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The Russian government is getting into the business of commercial planes. The Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), which is majority owned by the government, has just unveiled the MC-21 300, which it boasts will be a rival to the best planes coming out of commercial aerospace, like the Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 737Max.

For the last decade, the U.S. has pursued a case before the World Trade Organization (WTO) against illegal subsidies provided to Airbus by four European governments, which have given the European plane maker an unfair advantage in the global market. With government help, Airbus has captured 50% of the global commercial airplane market . The European Union has used delay and stall tactics to continue evading global trade rules by filing their own cases against the United States and ignoring WTO compliance rulings against their illegal practices. They’ve lost badly at every twist and turn, and now it’s time for...

A World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel ruled Thursday that the European Union has fallen dramatically short of remedying the harm to Boeing from illegal subsidies to Airbus. The decision opens a path for the U.S. to implement trade sanctions against the EU — potentially imposing billions of dollars in tariffs on its goods or services.

...The A380 might have built more momentum if not for production debacles. Around the time of the first test flight in 2005, Airbus realized it had underestimated the complexity of wiring the superjumbo. Managers discovered that French and German designers had used incompatible software. ...More setbacks followed. The engine of an A380 blew up during a passenger flight in 2010. Nobody was hurt, but it drew negative attention to the plane. Wing cracks discovered on many A380s led to costly repairs. Customers, including Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., Air France-KLM SA and Qantas Airways Ltd. , canceled orders. The...

“I can’t get no respect,” moaned the late and overweight comedian Rodney Dangerfield. The Airbus A380, largest and heaviest airliner in operation today, could say that too after Air France reportedly will dump half of its A380 fleet—aircraft built and tested at the “hometown” Airbus factory in Toulouse. Like the quashing of a recent rumor that Lufthansa was on the verge of ordering another 15 A380s, this is another black eye for the world’s largest passenger plane. After all, if France and Germany, the countries that build the A380, don’t want it, who will?

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus is drawing up contingency plans to phase out production of the world’s largest jetliner, the A380 superjumbo, if it fails to win a key order from Dubai’s Emirates, three people familiar with the matter said. The moment of truth for the slow-selling airliner looms after just 10 years in service and leaves one of Europe’s most visible international symbols hanging by a thread, despite a major airline investment in new cabins unveiled this month. “If there is no Emirates deal, Airbus will start the process of ending A380 production,” a person briefed on the plans said....

Airlines, it turns out, prefer the fuel efficiency of smaller planes like the Boeing 777 to the pack-em-in capacity of the Airbus A380. As a result, Airbus hasn’t scored any new orders for an A380 in more than a year. Its big plan to turn things around? Launch a new version, make it cheaper to fly, and slap on some winglets. This week at the Paris Air Show, Airbus announced the revamped “A380plus,” a refresh that packs even more passengers into the super-jumbo and tweaks the wing design. The upswept winglets found on most modern airliners boost fuel efficiency by...

ANA says it will replace the engines on its fleet of Boeing 787s after a series of engine failures caused by corrosion and fatigue cracking of turbine blades. The Japanese airline plans to swap out all 100 Rolls-Royce engines currently used on its 50 Dreamliners. The process could take as long as three years, according to spokesman Yoichi Uchida. ... For now, the engines will be upgraded with brand new turbine blades. Meanwhile, ANA said it is working with Rolls-Royce to find a more permanent solution. Five engines have already been repaired with new turbines.

<p>The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering fixes on General Electric engines used on some Boeing 787 Dreamliners after it found that an icing problem can cause the engines to shut down mid-flight.</p>

Boeing and ANA (All Nippon Airways) have celebrated ANA becoming the first airline to reach its 100,000th revenue flight with the 787 Dreamliner, during a gate ceremony at Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, US. "The 787 Dreamliner has played an important role especially in forming the backbone of our international fleet," said Osamu Shinobe, President and CEO, ANA. "Reaching the 100,000th revenue flight milestone with the 787 Dreamliner is a significant milestone for ANA. As the largest customer of the 787, we look to forward to introducing the entire family of Dreamliners into our fleet as we aim to celebrate another...

(CNN)—There's a famous quote: "If you did it, it ain't braggin'." Boeing did it -- in front of a camera. An eyepopping rehearsal video Boeing released Thursday shows off its newest version of the Dreamliner aircraft — the 787-9 — performing some impressive and beautiful banks and ascents.

Boeing will build the 787-10 Dreamliner exclusively in North Charleston, the Chicago-based aerospace giant announced Wednesday. The 787-10 is the largest of the Dreamliner family and the announcement of its construction at the North Charleston site has been expected for months. Design of the 787-10 is underway in Everett, with final assembly of the first 787-10 scheduled to begin in South Carolina in 2017. "We looked at all our options and found the most efficient and effective solution is to build the 787-10 at Boeing South Carolina," said Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager, 787 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes....

Boeing Co is hiring contract workers at its factory in South Carolina as it boosts output of the 787 Dreamliner and seeks to avoid manufacturing issues linked to the production increase, according to people familiar with the situation. Boeing confirmed on Wednesday that it is hiring at the facility but declined to provide details. The company was responding to a Wall Street Journal report that said the aircraft maker is adding about 300 contract mechanics and inspectors at its North Charleston facility. The Journal said the contractors were needed in part to avoid production issues with 787 body sections made...

Battery problems resurfaced on Boeing's 787 on Tuesday, after gas was discovered coming out of a battery on a plane parked in Tokyo. Boeing said the problem on a Japan Airlines 787 was discovered during scheduled maintenance. No passengers were on board. The company said it appears that a single battery cell 'vented', or released gas. The incident comes a year after a fire in a lithium ion battery aboard a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston's Logan International Airport.

Boeing Co. has suffered another setback with its 787 Dreamliner after the model’s biggest operator, ANA Holdings, says it discovered wiring defects in the fire-suppression system on three aircraft.

A Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner flying from Boston to Tokyo turned around not long after taking off and has returned safely to Boston:

(snip, from the actual AAIB report at link below) Safety Recommendation 2013-016 It is recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration initiate action for making inert the Honeywell International RESCU406AFN fixed Emergency Locator Transmitter system in Boeing 787 aircraft until appropriate airworthiness actions can be completed. Safety Recommendation 2013-017 It is recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration, in association with other regulatory authorities, conduct a safety review of installations of Lithium-powered Emergency Locator Transmitter systems in other aircraft types and, where appropriate, initiate airworthiness action. (snip, from abcnews.go link above) The FAA didn't immediately say whether it will follow the recommendations....

The U.K. Accidents Investigation Branch said there was extensive heat damage in the upper portion of the rear fuselage of the Ethiopian Airlines plane, which caught fire while parked at Heathrow Airport in London. “However, it is clear that this heat damage is remote from the area in which the aircraft main and APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) batteries are located, and at this stage, there is no evidence of a direct causal relationship,” the agency said in a statement, adding that the initial investigation is likely to take several days. Ethiopian Airlines hasn’t grounded its three other 787 Dreamliners, the...

Smoke was detected from the aircraft after it had been parked at Heathrow for more than eight hoursContinue reading the main story Related Stories Dreamliner catches fire at Heathrow Boeing shares fall after 787 fire Dreamliner flights resume after problems Ethiopian Airlines says it is to continue operating its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners after one caught fire at London's Heathrow airport on Friday.Investigators are trying to find the cause of the blaze, which took place months after the aircraft was grounded worldwide over a battery problem.Heathrow's runways were closed for 90 minutes on Friday, and some evening flights delayed...

A fire on a parked Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner plane has forced both runways at Heathrow Airport to close. No injuries were reported and nobody was on board the aircraft, which was stationed at a remote parking stand. Ethiopian Airlines said it had been there for more than eight hours before smoke was detected, adding that "the cause of the incident is under investigation by all concerned." A spokesperson for Heathrow said the plane suffered an internal fire and that the airport's emergency services attended the scene. Ethiopian Airlines was the first airline to resume using the 787 after Boeing temporarily...