Boeing is on pace to achieve a rare feat in its industry: delivering a new jetliner ahead of schedule. The 737 Max completed its first flight Friday, a key step toward Boeing's goal of delivering the first plane to Southwest Airlines in Q3 of 2017. Behind the scenes, industry officials say, Boeing is telling customers it might deliver the jet as much as 6 months early. Just being on time would be remarkable. Aerospace companies in recent years have struggled with on-time deliveries of products, including commercial jetliners, business jets, military transports and fighter aircraft, because of technical and production problems. Boeing hasn't been immune. Its flagship 787 Dreamliner and the updated 747-8 version of its iconic jumbo jet were years behind schedule and suffered billions of dollars in cost overruns. <br/>
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European aviation emissions are set to rise by almost half over the next 20 years, warns the European Environment Agency (EEA). The projected 45% and 43% increases in CO2 and NOX emissions are based on the number of annual flights rising from 8.9m today to 12.8m by 2035. By comparison, the last 20 years have brought an 80% expansion in both European flights and CO2 emissions. Yet most of that growth took place before 2005, after which airline CO2 emissions stabilised in Europe. The EEA attributes this to improved technology, retirement of older aircraft, and better operational practices at airlines. "However, projections indicate that future technology improvements are unlikely to balance the effect of future traffic growth," the agency says. <br/>
EASA has launched an online survey to assess the effectiveness of maintaining 2 people in the cockpit during flight, as recommended in the wake of the Germanwings tragedy. Just 3 days after the crash, March 27, 2015, EASA recommended that 2 crew members, including at least one qualified pilot, should occupy the cockpit during flight, or that the operator should implement “equivalent measures,” however this is not a requirement. This recommendation was based on the technical investigation performed by France’s Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses and was maintained by the July 2015 Germanwings Task Force report. EASA is now seeking feedback from “operators, pilots and cabin crew, authorities and other interested parties” to assess the effectiveness of the 2-person-in-the-cockpit recommendation. <br/>
American Airlines Group and Delta Air Lines are fighting to be the biggest airlines at Los Angeles International, the largest airport in one of the world’s most lucrative air travel markets. Earlier this month, American said it will build 2 gates at LAX to allow 20 new daily flights, bringing its total to 220 flights and 70 destinations. It comes after Delta celebrated the completion last summer of a US$229m renovation of LAX’s Terminal 5. Despite the terminal renovations and flight expansions, it’s unlikely that LAX will ever be a true “fortress hub” like Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, or Newark, NJ, in which a single airline can command as much as 75% of the traffic. For one thing, LAX isn’t the only game in town. It splits air traffic with 4 other airports within 55 miles, all with more than one airline offering service. <br/>
Russian carriers took delivery of fewer than 60 aircraft in 2015, less than half of the approximately 123 aircraft delivered per year during 2008-2014, according to Russia’s State Scientific Research Institute of Civil Aviation. According to the organisation, 22.1% of aircraft delivered in 2013-2015 were Boeing 737-800s; 15.4% were Airbus A320s; 12.9% were A321s and 7.1% were A319s. Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) deliveries made up 14.2% of total aircraft deliveries from 2013-2015. Deliveries of Russian-assembled aircraft have not exceeded 20 aircraft per year. Russian airlines’ passenger fleet includes 547 widebodies and narrowbodies, of which 82 are Russian-built. Regional aircraft includes 206, comprising 125 Soviet-era aircraft, five Antonov An-148s and 76 Western-built aircraft. <br/>