The Air Transport Top 10: October 2020 Roundup

Analysis Shows 13% Of Stored MAX Fleet Has No Customers

Credit: Boeing

Boeing needs to find new customers for 13% of the 737 MAXs it has built but not delivered following order-book shuffling by customers prompted by several factors, including the model’s prolonged grounding and the global airline downturn, an Aviation Week analysis shows.

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Europe Presses Ahead With Modernizing Air Traffic Management

Credit: Thales

The renovation of European air traffic management is progressing steadily—but with shifted priorities. The promoters of the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research project, supported by air navigation service providers, have managed to maintain budgets despite the COVID-19 crisis.

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EDITORIAL: Airlines Are Critical To The Great Reconnect

Credit: Airlink

With airlines worldwide in survival mode and burning cash at $300,000 a minute, it’s easy to overlook the vital and good work they continue to do.

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ANALYSIS: Can Pre-Flight Testing Help Restore International Travel?

Credit: Jarun011/Getty Images

The depth and length of the impact of the COVD-19 pandemic on the air transport industry struck hard in October. In a grim update on the financial outlook for airlines, IATA said it expected them to burn through $77 billion in the second half of the year—or $300,000 per minute—and not become cash positive until 2022.

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Boeing Working To Correct 747 Flight Computer Reset Issue

Credit: Joe Pries

Boeing is working on updating 747 flight computer software to eliminate an issue introduced in the software’s most recent version that causes both of the aircraft’s computers to reset in-flight.

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U.S. Carriers Brace For Long, Choppy Road To Recovery

Credit: Joepriesaviation.net

U.S. carriers are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the path forward is a long one with twists and turns along the way.

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Boeing Confirms 787 Production Consolidation In South Carolina

Credit: Sean Broderick / AWST

Boeing on Oct. 1 confirmed that it will consolidate production and final assembly of its most advanced commercial product, the 787, at its North Charleston, South Carolina, facility, in 2021.

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Airbus Now Looks To Raise Single-Aisle Output In Mid-2021

Credit: Airbus

Airbus confirmed Oct. 29 it may raise single-aisle production rates to 47 aircraft per month from 40 at some point in 2021, a move that would be “backed by the backlog," according to CEO Guillaume Faury.

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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Suspends SpaceJet Development

Credit: Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has suspended development of the SpaceJet for more than three years, allocating only enough resources to proceed with type-certificate documentation.

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