The article states that UPS plans to operate directly to and from UPS ground facilities, not just to and from airports. A conventional helicopter could do the same missions. I think the immediate benefit of this thing being electric-powered, excluding any real or imagined environmental benefits, is that it can be recharged anywhere they can connect to the electric power grid. A conventional turbine-powered helicopter would need jet-a, which I’m guessing most off-airport UPS facilities don’t stock.

(Written on 2021/04/09)(Permalink)

http://www.buffalobulletin.com/profiles/article_92509fc6-ec92-11ea-b494-57f772013f35.html This is a 2020 retrospective about a 1979 oops, when Western Airlines mistakenly landed at Buffalo, Wyoming, instead of intended destination Sheridan.

(Written on 2021/04/09)(Permalink)

The single-type fleet seems to have worked well for Southwest, though it’s not without risk. Some other single-type airlines have diversified (JetBlue added the E190 and now the A220, Alaska added A319/320/321 through Virgin America acquisition, seems to see a continuing role for the A321neo), they’ve judged that branching out works for them. An interesting point from the article and its comment stream: A220 production now at about 5 per month, with stated plan to ramp that up to 14. With a substantial backlog of previous orders, Airbus doesn’t really have the capacity and flexibility to build and deliver 100 A220-300s for the delivery times Southwest may have wanted.

(Written on 2021/04/08)(Permalink)

Makes me remember riding on a stubby good old well-used People Express 737-100, acquired from Lufthansa. Still had a Lufthansa decal on an engine nacelle....wonder how the repainters missed that.

(Written on 2021/04/07)(Permalink)

Iceman999 I think you may have meant to reply to linbb’s comment, not mine. The Atlas Air 747 in the incident I cited was the Boeing Dreamlifter: it was operated by Atlas. No memory lapse, no balls in play!

(Written on 2021/04/06)(Permalink)

Happens in the first world, too, including the USA. Two examples: in 2013 Atlas Air 747 landed at KAAO instead of the intended McConnell AFB near Wichita; in 2016 Delta A320 landed at Ellsworth AFB instead of the intended Rapid City Regional KRAP. And of course Air Canada which lined up on a taxiway and barely avoiding landing on the departure queue at KSFO.

(Written on 2021/04/05)(Permalink)

The article doesn’t really answer the “Could it compete?” question, but it renders the question moot by detailing the engineering and certification challenges to be met, making development of such a plane a practical impossibility. The -10 will be the last 737 version.

(Written on 2021/04/03)(Permalink)

Besides the fleet commonality advantage, Southwest probably got better discounts off pro-forma list pricing from Boeing than they could have gotten from Airbus. Boeing needed this order, at any price, more than Airbus did.

(Written on 2021/03/30)(Permalink)

https://aerosavvy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/an05_cons.pdf Link displays the International Civil Aviation Organization document “Units of Measurement to be Used in Air and Ground Operations”. Its specified standard units are all metric. Nautical miles, feet, and knots listed as “alternative units permitted for temporary use”, but no termination dates have yet been established for use of these. Carefully meter any study of this dense and lengthy document lest you be tied up in knots.

(Written on 2021/03/29)(Permalink)

A squawk posted yesterday says Jet Blue did get Heathrow slots, according to an airwaysmag.com article, and several other media sources agree. SimpleFlying strikes again.

(Written on 2021/03/28)(Permalink)