Flight International - January 13, 2015

AIR TRANSPORT

flightglobal.com 13-19 January 2015 | Flight International | 13

Troubled Transaero

looks at deferrals

AIR TRANSPORT P

B

oeing closed the books on
2014 with a total of 1,
new firm orders added to a record
backlog – about twice what exec-
utives had forecast last January.
“In the face of fierce competi-
tion, we had a strong year,” says
Ray Conner, president and chief
executive of Boeing Commercial
Airplanes. Last January, Boeing
executives forecast a book-to-bill
ratio of about 1:1, with orders to
roughly match deliveries of 723
aircraft in 2014.
Airbus plans to release 2014
order totals this week, but
reported 1,031 net orders from
January to November. Sources
close to the airframer indicated
last week that Airbus secured
more orders than its rival in 2014.
The vast majority of Boeing’s
bookings came from the single-
aisle market. The current models
and the future, re-engined 737
Max variant combined to amass
1,104 net orders in 2014.
On the other side, the 747-
programme ended 2014 with no
new firm orders added and a
backlog of 36 aircraft. Although
Boeing added two orders in 2014,
customers cancelled deals for
two 747-8s as well.
The current and re-engined
777 programmes, meanwhile,
added 283 new orders with no
cancellations, raising the backlog
to 564 aircraft. On the 787 pro-
gramme, the company added 65
gross orders, but cancellations re-

C

hinese airframer Comac has

yet to firm a date for the deliv-

ery of its first ARJ21-700 to launch

customer Chengdu Airlines.

Comac says the Civil Aviation

Administration of China (CAAC)

is conducting an airworthiness in-

spection on the regional jet. It is

also reviewing Comac’s operation-

al support system and will have to

grant it a production licence.

Only after these validations

can the first ARJ21 be delivered

sometime in 2015, says Comac.

It adds that aircraft 105 to 109

are scheduled for Chengdu

Airlines. Aircraft 105 and 106

have taken their first flights,

while aircraft 107 is undergoing

final assembly. Parts assembly is

meanwhile ongoing for aircraft

108 and 109.

CAAC issued type certifica-

tion for the indigenous regional

jet on 30 December 2014,

marking a major milestone for

China in its foray into the

commercial aircraft manufactur-

ing sector. The certification came

more than 12 years after the

programme was launched.

Chengdu Airlines has 30

ARJ21s on order. ■

I

ndian airline Jet Airways has

created something of a stir in

the industry by posting a recruit-

ment ad seeking pilots for the

Bombardier Q400, an aircraft

type it does not operate and for

which it has no orders.

Local media have speculated

that Jet could acquire the Q

fleet of beleaguered rival

SpiceJet; the only carrier in the

country now using the type.

Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets

database shows that SpiceJet has

15 of the type, all leased.

When contacted by

Flightglobal, a Jet spokeswoman

did not say outright that the

airline will obtain Q400s, but

her reply was tantalising: “At Jet

Airways we continually look at

enhancing our talent pool for all

categories of employment,

including cockpit crew as per

the company’s requirement,” she

said. “This also includes [the]

Q400 category.”

Ascend shows that Jet Air-

ways operates 18 leased AT R

72s. Seven examples have lease

terms expiring soon. ■

ORDERS AND DELIVERIES STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Boeing boosts its backlog

Airframer notches up double the number of net orders in 2014 it had predicted in January

The company increased the rate of its 737 production line

FLEET

AARON CHONG SINGAPORE

Jet Airways ad

fuels SpiceJet

Q400 rumours

First ARJ21-700 delivery awaits CAAC validation

PROGRAMME MAVIS TOH SINGAPORE

All 15 of the type are leased

Bombardier

Oliver Santa
Chengdu has 30 jets on order

Boeing

duced the net order tally to 41.

The backlog at the end of 2014

stood at 843 aircraft.

The 767 programme added

four new orders in 2014, raising

the backlog to 47.

Boeing also set a new commer-

cial aircraft delivery record in

2014 by shipping 723 aircraft

overall, including 114 787s.

The year-end total beat the

company’s modern era record set

in 2013 of 648 aircraft deliveries,

including 65 787s. It is likely to

heavily beat Airbus’s output in

2014, as the European manufac-

turer has forecast a similar num-

ber of deliveries in 2014 as the

previous year’s total of 626.

It also easily exceeds the

previous record set in 1968 for

combined deliveries of Boeing-

and Douglas-built aircraft. The

two aircraft companies, which

merged in the 1990s, delivered

680 aircraft that year.

Boeing doubled monthly 787

output to 10 per month last Janu-

ary and increased the rate on the

737 line by about 10% to 42 last

April. The final delivery total fell

near the high end of Boeing’s

guidance of between 715 and 725

aircraft deliveries in 2014.

The production record was set

with help from a push on the

787 in the fourth quarter. Boeing

delivered 35 of the twin-aisle

aircraft in the last three months

of 2014, or five more than the

monthly production rate would

suggest. ■