It is no secret that Norwegian wants access to fly across northern Russia. The trans-Siberian routes open up opportunities in North Asia, including Japan, China and Korea. And the Russians know this. The country is a notoriously tough negotiator when it comes to gaining access to those routes. Some might even claim extortionate. Oh, and the country has a maligned small airplane that it would like to see selling better, perhaps flying more outside of its home carriers. What are the odds??
Boeing
Some thoughts on Muilenburg’s testimony about the 737 MAX crash
What can we gather from more than three hours of testimony by Boeing executives and government safety officials before the US Senate Commerce Committee today? Mostly that the format is terrible for getting real answers to the critical questions surrounding the 737MAX crashes, subsequent grounding and potential, eventual return to service. Still, a few interesting bits bubbled up through the testimony.
Some Sunrise skepticism
Over the weekend Qantas brought another 787-9 home to its fleet in Sydney. But this was not a normal delivery flight. Project Sunrise is coming, and maybe it shouldn’t.
Sunrise Stretch: PaxEx Update 2019-10-18
The beginnings of Project Sunrise and extra leg room for the Kiwis. Plus more wifi (maybe) coming in China and another loyalty top tier moves further away.
Get these stories and more in this week’s PaxEx Update.
Lufthansa Technik dives in to the Chinese inflight connectivity market
Announcements related to inflight connectivity in China are hard to process. Vendors continue to sign agreements and push out releases but forward progress in terms of getting hardware on planes remains stalled. This week Lufthansa Technik (LHT) joined the field with an announcement of an offering for airlines in China. But, like the others, it is unclear what the timeline for implementation will be or where things will go from here.
Counting Challenges: PaxEx Update 11 October 2019
How much is too much for the 737 program in a single week? And is there an end in sight for the shifting of loyalty programs away from loyalty? Plus, inflight wifi and a premium play for mid-haul travel.
Get all the details on this week’s top PaxEx stories inside.
An NMA alternate: Boeing’s potential 767-X
What happens when you take an existing, reasonably successful aircraft type and just add new engines? And what if Boeing does it again to launch the 767-X, shelving the NMA program in its wake??
New challengers at every level: PaxEx Update 2019-08-30
New cabins on the horizon for economy and business class, short-haul and long; might travel get more comfortable rather than less? Plus some good news for travelers looking to get online in the sky or earn free travel with their points.
A look inside as the MC-21 aims to compete with Airbus, Boeing
The test aircraft are flying. The order book is growing. The Irkut MC-21-300 will compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo for airline customers in the next decade and beyond. And, for the first time ever, we now know what the cabin interior will look like.
In search of premium: PaxEx Update (2019-08-23)
Where are the premium passengers at? United and Qantas are both pushing new projects that aim to deliver a compelling product and collect those higher yields. Plus a new inflight wifi solution hits an installation milestone and more!