fencer

Let's see in a few more months. I am rather conservative in tastes but I am already getting used to the new livery. I used to like the old one but now...it looks just old. That's what's great with designers. A lot of people (including me) don't necessarily like - or love - at first sight what they produce but after a while... Good points on brands and brand loyalty in this thread. Bruno

Good summary, very interesting, thank you. Bruno

It's done : EADS has become Airbus Group Airbus is still...Airbus Eurocopter is now Airbus Helicopters Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military are now Airbus Defense and Space Final 2013 sales figures for airliners won't be available before Jan, 13 but 2013 will be either the best or second best (after 2011) year in Airbus history for sales. Bruno

You're right . The deal (which btw is a lease, not a sale, as Aharon pointed out) was made last year (2012) and deliveries started in 2013 with Delta's fist B717 commercial flight happening in October 2013. From what I read, in the short time span between october 2013 and the DC-9 retirement in January 2014, Delta will have been the only carrier to operate all major variations of the DC-9 simultaneously : DC-9, MD-88, MD-90, and the Boeing 717. Bruno

Hello Tom, For the record, I am still having difficulties with a regular connection (from Paris at 10:40 am which is 04:30 am in New York). Lots of "Service unavailable" screens both for connecting to the Hangar chat page and individual threads. Rgds, Bruno PS : (edit) no more problems at 12:30 local/06:30 am EST

I suppose that's because they require a lot of maintenance ? Bruno

A VERY modernized DC9-30 indeed. So the DC9 lovers can say the DC9 isn't dead yet ! Interesting to note that, at the same time, Southwest are confirming that they will retire their B717s and go back to an all B737 fleet. Bruno

Talk of a workhorse... http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=2216 Do you remember your first flight in a DC-9 ? Mine happened relatively late. Probably in the early 1980s if I remember well (I had flown in a bunch of jet and prop liners in the 60s and 70s - and even in a Connie in 1958 as a baby - but never had a chance to fly the DC-9 before). Bruno

I don't use latin often either (and those school years are far away...). But you won't believe how smart I can be with Wikipedia. Kind regards, Bruno

What a man ! What a life ! Bruno PS (Bill) : I think it is : Requiescat in pace

Not sure if this is the last operator of the passenger version. The article only mentions KLM as the last major operator of the type. Rgds, Bruno

According to ch-aviation, KLM, the last major carrier using the MD-11 plans the last flight for October 2014. http://www.ch-aviati...t-for-late-2014 Please also see post in the Hangar Chat forum - although the thread seems to have been slightly hijacked ! :smile: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/425239-klm-to-retire-md-11-in-late-2014/ Rgds, Bruno

According to ch-aviation, KLM, the last major carrier using the MD-11 plans the last flight for October 2014. http://www.ch-aviation.ch/portal/news/22950-klm-tentatively-schedules-last-md-11-flight-for-late-2014 Rgds, Bruno PS (edit) : Hey, this is my 500 th post. I'm getting blabby !

I see you are an optimist ! :smile: Rgds, Bruno PS : I think the 0.01 percent that is right is mine ....Uh ? Yours too? OK, OK

If China needs high capacity, short to medium range ac like those 747s Boeing sold to the japanese airlines in the 70's and 80's for domestic traffic, there might be a market for a high-density version of the A380. Interestingly, on long range flights, many A380 users have chosen low density seating arrangements, which means that the difference in seating capacity between an A380 and a 777-300 is not that large. Air Austral, a French company serving FMEE (Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean) from Paris (about 5000 nm) actually ordered two A380s in a single class hi-density version with 840 seats but due to financial trouble, they tried to cancel the order later. In any case, they realized (lately) that such high density offering would "cannibalize" their own 777-based offering. At this time, they are still negociating with Airbus about cancellation but if they have to keep the A380s, they'll go for a standard multi-class seating arrangement. Finally, many people don't realize that the A380 cargo capacity is not that great (related to its seating capacity), which would be another problem for high-capacity versions : one of the few weaknesses of this aircraft - although this makes sense on a double-decker. Rgds, Bruno

Hmmm, I think I see your point but please note I was only pointing at the difference in forecasts between Airbus and Boeing. But, to quote from a famous humorist, "Forecasting is a difficult job, especially when it concerns the future". :smile: Rgds, Bruno

Interestingly, Airbus and Boeing seem to disagree in their forecasts for sales of very large aircraft (VLA). In a recent interview on French TV, a Boeing executive said that while Airbus forecasts sales of 1700 VLAs in the next 20 years, Boeing's figure for this market is only about 760. Rgds, Bruno

Nice video. Too bad the sound tape doesn't include the pilot breathing (very informative about the physical stress level and the way the pilot manages it). Rgds, Bruno

I disagree. Just listen to the passengers and you realize it definitely wasn't a kiss landing. Now, having said that, it's not a crash either ! Rgds, Bruno

+1 Bruno

Very nice ! Thanks for sharing. Rgds, Bruno

Airbus sounds "perfectly" English to me... :biggrin: . And by the way that's what the original A300 projet was about : an air bus. Maybe those who find it too French... don't speak French very well... :smile: At the end of the day, as you say, the whole world will look mainly at product qualities But don't tell the marketing guys that names don't matter . They're probably spending a fortune just to rename the company ! :lol: Rgds, Bruno

Yes, Eurocopter is definitely a name with a good image attached to it. On the other hand, some critics said that the European connotation could be a drawback when negociating with certain customers... We'll see... Agreed. Too bad there are so few bizjet sims on the market. Rgds, Bruno

In fact EADS presently owns 46% of Dassault. But since the majority shareholder (the Dassault family) owns almost 51% of the company, EADS influence is rather limited - in spite of their 46% share. As a matter of fact, some EADS minority shareholders (a trust fund) have suggested recently that EADS should sell their Dassault shares and get out entirely. Rgds, Bruno

Besides beeing a brand name, Airbus was a company name. The mother company and holding was (and still is until early next year) EADS - which stands for European Aeronautic Defense and Space company but nobody really remembers this. EADS was formed in 2000 following multiple mergers of litterally dozens of companies over the previous twenty years, the last ones beeing DASA (Daimler Chrysler Aerospace of Germany), Aerospatiale-Matra (France) and CASA (Spain). The Airbus company was just one EADS subsidiary among many others including Eurocopter (maker of helicopters), Astrium (maker of space equipment), Cassidian (maker of defense systems) etc. Now EADS will become the Airbus Group and all subsidiaries will have Airbus as part or their name (see my first post). The move parallels what Boeing did when they acquired so many companies in the 1990s and later so that now you have Boeing Commercial Aircraft, Boeing Defense, Space and Security, Boeing Capital etc. etc. But you are right, it can be a little confusing as, although EADS will be the Airbus GROUP, there may still be some confusion between the name of the holding (the Airbus Group) and the name of the subsidiary making Airbus aircraft. The reason for this choice is the low public recognition of the EADS name vs that of the Airbus name. I suppose some will say this is marketing 101... Rgds, Bruno PS : (edit) The latest news is that the name change will take place in July 2014.