Jun 19 2012

First California Pacific Airlines Embraer 170 Painted

California Pacific AirlinesNew startup airline California Pacific Airlines’ first Embraer 170 entered the paint shop in Kansas City this week for final exterior painting.

Delivery of this aircraft is expected either at the end of June or early July 2012. It will be the first of two aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2012 and will be followed during 2013 by three additional Embraer 170 aircraft on order.

The airline is in the final stages of being certified for operation by the FAA. In February, it announced meeting the requirements for the first phase of certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The airline, based in Carlsbad, intends to draw flyers that would normally travel to Lindbergh Field in San Diego. It plans to begin flights in the fall of 2012. It will operate routes to Las Vegas, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland and Phoenix, with a future route to Cabo San Lucas to be added as additional capacity comes on stream.

The aircraft is question has been confirmed through FAA records as being ERJ‑170‑100LR, MSN 17000006, and is currently registered as N176EC.with Embraer.

This aircraft was previously operated by Cirrus Airlines of Germany and also had been originally intended for delivery to Macedonian Airlines, but the order was cancelled before delivery to the airline, though the aircraft did appear in that airline’s livery. After service with Cirrus, this aircraft was stored before being picked up by California Pacific Airlines as their first aircraft.

Jun 19 2012

Bombardier planning start to CSeries testing in July 2012

Bombardier_logoBombardier announced today that the company’s CSeries aircraft program remains on schedule with a deadline set for the end of June for all of the aircraft’s various systems to be delivered for testing.

The company indicated that synchronized testing of all aircraft systems would begin at the company’s facilities at Mirabel by July 10, 2012. By September 2012, all structural parts and components will be delivered to Montreal, and by the end of December 2012, the company expects that the first test flight aircraft will be complete.

Bombardier remains confident that their plan to have first flight of the CSeries to occur by the end of 2012 would be met, with entry into service in late 2013.

Jun 19 2012

Bombardier releases 20 year commerical aircraft forecast

Bombardier_logoBombardier Aerospace released its 20 year market forecast for commercial aircraft deliveries today. In this report, Bombardier reduced its forecast by 300 aircraft deliveries in the 20 to 149 seat aircraft sector. Bombardier rationalized this decision as it sees the global financial outlook worsening in general during this time period.

The forecast also foresees a 400 aircraft increase in deliveries for turboprop aircraft under 100 seats, which reflects an anticipated increase in the average cost of oil.

Overall, the forecast indicates it can be anticipated that the market will see overall deliveries of 12,800 turboprop and jet aircraft worth a combined $630 billion in the market sector of aircraft with less than 150 seats from 2012 to 2031.

Compared to Bombardier’s 2011 forecast, the forecast for deliveries of aircraft between 60 and 99 seats dropped the most. It is anticipated that 5,600 aircraft will be delivered which is 200 aircraft less than last year’s forecast.

In the 100 to 149 seat range, the study predicts there will be 100 fewer aircraft deliveries compared with the 2011 forecast. The current forecast lists 6,900 aircraft deliveries in this sector of the market that includes the Bombardier CSeries family.

Finally, Bombardier forecasts no change for the 20 to 59-seat aircraft sector with 300 aircraft deliveries through 2031.

Jun 08 2012

Reuters news report reveals causes of delays to ARJ21 program in China

A report from Reuters reveals that the ARJ21 aircraft program is being plagued by several issues which are causing the current delays in the program.

This report notes that, according to interviews with individuals familiar with the program, that  tests over the past two years have identified flaws in the ARJ21’s wings, wiring and computer systems. In a test of the load capabilities of the wing structure in 2010, the wings cracked before the required test goal was reached. In 2011,  the avionics system had been experiencing what one source called a “system integration problem.” In addition, faults in the aircraft’s wiring were also discovered. However, Comac has never announced these results, nor confirmed them.

While this Reuters story indicates these issues, Comac has not commented on the report, but has noted that the ARJ21-700 aircraft completed a two-hour test flight in February of 2012 with no issues.

It was announced in April 2012, that the program was unlikely to receive regulatory approval before 2013, which would mean the project would be five years behind its original schedule. Comac has never publicly explained the project’s delays.

The larger issue, according to the Reuters article, is what effects the delays to the ARJ21 program will have on the larger C919 aircraft program as well. It is assumed that the delays are likely to set back Comac’s plans to start delivering the 160-seat C919 jetliner by 2016.

However, considering that both programs are highly technical and advanced, some delays must be expected and as one source in the article noted: “You have to remember, Comac is building airplanes that they’ve never built before.”