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First Boeing 767 on its modern (fight Saturday (Sept 26) from Paine Field, adjacent to the factory where the new design aeroplane was built. The flight crew praised the handling qualities of the 211-passenger airliner first of a new generation of fuel-efficient Jetliners from Boeing. The first flight lasted two hours or minutes and reached speeds up to 260 miles an hour
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In Through the Back Door:
As the 150-seat airliner war heats up two things become obvious. Firstly, the horde of rumoured airframes of a year ago will most probably whittle itself down to two specific aircraft. The Airbus A320 looks set, as does the MDF-100, largely because the 150-seater is crucial to the long-term survival of the companies involved. Boeing already has the 737-300 and 757 in addition to the 727RE and its regular programs which will probably keep the 7-7 a paper plane till Seattle gets its breath back while McDonnell Douglas will stay with the DC-9 Super 80 to keep it busy till the MDF-100 becomes metal. On the other hand, the engine makers are In a different position. Most would agree the market is not big enough at this stage to warrant the multibillion-dollar expenditure required to get aboard the 25,000 lb thrust bus with an all-new engine. To this end, Pratt & Whitney are hoping to come in the back door with a collaborative effort with Rolls Royce and Japanese Aero Engines with the RJ500. It is economically impossible to de-rate the PW2037 by some 12,000 lb thrust back down to 25,000 lb to satisfy the requirements of the new airframes, therefore collaboration on the RJSOO is the next best thing to having your own in-house engine. Primary competition for the RJSO0 will be Snecma’s CFM56-2000 which also provides a back door entry for General Electric.
No Smiles at Qantas:
Qantas’ annual report covering the last financial year indicates a loss of $19. 5m as against a loss of $21. 2m for 1979/80. Qantas chairman, Mr Jim Leslie, stated that the airline would have broken even but for the disastrous effects of industrial troubles of early 1981 which lost the company more than $30m. Fuelled by substantial increases in wages, the strike and soaring fuel prices, the airline operation’s losses quadrupled to more than $41m. Total revenue increased by 11. 1 per cent from $921m to top the billion at $1023m, while total expenditure increased from $931m to $1064m. Despite the introduction of more fuel-efficient jets, Qantas’ fuel costs soared from $208m to $280m while employee costs rose from $282m to $304m. Staff numbers were, however, reduced from 13,575 to 13,469. Qantas’ performance by international standards is quite good considering that combined, international ICAO carriers stand to cumulatively lose more than ten billion dollars through 1980 and 1981 largely due to soaring operating costs and a sharp decline in passenger numbers combined in many areas with a route expansion program based on the deregulation environment of the late seventies.
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