Archive for month: November, 2019

Forget the 737 MAX crisis – even the 777X program has not been without its challenges. In September 2019, it was widely reported that a cargo door on a Boeing 777X static test plane “blew out” during a ground stress test at the manufacturer’s Everett, Washington, plant. Keeping silent about the details of the incident, Boeing confirmed that the fuselage of the test aircraft suffered a high-pressure rupture just as it approached its ultimate load required to certify the jet.

It was certainly not the outcome that Boeing engineers expected when they put the new 777X airframe on a final structural strength test on September 5, 2019. First to report the news, The Seattle Times wrote at the time that a cargo door on a 777X test aircraft had failed during the high-pressure stress test, exploding outwards. Because of the incident, the manufacturer was forced to suspend load testing of the new model.

“During final load testing on the 777X static test airplane, the team encountered an issue that required suspension of the test,” the company’s spokesperson Paul Bergman said in a statement confirming the news back in September, as quoted by the newspaper.

Since then, Boeing has kept silent on the details of the failed test and what actually occurred at the facility. But a new report by The Seattle Times on November 27, 2019, revealed additional information on the incident, rectifying certain crucial details reported previously.

The final load trial of the 777X static test airplane (built for ground testing only) involved flexing the aircraft’s wings beyond the expected level during normal commercial flights. Just as the test approached its target stress level, a failure occurred.

“A testing issue occurred during the final minutes of the test, at approximately 99 percent of the final test loads, and involved a depressurization of the aft fuselage,” Boeing said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

However, according to the The Seattle Times, the door that blew out and fell to the factory floor was, in fact, a passenger door (not cargo, as reported prior) and was a secondary impact of the initial rupture that tore through the fuselage, located far below the door.

Photos of the 777X test that the newspaper said it obtained show the fuselage skin of the test aircraft ripped apart just behind the wing, indicating that the extent of the damage to the test aircraft was greater than previously suggested.

Boeing has previously said that the incident will not cause delays in the 777X program schedule. In any case, the failure of the test comes at a time when the program is already experiencing delays due to problems in the development of the massive GE9X engine purpose-designed for the new jet.

The plane maker also said that it does not see any significant impact on the design of the jet or preparations for the first flight. Boeing currently targets first flight of the 777X in early 2020 and the first airplane to be delivered to an airline in 2021.

Earlier in November, several media reports indicated that GE Aviation has managed to fix the issue with its GE9X, involving the engine’s stator vanes, and is in the final stages of certification testing, which would pave the way for the 777X to eventually take to the skies for its first flight test.

Source: https://bit.ly/2q16o0Y

Image: Dan Nevill

LATAM, Chilean airline, is potentially leaving oneworld alliance from October 1, 2020, a message of current alliance partner suggests. While the exit was expected since LATAM formed partnership with Delta Airlines in September 2019, the date has not previously been revealed.

Delta Airlines acquired LATAM’s 20% stake for $2 billion in September 2019. Immediately after both airlines announced the deal, oneworld announced that LATAM would be leaving the alliance.

Having received LATAM’s notification about its intention to partner with an airline outside the alliance, Delta, the decision to leave the alliance was to come into effect in “due course” according to “formal contractual requirements”, a statement by oneworld read at the time.

Oneworld expressed the disappointment of losing the member, but claimed they “respected” the decision and would continue to deliver customer benefits until the exit date. “Our priority at this time is to our customers and while LATAM remains a member of oneworld, the full customer benefits will continue to be delivered,” according to the statement.

Now, Australian airline Qantas, which is also a member of oneworld, has issued a notification for customers, providing insight on the date when the “due course” might actually fall on: October 1, 2020. From that date on, new bookings on LATAM flight numbers would no longer receive Status Credits, Qantas warns passengers in its website.

LATAM and Delta Air Lines are both associated with different airline alliances. While the Chilean airline has been a member of oneworld since 2000, Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam (formed in 2000).

However, LATAM’s change of alliance does not stop all alliance-related complications that arose from its partnership with the U.S. legacy carrier. One of the most prominent members of oneworld is Qatar Airways. Coincidently, the Gulf airline owns a 10% stake in LATAM since 2016.

Following the partnership announcement, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, revealed that the Middle Eastern carrier was in the dark regarding the deal – despite having a representative on LATAM’s executive board. However, al-Baker also expressed interest to up Qatar’s stake in LATAM, if given the opportunity, Reuters reported in September 2019.

Source: https://bit.ly/33kf28s

Image: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com

TARMAC Aerosave, an aircraft maintenance, recycling and storage company based in Tarbes, France and in Teruel, Spain, announced that it has completed the first dismantling project of an ex-Singapore Airlines Airbus A380, with the second one still in process. TARMAC began breaking up the superjumbos in January 2019 after the lessor of the two aircraft, Dr. Peters Group, failed to find a buyer or an interested party for the A380.

The scrapped aircraft, serial number (MSN) 003, formerly registered as 9V-SKA, was the first superjumbo delivered to a commercial airline on October 15, 2007. Singapore Airlines used the A380 frame for ten years, before returning it to the aforementioned Dr. Peters Group in November 2017, according to planespotters.net data.

On June 5, 2018, the group decided the fate of MSN 003 and MSN 005, which is currently also being scrapped, after lengthy discussions with several parties, including British Airways, Hi Fly and Iran Air. Unfortunately, no airline was interested in taking up the used aircraft via sale or lease. The investment fund intends to sell the components of the A380, in hopes of generating an estimated $45 million. In addition, Dr. Peters Group has leased out the engines from the two scrapped aircraft, generating an additional $480,000 per month per one aircraft, according to a press release issued by the company. The sale of the engines by the end of 2020 is expected. All in all, the investment fund expects returns on the two A380 frames to be between 145% and 155%.

The only superjumbo that found a lifeline after its initial release was MSN 006, currently operated by Hi Fly on an ACMI basis. TARMAC noted that over 90% of the aircraft is recycled, making an abundance of spare parts available in the secondary market.

Source: https://bit.ly/32M7Y4e

Image: Carlos Yudica

Qatar Airways has chosen CFM International LEAP-1A engines to power its new fleet of 50 Airbus A321neo family aircraft in a deal valued at 4$ billion including service contracts. The airline has placed the largest A321neo order in the Middle East.

Together with the order for the new LEAP-1A engines, Qatar Airways also announced on November 13, 2019, a deal with CFM a Rate-Per-Flight-Hour (RPFH) support agreement to cover its entire fleet of LEAP-1A engines, including spares. The agreement is valued at $4 billion at list prices.

“We chose the LEAP engine based on its proven efficiency in commercial operation,” commented Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker. “This engine addresses our strategy to operate a state-of-the-art fleet with the most advanced technologies in the industry, while expanding our network and maintaining the best flexibility for our customers”.

Out of more than 250 aircraft in its fleet, as the Gulf carrier states, 121 are Airbus airplanes. According to the European manufacturer’s latest orders and deliveries figures, Qatar Airways is awaiting delivery of another 82 jets, including the 50 A320neos and another 32 A350-1000s (the airline was the launch operator of both the A350-900 and the larger -1000 model).

Qatar Airways already operates a fleet of 38 A320ceo family aircraft (32 A320ceo and five A321ceo jets), of which eight are powered by CFM56-5B engines. The first LEAP-1 powered A321neo is scheduled to be delivered in 2020.

CFM International is a 50/50 joint company between GE and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines. According to the company, the fastest-selling engine family in history, LEAP, has more than 18,600 orders and commitments, including spare engines, booked through August 2019.

Among the recent deals, CFM announced on October 17, 2019, it finalized an order for 26 LEAP-1A engines to power Air Vistara’s 13 new A320neos, in addition to the 37 leased airplanes from the A320neo family ordered in July 2018 and the 10 leased aircraft already in service.

Alongside the engine order, the Indian carrier also inked a long-term RPFH agreement for the maintenance of the 120 LEAP-1A engines that power 60 A320neo and A321neo jets in service or in order. The total value of the service agreement and the engine order is more than $2.4 billion at list prices.

Source: https://bit.ly/32M7Y4e

Image: testing / Shutterstock.com