All photos from Boeing/United. Click any for larger view
This Monday, many will celebrate the first Boeing 787 delivery to All Nippon Airways (ANA). ANA will become the first airline in the world receive and operate a Boeing 787, and United Airlines will be the first US operator the 787.
Currently, United’s first 787 is making its way through the Boeing factory in Everett. I was able to catch a glimpse of the airframe while taking a factory tour during a recent TweetUp, but was unable to take photos (Boeing does not allow photos on their standard factory tour). Luck for us, Boeing sent photos to United and the airline shared them on their FaceBook.
United is expecting to take delivery of their first 787s sometime in early 2012. United and Continental Airlines both previously had 25 on order and post merger, United will have 50. United plans to fit their 787s with 36 flat-bed seats in BusinessFirst, 63 extra-legroom seats in Economy Plus and 120 seats in standard Economy.
“We are proud to be the first North American airline to receive the 787, which will be a game changer for the new United and the industry,” said United Airlines President and CEO Jeff Smisek via a press release. “The 787 will be a very comfortable, customer pleasing aircraft, and with its range, fuel efficiency and superb operating economics, the 787 will allow us to enter new long-haul markets and also replace older, less-efficient widebody aircraft.”
United has not yet announced any flight schedules for their 787s, but plan to do so later in the year. Continental has previously announced a planned flight from Houston to Auckland non-stop using the 787.
Atlas Air Boeing 747-8F N852GT inside the Boeing Factory.
More troubling news for Boeing’s 747-8 Freighter program today. Atlas Air has announced that they have terminated orders for three Boeing 747-8Fs, “due to delays and performance considerations.” The three aircraft they cancelled are test aircraft that end up being less efficient than later 747-8Fs produced.
Jim Proulx with Boeing communications told Business Week that Atlas Air’s decision is ’œabsolutely unrelated’ to Cargolux delaying their first 747-8 delivery. ’œThough the first airplanes off the line are slightly short of expectations, these early-build models nonetheless will be great airplanes with unparalleled efficiency and low costs. As with all programs, we’ll continue to focus on performance improvements that increase the value these airplanes will bring to our customers.’
Atlas Air will still received nine 747-8Fs through 2013.
William J. Flynn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, said via press release that, ’œAs prudent asset managers, terminating the first three aircraft was the right decision for our fleet, our customers and our stockholders. We expect the remaining 747-8Fs in our order to be better-performing aircraft than those we have terminated.”
The first three 747-8Fs delivered to Atlas will be contracted out to British Airways, where the next two will enter service with Panalpina. With the additional new 747s, Atlas plans to retire five of their Boeing 747-200s that they currently operate.
This comes on the heels of Atlas Air’s stock dropping 13%, after an analyst downgraded their shares from “buy” to “neutral.” The concern stems from the down economy. Could this have been less about the efficiency differences of the 747-8F or a good excuse for Atlas to take delivery of less aircraft without penalty?
There is still no word on when Cargolux will take delivery of their two Boeing 747-8Fs.
UPDATE 1:
Jim Prouix with Boeing Communications explained what Boeing is currently planning to do with the three aircraft involved in Atlas’ change of contract to AirlineReporter.com. “We are working to place the airplanes with other customers.”
Prouix also reiterated that Boeing’s dealings with Cargolux and Atlas are separate. “The decisions by Atlas and Cargolux were independent and involved distinct contracts and issues. We continue to work through unresolved contractual issues with Cargolux and look forward to delivering its airplanes.”
In March 2010, Atlas Air started operating the Boeing 747 Dreamlifters. It was strongly suspected that this deal was part of a compensation package to Atlas for the delays of the Boeing 747-8F. Boeing stated that “Atlas’ Dreamlifter contract is not at issue in this matter.”
Image: Jon Ostrower
The Boeing 747-8F is delayed. Will the 787 go to ANA before the 747-8F goes to Cargolux?
As of now, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is scheduled to be delivered to All Nippon Airways (ANA) on Monday September 26th. The first Boeing 747-8F was scheduled to be delivered to Cargolux on the 19th, but as of now has little hope of being delivered this week.
So that raises the question: which aircraft do you think will be delivered to their customer before the other? The 787 or the 747-8F?
[poll id=”6″]
If you are viewing this on my Seattle PI or Reuters syndications, you might need to go directly to AirlineReporter.com to vote.
Image: 747-8 belongs to flypdx
We still do not know much about what has caused Cargolux to pull out of taking delivery of their first new Boeing 747-8Fs.
As announced last week, Cargolux refused to take delivery of their first two Boeing 747-8 Freighters. They were supposed to take delivery of their first one yesterday and their second one tomorrow, but at this point no one is sure when the deliveries will occur.
Not many people are talking about what is going on. Boeing told me via email, “Nothing new to report. Same status as Friday,” which means, “We have unresolved issues between ourselves and Cargolux. We are working with our customer to determine a date for delivery.” Luckily for us, some journalists have received “insider” information that puts some light on what is going on between Boeing and Cargolux.
At the beginning of this controversy, some thought this might have something to do with the Boeing 747-8F not living up to performance expectations. It appears that performance issues might have something to do with this, but it might be more politically motivated.
Scott Hamilton, with Flightglobal, is reporting that Qatar Airways, who recently purchased a 35% stake in Cargolux, is requiring additional compensation for delays to their Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Previously Qatar and Boeing had an agreement on that compensation, but it appears that Qatar might be looking for a better deal. According to Hamilton’s sources, “Qatar’s chief executive Akbar Al-Baker views the compensation for Cargolux as setting a benchmark for the sum due for the delays to Qatar’s 787s.”
Hamilton is also reporting that that another, unnamed, Boeing 747-8F customer is looking for changes in their contracts. Originally they were slated to take delivery of the first test aircraft (presumably at a lower price), but now are wanting aircraft that will not require re-working after they take delivery.
It seems unlikely that this dispute would only revolve around the Boeing 747-8’s performance issues, since Boeing has been forthcoming about the aircraft’s additional weight for quite some time. In an email to the Puget Sound Business Journal Boeing stated, “It’s misleading to say we missed our specifications. After we set our original specification, we completely redesigned the wing, which is significantly heavier, but more than makes up for that in increased aerodynamic efficiency and lower fuel burn.’
In a press release, issued by Cargolux, they confirmed that they are working with Boeing to resolve contract issues, but are ready to move forward with leasing additional aircraft if needed. “In the event that the issues cannot be resolved in a timely manner, Cargolux will source alternative capacity to fully meet customer demand and expectations ahead of the traditional high season.”
Jon Ostrower on Flightglobal is reporting that delivery of Cargolux’s two 747-8Fs during the week of September 19th-24th is, “highly unlikely.” It doesn’t seem anyone (even Boeing and Cargolux) are sure when the aircraft might be delivered.
Yesterday, Brandon Farris caught a Cargolux Boeing 747-400 landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). It is not unusual to see Cargolux aircraft at SEA, but the timing was a bit off from when they usually fly in. This particular aircraft runs between Mexico (MEX), Atlanta (ATL), New York (JFK), Houston (IAH), and Luxembourg (LUX), but not Seattle. I assume that this 747-400 picked up cargo at SEA that the first Cargolux Boeing 747-8F was supposed to deliver to Luxembourg (where Cargolux is head quartered).
At first, it appeared that Boeing might come off looking like the bad one in this conflict, but if the rumors of Qatar Airways strong arming Boeing into a better deal for the 787s at the expense of Cargolux not receiving their 747-8Fs, then Boeing might not coming off looking so poorly.
I will be sure to keep you all updated as new information surfaces.
UPDATE 1:
Guy Norris, with Aviation Week, goes into detail on what the Boeing 747-8F is lacking as far as performance (thanks @mtrumpbour for pointing this out). He states that there is a 2.7% greater fuel burn than expected. GE is working on a fuel savings package for their GEnx-2B engines on the 747-8F, but those will not be completed until 3rd quarter 2013 and are only expected to improve fuel consumption by 1.6%.
Norris states that Qatar Airway’s deal to purchase a 35% stake occurred in June, 2011, but it took three months to be ratified by the governments of each country. This happened only a few days before the 747-8F deliveries were to take place.
Ostrower, who is currently in Seattle for the 747-8F delivery, caught Boeing doing some interesting 747-8F moving around today at Paine Fieldand posted on his Flickr.
UPDATE 2 9/21 7:30am:
Matt Cawby with KPAE Blog is reporting that one of Cargolux’s Boeing 747-8Fs (LX-VCB) went on a customer test flight, meaning the airline’s pilots were on board. This normally is a sign that Boeing is getting close to delivery. Cawby is hearing rumors that the first aircraft might deliver Tuesday September 27th.
Firdaus Hashim on Flighglobal is reporting that Cathay Pacific Airways is “satisfied” with their 747-8Fs, which they are expected to take delivery of in October. “Cathay Pacific’s commercial arrangements with all its suppliers, including Boeing, are confidential. However, we are satisfied that our commercial arrangements with Boeing take account of the known and disclosed specification and performance characteristics of the aircraft,” said Hong Kong’s flag carrier in a statement.
Thanks to Marshall Autry (Vintage Racer) for letting me use his photo.
I was doing research on Virgin America’s new in-flight entertainment system and came across Brett Snyder’s review and figured I could do no better, so be sure to read his write up and then I will share a few thoughts (no rush, I can wait…)
Soon, you will be able to get Virgin America's RED on your own device.
So what do you think? I have been saying for quite sometime that I feel that the future of in flight entertainment will move from being on a screen hanging from the ceiling or in the seat-back to using your own devices. Almost everyone has some sort of device, be it a laptop, smart phone or tablet. People also update their devices much quicker and why should airlines pay millions to put in entertainment options, when they can just let you access options with your own device?
Recently Temo Madrigal took a look at American Airlines offering streaming entertainment to your device and Virgin America takes it one step further with BoardConnect by Lufthansa Systems. You can actually get Virgin America’s in flight system (called RED) on your own device. That is pretty slick. Virgin American also offers GoGo internet, so you have the ability to get online, use their seat back entertainment, or view their entertainment on your own device. Options are always king.
’œThe idea behind Red has always been to reinvent the flight experience, by offering travelers more options, more control, more content and more interactivity. Even though we believe that Red has raised the bar and is still head and shoulders above anything else in the U.S. skies, we’re not the kind of Company that rests on our laurels,’ said David Cush, President and CEO of Virgin America.
As Brett pointed out in his story, it will be a while before customers get to enjoy this new feature. However, this month, Virgin America is starting trials on an Airbus A320, aptly named #NerdBird (N841VA). Passengers are not expected to be able to use the new system until late 2012, but it is not like Virgin America’s current RED system won’t entertain you for the time being. I already believe the Virgin America offers the best domestic in-flight entertainment options and it looks like they want to keep it that way.
