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Boeing Co. has pushed back delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner by several weeks, a widely expected decision but also the latest in a series of embarrassing glitches that have disrupted production of the hotly anticipated aircraft.
The postponement of the carbon-composite airplane, already more than two years behind schedule, is attributed to a delay in the availability of a Rolls-Royce engine needed for the final phases of flight testing. Get the full story »
The Boeing Co. has won an $8.5 million order for engineering work to put virtual training systems into aircraft. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Boeing Co. says it plans to open a manufacturing facility at a long-struggling airport in southwestern Illinois.
In a release Thursday, Boeing says that it will lease space at MidAmerica Airport for assembly work and that the facility will initially employ 75. Officials at a ceremony at the airport suggested there would be more. Get the full story »
Boeing Co said Thursday it took orders for four 737 narrowbody planes and lost one order for a 777 in the week ended Aug. 17.
Boeing, the world’s second largest commercial planemaker after EADS unit Airbus, said its net orders for 2010 so far number 258 compared with 142 commercial plane orders in 2009. Get the full story »
The company Aircell said Thursday that it has settled remaining claims in a patent lawsuit brought against the company over its in-flight Internet system.
The settlement news comes three weeks after a Massachusetts jury found that Aircell had not infringed on a patent owned by Ambit Corp., a technology company based in Massachusetts. Get the full story »
Flight attendant Robert Johnson stands in between first class and coach on an American Airlines 737-800 plane in 2009. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
As part of its quest for more non-ticket revenue, American Airlines will begin charging customers who want to sit in the first few rows of coach.
The price will begin at $19 per flight. Longer flights will cost more. For example, a seat on a Chicago to Honolulu flight will cost $39. A seat on a flight to Boston from O’Hare International Airport will cost $29.
American did not specify how many rows of seats will be affected by the new charges. Customers who purchase these coach seats also will be allowed to board in the first boarding group after first-class passengers and elite frequent fliers. Get the full story »
Boeing Co. said Monday it’s been given approval by the Federal Aviation Administration to start pilot training courses for its new 787.
The Chicago company called the approval a “significant milestone” as it ramps up to start flight training.
Southwest Airlines Co. is considering including Boeing Co.’s 737-800 aircraft in its domestic fleet, with a decision expected before year’s end, as the discount carrier plans a push to win more business travelers and restore capacity slashed during the economic downturn.
The largest carrier of domestic U.S. passengers said the company still needs to discuss the plans with its labor units, as well as look at issues such as network flow and scheduling. Get the full story »
The new planes will feature United on the fuselage and a Continental globe on the tail. (UAL photo)
United Airlines and Continental Airlines revealed refinements to the visual branding for the new global airline that will result from the proposed merger between the two airlines.
The new logo displays the combined company’s United brand name in capital letters, in a custom sans-serif font, joined with the global mark which has represented Continental’s brand image since 1991. Get the full story »
Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it was re-inspecting work carried out by a key partner on its 787 Dreamliner aircraft to ensure it met the U.S. aerospace group’s own standards. The company said it was assessing the impact on the production and delivery schedule for the new plane, already two-and-a-half years behind schedule. Get the full story »
Only three commercial flights among the thousands that operated nationwide in June sat on the ground loaded with passengers for three hours or longer, the Obama administration said Tuesday, touting the effect of a controversial new consumer-protection rule that threatens stiff fines against airlines for excessive tarmac delays.
The bad news for Chicago was that all three overly tardy flights involved the home-town carrier, United Airlines, at O’Hare International Airport. Get the full story »
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has proposed mandatory fixes to Boeing 747-400 airliners to ensure that concerns about potentially hazardous takeoffs are addressed, the Wall Street Journal said.
The U.S. air-safety regulator, last week, moved to require certain engine-related wiring changes to Boeing Co.’s model, the paper said. According to the agency, the fixes are necessary to avoid potentially dangerous retraction of flaps, or panels that deploy from the wings to provide extra lift during takeoffs. Get the full story »
An aircraft-leasing company in the United Arab Emirates has canceled orders for dozens of planes from Boeing Co. and Airbus. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise canceled 25 orders in the past month at Boeing, including 15 for the company’s new 787 jet. And Europe’s Airbus disclosed on its website Friday that Dubai Aerospace cut 25 planes from its orders at the European company, including 18 orders for the medium-range A320 and seven for the long-range A350.
Europe’s Airbus said on Friday it had more than doubled its tally of 2010 orders due to a bumper Farnborough Airshow, however the pick-up was marred by $3 billion in canceled orders from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. Get the full story »
US Airways Group Inc. says July traffic on US Airways and its regional affiliates rose 1 percent over a year ago, but the company expanded capacity even more quickly, leading to a few more empty seats on the average flight.
