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The aging planes of United, American, and Delta guzzle more gas and make the U.S. carriers more vulnerable to soaring oil prices—and to their global competitors For a look at one of the biggest headaches facing U.S. airlines, head out to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport any day and watch the big jets taking off for the U.S. There goes United Airlines to Chicago, American Airlines to Boston, Delta Air Lines to Atlanta, and Air France to New York's John F. Kennedy airport. What's the big deal? Many of the U.S. carriers' planes are Boeing 767s, a model that dates...

LOUISVILLE, Feb. 5, 2007 - UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced it had ordered 27 new Boeing 767-300ER freighters to support its growing package business while providing broad options for the management of its jet fleet. The 27 aircraft will be delivered between 2009 and 2012. The value of the contract was not disclosed. UPS continues to experience strong growth in its international package business, with average export volume climbing 12% in 2006 alone, and the wide-body 767's can be used on routes to and from Europe and Latin America as well as on lanes within Asia and Europe. Furthermore, the...

At an Air Force Association conference today in Washington, D.C., Boeing will make public for the first time a proposed U.S. Air Force refueling tanker based on its very large 777 commercial passenger jet — a potential alternative to a midsize 767 tanker. According to a draft request for proposal (RFP) the Air Force issued Monday, the government requires a tanker that can double as a troop carrier and supply plane. The proposed 777 tanker would have a much larger capacity for fuel, troops or cargo than either the currently offered 767 tanker or a rival offer based on the...

A family of General Electric engines widely used on Boeing Co. commercial jetliners and some Airbus planes should be inspected more than twice as often as federal regulators are requiring, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday. The warning comes only a week after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered U.S. airlines to inspect the engines more frequently after one exploded on an American Airlines jet that was on the ground in June, sending a 50-pound piece of metal more than a half mile across Los Angeles International Airport. Had that engine explosion occurred in flight, the NTSB said, the plane...

General Electric is investigating the cause of an apparent uncontained engine failure which caused extensive damage to an American Airlines Boeing 767-200 at Los Angeles on Friday. The aircraft (N330AA) was undergoing a ground run-up of the (left) No.1 engine when the problem occurred. The CF6-80A was being tested after the crew bringing the aircraft in from the New York reported abnormal power response from the engine during the flight. Reports say the engine was at more than 90% power when the failure occurred, either in the shaft or the high pressure turbine (HPT) area. Judging by images of the...

BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Shanghai Airlines Co. Ltd , a regional carrier based in commercial hub of Shanghai, has signed to buy two Boeing 767-300 ER jets with a catalogue price of about $256 million, local media reported on Tuesday. Shanghai Air would take delivery of the two aircraft in July and November 2006, said the China Securities Journal. The airline earlier this month signed a contract to buy 9 Boeing 787s, part of a $5 billion deal for 42 aircraft by four Chinese carriers. Boeing says China will become the world's second largest commercial aviation market, behind the...

SEATTLE, Aug. 2, 2005 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] confirmed today Chile-based LAN Airlines recently placed additional firm orders for six Boeing 767-300 airplanes. The order includes a combination of 767-300 freighters and 767-300ERs (Extended Range). These six 767s were previously designated to an "unidentified" customer on the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Orders and Deliveries Web site. These orders are in addition to six 767s ordered by the airline last year. The announcement came during a delivery ceremony late last week for the first of the 12 airplanes on order. Absa Cargo, an affiliate of LAN Airlines, took delivery of...

SEATTLE, June 30, 2005 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and Japan Airlines (JAL) today confirmed an order by JAL for six new Boeing 767-300ER airplanes, valued at approximately $800 million at list prices. The airline will receive three freighters and three passenger models. Deliveries will begin in 2007 and run through early 2008. It is the first time JAL has ordered the 767-300ER Freighter. "Boeing and Japan Airlines have a very special relationship, based on long-time mutual knowledge and trust," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Sales Larry Dickenson. "These 767 models provide excellent efficiency and reliability for...

WICHITA, Kan. - Three senior Boeing Co. employees have filed a lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer claiming the company ignored numerous defective parts used to build airplanes. The three employees of Boeing's commercial aircraft division in Wichita brought the lawsuit in March on behalf of the U.S. government, alleging that Boeing was aware of nearly 2,000 defective parts from Ducommun Inc. of California used in 32 of the company's airplanes. The lawsuit became public Thursday after the U.S. Justice Department completed its investigation. A federal court filing said the parts ended up on $1.5 billion worth of planes delivered to...

Business Wednesday May 25, 04:28 AM Boeing optimistic on keeping 747, 767 production lines NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co. is optimistic that it will get enough orders for its aging 767 and 747 jets to continue production past this year, the chief executive of its commercial aircraft unit said on Tuesday. "We're very pleasantly surprised," Alan Mulally said when asked at a company conference for analysts and investors about ongoing demand for the two aircraft which are both expected to be replaced by newer models in coming years. Boeing is marketing the so-called 747 Advanced as a successor plane...

The Airbus A380 has long been expected to steal this year's Paris Air Show. It will be the public debut of the world's biggest plane at the world's biggest air show, at none other than Le Bourget, one of the world's most storied airfields. Paris in June will be all about one airplane. Or will it? Facing a breakneck test flight program to get the A380 certified and the first plane delivered to Singapore Airlines in the second quarter of 2006, Airbus claims it has not decided on its plans for the A380 at the air show. "It remains to...

Boeing chief executive Harry Stonecipher will be in Wichita on Feb. 24 to celebrate the rollout of the first KC-767 aerial refueling tanker for the Italian Air Force. Stonecipher will be joined by its Italian customer and Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's defense business, at the Boeing-Wichita Development and Modification Center. The rollout marks the completion of essential structural work to the aircraft for flight and testing certification. The tanker is the first of four being built for the Italian Air Force. It's scheduled to be delivered in April 2006.

Charges relate to company expenses on USAF 767 Tanker and 717 line closure Company remains firmly committed to USAF 767 Tanker program CHICAGO, Jan. 14, 2005 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced it plans to recognize pre-tax charges totaling approximately $615 million, or $0.48 per share, related to the U.S. Air Force 767 Tanker program and expenses incurred to end production of the 717. The charges will be incorporated in the company's fourth-quarter and full-year 2004 results, scheduled to be released on Feb. 2, 2005. The charge related to the initial production of aerial refueling tankers for the...

CEO of the Cockpit #29: My Talk with the Tent People How can you give a talk to pilots who know a lot more about flying than you do? One way is not to talk. But when confronted with a receptive audience, AVweb's CEO talked about what he knows: flying airliners and being a good airline captain. By Kevin Garrison Columnist I was in a tent and it was raining, but at least it was warm. Standing behind a plywood podium in a "forum tent" at a recent Florida Fly-In, I had been invited to give a little talk...

QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEW townhall.comThe Air Force's new lease on lifeFrank J. Gaffney, Jr. (back to web version) September 3, 2003  When Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain opens a hearing today [Wednesday] on an Air Force proposal to lease 100 Boeing 767 tanker aircraft, he will cast himself as a defender of the public interest against wasteful defense spending.  It is, therefore, no small irony that this hearing ? and the dilatory, many-months-long process it culminates, is the real waste of time and energy, to the detriment of...