Commercial Aircraft Sales

The Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 turbojet engines in the Concorde have reached a milestone by logging 750,000 flying hours in the world’s only commercial supersonic airliner. Of these hours, 480,000 or nearly two thirds have been flown at supersonic speeds. Concorde entered passenger service in January 1976, British Airways and Air France now operating a total of 13 aircraft between them. Both the engine and airframe represent major technical achievements, the Olympus incorporating a number of innovations including the early use of a full authority electronic engine control (FADEC) system. Concorde’s sustained supersonic cruise is still something which very few military aircraft match. The first development version of what would become the Olympus was bench tested in 1950 and the major application for the subsonic version was the Avro Vulcan bomber. It was also intended to power the aborted TSR.2 supersonic bomber, while the basic design has been successfully adapted for numerous marine and industrial applications. An artist’s impression of a Boeing 777-200 in Saudia colours. The long awaited details of the Saudia order were announced at the Paris airshow and comprises 23 777-200s plus four MD-11F freighters, 29 MD-90s, and five 747-400s though at presstime a contract had still not been signed. Manx Airlines Europe operates services in the UK under British Airways’ franchising agreement, with Manx Jetstream 41s and ATPs flying in British Airways Express livery. Manx also operates BAe 146s in its own colours on its own services.

Boeing Back On Top

After a period during which it played an unaccustomed second fiddle to Airbus in terms of orders received, Boeing has returned to the number one spot in the first six months of 1995. Boeing figures show that the American company received orders for 149 airliners between January and June this year, compared with 59 for its European rival. The six month figure is greater than that recorded for the whole of 1994 when just 120 orders were placed with Boeing. The company’s orderbook was boosted late in June when Saudia ordered 23 777-200s and five 747-400s after considerable political lobbying by the US Government including direct intervention by President Clinton. The lobbying also resulted in 33 orders for struggling McDonnell Douglas, also at the expense of Airbus. Boeing continued its sales successes into July when International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) ordered 54 737s. However, Boeing still plans to cut 12,000 jobs this year and reduce the production rate of the 737 and 757 in 1996.