The Farnborough Airshow is typically one of the world’s most publicity-focused business events, with plane giants and airline bosses battling to win headlines for deals signed under the roar of stealth fighter displays. Not so this week, when Airbus and Boeing announced almost 300 orders from unnamed buyers, reversing the PR rulebook. Airbus led the anonymous jetliner haul with almost 200 orders worth $24b at list prices, while Boeing said it had signed provisional deals with four unnamed customers for a total of 94 planes worth almost $11b at catalogue prices. Airbus declined to discuss the identity of the buyers, but industry sources said its list was dominated by Chinese-related leasing companies. CCO Eric Schulz linked the reticence to global trade tensions, telling analysts some Asian customers had asked Airbus not to fan growing disputes. “Undisclosed or disclosed, either way the order is there,” he said. “If that is enough to make airline customers want anonymity, what might they do if the trade disputes were to escalate?,” Jefferies analyst Sandy Morris commented. Several top delegates cautioned against overstating the link with trade tensions, however. Numerous factors are at play when deciding when to reveal order plans, such as waiting for board or government approvals, they said. Winning the air show competition also has something to do with the sequence of announcements, two industry sources said. Airbus is behind Boeing in the race for orders this year. Story has more details.<br/>
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A provision tucked into the US House’s FAA reauthorization bill would require the agency to regulate airline seat sizes. FAA said in early July there was no evidence that higher-capacity seat configurations would prevent passengers from evacuating in an emergency within the required minimum times. But the House bill would instruct FAA to establish minimum dimensions for passenger seats on aircraft operated by carriers flying within the US. The rules would include minimums for seat pitch, width and length that lawmakers say are necessary for the safety and health of passengers. Alison McAfee, a spokeswoman for Airlines for America, citing the FAA’s June 2 letter to FlyersRights.org, said FAA’s judgement that seating dimensions of US airlines “meet or exceed federal safety standards” was correct. “We believe market forces should ultimately determine whether the industry is meeting customers’ expectations, rather than government regulation,” McAfee said. “Travellers reserve the right to choose who they give their business to, which route best serves their needs, and which variety of service options they value most.”<br/>
When temporary no-fly zones appear above US rocket launch sites, airlines end up paying huge fuel costs to fly around them, while passengers have to spend more of their precious time in the air. In fact, a new study by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University calculates that all the extra fuel required to avoid restricted airspace during rocket launches costs airlines cumulatively between $10,000 and $30,000 per liftoff. One launch can create a ripple affecting thousands of airline passengers. Last February's SpaceX launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket delayed 563 airline flights resulting in 62 extra miles added to flights across the southeastern US, according to a report by the Air Line Pilots Association. Each flight was delayed an average of eight minutes. All this "results in planes sitting on the ground, longer routes, more fuel burn and longer flying times for passengers," said a written statement by A4A, an industry group that represents most major US airlines.<br/>But the issue points to a larger problem: America's national airspace -- shared by the fast-growing aviation and commercial space industries -- has been getting more complicated as more airliners and rockets take flight. That trend is expected to continue. <br/>
Engine maker Rolls-Royce is exploring the idea of using robots inspired by snakes and cockroaches to help it inspect and repair engines in the future, the company’s researchers said at the Farnborough Airshow. The plan is part of efforts by Rolls to carry out as much maintenance as possible while the engine is on the wing of a plane. Removing engines from wings incurs disruption for airlines, and so doing more maintenance while the engines are in place saves time and money for airlines, and also reduces costs for Rolls-Royce as the maintenance provider. In one early-stage technology, Rolls-Royce is looking at using a snake-style robot to deposit a set of miniature robots into the center of an engine to carry out a visual inspection. The mini robots resemble small scuttling beetles, and are inspired by cockroaches. James Kell, on-wing technology specialist at Rolls, said they could help get the time taken to carry out a visual inspection of hard to reach areas down from hours to minutes. “There’s lots of things that aren’t ready yet, there’s more work to do yet to get this more mature,” Kell said, such as working out how to safely get the robots out of the engine again. <br/>