Why did no US airline place an order at the Farnborough Airshow?
Overall, FIA 2024 has felt a little slow in terms of orders. While there have been announcements, many of them have been previously announced commitments (LOIs or MOUs) and not exactly surprise orders. Middle Eastern and Asian carriers took the opportunity to sign up in a very public way, but there have been no orders whatsoever from U.S. carriers. Why? Personally, I think we’ve seen the last of large orders from U.S. airlines for a while. AA placed a huge order earlier this year, including both Boeing and Airbus aircraft; both Delta and United have significant pending orders, as do Southwest and JetBlue. In fact, it was reported earlier this year that JetBlue was slowing down its delivery schedule to solidify its position in the market. It’s been a rough first half of the year for U.S. airlines, as evidenced by this week’s earnings releases. Perhaps this is a sign that U.S. airlines should stop spending and focus on efficiency to remain competitive. What do you think?
Why do European airlines mostly opt for business class cabins with “blocked middle seats”?
While lounge access, priority check-in with more baggage allowance, and a more diverse in-flight food and beverage offering are all positive aspects of the business and first class experience, arguably the most important factor is a larger and more comfortable seat. While there is typically no room for reclining seats on short-haul narrow-body flights, airlines in North America at least offer premium passengers spacious reclining seats arranged four abreast rather than six. In contrast, many European airlines simply block off the middle seat in their short-haul narrow-body premium cabins, effectively resulting in a 2-2 arrangement but with the dense arrangement of six abreast. This gives them greater operational flexibility in terms of handling different sized business class loads, but at the expense of passenger comfort. Personally, this sometimes makes European short-haul business class a relatively disappointing experience, although it is
What could Airbus’ new narrowbody look like?
Airbus said today that it is in talks with Rolls-Royce over plans for a new narrow-body aircraft for the late 2030s. The manufacturer already has the successful A320 family and also took over Bombardier’s A220 program in 2018. Airbus Chief Sustainability Officer Julie Kitcher told Simple Flying at the Farnborough Airshow that her company wants to continue improving aircraft fuel efficiency. What other changes could we see on the type? Let us know what you think below!
What was your last flight on a Boeing 747?
The queen of the skies and the jumbo jet. Whatever you call the Boeing 747, it changed aviation and opened up many new long-haul routes. Cargo and passenger aircraft are still in the air, with Lufthansa being the world’s largest remaining user of passenger variants (it owns the 747-400 and the 747-8i).
Significantly more fuel-efficient, lighter, longer-range, high-capacity twin-jets have drastically reduced the use of the 747 – a technological development. In August 2019, before the pandemic, the 747 had 6,700 scheduled round-trip passenger flights; five years later, that number had fallen to just 1,800.
What was your last flight on the 747? Mine was with British Airways from New York JFK back to London Heathrow in October 2019, not long before COVID-19 accelerated the significant but inevitable reduction of the 747.
Which long-haul connections would you like to see introduced?
This month, several new long-haul routes opened, including the return of Avianca from Bogota to Paris, the arrival of Beond from the Maldives (via Dubai) in Milan and the opening of Juneyao from Shanghai to Brussels. With my family spread across the world, I would like to see more long-haul flights from Europe to South America and South Asia. What long-haul routes would you like to see opened?
What was your longest flight on a Boeing 737?
On August 2, flydubai (Emirates’ ever-closer partner) began flights to Basel, Switzerland. Due to the airport’s interesting geographical location, it is officially called EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. The brand new route will be served four times a week with the Boeing 737 MAX 8, which is equipped with lie-flat beds. It covers 2,619 nautical miles (4,851 km) each way, although it is “only” the 58th longest scheduled non-stop route for the 737 in August. What is your longest 737 flight? Let us know!
