Episode list

Although the CoVid !9 pandemic triggered trouble for the major United States airlines Coby attributes the root cause of their financial woes to stock buy backs. In order to prop up there stock prices and keep share holders happy the airlines overly depleted their ready cash making them poorly prepared for an inevitable economic downturn.

If you find long airline flights uncomfortable an exhausting imagine how the pilots feel. But at least they don't have to worry about boredom because they have a lot to do. And they have a few perks to help them stay sharp that even first class passengers would envy.

The Boeing 747's iconic hump made it the "Queen of the Skies" in part due to Pan Am's use of the upper deck for luxury travel. But Boeing really added the hump over concerns that supersonic aircraft would quickly make subsonic planes obsolete. So the lower deck was designed to handle cargo including an opening nose.

Anatov built the AN-225 Mriya to transport the Soviet version of the Space Shuttle, their Buran space plane. It carried the Buran piggyback just as a Boeing 747 carried the Space Shuttles. But only one AN 255 was ever completed and the Buran only flew into space once.

With airline passengers down the airlines will be looking for lower capacity airliners with longer range for the next five to ten years. Airbus just happens to have the perfect airplane, the A321XLR. Boeing's 757 is long in the tooth and the 737 Max 10 isn't quite ready.

Beginnning in 2019 a year before the CoVid 19 pandemic effected airline traffic the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded for 18 months. Yet Airbus experienced only a modest number for A320 orders during this time. The reasons Airbus could not take advantage of Boeing's 737 fiasco are several.

Plans to replace the President's plane, Air Force One, are in the works (2021) but the Vice President's Air Force Two is also due a replacement. The problem is there isn't a good alternative. But there are a few options.

The poor state of US airports isn't entirely accidental. Accessibility by mass transit is awkward because airlines reap hue revenues from parking. But the biggest problem is they are government owned an operated which provides little incentive to improve them to generate additional revenue from airport concessions.

Delta CEO Edward H. Bastian was banking on the Boeing 797 to replace its fleet of 757s that it will heavily rely on post-pandemic while air traffic recovers to fill higher capacity planes. But Boeing CEO David L. Calhoun recently (2021) deprioritized the 797. Here are the options Cody now sees for Delta.

Southwest Airlines, which stresses interoperability as part of it's low cost business model, just (2019) placed a huge order for 737 Max 7s. The problem is these are the smallest planes in the 737 line making them relatively inefficient. But Cody anticipates that Boeing is planning a replacement for the 737 and 757 in the 797 which will split the difference in size and may not offer a plane as small as the 150 seats favored by Southwest.

After building the 787 from composites to make an incredibly light and fuel efficient aircraft Boeing returned to aluminum for the 777S building only the wings form composites. The reason; cost. Boeing needed to balance the higher cost a fully composite aircraft against operating costs, specifically, fuel savings.

Putting on his prognosticator's hat Coby speculates on who will fly the last Airbus A380. But you already know that will be Emirates, right? For passenger versions that's probably true. But those won't be around long. What about freighters or combis or flying test beds. They make the story more interesting.

Here are some highlights from the 2021 Dubai air show including order leaders, freighter orders and some disappointing surprises.

Airbus is having trouble with the paint on the A350. It's cracking and flaking off. And so far why it is happening is more a matter of speculation that fact. That would be a nuisance, though costly, maintenance issue had not Qatar grounded 30% of it's fleet due to the issue.

Although Boeing's 787 program is considered to be in disarray it is planning two new models. Both will be designed for extended range to compete with both the Airbus A330 and A350 and replace low end 777s. Boeing hasn't explained their strategy but Coby has some ideas.

There's only so much room in the radio spectrum. Unfortunatly, aircraft radio altimeters and the 5G cellular network frequencies are a bit to close together. This is a big problem for Boeing because one of their most popular planes, the 787, is the plane most effected by the problem.

Based on the 2022 Farnborough Airshow the airline industry is clearly coming back. While several expected Airbus orders did not materialized for the show orders were once again strong for Boeing and Embraer though supply chain issues may hold back production. There was little mention of China's C919 intended to compete with the 737 and A320 and several Chinese airline orders for A320's suggest it is not ready to fly.

Boom Technology is building a next generation supersonic passenger jet. It may be a bigger hit in the private jet market than with airlines

Coby offers his first annual forecast in three years. He sees several crucial decisions looming for Airbus and Boeing.

Coby announces the major orders form the 2023 Paris Air Show. Then he looks at what didn't happen and the dubious side of some major orders.

Coby explores Beoing commercial aviation plans for it's core products, the 737, 787 and 777, for the remainder of the decade (2020's) with Darren Hulst.

With passenger demand surging and a shortage of pilots customers are asking Airbus about building an A380 NEO. Here are the pros and cons.

Frech Bee is designed from the ground up to be a low cost long haul airline. Their secret is reducing every cost imaginable while maintaining a pleasant travel experience.

Coby's annual review of the 2024 Farnborough Airshow features Boeing, Embraer and Asian airlines.