Newsdesk – Commercial

CFM56 Redesign

The discovery of cracks in the double annular combustor variant of the CFM International CFM56-5A/B engine as used on Swissair’s Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft has forced a redesign of a turbine rear frame. Five of Swissair’s A320/321s were temporarily grounded earlier this year following the discovery of the cracks by airline engineers. The problem only affects double annular combustor variants of the engine as it is the first to enter service with tangential struts in the turbine rear frame instead of the previous radial struts. The new struts are intended to better cope with varying operating temperatures. Swissair is having to change the affected engines on its A320/321 fleet after just 1,200 cycles, the point at which the cracks start to appear. Modified engines will be available from the first quarter of next year and tangential struts will meanwhile be reintroduced until then.

McDonnell Douglas MD-11ER Deliveries

McDonnell Douglas has delivered the first two long range MD-11ERs to World Airways. The MD-11ER’s 7,200nm (13,340km) range is a result of minor aerodynamic improvements, weight reduction, greater fuel capacity and a higher max takeoff weight. It can carry an 11,355 litre (3,000 US gal) removable auxiliary fuel tank in the lower cargo compartment. The two World MD-11ERs have initially been leased to Garuda for Haj flights between Jakarta and Saudi Arabia. (MDC)

777 Attacked

United Airlines and British Airways have both attacked Boeing over reliability problems with the new 777 twin. United has described the aircraft as a “major disappointment”, a letter from fleet operations vice president John O’Gorman to Boeing saying in part: “The airplane Mechanical Schedule Reliability rate over the past two months has been approximately double what we expected. In addition, the number of pilot write-ups and flight cancellations, as well as the airplane out of service time, has been intolerable. There are a large number of issues that need to be addressed in order for the airplane to perform at the level that Boeing and United envisioned”. British Airways has also pointed out problems with the new airliner and its General Electric engines. Boeing responded by suggesting that the problems were typical bugs found in any new aircraft and claimed the 777’s early dispatch reliability rate of 97.5% was a figure which “no other new aircraft has come close to”. United’s Mr O’Gorman subsequently softened his stance, saying “the 777 is an excellent aircraft, we just want to make it better”.

Boeing Lifts Production

Boeing has announced it will increase the production rates of three of its models from the first quarter of next year in response to improving market demand. Production of the 737 will increase from the current 8.5 per month to 10, the 757 from three to four per month and the 747 from 3.5 to four per month. The 767 rate is increasing from 3.5 to four per month later this year and will remain at that level through 1997. The 777 is currently being built at a rate of two per month and will gradually increase throughout the year to reach a rate of five per month by the beginning of 1997. Boeing’s most recent assessment of world air travel demand and aircraft requirements forecasts that passenger traffic will increase by an average 5.1% per annum between now and 2015. To meet this demand and to replace older aircraft, the company predicts that 15,900 new jetliners will be required during the period.

BAe Wants Airbus Restructure

British Aerospace has called for a restructuring of Airbus Industrie’s consortium and financial arrangements before the A3XX very large airliner project is launched. Finance is of particular concern, current arrangements forcing the four member companies to take responsibility for funding their own balance sheets. BAe wants Airbus to be able to raise finances on its own account and although cheap government loans have been used to finance projects, these have been severely limited by Europe’s trade agreement with the United States on state subsidies. German partner Daimler Benz Aerospace basically agrees with BAe’s stand, while more recently Aerospatiale has given support to the proposal. The A3XX is expected to cost at least $US8bn to develop, certify and put into production.

2000 Sales For Airbus

The recent contract signature for Philippine Airlines’ order for 24 Airbus airliners has taken Airbus Industrie’s firm sales past the 2000 mark. Since Airbus’ formation in 1970 through to the time of writing, the European consortium has sold a total of 2004 airliners to 124 customers — comprising 959 A319/A320/A321 series, 733 A300/A310s and 312 A330/A340s. To date 1385 Airbus aircraft worth approximately $US72.4bn have been delivered, while current Airbus operators number 130 worldwide.