Aviation Sourcing Solutions Blog

Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft successfully completed its first flight on January 29, 2016. The Aircraft took off from a rainy tarmac in Renton, Washington and proceeded to take part in flight tests for about three hours before landing at Boeing Field in Seattle. This issue-less flight of the new aircraft marks a step toward the company’s scheduled delivery of approximately 12 737 MAX aircraft by the end of 2017.

A couple of weeks after having received an order for a crewed mission into space by NASA, Boeing is busy ramping up production of its CST-100 Starliner space capsule. This is the second crewed mission that NASA has ordered from Boeing and the aircraft company is working hard to help bring the U.S. space agency one step closer to launching astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil.

Emirates, an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has recently decided to retire over 50 aircraft within the next three years, as part of its modernization plan. Next year in 2016, the company will retire 26 airplanes, which include one Boeing 777-300ER, two Boeing 777-300s, six Boeing 777-200ERs, one A340-500, four A340-300s, as well as 12 A330-300s. In order to replace these retired airplanes, Emirates will be adding 36 new aircrafts in 2016, which include 16 Boeing 777-300ERs and 20 Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner is the latest and longest member in the Boeing 787 family of commercial aircraft. It was officially launched at the 2013 Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France, in June 2013. Boeing has finalized the detailed design for the forthcoming 787-10, the company said Wednesday.

BOC Aviation announced that it placed an order with Boeing for 22 737 aircraft. These 22 737’s will be delivered throughout the span of 2018 to 2021. These 22 737’s consist of 11 Boeing Next Generation 737-800’s and 11 Boeing 777 MAX 8’s.

Bulking up its military spending due to concerns over ISIS and Russia, the UK announced that it placed an order with Boeing for nine P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. In order to beef up Britain’s defense capabilities, Prime Minister David Cameron stated in his Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) speech that the British government expects to spend $270 billion on defense equipment over the next decade-$18 billion of which will be going towards purchasing aircraft such as the nine Boeing P-8 Poseidons.

Boeing introduced a new single-aisle 737 business jet also known as the BBJ Max. The BBJ is considered a modernized version of the 50-year-old twinjet. The four orders came from two companies. One of the companies is a Middle East operator who ordered three BBJ Max aircraft, while the other one is an Asian operator who ordered the remaining one.

Philippine Airlines has major plans to allocate up to $700 million for the acquisition of new aircraft and spare parts in 2016. According to PAL President Jaime Bautista, the budget is estimated to be anywhere between $500 to $700 million. The budget includes a previously announced order for five Airbus A321 aircraft and two Boeing 777 aircraft, which are due to arrive in the coming year. Bautista noted that some of the aircraft would be leased, while others are purchased. The company is also evaluating a plan to purchase new aircraft to replace its Airbus A340s as the planes consume more fuel and are costlier to maintain with Bautista maintaining that PAL would want to make a decision on whether to get the A350 or Boeing 787 to replace the A340s by year-end.

Norwegian Air Shuttle AS agreed to buy 19 Boeing Co. 787s worth more than $5 billion at list prices, doubling the size of the Dreamliner fleet that it’s counting on to make long-haul discount flights profitable. Norwegian Air will first order 19 of the 787-9 planes, with delivery between 2017 and 2020, and will have an option to order an extra 10, as it expands into long-haul services offerings and adds to its fleet of eight 787-8 and 90 737MAX jets. Norwegian Air has expanded rapidly and is trying to take market share from traditional flag carriers. In April of last year, it suspended talks on buying 20 Dreamliners from Boeing because of a delay in receiving U.S. backing for its long-haul plans.

Boeing opened the door to its new advanced research center in St. Louis, Missouri. This new advanced research center will act as the region hub for Boeing’s collaborative technology development that will assist academic institutions and research partners in system technology. This facility will be more than 180,000 square-feet big, and will be used to help in the creation and planning of technologies of current and future Boeing products.