Airline Industry Review » Boeing

Where is Your Brand Voice ?

Miyuru — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:22:27 +0000

In building an online brand presence, having a voice of your own – a popular insider as an online brand ambassador – could be very beneficial. It helps to make a brand’s activities online look more closer, credible and responsible to a customer.
Apple has Steve Jobs. Nokia has Anssi Vanjoki. Microsoft has Ray Ozzie. Where is the aircraft manufacturers’ ambassador ?
Needless to say, the first mover in to this space will gain a huge advantage.

P.S: Not just for an aircraft manufacturer, an online ambassador who can influence, will undoubtedly help an airline too.Similar Posts:

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I’m Starting Consultation ( and how to win an exciting gift )

Miyuru — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:35:15 +0000

Yes, I will be available for aviation consultation from today, and I will focus on social media ( for the start ).
Social media is an effective tool to connect with your customers, and to drive sales. And having realised this, many leading companies from most industries have now begun to use social media marketing. The topic is now hot, and trending, everywhere in the world.
The key for many companies to adopt social media marketing is that it is such an effective way of marketing. It only needs so minimal an expense to start using social media, and you get to capture the attention of millions of loyal fans. Using social media makes these fans feel your brand as closer to them, and develops their trust around your brand. And then these loyal fans naturally start spreading Word of Mouth marketing about your brand to their close friends, and so on, and you start to get a constant flow of sales multiplications.
And yet, many airlines are yet to enter social media. But the few ( or, the thousands ) who already did, such as Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, Lufthansa and AirAsia are already reaping the harvests of their efforts, with great brand exposure, direct connections with millions of customers, and increased sales. So, if your competitors are already doing it and seeing success with it, why should not you ?
Perhaps, you have just started using social media and are new to it. Or, may be you did use social media, but could not find success with it ?
Social media is an art. As the world’s most respected online marketing guru, Seth Godin, says

It’s a process, not an event. Dating is a process. So is losing weight, being a public company and building a brand.

.
But if you know the right way to do it, finding social media success is not hard. And I’m here to help you.
To create a tribe around your brand who will spread your message, to increase your sales, to achieve your targets, to deliver your expectations, and to help you find success with social media marketing.
I’m still young, but with my years of experience with building valuable brands on social media and achieving success with them, I’m sure that I can help you succeed too. Over the time, I have advised a number of airlines and market leading companies, and helped them see social media success. And I’m now ready to help you succeed too.
Still not begun social media marketing ? New to it ? Or, already given up ? In whichever the situation you’re, I think I can help you. Let’s discuss.

And what else, I’m also planning to offer a unique service called AirBlog, which will set you up an expectation-exceeding, excellent quality airline blog at a fixed fee. Everything from setting up, designing, search engine optimizing to strategy mapping will be taken care of, and you will only need future article content to keep it running.

- You can read more about my consultation work here .
- You can read more about the revolutionary AirBlog product here .
- You can find me on LinkedIn here .

The umbrella that I use to host my consultation work under will be known as AirSocial.

And now let me move to the exciting news. To celebrate the launch, I’m offering one lucky airline a AirBlog package TOTALLY FREE of charge.

What you get with AirBlog will be a complete blog with
- Server and databases set up
- Blogging software installed and fully tuned up for best reader engagement
- A semantically coded, and navigation enhanced, design
- Full search engine optimization
. Plus, you will also get a future strategy plan for your blog – absolutely free !

To win it, all you have to do is tweet the following message

Win a free package of AirBlog – the revolutionary new one off airline blogging suite by @AirSocial http://j.mp/azHY6i

( Click here to automatically do it with no hassle )
and leave a comment below with your Twitter username.
Just that, and in a week, I will announce the lucky winner !

( Your tweet will be automatically featured in the comments section below & just make sure that you use a valid email address, so we can easily notify you of the victory. )

The only condition is you need to be an airline, airport, aircraft manufacturer or a MRO provider.
If you’re not one of them, tell a friend who works at one of the above places, and stay tuned. We’ll soon have something for you guys too !

Interested in reading more about me ? You can do it here .

Not interested in consultation ? No problem. Read more of my articles about social media below.

How to use Twitter to Grow Your Sales
Who’s Who in Aviation
The Ancillary Art my eBook on maximizing airline ancillary revenue
Twitter Predicts Sales
The Ultimate Airline Marketing Guide

Thanks a lot for reading, and hope to see you as a client soon !
Sincerely,
M.Similar Posts:

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Boeing 787 EIS delayed by three months due to Trent 1000 failure

Miyuru — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:56:43 +0000

The Boeing Company today officially announced that it now expects the delivery of the first 787 only in middle of first quarter, 2011.
The delivery date revision is followed by an assessment of a Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine needed for the final phases of flight testing.
The Trent 1000 engine prototype at Rolls Royce’ facilities recently incurred an uncontained failure.
GE’s engine offering for the 787, the GEnx is not affected. However, a majority of customers have ordered the Trent 1000 for the 787 thus the latter featuring a larger part of the flight testing.
The delay was met with angry reactions by some customers, such as Kenya Airways, who threatened to cancel their 787 orders.Similar Posts:

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Week in Brief

Miyuru — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:21:08 +0000

Week in Brief 6 OCT – 12OCT
* To compensate the delay in taking delivery of its 5th A330, SriLankan Airlines wetleased a Boeing 767-300ER for two months. The aircraft, CS-TQI, in a two class layout is operated to Milan/Rome and Singapore/Kuala Lumpur by Luzair. More info can be found here

* Arkefly will launch a weekly service to Goa and Colombo from Amsterdam on 5 Oct. Flight schedule as follows.
OR465 1720AMS – 0610+1 GOI 763 Day 2
OR466 0650GOI – 0920 CMB 1040 – 1740AMS 763 Day 3
The airline does not have freedom rights between Goa and Colombo.

* British Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER, configured in a four class layout.

* Emirates Airline sold its stake in SriLankan Airlines to the Government of Sri Lanka for $53m.

* Boeing confirmed that it is bringing in the 787 to the Farnborough Air Show. The Twitter hashtag for the event is #FARN10 .

* Boeing received orders for 43 Boeing 737NGs from an unidentified customer.

* WTO delayed the ruling of a court case filed by Airbus against Boeing.

* Lufthansa is reconfiguring its narrowbody aircraft fleet with slim seats which will give a capacity increase similar to buying almost 12 A320s, according to a top executive. Austrian is expected to follow suit.

* China’s ARJ21 regional jet’s flight testing passed the 500hr mark.Similar Posts:

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WTO rules Airbus received illegal subsidies, Boeing claims victory

Miyuru — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:11:49 +0000

WTO yesterday settled a six-year old dispute between Airbus and Boeing – ruling a majority of Boeing’s claims were correct and calling Boeing the winner of the case.

WTO’s 1000 page report released yesterday ( which you can download here ), on case DS316 “European Communities and Certain Member States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft”, ruled that launch aid received by some Airbus programs were illegal and must be paid back without delay.

Some highlights from the ruling are as follows

Airbus A380 program received illegal launch aid from European communities
i. Funding from Germany, UK and Spain for A380 amounted to prohibited export subsidies
ii. All of these subsidies and loans ( believed to be $4b ) must be repaid or restructured “without delay”
Some of launch aid for A320/A330/A340 programs deemed illegal subsidies
Some of launch aid for A300/A310 programs deemed illegal subsidies
Subsidies provided for construction of infrastructure at Hamburg and Toulouse ruled illegal
KfW equity acquisition and later stake transfer of Deutsche Airbus ruled illegal
1987,1988,1992,1994 French government equity infusions ruled illegal
Second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth EC Framework R&D subsidies ruled illegal
Various R&D grants by France, Germany, UK and Spain ruled illegal
Boeing’s claims of EIB Loans being illegal were rejected

WTO ruled that Airbus must repay illegal A380 loans or restructure the program’s financing. Airbus was told to abandon its plans for financing the A350 program through use of similar subsidies, to which Airbus has agreed. It was ruled that any future aircraft programs by any manufacturer must only be financed on commercial terms. Boeing won 52 of its 71 claims ( of claims being prohibited per se or being actionable where they have had adverse effects to US interests ) .
Boeing has claimed the ruling a “landmark decision and a sweeping legal victory”.
With the ruling, the A350 program’s financing is now at an uncertain state.
The following specific launch aids for other programs were ruled illegal
A380 – France, Germany, Spain, UK
A340-500/600 – France, Spain
A330/A340-200/300 – France, Germany, Spain, UK
A330-200 – France
A320 – France, Germany, Spain, UK
A300/A310 – France, Germany, Spain

Following Boeing’s case against Airbus, EU filed a case stating Boeing 787 program has benefitted from research grants – for which the ruling is expected on 16th July.
Airbus called Boeing’s claim of Airbus having to repay $4bn “fairytale” pointing out the figure was related to overall size of the loans, not just elements of subsidy.
The complicated nature of the ruling however has enabled both parties to claim victory – where Boeing is claiming victory for Airbus aid being ruled illegal and Airbus claiming victory for the illegal aid being considered not injuring to Boeing.
WTO concluded that had Airbus relied only on market financing, “the increase in the level of debt Airbus would have accumulated… would have been massive”.

WTO Full Report
Boeing’s page on the caseSimilar Posts:

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British Airways 777, BA16, incurs engine damage and diverts to Amsterdam

Miyuru — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:20:17 +0000

A British Airways Boeing 777-200ER, powered by Rolls Royce engines, registration G-YMMP, incurred multiple engine faults and safely diverted to Amsterdam, AMS today ( 15th ).
The aircraft was enroute from Sydney, SYD via Singapore, SIN to London Heathrow, LHR as BA16.

G-YMMP in flight

The aircraft was over Germany when crew decided to divert to Amsterdam following multiple technical problems which the crew could not pinpoint to.
The crew also reported the aircraft was low on fuel and requested a longer than usual final approach in order to configure the aircraft for the touch down.
The aircraft safely landed and upon inspection it was found that the right hand Trent 895 engine had suffered substantial damage. Both engines had however produced thrust till the aircraft landed albeit with higher than regular fuel burn rates. The aircraft is currently at Amsterdam.

Damaged engine
Photo copyright Rob Van R/Scramble.nl

Compare it with the normal engine below

G-YMMP had operated the following flights in the last few days
( Only recorded flights. Data from flight24.com )

BAW16 seen @ 2010-06-15 07:13 CET on route from SYD to LHR via SIN
BAW15 seen @ 2010-06-13 00:51 CET on route from LHR to SYD via SIN
BAW168 seen @ 2010-06-12 18:42 CET on route from PVG to LHR
BAW169 seen @ 2010-06-11 17:43 CET on route from LHR to PVG
BAW16 seen @ 2010-06-11 06:25 CET on route from SYD to LHR via SIN
BAW15 seen @ 2010-06-09 21:05 CET on route from LHR to SYD via SIN
BAW38 seen @ 2010-06-08 15:59 CET on route from PEK to LHR
BAW39 seen @ 2010-06-07 21:15 CET on route from LHR to PEK
BAW194 seen @ 2010-06-07 07:49 CET on route from IAH to LHR
BAW26E seen @ 2010-06-06 15:41 CET on route from LHR to IAH
BAW16 seen @ 2010-06-06 06:23 CET on route from SYD to LHR via SIN
BAW15 seen @ 2010-06-04 21:01 CET on route from LHR to SYD via SIN

It is believed the damage took place at least 5 hours before landing at Amsterdam, and the engine had been continuing operating inefficiently till landing. The aircraft will receive an engine change at KLM facilities, Amsterdam. Passengers have been sent to London onboard a BA 767-300.

Notice another ( and the only major ) Boeing 777 engine incident was reported in 2008 on British Airways flight 38, again powered by Rolls Royce engines.
This is a developing story and will be updated.Similar Posts:

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Air India Express flight IX812 crash

Miyuru — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:00:46 +0000

MANGALORE, ( AIRLINE INDUSTRY REVIEW ) – An Air India Express flight from Dubai to Mangalore, overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport ( IATA :IXE ) and caught fire. The flight, IX812, was being operated by a Boeing 737-800. The aircraft involved was VT-AXV, cn 36333/2481, a 2007 December built example.
It was bearing the ‘Victoria Memorial’ tailart. The flight was due to arrive in Mangalore at 6.30a.m local time.
The flight was carrying 163 passengers ( some reports state this at 137 adults + 19 children, at 156 passengers ) and six crew. The aircraft has mostly burnt, with nose and tail remaining ( the only ) recognizable parts. NDTV, an Indian TV channel, reported six survivors, while a majority are presumed to have perished.

Photos of the crash scene. Copyrighted to original photographers.

Mangalore has two runways 09/27 5,300 ft. and 06/24 9,515ft. long and has a steep valley in the end of runway 24, leaving no space for correction.

Crash photos ( copyrighted )

Runway 24 location ( copyrighted to original poster Threeifbyair on Airliners.net )

Runway 24 steep hill ( original poster TBYO787 )

Air India Express operates flights to seven Middle Eastern airports from Mangalore, and is the largest operator at the airport.
This was Air India Express’ first major incident and is the worst aircraft accident in India since 2000. This event, currently, is also the deadliest air crash in year 2010, so far.
A cause for the incident was not immediately clear. Although it is too early to make any conclusions, the high-energy falldown into the slope could have increased the damage.
Runway 24 has ILS and the ILS24 approach is valid for ICAO Cat A,B&C aircraft.However, AIP does state that there are no runway end lights for either 06 or 24 end. The runway obstacles/limitations chart also specifies “DEEP VALLEY” beyond the 06 threshold. The runway was completed in 2006 and is fully concrete, as opposed to the other shorter Asphalt runway.

After the accident, the ILS locator antenna of runway 06 has been hit, and is currently NOTAMed unavailable.
According to AvHerald.com, this collision with the antenna, tore the aircraft’s belly open and threw 8 people out of the aircraft – whom are the survivors reported.
The air traffic control and airport authority reported that the aircraft arrived for approbabi without any incident, but a loud bang – possibly a tyre burst – was heard upon touchdown.
Air India Helpline
Mumbai +912222796161
Dubai +971-4-2165828/9

May all those perished rest in peace.Similar Posts:

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MIT Designs Eco-friendly Aircraft with a 70% Fuel Burn Reduction

Miyuru — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:36:34 +0000

MIT has delivered designs of two ultra-efficient green plane models to NASA, as part of a $2.1 million research contract awarded in 2008.
The aircraft feature a different silhouette than to current day models and will offer a 70% fuel burn reduction.
The D Series is expected to replace the 737 while the H Series is expected to replace the 777.
The NASA requirements demanded a 70% fuel burn reduction, a 75% emissions reduction and the ability to take off from shorter runways.

D Series

The D Series will carry around 180 passengers and features rear-mounted engines. The aircraft uses two partial cylinders placed side by side to create a wider structure instead of using a single fuselage cylinder.
MIT believes that the rear mounted engines will intake slower moving air thus reducing the fuel burn ( known as Boundary Layer Ingestion , however also notes that this has some practical drawbacks such as creating more engine stress . However, they expect to mitigate this drawback by travelling around 10% slower than a 737. It is also worth noting that rear-mounted engine are practically hard to maintain too .
The aircraft features thinner wings and a smaller tail to reduce drag.
Mark Drela, the Terry L. Kohler professor of Fluid Dynamics and the lead designer of the D Series believes that the 10% slowness could be recovered by the faster loading and the ability to take off from airports with short runways.
MIT team has designed two versions of the D Series – a higher technology version with 70% fuel burn reduction and a version that could be built with conventional aluminium and current jet technology that would burn 50% less fuel. They expect the latter to be a lower risk, near-term alternative.

H Series

The H Series is expected to carry around 350 passengers and consists of a triangular shaped hybrid wing body.
This type of design has been proposed a multiple times in the past too, in both military and commercial projects. The hybrid wing body blends a wider fuselage with the wings for improved aerodynamics. The large center body creates a forward lift that eliminates the need for a tail to balance the aircraft. Although the H Series currently meets the NASA goals, the researchers expect to further improve the design to meet more objectives.
The MIT team expects to hear from NASA in the next several months about whether it has been selected for the second part of the program, which will provide more funds to one or two of subsonic teams to develop the technologies identified during the first phase. The teams are part of a competition by NASA, in which six U.S teams won contracts. The teams include four teams led by MIT, Boeing, GE Aviation and Northrop Grumman which studied subsonic ( slower than speed of sound ) aircraft and two more teams led by Boeing and Lockheed-Martin which studies supersonic ( faster than speed of sound ) aircraft concepts. NASA identifies these designs as “N+3″, signifying three generations ahead than current designs, and believes advancement of technologies will make it feasible for these designs to fly by around 2035.

However, it remains to see whether these aircraft will be economically viable to build and it is also not clear which are the radical technological improvements used, other than aerodynamics and possibly engine technologies, to achieve a 70% fuel burn reduction. Let’s hope these designs will become a reality and deliver what they promise.Similar Posts:

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First ANA 787 Ready for Side of Body Modification

Miyuru — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:14:36 +0000

Dreamliner Seven, JA805A, is being prepared for the side of body modifications.

The first ANA 787, JA805A, will be moved to the ATS Hangar 3 tonight at 7.30pm PST.

Photo and info courtesy of Matt Cawby of Skyline Photography.Similar Posts:

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Lars returns..

Miyuru — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:44:31 +0000

Boeing yesterday announced a set of executive appointment shuffles, to better align leadership.
A few of key changes are as follows

* Elizabeth Lund will become
vice president and general
manager, 767 program,
reporting to Pat Shanahan, vice
president and general manager,
Airplane Programs, Commercial
Airplanes. Lund most recently
was vice president, Product
Development, Commercial
Airplanese.

* Beverly Wyse was named vice
president and general manager,
737 program, also reporting to
Shanahan. She replaces Mark
Jenkins, who recently announced
his retirement after 35 years at
Boeing. Wyse most recently was
vice president and general
manager, 767 program. She will
continue to support the U.S.
tanker program.

* Nicole Piasecki will lead a new
Commercial Airplanes Business
Development function
responsible for the overall
integration of strategic planning
and analysis critical to
maintaining Boeing’s long-term
competitiveness. She previously
was president of Boeing Japan.
* Mike Bair will lead a newly
created Advanced 737 Product
Development team, which will be
responsible for planning the
future of Boeing’s single-aisle
offering. Bair most recently was
vice president, Business Strategy
and Marketing, Commercial
Airplanes.
* Lars Andersen will lead a new
Advanced 777 Product
Development team, which will be
responsible for Boeing’s large
twin-engine, twin-aisle airplane
program. Andersen served in a
number of key roles on the 777
program, culminating in seven
years as vice president and
program manager. He retired in
2007 and returns as a
consultant.

Reading the last entry on Randy’s blog made me go ‘woot!’.
Lars returns !
If you do not know who Lars is, he is truly a catalyst of the Boeing’s 777 program and was the father to the 777-200LR and 777-300ER. In his long tenure at Boeing, he has served in a number of key positions and retired a few years ago as the Program Manager of the 777 program.

Photo by BBC

Let me admit, I have never known Mr. Lars personally or ever met him . But I have great respect towards him as someone who oversaw the development of two of the world’s finest aircraft models ever.

Even more interesting is the position he will overtake – Advanced 777 Product Development .
Although it is yet to be seen whether this is about replacing the entire 777 line or building a new series of models, I am pretty sure Lars will continue to lead the program towards success.

The entire line of appointments, including Mr. Mike’s – yet another highly recognised professional -, in Advanced 737 Product Development, shows that Boeing has decided to step into some aggressive development. Let us wish all the best for future Boeing developments !Similar Posts:

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