me inside a GE9X engine with real kerosene vapors wreaking havoc from my computer screen 

Guy Talks To You One on One For Three minutes. You can just "suck the fumes"

Can someone out there toss me a lifeline and call a friend? I think so.

Understanding An Automated Airline Disaster, A Sunday Read

This is a good read and it should cause everyone reading to ponder how the Lion Air should of, could of, and would of, prevented its horrific catastrophic 737 Max Crash. Boeing is setting a scary standard. A dependency on letting the systems fly and not the pilot in certain situations. It's a valid debate and it needs your thoughts.

Boeing has a technological fix on the future of flight and it should be asked, what if the failsafe systems fail?

Boeing Photo of The 737 Max Flight Deck

The National Business:

Cockpit automation may be jetliners' Achilles heel

Why flyadeal is a Big Deal To Boeing

Boeing just made a deal with flyadeal for 30 of the 737 Max 8 with an option for 20 more. This is a big deal because Airbus was in the hunt on this one and had a firm foot wedged into flyadeal's front door. Boeing won one for the Gipper. It beat the ever popular A320 on this one. It could mark a turning point in the sales war for the single-aisle, as customers have had plenty of time to evaluate both the NEO and the Max.

Boeing just announced it had firmed up with another airline, Green Africa for fifty Max 737's. Boeing may have turned the tide a while back and it's just now revealing a new trend. Maybe Max is a better aircraft for many reasons. Boeing is in a strong position to bait its customers with lower pricing than Airbus because it has been at this a while longer and it now can undercut the competition.

The trend line has bolted in Boeing's direction for single-aisle sales at this year's end 2018. A curious idea is that Boeing may have pocketed several other sales orders it will not disclose until later. It may wait until the year closes before another success is notched in its single-aisle belt. Each airplane maker knows what the others book will look like on early January's tally sheets. 2018 is setting a new trend and it remains to be seen if Boeing can sustain that trend throughout 2019 having higher single-aisle orders than Airbus. If it does outdo Airbus during 2019, then Boeing has breached the Airbus single-aisle stranglehold and the NMA will be announced sooner rather than later. This would become a decade's long setback for Airbus. Yeah, this week's deal is a big deal!

Did Boeing Slight Lion Air Over 737 Max Crash?

Lion Air is trying to cancel billions in orders over a perceived Boeing slight to its reputation when its newly acquired 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after take-off killing all 189 on board. Boeing wanted nothing to do with the air incident in order to keep selling more Max aircraft and without having customers question the aircraft. Lion Air felt the dismissive nature from Boeing towards Lion Air was enough to stop doing business with Boeing.

Boeing is repairing the damaging threat from Lion Air by selling more 737 Max than what's on backorder for Lion Air's fleet.  In other words, it is moving on while Lion Air's principle stakeholder and founder is trying to throw Boeing under its bus. No pun intended. However, it isn't as simple as getting out of a contracted firm order. Boeing will legally charge Lion Air money from canceled firm orders. It will cost Lion Air more money to get out of Boeing as a loyal customer.

An observer can offer solutions for either player at this time as Lion Air is shouldering the immediate liability with its flying customers and surviving families. Boeing might be exposed to lack of confidence for its 737 Max and then lose sales from that customer position. Boeing would rather have Lion Air eat the consequence of the crash and sell more airplanes to other and having Lion Air implode. 

Lion Air does not want to implode and would like Boeing to die in its behalf as a Boeing problem. Losing sales to Lion Air may be the death throes of a dying airline position. They can't buy all the airplanes they ordered because of the crash. It happened to Pan Am after Lockerbie, Scotland's 747 crash. It can happen to Lion Air. The owner of Lion Air knows this and perhaps the early news is that Lion Air is about to shoulder this blame and it will cause its house of financial cards to fall as a result. That is why Boeing is calling in all sales deals at the end of this year. It must find about $22 billion in airplane sales order to replace an air loss from Lion Air.

If the crash investigators find a jointly responsible series of errors Boeing is too big to fail. but Lion Air isn't because there is enough evidence to point fingers at Lion Air and not enough finger pointing for Boeing's position. There are too many Max's flying without a history of problems. There are too many flight crews who have not made bad decisions while flying the 737 Max. 

There simply is not enough supporting evidence to overcome Lion Air's position of a lack of professional acumen. Lion Air is on the way of becoming one of the crash victims. It may not overcome the slippery slope of paying out so much money to lawyers over this matter. Boeing has its lawyers too! If Boeing does sell another 100 737 Max by the of the year they may horribly say. Lion who? At this point, it doesn't bring back Lion Air's casualty of its customers. It's a terrible consequence of the business. 

Boeing did not slight Lion Air over the crash. It is defending itself from another entity's problems while quietly fixing any problems with its product. Every traveler must understand any conveyance is a matter of risk regardless of how many times, it works correctly. Even going downstairs in the morning can not turn out well. The Lion Air crash brings us back to reality, not everything works right everytime and that's the reality that Lion Air is now facing.