The 747 has been one of my favourite aircraft from my very first flight with Pam Am on July 2nd 1971 (yes 43 years ago this week!) . The 747 had entered service with Pan Am in January, 1970, some 18 months before I hitched a ride on one. Since then I have flown on the 747 96 times covering 774,769 kilometres (481,419 miles) on the “Jumbo” with 14 airlines. And 1500 of the 747 have been rolled out. 500th 747 went to Scandinavian in 1981: The 1000th went to Singapore in 1993. On June…
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MH370 Indian Ocean Day 2: No Trace
Despite a multinational force of planes and ships deployed in the southern Indian Ocean, 2600km off the Australian coast, no sign of the debris spotted by satellite has yet occurred. The search concluded at 7pm Malaysian time and will resume tomorrow Saturday (local time). Related Posts MH370 Search Update Australia MH370 Continues in two corridors MH370 Debris Found? (March 20) 26 countries now in search for MH370 (March 17) MH 370 Map: Two Possible Route (March 15) Sun rises on a new day in Malaysia (March 8) Malaysia Airlines Missing Plane (March 7)
Flying one week after MH370
I flew last night over Malaysia and the Straits of Malacca. Was a bit spooky flying one week later at about the same time of the morning as the missing plane. Colleagues at work questioned how I felt flying the same time in the same sort of plane. My 777 experienced a few bumps so the captain left the seat belt sign on for quite a while. I landed safely in Bangkok at 1240am local time (140am Malaysian time). This is just after time the plane’s last voice transmission. But I landed. For the families of the…
Scoot crams 375 people into 787
Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot two weeks ago announced that their 787-9 will have a whopping 375 passengers aboard. This number of seats is a far cry from Boeing’s promise of roomy flights with passengers sitting 2-4-2. Budget airline Jetstar has gone with 335 seats on their 787-8s and Norwegian has 291 seats on theirs. The budget carrier will receive the first of their twenty 787s in November. The plane will replace their six Boeing 777-200s which were originally flown by Singapore Airlines. The plane will initially fly from Singapore to Australia, Japan and Taiwan. The airline has orders for ten 787-8s and ten 787-9s. Eight…
Lion cancels 787s
Last Monday, Indonesian budget airline Lion Air cancelled its order for five Boeing 787s and ordered 737s in their stead. The carrier said it needed widebody aircraft to accommodate more than the capacity of the 787-8 for domestic high demand routes and will place a new order for aircraft in 2015. The dreamliners had been ordered in June 2012. They had been intended for Lion Air’s full service subsidiary Batik Air, launched in March 2013. The list price for the package was $US 967.5 million. Batik provides a personal TV (in-flight entertainment system) at every seat, snacks and meal, plus more generous…
787 fire update- is the plane troubled?
The jury seems divided between those who see Boeing’s 787 as a plane experiencing teething problems or an aircraft that is “doomed”. The media headlines have described the plane as “plagued”, and even “troubled”. This week, US aviation regulator, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published an airworthiness directive advising all carriers to remove Honeywell emergency locator transmitters (ELT) from their 787s. Last week, the FAA suggested airlines should inspect the units on their 787s for pinched wires in the casing and/or evidence of heat or moisture. United Airlines is the only US carrier currently flying…
787 takes to the sky -Who, Where and Why
After a three-month break from mid January until late April, an elaborate battery fix and two US test flights, the 787 is back in the air. I have previously described the changes that are being installed by 300 Boeing technicians to the planes across the world. Interestingly, the Japanese authorities have insisted on additional alterations in addition to the changes mandated by the FAA. They have insisted ANA and JAL install battery monitoring systems to monitor the battery performance and to carry out an inspection program to battery changes are working effectively. These additional precautions do not apply to any other airlines flying 787 Three questions: Why has the US FAA not…
787 to fly from May 31
United Airlines has scheduled a 787 flight from Houston to Denver on May 31. Seats are available for sale. It is planning to resume international 787 flights on June 10, from Denver to Tokyo. United stated they will make more schedule changes when they know that the plane has been cleared to fly. Over at Qatar Airways, their CEO announced their 787 fleet will be flying before May 31 with the Wall Street Journal claiming that Qatar is planning to have four of their five 787s in service by April 30. ANA (All Nippon) CEO…
787 Testing
Further to my post last week, Boeing plans to conduct two flight tests of its revamped 787 battery system.The flights would depart from and return to Paine Field, the airport in Everett, Washington, where the 787 Dreamliner is made. One flight would collect data for its own usage. The data from the second flight would be submitted for FAA approval. If successful, then this would be a step forward to Boeing getting the aircraft approved for service within weeks. None of the airlines using 787s have begun planning to get their planes up yet. In…
787 situation gets more serious
The 787 grounding has now been in place for a month and it looks like Boeing faces months more. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has indicated that it will be weeks before it identifies the causes of the thermal runaway in the 787’s lithium-ion-batteries. Boeing conducted a second test flight of the 787 from Seattle’s Boeing field across Washington state last Monday for an hour and 29 minutes. The flight was uneventful. Boeing advised that the flight data is being analysed but did not release any details. Boeing is basically guaranteed not to be able to…
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