Boeing and Airbus executives are wrapping up the commercial-aviation industry’s biggest week of the year. But instead of jetting off to summer vacation, it feels more like the start of summer school for both plane makers. The rivals came away from Farnborough with a combined haul of nearly US$62b in deals, compared with $115.5b they racked up at the last show here. That was in the midst of a historic boom in orders, driven by rapidly expanding airlines looking for the newest, most efficient planes. The midsummer show tends to be the industry’s orders highlight of the year, when plane makers pack their annual orders books and position themselves for an easy glide in the latter half of the year. This year, though, executives at both companies said they would have significant work to do after the show to make those goals. <br/>
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TripAdvisor is now allowing passengers to post reviews of airlines, a move it claims will “demystify” what is becoming an increasingly confusing market place for travellers. The new function is part of an overhaul of the review website's flight service, which, for 7 years, has only been able to offer passengers the ability to compare flight prices, pitching it against the likes of Skyscanner, Expedia and Google. TripAdvisor now hopes to steal a march on its rivals by providing travellers with both reviews and prices. “What we launched [Wednesday] is a better way to shop,” said Bryan Saltzburg, senior VP of TripAdvisor’s global flights business. “It’s giving travellers the ability to make informed air decisions – not just on price but the total experience.” <br/>
Bombardier is aiming to reverse a trend that has become common for the average flier: the increasing misery of the economy-class flying experience. The plane maker’s new CSeries jetliner begins flying paying passengers Friday with an economy cabin outfitted with wider seats in each row, bigger overhead bins and more spacious lavatories. The company hopes to bring a level of comfort reserved for much larger globe-hopping jetliners to much shorter flights. Fighting for a market that overlaps with the smallest jets from its US and European rivals, Bombardier opted for a 5-abreast economy class cabin with 18 and 19 inch seats. Boeing and Airbus fuselages are wider than Bombardier’s, but seat 6 in each row with roughly 17 and 18-inch seats. <br/>
US airlines posted a better on-time rate for May, and complaints dropped compared with the same month last year. The DoT said Thursday that 83.4% of domestic flights arrived on time in May, up from 80.5% a year earlier although down from April. Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines had the best on-time ratings, with each posting a mark of at least 90%. Spirit Airlines had the worst on-time record, followed by Virgin America — both were under 77%. Those airlines canceled 0.5% of their domestic flights in May. That was the third-lowest rate on record and was better than the 1.1% cancellation rate in May 2015 and 0.9% in April 2016. Spirit had the highest cancellation rate, about one in every 70 flights. Complaints fell 24% from May 2015, although they increased over April. <br/>
When it comes to country comparisons, Canada often comes out near the top, but there’s one where the Great White North is right near the bottom: The cost of air travel. Canada places 124th out of 141 countries ranked by the World Economic Forum on the “cost competitiveness” of its travel and tourism industry, and a recent analysis says much of that has to do with ticket taxes and airport fees. “Ultimately, these taxes and charges represent extra costs that are passed on to consumers and to air carriers,” wrote Alexandre Moreau, a policy analyst at the Montreal Economic Institute. Moreau notes that the federal govt still owns almost all of the 26 major Canadian airports run by the National Airports System, and collects rent from the lease-holders. That rent can amount to as much as 12% of an airport’s revenues <br/>
New Turkish manufacturer TRJet has announced suppliers for its new regional aircraft program—TRJ328—the updated, re-engined version of the former Dornier turboprop and jet variants that will form the basis of a new Turkish airliner production industry. TRJet has selected a new version of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 to power the turboprop version of the aircraft. This has a common turbine assembly with the PW119 that powers the original Dornier aircraft but a different gearbox that produces more shaft horsepower. TRJet is working with several Turkish vendors to supply components for the aircraft, to ensure there is technical and skills transfers into Turkey. The aircraft will be produced initially as a 32-seat regional aircraft. <br/>