Tag: jet (Page 30 of 32)

Indonesian Searchers Find Lion Air Black Box

November 1, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

JAKARTA, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Indonesian authorities on Thursday retrieved a flight data recorder from a Lion Air jet that crashed and broke apart in shallow sea near the capital, Jakarta, this week, killing all 189 people on board.

The country’s second-deadliest air disaster since 1997 has prompted renewed concern about Indonesia’s patchy aviation safety record, and the government has said Lion Air will face tougher safety regulation.

Investigations into the world’s first crash of a Boeing Co 737 MAX, introduced into commercial service last year, will be scrutinised by the global aviation industry.

“Hopefully, this can unveil the mystery behind the plane crash,” Indonesia’s transportation safety committee chief Soerjanto Tjahjono told a news conference at Jakarta’s main port after receiving the device, known as a black box.

The data it holds should provide clues to what went wrong with the plane, which had only been in service since August.

It lost contact with ground staff just 13 minutes after taking off early on Monday from Jakarta, on its way to the tin-mining town of Pangkal Pinang.

The pilot had asked to return to base shortly after take-off, and ground control officials had approved the request.

A navy diver told broadcaster Metro TV on board a search vessel his team found the orange-coloured box intact in debris on the muddy sea floor.

Indonesia’s transportation safety committee (KNKT) will analyse its data in Jakarta, which could take up to two weeks.

Searchers have yet to find the second black box containing recordings of cockpit conversations. Strong currents have hampered search efforts, complicated by the presence of energy pipelines in the area.

The discovery of the black box may provide some relief to grieving relatives. But hopes are fading of finding a large section of fuselage intact with bodies, easily retrievable, inside.

The commander of the navy divers involved in the search was quoted by the Kompas.com news portal as saying divers had found many bodies. But only one has been identified.

“What is important for us is to get more information about the victims because having their remains back is important for us so we can bury them properly,” said Ade Inyo, whose brother in law was on the flight.

MORE INSPECTIONS, SAFETY REVIEW

The investigation will be carried out with help from Boeing, General Electric and the Federal Aviation Federation, officials have said.

It will also focus on four of Lion Air’s staff including its technical director who were suspended by Indonesia’s transportation ministry on Wednesday amid speculation the aircraft was not airworthy.

“For now, we will focus on two primary causes,” KNKT deputy chief Haryo Satmiko told Reuters, referring to equipment and the people who flew, maintained and managed the aircraft.

The transport ministry suspended for 120 days Lion Air’s maintenance and engineering director, fleet maintenance manager and the release engineer who gave the jet permission to fly on Monday, it said in a press release.

Founded in 1999, the privately owned budget carrier’s aircraft have been involved in at least 15 safety incidents and it has faced tougher international safety restrictions than other Indonesian airlines.

It will now be subjected to more intensive “on ramp” inspections compared with other airlines, authorities said.

President Joko Widodo has also ordered a review of all regulations relating to flight safety.

Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. Its transportation safety committee investigated 137 serious aviation incidents from 2012 to 2017.

Lion Air said the aircraft that crashed had been airworthy and the pilot and co-pilot had 11,000 hours of flying time between them.

But according to the transport safety committee, the plane had technical problems on its previous flight on Sunday, from the city of Denpasar on the resort island of Bali, including an issue over “unreliable airspeed”.

Lion Air chief executive Edward Sirait has acknowledged reports of technical problems with the aircraft, but said maintenance had been carried out “according to procedure” before it was cleared to fly again.

Lion Air’s only other fatal accident was in 2004, when an MD-82 crashed upon landing at Solo City, killing 25 of the 163 people on board, according to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network.

In April, the airline announced a firm order to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 narrowbody jets with a list price of $6.24 billion. It is one of the U.S. planemaker’s largest customers globally, and was the first carrier globally to take delivery of the 737 MAX last year.

(Reporting by Jakarta bureau Writing by Fergus Jensen and Ed Davies Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel)

New Brazil President Bolsonaro OK With Embraer-Boeing Deal

October 29, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has a positive view of a proposed commercial aviation partnership between Boeing Co and local aircraft maker Embraer SA, Bolsonaro’s choice for defense minister told Reuters on Monday.

Former General Augusto Heleno said the deal could be cleared by the current administration of President Michel Temer, although Bolsonaro’s team would like to see details of the proposed joint venture.

“It’s not that the government is leaving and so it cannot take any action,” Heleno said, referring to the outgoing Temer administration. “If we had a conversation and we reached a conclusion, ‘Look, everything’s good, this is worth it,’ we don’t have to keep waiting,” Heleno said.

Embraer reached a preliminary agreement in July to sell 80 percent of its commercial jet division to Boeing in a venture valued at $4.75 billion. The deal has not closed yet, in part because Brazil’s government holds a “golden share” that grants it veto power over strategic business decisions at Embraer.

Last week, the current defense minister, Joaquim Silva e Luna, told Reuters that Brazil’s next president would be presented with the details of the deal.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Ricardo Brito Writing by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Image from www.embraer.com

Airbus 2018 Delivery Goal Questioned By Analysts

October 29, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Airbus (AIR.PA) will have to equal a record final quarter for deliveries if the European planemaker is going to meet its overall 2018 targets following a series of production setbacks.

Flight Ascend, a UK-based consultancy which monitors fleet developments worldwide, told aircraft investors in Hong Kong that Airbus may struggle to meet its target for 800 total aircraft deliveries this year.

And Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned said in a note that Airbus faced a shortfall in deliveries of its best-selling A320neo due to ongoing engine delays and operational problems.

The warnings came as Airbus prepares to post third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, when all eyes will be on whether it keeps its full-year target of 800 jet deliveries.

By end-September, Airbus was already facing a tough – though not unprecedented – challenge in meeting its full-year goal, a Reuters analysis of delivery data shows.

To meet the goal it would have to repeat exactly the record pattern of 2017, when 37 percent of the total number of annual deliveries were squeezed into the final quarter.

Airbus “usually pulls a rabbit out of the hat, so I wouldn’t bet against it,” a financial source familiar with the process said, adding delays had stressed the global aircraft industry.

For the first nine months, Airbus delivered 503 aircraft, leaving it once again with 37 percent of the targeted annual figure to accomplish in just three months.

The average achieved over that quarterly period in the past 10 years was 31 percent, according to a Reuters review of Airbus data.

Crucial to whether Airbus meets its goal is progress on best-selling single-aisle jets like the A320 and A321.

Commercial jets make up 76 percent of Airbus revenues, which are mostly paid on delivery, while aircraft lessors, who control around half the global fleet, lose $10,000 a day for a late A320-family jet, experts said.

Airbus does not publish separate delivery targets for single-aisle jets but Flight Ascend estimates this year’s target at around 630, leaving 76 a month to go in the last quarter.

“October numbers are sitting in the mid-50s which means it … is very challenging to reach the target for the end of year,” Ascend’s Ryan Hammacott told a Hong Kong seminar.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported Airbus faced new problems in producing the A321neo, a model central to its ambition to dominate the top end of the single-aisle market and thwart Boeing’s (BA.N) plans for a new mid-sized passenger jet.

Last week Rolls-Royce (RR.L) disclosed a shortfall in engine deliveries for the big A330neo.

Airbus planemaking president Guillame Faury last week confirmed Airbus was facing internal problems with the A321neo, but declined to discuss any impact on the delivery target.

Faury, who is the designated future Airbus chief executive has made stabilising deliveries a top priority.

Harned said stock markets may absorb a downgrade in the delivery target but would watch for any signs of stress in 2019.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Image from http://www.airbus.com

General Dynamics Tops Profit Estimates

October 24, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Oct 24 (Reuters) – U.S. aerospace and defense company General Dynamics Corp beat analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by higher demand for its IT services by U.S. government agencies.

The company closed its $9.7 billion purchase of IT services-heavy CSRA Inc in the middle of the year. This was the first full quarter for General Dynamics to report the results of that business as the U.S. government is in the midst of a broad modernization effort.

Revenue rose at all of the company’s businesses, with its information technology unit recording the biggest jump.

Revenue from the IT business more than doubled to $2.31 billion, as integration of the unit continued and the business won several contracts during the quarter. Major wins during the quarter for the unit included a $330 million contract from the U.S. Census Bureau and a $210 million contract from the Centers Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Profit margins at the IT services business slipped from 9.5 percent to 6.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Total operating margins for General Dynamics were 12.5 percent, down from 14 percent in the same period last year.

Revenue from the company’s aerospace division, which makes business jets, rose 1.8 percent. Total new Gulfstream deliveries, a key metric for investors, fell to 27 from 30 compared with the third quarter last year. But compared with the second quarter, deliveries rose by one jet and large-cabin Gulfstream deliveries rose to 21 from 18 in the second quarter.

Net earnings rose 11 percent to $851 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.89 per share, beating Refinitiv estimates of $2.76.

Total revenue rose 20 percent to $9.09 billion, but fell short of estimates of $9.38 billion.

The company’s total backlog at the end of third-quarter 2018 was $69.5 billion, up 4.9 percent from second-quarter 2018. The biggest backlog contributor came from a $3.9 billion contract from the U.S. Navy for the construction of four (DDG-51) guided-missile destroyers.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Susan Thomas)

Boeing Tops Analysts’ Forecasts For Quarterly Profit

October 24, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Boeing (BA.N) topped analysts’ forecasts for quarterly profit on Wednesday despite a series of charges on U.S. military programs and raised its forecasts for annual profit as it continued to benefit from a boom in global air travel and airplanes.

Shares of the world’s biggest planemaker were up 4.5 percent in premarket trading, helping brighten the mood on Wall Street after a handful of shaky results on Tuesday from U.S. manufacturers hurt by concerns over global trade.

Soaring demand from commercial airlines has driven another surge in revenues for Boeing over the past year, pushing shares in the company up by roughly a third over the past 12 months.

Those moves have been dented somewhat by a combination of the trade worries, this year’s greater market volatility and a series of recurring charges for its delay-plagued KC-46 tanker program.

Boeing recorded another $176 million in charges in the quarter on the aerial refueling tanker, bringing the total cost of the program to more than $3 billion.

It also took a charge of $691 million related to the MQ25 refueling drone and T-X training jet contracts it won in August and September, offset in part by a $412 million tax benefit.

Despite the charges, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg played up the new T-X and MQ25 business and completion of a static test model of its forthcoming 777X widebody, with two test flight jetliners in production.

“This strong underlying performance, along with growth across our businesses we’ve seen throughout the year, give us confidence to raise our 2018 revenue and earnings guidance and reaffirm our operating cash flow guidance.”

Boeing raised its full-year profit forecast to $14.90-$15.10 from a previous $14.30-$14.50 per share, and revenue to a range of $98 billion to $100 billion, up from $97 billion to $99 billion.

The Chicago-based firm’s core earnings, which exclude some pension and other costs, came in 11 cents above analysts’ average forecast at $3.58 per share in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Boeing has delivered 568 aircraft in the first nine months of 2018 despite production snarls on its best-selling 737 narrowbody, up from 554 at the end of September a year ago, putting it on track to deliver another record year of plane sales.

That keeps the manufacturer, which aims to deliver between 810-815 planes in 2018, in front of its European rival Airbus SE (AIR.PA), which delivered 503 aircraft through September this year. Airbus shares gained 2.7 percent.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Nick Zieminski)

Boeing Delivers First 787-9 Dreamliner to Juneyao Airlines

In other recent Boeing news, the company delivered the first 787-9 Dreamliner for Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines. The new, super-efficient Dreamliner will also be the first widebody commercial jet operated by a privately-held Chinese airline.

“This delivery is our airline’s biggest milestone and marks a big step toward expanding our network in China and beyond,” said Wang Junjin, Chairman, Juneyao Airlines. “As the market-leading widebody model, the 787-9 Dreamliner will play a key role in our global business growth.”

Juneyao Airlines, previously an all-Airbus operator, mainly offers flights from Shanghai to more than 50 cities across China. In introducing the long-range 787 Dreamliner, the carrier is looking to expand its international network and increase flights to Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea.

The 787-9 is part of a family of three airplanes that offer long ranges and unmatched fuel efficiency in the 200 to 350 seat market. The 787-9 can carry 290 passengers and fly up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140 km), while reducing fuel use and emissions by 20 to 25 percent compared to older airplanes. Passengers will appreciate a more comfortable flight thanks to the Dreamliner’s large windows, lower cabin altitude, smooth-ride technology, and other amenities.

“We are delighted to welcome Juneyao to the growing 787 Dreamliner family. We are confident that the Dreamliner’s fuel efficiency, range and passenger-pleasing features will power the next stage of Juneyao Airlines’ expansion,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing at The Boeing Company. “This delivery marks the first of 10 787-9 Dreamliners for Juneyao and their emergence as an international carrier.”

To ensure a smooth introduction of the Dreamliner, Juneyao Airlines will use Boeing Global Services’ pilot training. The airline will also employ electronic flight bag in the flight deck to improve operational efficiency. On other aircraft, Juneyao uses Boeing’s tailored charting services and flight planning solutions.

Safran’s Q3 Core Sales Rise 11.4%

October 23, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS, Oct 23 (Reuters) – France’s Safran (SAF.PA) posted an 11.4 percent rise in underlying third-quarter sales, led by aerospace and defence, and said it was “well on track” to meet full-year targets with the help of accelerating production of a new jet engine.

Safran co-produces the LEAP engine for Airbus and Boeing jets with General Electric.

Earlier this year it absorbed struggling French seats maker Zodiac Aerospace, and Safran said on Tuesday that it continued to benefit from above-average aftermarket growth.

The company, which also makes military systems, said third-quarter revenues grew 11.4 percent after stripping out the Zodiac acquisition and currency swings to 5.348 billion euros ($6.14 billion).

($1 = 0.8709 euros) (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

Lufthansa Is Giving Boeing a Shot at New Wide-Body Deal

October 22, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Bloomberg) — Deutsche Lufthansa AG is trying to decide whether to take its first Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners, or to expand its fleet of Airbus SE’s marquee A350 wide-body jets as it updates its long-range aircraft, according to people familiar with the plans.

Lufthansa has requested proposals from both Airbus and Boeing, and is looking to order about 20 jets in a deal that may be finalized in the next few months, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

Click the link below for the full story!

Lufthansa Is Giving Boeing a Shot

Honeywell Profit Beats On Strong Aero & Automation Sales

October 19, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) beat expectations for third-quarter profit on Friday and lifted its full-year forecasts for cash flow and margins as it rode a boom in e-commerce driven warehouse investment and aircraft production.

Shares of Honeywell, which makes everything from aircraft engines to catalysts used in petroleum refining, were up 2.5 percent at $159 in premarket trading.

Honeywell has benefited from a rise in global travel that has driven record orders for jets, leading to robust demand for its avionics, braking systems and other aircraft parts.

Recovering demand for business jets, for which the company makes engines, thanks to a tax windfall handed to Corporate America by President Donald Trump in January, has also helped the company.

Sales at the aviation unit, the company’s biggest business, rose 10 percent to $4.03 billion. Margins expanded by 80 basis points to 22.1 percent in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

Honeywell’s results come a day after Cessna jet maker Textron (TXT.N), one of its customers, reported a 12.5 percent growth in its backlog at $1.8 billion, citing an improving business jet market.

The company has also taken advantage of a boom in e-commerce as it supplies warehouse automation equipment and software to customers such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

Sales in safety and productivity solutions unit, which houses the warehouse automation business, climbed 11 percent to $1.58 billion, while margins jumped 150 basis points to 16.6 percent.

Excluding items, Honeywell earned $2.03 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.99 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

The company’s revenue rose 6.3 percent to $10.76 billion, topping the consensus of $10.75 billion.

Honeywell increased the low end of its 2018 adjusted free cash flow to $5.8 billion from $5.6 billion, while keeping the top end unchanged at $6.2 billion.

The company now expects full-year margins to rise 19.5-19-6 percent, up from 19.4-19.6 percent. Excluding the impact of divestitures, Honeywell said its full-year earnings will be in a range of $7.95 to $8.00 per share.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Gulfstream Expects Business Jet Market Growth In 2019

October 17, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Gulfstream Aerospace expects growth in both sales opportunities and deliveries next year, as the U.S. business jet maker brings two new large-cabin corporate planes to market, company President Mark Burns said on Wednesday.

Burns said in an interview that the entry into service of the company’s new G500 and G600 business jets will drive market growth for Gulfstream, a division of General Dynamics Corp. (GD.N)

“I expect next year will be a growth year,” he said on the sidelines of the National Business Aviation Association annual corporate jet show in Orlando, Florida. “We’re bringing two new airplanes to market at a time when the market is improving.”

After years of sluggish sales, potential buyers at the show are looking closely at new aircraft models with longer ranges and technology for smoother rides, while weighing the advantage of recent U.S. tax deductions. Hopes for new orders in the industry have also been underpinned by a dwindling supply of pre-owned aircraft.

Burns said he is confident that Gulfstream will meet its existing 2018 plans to deliver between 115 to 125 planes this year, although he could not be more specific ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report next week.

The G500 was certified in July and its first delivery was made in September. The slightly larger G600, which can fly nonstop from London to Los Angeles, is expected to be certified by year’s end and enter service in 2019.

A 10-year outlook by Honeywell Aerospace (HON.N) ahead of the convention forecasts up to 7,700 new business jet deliveries worth $251 billion from 2019 to 2028, up 1 percent to 2 percent from the 10-year forecast in 2017.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Boeing, Embraer To Build KC-390 Military Cargo Jet

October 1, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 1 (Reuters) – U.S. planemaker Boeing and Brazil’s Embraer are in talks to set up an assembly line to build KC-390 military cargo jets in the United States, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Monday.

In July, the two planemakers announced a deal to give Boeing an 80 percent stake in Embraer’s commercial aircraft arm, marking the biggest realignment in the global aerospace market in decades.

At the time, the companies also announced a deeper sales and services partnership on the new KC-390 military cargo jet through a separate defense venture that they said was likely to eventually receive a joint investment.

According to the report on Monday, which did not detail how the paper obtained the information, the two companies intend to create a defense-related joint venture to install the factory, which would be the second to produce the plane.

Such a partnership would give Boeing a newly designed, U.S.-built tactical transport plane to sell directly against rival Lockheed Martin’s workhorse Hercules C130.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The move would allow the planemakers to grow their collaboration in the defense realm, after Boeing’s original takeover bid snagged on Brazilian concerns about it gaining control of national defense programs. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper Editing by Susan Thomas)

Image from www.embraer.com

Boeing Delivers First 787-9 Dreamliner to Juneyao Airlines

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