Flight International 2022 01.pdf

(16433 KB) Pobierz
FlightGlobal.com
January 2022
Forecasts
How Cutillo sharpened
Leonardo Helicopters
p12
Is Boeing back
on course?
2Excel: from Blades
to Excalibur
p20
Fighting
spirit
UAE orders Rafales, as Helsinki picks F-35
p8
9
£5.25
770015 371334
Moving on
Superjumbo
deliveries end
after 14 years
p19
Single minded
Why flightdecks
could become
less crowded
p66
0 1
Comment
Gotcha!
Uneven battle
While the big two airframers
may end up closely matched on
orders in 2021, Boeing will be
concerned by two high-profile
defections from the 737
AirTeamImages
A
t the turn of each year, the
industry’s attention nor-
mally focuses on which of
the big two airframers has
come out on top in the orders and
deliveries battle.
But although it exhibited more
signs of normality than the pri-
or 12 months, 2021 was far from a
regular year.
There is little doubt that Airbus
will out-deliver its rival: by the end
of November it had shipped 518
aircraft against a 600-unit target,
while Boeing – hampered by issues
related to both the 737 Max and
787 – had handed over just 302
commercial jets.
On the orders front, the issue is
less clear cut. Boeing at the same
point in time had its nose in front
with 400 net orders, against 368
for its rival. But while Seattle’s
total of 829 gross orders is even
more impressive, it is also grimly
indicative of the rate of cancella-
tions seen during 2021.
However, those figures do not
take into account the orders that
both airframers raked in during a
busy December.
Should Boeing come out on top
despite its various challenges, it
may feel like a hollow victory.
The losses of long-time narrow-
body customers Air France-KLM
and Qantas to Airbus – in a pair
of deals announced in the last
weeks of the year – would be pain-
ful enough on their own, but are
rendered infinitely more uncom-
fortable by what they say about
Boeing’s single-aisle range.
Few doubt that the 737 Max
is a fine, fuel-efficient aircraft
that can hold its own against the
A320neo. However, sales of the
jet appear hamstrung by a line-up
that does not match the breadth
and gradation of its rival, spanning
the A220-300 at one end to the
A321XLR at the other.
Airbus, at the end of Novem-
ber, boasted an undelivered back-
log of 5,765 A320neo-family jets:
significantly ahead of Boeing and
its 4,076 Max aircraft.
More ominous, however, is the
shape of Airbus’s single-aisle back-
log: a little over 3,300 of those or-
ders are for the A321neo and its
variants. In other words, the bulk of
its rival’s commitments are for an
aircraft to which Boeing has only a
partial answer.
It seems a little unfair to blame
Boeing chief executive David
Calhoun for this state of affairs –
after all, he has only been in post
since January 2020, and cannot be
held responsible for the strategic
blunders of his predecessors.
In addition, precious time and
engineering resources have had to
be expended to solve the various
issues that have plagued Boeing’s
range, further limiting the airfram-
er’s room for manoeuvre.
At some point the US giant will
have to formulate a response,
unless it wishes to cede further
market share to Airbus. Is facing
a 60:40 orders split the limit, or
70:30 – or worse?
With the longest-range A321XLR
due to enter service in 2023, Boeing
may already be playing catch up.
Decisions need to be made, and
made quickly.
While Calhoun gets a pass for the
past, he has much to ponder if he
wants to shape the future.
See p6, 49
January 2022
Flight International
3
In focus
Goodbye, old friends
6
Orders boost fighter rivalry
8
Spain steps up Halcon search
10
Approvals boost for KC-46A
11
How it all adds up for
Leonardo Helicopters boss
12
H145s gain ‘robot wingman’
15
Advantage Pratt & Whitney
16
Emirates receives final A380
19
2Excel becomes ‘mini-prime’
20
Overrun passengers thought
they were with an airline
24
Canberra to retire Taipans
26
General Atomics goes STOL
27
Inquiry highlights lack of
line flying
31
Hydrogen fuel sells
32
Ameriflight seeks autonomy
40
6
Sleepless in Seattle?
Boeing’s customers defect
FlightGlobal.com
January 2022
Forecasts
How Cutillo sharpened
Leonardo Helicopters
p12
70
Is Boeing back
on course?
2Excel: from Blades
to Excalibur
p20
Dassault Aviation
Fighting
spirit
UAE orders Rafales, as Helsinki picks F-35
p8
9
£5.25
770015 371334
Moving on
Superjumbo
deliveries end
after 14 years
p19
Single minded
Why flightdecks
could become
less crowded
p66
Regulars
Comment
3
Best of the rest
42
Straight & Level
74
Letters
76
Jobs
81
Women in aviation
82
4
Flight International
January 2022
0 1
Contents
In depth
Year of promise
46
As the past two years have
shown, business forecasting is
a perilous activity. Undeterred,
we review some of the likely
challenges and opportunities
that await the industry
Then there was one?
66
Could single-pilot commercial
airliner operations become
reality? Manufacturers and
regulators want to know if
removing a crew member
from the cockpit is feasible
Trusting autonomy
70
The US Army’s ubiquitous
Black Hawk looks likely to have
many more years of utility
ahead of it, as the service
explores ways to employ the
type without pilots on board
28
40
46
January 2022
Flight International
5

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin