Aerospace Sector

[aCryptoKing]

Only $BA is a public company in this "NASA Commercial Crew" program. And with pre-Covid 52-wk highs @ ~$434.36 (& BA currently trading @ $144) Boeing has yet to recover; so there may be a HUGE OPPORTUNITY for investors starting this week:

Under the Commercial Crew program, NASA awarded SpaceX about $3.1 billion and Boeing about $4.8 billion ...

NPR also reports commercial-travel is coming back more quickly-than-expected. BA also announced restarting 737MAX production last week. So it looks like downside risk is priced & it could be LOTS of REWARD as the stock starts CLIMBING BACK UP with the economy, re-opening, military/defense/security contracts, aerospace & commercial airlines getting back online as well... Guess we'll see.

IF SpaceX does an IPO it will get PUH-LENTY of attention. But, atm, ONLY public BOEING is available for this NEW Commercial Space Travel BUSINESS NASA has invested in. A business that has NEVER existed before & ONLY involves private SpaceX & public BOEING!

Guess we'll see what Monday brings! Time will tell,...ALWAYS DOES!!


BA

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>>> Mnuchin’s $29 Billion Loan Fund Untapped as Airlines Eye Rebound


Bloomberg

By Saleha Mohsin and Ryan Beene

May 29, 2020


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-29/mnuchin-s-29-billion-loan-fund-untapped-as-airlines-eye-rebound?srnd=premium


Some carriers may be put off by strings attached to loans

Travel demand appears to be slowly reviving as U.S. reopens


U.S. airlines have yet to tap $29 billion in federal pandemic relief loans as they wait to see whether the re-opening of the economy revives demand and diminishes the need for money that comes with government strings attached.

Although the four largest U.S. passenger airlines have applied for the Treasury Department program, only American Airlines Group Inc. has said it intends to tap the pool of funds. Southwest Airlines Co., United Airlines Holdings and Delta Air Lines Inc. say they plan to wait until fall before deciding whether to take the money -- after a summer travel season that could see more people return to the skies.

The wait-and-see approach illustrates how airlines are preparing for an uncertain future amid early signs of a recovery after Americans all but stopped flying in April due to the coronavirus and travel restrictions. A second wave of infections could make the situation worse.

JFK Airport As U.S. Travelers Dip Below 100,000 In Worst-Ever Free Fall
An American Airlines Inc. aircraft sits at a gate behind empty rows of chairs at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg

It also highlights how only a small portion of hundreds of billions of dollars available to the Treasury Department has actually been doled out to help companies.

“That pool of money is designed as backstop financing and for those who can’t raise money elsewhere,” said Helane Becker, an analyst at Cowen & Co. in New York.

U.S. airlines have separately raised billions in capital through methods including secured loans, bond offerings and equity sales, and Becker said that the federal loans are a last resort. The government loans would impose restrictions such as a cap on executive compensation and require carriers to offer equity or other financial stakes to the government in exchange for the aid.

“The hope is that by September, the worst of the pandemic is behind us and people will be booking for travel in the fall and the holidays, and airlines won’t need to take the money,” Becker said.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the number of loan applications received and when the money would be distributed. The department has separately has disbursed $25 billion from its payroll support program. Airlines accepting the funds, which are a mix of grants and loans, are required to refrain from layoffs until after Sept. 30.

Airlines have pointed to signs that travel demand is beginning to perk up in recent weeks, fueling hopes that the stress on beleaguered carriers could begin to wane. Passengers taking flights over Memorial Day weekend, an early test of consumer confidence and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, reached levels unseen since late March. Airlines say bookings are outpacing cancellations, and airplanes that have been almost empty are starting to fill up.

Carriers are far from out of the woods, however. Just 261,170 people passed through security at U.S. airports on Wednesday, down 88% from the equivalent day last year, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. Airlines have openly discussed the likely need to shed thousands of workers after a prohibition on job cuts tied to the payroll support program expires.

On Thursday, for example, American Airlines announced plans to shed 30% of its management and support staff to align its operations with dramatic declines in travel.

“While I don’t want to get into specifics, we continue to have very productive conversations with Treasury Department and its advisers,” American Airlines President Robert Isom said at an industry conference May 19. “Treasury has been nothing but fantastic to work with through these unprecedented times, and we remain very confident that we will move forward with this loan in a prudent and efficient manner.”

Delta, Southwest

The Treasury Department launched the loan program April 8, and has made no further announcements since it closed on April 17. The agency is weighing whether it will disburse the money in one or several tranches as the outlook for the industry’s recovery becomes clear, a person familiar with the matter said. The program may also evolve as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hasn’t settled on the details, the person said.

Delta has applied for the additional Treasury loan “to hold our place in line,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said at the same Wolfe Research conference. “We have until September to make a decision about that as well as other financing sources should we need them.”

“We’ve applied for it,” Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said of the potential $2.8 billion loan at the carrier’s annual shareholder meeting May 21. “We’ve not committed to take that money and we have until September 30 to make that decision.”

The airline loan program is yet another piece of the pandemic rescue funds enacted on March 27 -- when Congress and the White House were so panicked that Covid-19 would ravage the U.S. economy that they quickly came together -- that may not be working as designed.

Virus Rescue

Mnuchin has only used $37.5 billion out of a $454 billion fund to backstop central bank emergency lending, though $195 billion has been committed for use. A Main Street lending facility that Congress asked the Federal Reserve to launch to support small and medium-sized companies is still not operational even as businesses lay off workers, shutter and eye bankruptcy. The Paycheck Protection Program for smaller companies has been riddled with glitches, and now needs to be fixed to extend the relief.

Mnuchin also hasn’t disbursed a $17 billion pot of money reserved for companies deemed critical to national security. The largest expected recipient, Boeing Co., got help from private investors. For the hundreds of thousands of other defense contractors in the Pentagon’s supply chain, Treasury’s criteria is too strict to qualify.

The loan packages for airlines and companies critical to national security, if untapped, can be used to backstop additional lending by the Fed.

“With a lot of these programs it turns out they’re not for everybody, said Ian Katz, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners in Washington. “There’s a general feeling of anguish and pain as people are unemployed, underemployed and businesses shut down -- surely the government can do more for them.”

Not a Bailout

Federal loans for the airline industry, which Mnuchin has repeatedly said are not a “bailout,” come with strings attached that analysts say may be less attractive than private markets. Any company tapping the loan pool must assure the government that credit is “not reasonably available” elsewhere.

United Airlines, for example, is eligible for a loan of as much as $4.5 billion and the company expects to issue the department warrants to purchase 14.2 million shares of the company’s common stock, CFO Gerald Laderman said in a May 1 earnings call.

Savanthi Syth, an analyst at Raymond James, said the department’s terms are not excessive but are onerous enough for airlines to turn first to the private sector.

“The test for whether airlines will need this will be how much demand comes back this summer,” she said. “If we see demand getting back to 50% levels of last year, they might not need to tap it.”

The $2.2 trillion pandemic stimulus package that authorized the airline loans gives Treasury until the end of the year to disburse them.

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Amazon Prime Air Seen Surging Fivefold to 200 Jets, Rivaling UPS



Bloomberg

By Spencer Soper

May 22, 2020


Kentucky air hub could emerge as key to more national service

Amazon now offers service to small a number of destinations


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-22/amazon-prime-air-will-grow-to-200-planes-rival-ups-study-says?srnd=premium


Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Air fleet will grow to about 200 planes -- up from 42 now -- in the next seven or eight years, creating an air cargo service that could rival United Parcel Service Inc., according to a study.

“At a time when many other airlines are downsizing due to the pandemic, Amazon’s push for faster and cheaper at-home delivery is moving ahead on an ambitious timetable,” said the report issued Friday by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development. “Amazon Air’s robust expansion makes it one of the biggest stories in the air cargo industry in years.”

Amazon unveiled the air cargo service in 2016, prompting speculation that it would ultimately create an overnight delivery network to rival delivery partners UPS and FedEx Corp.

Prime Air operates out of smaller regional airports close to its warehouses around the country, helping Amazon quickly move inventory to accommodate one- and two-day delivery. For that reason, some analysts have dismissed Amazon as a potential competitor to UPS and FedEx since it can only offer limited service to a small number of destinations and seems designed to handle Amazon packages.

Key to its ability to take on the entrenched players, the report says, is Amazon’s new $1.5 billion facility near Cincinnati that will accommodate up to 100 planes and as many as 200 flights each day. Amazon’s lack of a central hub has kept it from competing in the overnight delivery services offered by UPS and FedEx, which have more planes flying to more destinations.

“The massive investment being made in a large hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, however, could change everything,” the report says. “This hub appears to be the linchpin to Amazon’s efforts to develop a comprehensive array of domestic delivery services.”

A separate report released Monday noted Amazon’s lack of a central hub in concluding it was not a competitive threat to FedEx, which has a hub in Memphis, or UPS, which has one in Louisville. FedEx’s network can offer 9,000 daily flight connections, UPS’ 5,500 and Amazon Air just 363, according to the report from Bernstein.

“The viability of a commercial overnight offering from Amazon remains very limited,” Bernstein analyst David Vernon wrote. “Offering a low cost on shipping to a small number of markets every so often will never be a serious competitive threat.”

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>>> When United Pawned Old Jets, Bond Traders Sent a Stark Warning



Bloomberg

By Sally Bakewell

May 8, 2020


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-09/when-united-pawned-old-jets-bond-traders-sent-a-stark-warning?srnd=premium


Airline pulls $2.25 billion of junk bonds backed by planes

Firms are pledging collateral in bid to raise cash on shutdown


Late on Friday, after some 48 hours of frantic attempts to lure investors to their faltering bond sale, executives at United Airlines let it be known that the deal was dead.

It was an odd moment, stuck smack in the middle of one of the busiest corporate bond booms ever, a period in which investors have shown themselves to be receptive to almost any debt offer backed by good collateral. But this last part was where United got in trouble. For collateral, it had scraped together 360 old jets, some of which analysts considered would be nearly worthless in a few years.

In balking at the deal, investors sent a clear message to CFOs across the country: Don’t try to pawn second-tier assets. Bring us the crown jewels because, regardless of how much Washington policymakers are helping corporate America weather the economic shutdown, the risk of default remains high for all but the most financially solid companies.

“All collateral is not created equal,” said John McClain, a money manager at Diamond Hill Capital Management.

United Air Scraps $2.25 Billion Bond Deal After Terms Disappoint

United Airlines’ attempt to raise $2.25 billion of bonds follows efforts by other virus-stricken companies to mortgage anything they can get their hands on to persuade debt investors to lend them money. In a bid to replace revenue wiped out by the virus pandemic, they’ve pledged private islands in the Caribbean and the Bahamas, cruise ships, movie theaters and even spare engines.

Collateral has been an important safeguard for investors, who have bought billions of dollars of debt from struggling companies in recent weeks. They can seize it if a borrower falters and can’t pay them back in cash. But the United deal shows investors have their limits in who they’ll lend to.

“The collateral issues were too difficult to overcome,” Roger King, an analyst at debt research firm CreditSights, said of the United deal. Borrowers “keep throwing stuff overboard, hoping they can reach the port before there’s nothing left,” he said, likening it to the book “Around the World in 80 Days.”

Companies have been furiously tapping the bond market to shore up liquidity, following unprecedented action by the Federal Reserve last month pledging to buy certain debt. The companies are in dire enough shape that the secured-debt deals are essentially “quasi-rescue trades,” said Ben Burton, head of U.S. leveraged finance syndicate at Barclays Plc.

Gimme Shelter

Sales of secured U.S. high-yield bonds have tripled this year

There’s nothing unusual about struggling borrowers posting swathes of assets against their borrowings. Ford Motor Co. had to mortgage virtually everything it had in 2006 to avoid bankruptcy, arranging some $23.4 billion of debt by putting up all major assets including its blue oval logo. It’s also not unusual for borrowers and lenders to joust over the value of the collateral and whether it’s even accessible to claim.

But in the current depressed environment, even seemingly highly prized collateral is leaving some investors cold. Demand for United Airline’s bonds, for which unofficial price discussions rose to a yield of about 11%, had been weak over the concerns that its collateral wasn’t valuable enough to compensate for the risks.

The aircraft had an average life of 19 years, making them less efficient and more of a liability, according to CreditSights’ King. They’re also about five years from retirement, meaning they could be out of operation and “worth little more than the engines” before a portion of debt matures. That could render investors undersecured, he said.

Vince Pisano, a senior analyst at Xtract Research, said the $4.3 billion appraised value of the aircraft also raised a few eyebrows for him.

If the company went under, he said, “who is going to want to or be able to pay that amount? Think a private equity firm is going to want to start a new airline and pay those prices?”

Before pulling the deal on Friday, United had sweetened terms in a bid to attract investors. It also added a clause that would trigger repayment of the bonds at a substantial premium to par, known as a make-whole, should the company file for bankruptcy. And while the pulled deal dims the company’s funding prospects, it still has a $2 billion one-year loan giving it some breathing room. It had about $9.6 billion of liquidity as of April 29.

Companies in the entertainment business are also putting up their core holdings to induce investors. Theme park company Six Flags Entertainment Corp. sold $725 million of secured bonds in April, pledging its theme parks and water parks.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. sold $500 million of bonds last month and backed them with collateral including movie theaters, according to a person familiar with the matter. That bond has since sunk to about 80 cents on the dollar, according to Trace pricing. AMC’s prospects have looked bleak, forced like its rivals to close cinemas and furlough workers. For weeks, the company faced pronouncements from analysts and trade publications that it’s on the brink of bankruptcy.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. put up its Great Stirrup Cay island in The Bahamas and Harvest Caye island off the coast of Belize to help sell $675 million of debt, according to a person familiar with the matter. The real estate was appraised with a market value of $260 million, though Norwegian said the investment value should be nearly three times that, based on the destinations’ importance for its cruise operations and future cash-flow.

Even with a hefty 12.575% yield, investors were taking a risk. Norwegian Cruise had indicated it may not survive the disruption and, like rival operators, has suspended operations through June 30. Many analysts fear the cruise industry will take longer to recover, if at all, tarred by virus outbreaks on ships at sea. Norwegian is offering a three-day Bahamas round-trip cruise from Miami from $149.

Norwegian said the bond sale and other transactions alleviate worries about its ability to continue as a going concern for the next 12 months.

Last month, another cruise operator, Carnival Corp., sold $4 billion in bonds backed by 86 of its cruise ships and intellectual property valued at almost $29 billion, according to documents seen by Bloomberg News. It was unclear if any of the ships that had outbreaks of the virus were included in the 86 vessels.

Delta Air Lines Inc. raised $5 billion of bonds and loans backed by slots at some of the world’s busiest airports, as well as flight routes in Europe and Latin America. While they are valuable to airline business and don’t depreciate over time, King argues that there are questions over their true ownership, meaning investors might not be able to benefit from this collateral come crunch-time.

While these assets can provide liquidity for companies, “investors must be discerning and understand their ability to take possession and resell in the event of default,” said Diamond Hill’s McClain.

Now that companies have put a lot of their assets up as collateral, many of them may face big hurdles if they go back for another round of financing.

“The degree to which companies will be able to hold back on unencumbered assets for double dips later depends on how stressed of a situation it is,” Barclays’s Burton said. “If they have to come back, some will be able to, but others will have to find other sources of capital if they need more money.”

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Boeing - >>> The Non-Bailout: How the Fed Saved Boeing Without Paying a Dime


Bloomberg

By Davide Scigliuzzo and Julie Johnsson

May 2, 2020


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-02/the-non-bailout-how-the-fed-saved-boeing-without-paying-a-dime


Less than 2 months ago Boeing asked Washington for $60 billion

Now, the company says it no longer needs a government rescue

Boeing, Airbus Face 'Gravest Crisis'

Less than two months ago Boeing Co. went to Washington, hat in hand, asking for a $60 billion bailout for itself and its suppliers. The company, which had spent heavily on stock buybacks and was still reeling from the 737 Max disaster, was an unlikely candidate for government support.

Yet by urging the Federal Reserve to take unprecedented steps to bolster credit markets, the Trump administration ended up helping the plane maker more than any government handout could.

The Fed’s decision to use its near limitless balance sheet to purchase corporate bonds improved liquidity so much that it was a game changer for the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Ultimately, it allowed Boeing to raise $25 billion from private investors and withdraw its request for a government rescue, avoiding the restrictions that would have certainly been imposed.

Read more: Boeing rules out federal aid after raising $25 billion of bonds

Boeing’s decision underscores the extent the Fed’s policies rebuilt confidence in credit markets even though the central bank has yet to spend a single dollar on its corporate debt program.

“Many companies that would’ve had to come to the Fed have now been able to finance themselves privately since we announced the initial term sheet on these facilities,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said during a press conference on April 29, before Boeing’s bond sale. “There’s a tremendous amount of financing going on, and that’s a good thing.”

Two Options

Just weeks earlier, Boeing’s hunt for rescue financing had gotten off to an inauspicious start. Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, resigned from the company’s board in protest. Other critics were quick to argue the government could better spend its funds.

Company executives were undeterred.

They considered two main avenues to raise the billions of dollars of cash they would need to weather the crushing loss of business stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company would turn to the capital markets to start building a cash stockpile, and then either tap financing available from the Fed or obtain a loan from the Treasury Department through the CARES Act, the people said.

The main turning point came as Congress and the Trump administration set more than $2 trillion of stimulus into place in late March. That funding calmed markets by enabling the Fed to inject even more liquidity into the economy through several lending facilities that the Treasury backstopped.

Also crucial was a deal to shore up U.S. airlines, key Boeing customers. Governments around the globe have committed about $100 billion to keeping airlines afloat, providing assurance that there will be buyers for Boeing airplanes when the outbreak abates.

A further rally in credit markets since then convinced the company and its bankers that they could move quickly after the release of quarterly earnings on April 29.

Boeing entered Thursday hoping to raise between $10 billion and $15 billion by selling bonds with maturities stretching as far out as 40 years, the people said. As demand for the offering peaked at over $70 billion, company officials realized they didn’t need to look any further for funds, and set the final size of the deal at $25 billion, turning it into the largest U.S. corporate bond sale of the year and the sixth largest on record.

Most of the buyers were asset managers and insurance companies that typically dominate the market for high-grade bonds, though some hedge funds and other speculative-grade investors were lured by the relatively high yields offered, one of the people said.

For the first time, the company included provisions that will increase the interest rate paid if the credit ratings on the notes are lowered to junk. Boeing is currently rated BBB- by S&P Global Ratings -- the lowest investment-grade ranking.

Constant Contact

A representative from Boeing referred Bloomberg to comments from Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith to employees this week in which he called the bond sale “a testament to the confidence the market has in our business, our people, and our future.” The company declined to comment further.

Boeing was never in imminent danger, and had $15.5 billion in cash at the end of March after it fully drew down a new term loan, a move that marked the beginning of a global dash for cash from companies affected by the virus.

But executives and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were deeply worried about the long-term damage to the company and airlines when the markets started to seize up in mid-March.

Mnuchin and his staff have been in almost constant contact over the past month with Boeing officials, particularly Smith, as they collectively sought to find a way through the crisis, one of the people familiar said. The talks are ongoing and Boeing is now concerned about shoring up critical suppliers who are under severe financial distress.

A Treasury Department spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The bond market signaled its confidence in the long-term prospects of the aviation industry on Thursday. But while Boeing now has a nearly $50 billion war chest to survive the next few years, the company will still need to take painful measures. That includes paring 16,000 jobs to adjust to a smaller commercial airplane market, one of the people said.

Boeing hasn’t closed the door to seeking federal aid in the future, especially given the risk the pandemic may again cripple travel and economies later this year. In fact the company artfully worded its statement to leave that option open, saying it had raised the funds it needs “at this time.”

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>>> Attack of the drones: Boeing rolls out first ‘Loyal Wingman’ AI aircraft in Australia


GeekWire

BY ALAN BOYLE

May 4, 2020


https://www.geekwire.com/2020/attack-drones-boeing-rolls-first-loyal-wingman-ai-aircraft-australia/


Loyal Wingman

Boeing Australia has built the first of three Loyal Wingman aircraft, which will serve as the foundation for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. The aircraft are designed to fly alongside existing platforms and use artificial intelligence to conduct teaming missions. (Boeing Photo)
A Boeing-led team has presented the Royal Australian Air Force with its first “Loyal Wingman” aircraft, an AI-equipped drone that’s designed to fly in coordination with crewed military airplanes.

It’s the first of three prototypes for Australia’s Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program, and the first aircraft to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years. In a news release, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “Loyal Wingman will be pivotal to exploring the critical capabilities our Air Force needs to protect our nation and its allies into the future.”

The aircraft serves as the foundation for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, or ATS, which is being developed for the global defense market. ATS uses artificial intelligence as a force multiplier, to complement and extend airborne missions flown by traditional combat aircraft.

Loyal Wingman drones are meant to provide fighter-like performance with the capacity to fly more than 2,000 nautical miles (2,300 statute miles). The prototype unveiled today will now begin ground testing, with taxi tests and flight tests due later this year.



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>>> Warren Buffett: Berkshire has dumped its airline stocks, 'world has changed' because of coronavirus


by Alexis Keenan

Yahoo Finance

May 2, 2020


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-berkshire-has-dumped-all-of-its-airline-stocks-says-world-has-changed-001242589.html


Warren Buffett has gotten Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) out of the airline business.

During a virtual address to shareholders for the company’s annual shareholders meeting Saturday, the chairman and CEO called Berkshire’s recent purchase of roughly 10% of four of the world's largest airlines — including American (AAL), United (UAL), Delta (DAL) and Southwest (LUV) — an “understandable mistake.”

But the company has sold out of its entire interest in the airlines, worth at least $4 billion. In doing so, the Oracle of Omaha admitted to a rare investment misstep, one that’s he pinned on the coronavirus crisis hammering the global economy.

“The world changed for airlines,” the influential investor said at the meeting.

“It turned out that I was wrong about that business because of something that was not in any way the fault of four excellent CEOs,” Buffett said of COVID-19’s shock to air travel — adding that there was “no joy” in managing those companies right now.

“But the companies we bought were well managed. They did a lot of things right. It’s a very, very, very difficult business because you’re dealing with millions of people every day and if something goes wrong for 1% of them, they are very unhappy,” Buffett added.

Prior to stay at home orders put in place across the U.S. on March 1, the Transportation Safety Administration reported scanning nearly 2.3 million passengers, — a number consistent with the prior year’s approximate 2 million passengers, per day.

Yet fast forward to April 3, the agency scanned 129,763 passengers, and that number continues to decline. Buffett said he doubts whether the flying public, or even himself, will be willing to travel as frequently as they had by plane before the virus outbreak.

“People have been told not to fly. I’ve been told not to fly for a while. I’m looking forward to flying. I may not fly commercial but that’s another question,” Buffett remarked.

While he expressed hope that he could be wrong, Bufftett said the airline business changed in a major way, most obviously in the level of debt the companies will need to carry in order to stay alive.

The four companies will each need to borrow $10 to 12 billion, and in some cases will need to rely on stock sales, which will take away from their upside, he said.

“I don't know whether two or three years from now that as many people will fly as many passenger miles as they did last year, “ Buffett said. “They may and they may not, but the future is much less clear to me about how the business will turn out through absolutely no fault of the airlines themselves.”

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Israel Aerospace Industries -


https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2020-04-27/uv-c-light-system-eliminates-covid-19-aircraft-cabins


>>> A UV-C light system will soon be available for disinfecting aircraft interiors, according to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which has been fast-tracking deployment of the technology to combat Covid-19 infection in hospitals. According to the company, the robot-based system is suitable for use in any size of aircraft, having already been tested in a widebody cargo airliner and a helicopter.

The equipment uses a 254-nanometer electromagnetic wave that is shorter than a visual wavelength and longer than an x-ray wavelength. Research has proven its ability to kill any germ or virus, IAI said.

In an aircraft, the robot can move between seats in straight lines and lights on electronically-controlled arms move across all exposed surfaces, such as seats and other cabin fittings. Unexposed surfaces beneath those items would still have to be manually cleaned with chemicals.

For an airliner, the 12-inch-wide robot can move up and down standard aisles between seats. In a smaller aircraft, such as a business jet, one or more stationary units, which were originally designed for hospital rooms, would be deployed.

According to an IAI spokesman, it would take between 30 and 40 minutes to disinfect a widebody aircraft. He said the company remains “a few months” away from being able to deliver the equipment to the aviation sector and is currently exploring what regulatory requirements would apply to its use.

IAI expects to market the system to aircraft operators and maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers. It has yet to announce pricing for the equipment. The company started work on the technology soon after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In March, it demonstrated the system in two Israeli hospitals.

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>>> Boeing Scraps $4.2 Billion Embraer Deal as Market Shrinks


Bloomberg

By Julie Johnsson

April 25, 2020


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-25/boeing-embraer-abandon-4-2-billion-deal-amid-virus-era-rout?srnd=premium


Talks fail weeks after U.S. company warned of ‘new reality’

Collapse of tie-up strengthens Airbus in single-aisle planes


Boeing Co. is walking away from its proposed $4.2 billion combination with Embraer SA’s commercial-aircraft business, ending years of talks, as the planemakers brace for a far smaller jetliner market after the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal’s collapse turns two long-time business partners into competitors and strengthens Airbus SE’s long-term advantage in the lucrative market for single-aisle planes. The partnership with Brazil’s Embraer would have armed the U.S. aerospace giant with smaller jets to compete against a new offering from Airbus.

Boeing is abandoning the proposed tie-up weeks after Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun warned employees that the company would need to adjust to a “new reality” as travel demand vanishes because of the virus and airlines prepare for a slow recovery. Embraer’s market value has tumbled to less than $1.1 billion, about a quarter of what Boeing had been poised to pay for the Brazilian company’s commercial plane operations alone.

Continued negotiation “is not going to resolve the outstanding issues,” Marc Allen, Boeing’s president of Embraer Partnership & Group Operations, said in a statement Saturday. “It is deeply disappointing.”

Embraer responded that Boeing “wrongfully terminated” the agreement and that it plans to seek all remedies against Boeing for damages. Boeing faces a $100 million termination penalty for scrapping the deal, while Embraer’s maximum penalty is $75 million.

Boeing and Embraer will also junk a second venture to sell Embraer’s C-390 Millennium. The companies will maintain an existing agreement, signed in 2012 and expanded in 2016, to market and support the military cargo aircraft.

Reversal of Fortune

The economic collapse from the Covid-19 outbreak has upended several big corporate transactions that, like the Boeing-Embraer combination, were thought to be done deals.

Sycamore Partners moved this week to terminate its purchase of a majority stake in Victoria’s Secret. Stein Mart and Kingswood called off their merger earlier this month, citing the unpredictable economic conditions. And directors of We Co. sued Softbank Group Corp. in Delaware over its decision to pull out of a $3 billion stock purchase.

The Boeing-Embraer combination had been expected to close last year and breezed through regulatory approvals until the European Commission began its antitrust review. European regulators signaled earlier this week that their review of combining two of the world’s three largest planemakers would likely continue through August.

Both the commercial landscape and Boeing’s balance sheet are far different from late 2017, when talks for the original partnership with Embraer began in earnest.

At the time, the U.S. manufacturer was flush with cash and eager to tap Embraer’s engineers to help design a new, midrange jet family that was on Boeing’s drawing board.

More than two years later, Boeing has scrapped its product-development plans as its reputation and finances have been battered by two deadly crashes of the 737 Max, the company’s best-selling jet.

Preserving Cash

The Chicago-based company is now trying to preserve cash as it deals with plummeting demand for jet sales and at least $19 billion in costs for the Max, which has been grounded more than a year. It’s also weighing a request for billions of dollars in government aid.

Preserving $4 billion or so would mean “a nice chunk of liquidity” for Boeing, Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said in an interview before the Embraer talks fell apart.

Embraer will be left to face the tumultuous market and compete with Airbus without relying on Boeing’s deeper pockets. Brazil’s industrial jewel had $2.78 billion of cash, equivalents and financial investments at the end of the year, down from $3.21 billion a year earlier. Net debt increased 39% to $612.4 million.

Embraer’s sales have also slumped due to uncertainty over the status of the Boeing venture. The Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil-based company delivered 89 commercial jets last year, one fewer than the year before. Total sales climbed 7.7% to $5.46 billion on increased revenue from Embraer’s business in private jets, defense and services.

Airbus ‘Traction’

The slow commercial-plane sales stand in contrast to Airbus’s competing A220, which is “starting to really get traction” with blue-chip customers such as Delta Air Lines Inc., Aboulafia said. The European planemaker took control of the jet program from Canada’s Bombardier Inc. in 2018.

Embraer, meanwhile, is still trying to establish its upgraded E2 generation of jets in the market.

“The E2 still has not hit the mainline carriers the way the A220 is starting to,” Aboulafia said. “Why? The answer was they were waiting for the Boeing deal to be inked, which was possibly the correct response.”

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>>> Buy These 3 Former United Technologies Stocks. They’re Ready to Fly.


Barron's

By Andrew Bary

April 17, 2020


https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-bull-case-for-3-new-stocks-raytheon-technologies-otis-and-carrier-51587162109


Three industrial companies have made their debut at possibly the worst time for any business.

Yet the three— Raytheon Technologies (ticker: RTX), Otis Worldwide (OTIS), and Carrier Global (CARR)—all look appealing, despite a downturn that will sap this year’s results. Their emergence follows the completion earlier this month of the merger between Raytheon and United Technologies.

Raytheon Technologies is by far the largest of the three, with a market value of $95 billion. It consists of United Technologies’ commercial aircraft operations, including the Pratt & Whitney engine business; a defense unit, and all of Raytheon, one of the leading defense contractors. Its shares, at a recent $65, trade for 17 times projected 2020 earnings of $3.82 a share.

The bull case for Raytheon Technologies is that its relatively stable defense business—accounting for about 65% of projected revenues in 2020 and 2021—should anchor the company until a rebound in the hard-hit aerospace units comes in 2022.

The company “ran into the buzz saw of the biggest downturn in aerospace history,” says Carter Copeland, an analyst with Melius Research. “You have to believe that people will hop on planes again and that the industry will need new jet engines and that planes will consume spare parts.”

Calling Raytheon Technologies a “lower risk” way to invest in aerospace, compared with Boeing (BA) and Airbus (AIR. France), he has a Buy rating and a $80 price target on the stock.

During 2019, United Technologies and Raytheon projected $8 billion to $9 billion in free cash flow in 2021 for the new Raytheon Technologies. But $6 billion now looks more likely, with $7 billion to $8 billion—about $5 a share—possible in 2022. That is against $7.5 billion last year and a projected $4.5 billion for 2020.

“Not exactly the way we had expected to start this great company, but we’ll get through it,” Greg Hayes, Raytheon Technologies CEO (and former boss of United Technologies), told Fox Business in early April. The company, he said, would rely on its defense businesses, with their $70 billion contract backlog, for growth in the near term.

One risk for Pratt & Whitney is that accelerated retirement of older jets from airline fleets will hurt its lucrative spare parts business. But it should benefit in the coming years from an upturn in profits on its new jet engine (called the geared turbofan) for narrow-body Airbus planes.

3 Stocks From 2

Deal-making by the former United Technologies has now led to the creation of three industrial stocks.


Company / Ticker Recent Price Market Value (bil) 2020E EPS 2021E EPS 2020E P/E 2021E P/E Net Debt (bil)


Raytheon Technologies / RTX $62.45 $94.7 $3.82 $4.69 16.4 13.3 $22.0

Otis Worldwide / OTIS 45.62 19.8 1.94 2.20 23.5 20.8 4.8

Carrier Global / CARR 12.89 11.2 1.40 1.70 9.2 7.6 10.0

E=Estimate


In the merger, Raytheon holders received 2.335 shares of Raytheon Technologies for each of their shares, while United Technologies holders received one share of Raytheon Technologies, one of Carrier, and a half-share of Otis for each United Technologies share.

Otis recently traded at $45, and has the highest valuation among the three, at 23 times projected 2020 earnings of $1.94 a share. This reflects Otis’ position as one of the five global leaders in elevators and the only elevator pure play in the U.S. stock market.

JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa began coverage of Otis with an Overweight rating and a $53 price target.

“It’s a strong franchise in an attractive industry and better earnings visibility in the downturn,” relative to others in the building-services industry, Tusa says. Elevators, he noted in a recent report, “are like the aircraft engine of the building, a technical, mission-critical piece of equipment for which failure is not an option.”

Otis notes that about a third of the 16 million elevators around the world are at least 20 years old. About 80% of its earnings come from stable services revenue. The company’s medium-term goal is high single-digit annual growth in earnings per share. Earnings may decline 14% this year, to $1.94 a share, before rebounding to $2.20 in 2021.

With a high tax rate of 33% depressing earnings, Tusa prefers to value Otis based on enterprise value (equity market value, plus net debt) divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, which is more reasonable at around 12.5, based on this year’s projected results, and represents a discount to rivals Kone (KNEBV.Finland) and Schindler Holding (SCHN. Switzerland).

Carrier is a top maker of air-conditioning and heating systems. It is the deep-value stock of the three, trading at $13, or about 10 times this year’s projected earnings per share. A big knock against Carrier is its heavy net debt of $10 billion, or five times estimated 2020 pretax cash flow (Ebitda). Most companies like to keep the ratio of debt to Ebitda to three times or less.

Wolfe Research analyst Nigel Coe began coverage of Carrier with an Outperform rating and a $26 stock price target. He sees “substantial opportunities to improve margins and pay down debt,” according to a note.

Coe projects $1.2 billion of free cash flow this year, rising to $2 billion by 2022 or 2023. Revenue this year is expected to be down 15%, to $16 billion, with reported earnings off by a third. Carrier, he wrote, is “best viewed as a deleveraging and restructuring story—perhaps not the jazziest equity story, but one that we think can deliver significant upside, if executed well.”

Carrier may set a dividend that could be 4%, according to Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell. Raytheon and Otis are each expected to yield about 2%.

In sum, Raytheon Technologies is a mix of a stable defense unit and a recovering aerospace division. Otis offers a pure play on an attractive global oligopoly, while Carrier is an industry leader with a depressed price.

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>>> Raytheon Technologies Debuts On The Dow As Rival GE Deepens Cuts


Investor's Business Daily

APARNA NARAYANAN

04/03/2020


https://www.investors.com/news/raytheon-technologies-stock-debuts-dow-jones-industiral-average-ge-aviation-cuts/?src=A00220&yptr=yahoo


Raytheon Technologies (RTX), formerly known as United Technologies, debuted on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Friday after the closing of its massive merger.

United Technologies completed the separations of its Otis elevator and Carrier air-conditioning units early Friday, clearing the way for its merger with Raytheon Company.

The industrial giant and Raytheon agreed to merge in June 2019 in a $100 billion all-stock deal.

The new Raytheon Technologies stock is a formidable aerospace and defense pure play. With roughly $74 billion in net sales last year, it's overtake Boeing (BA) in aerospace/defense revenue as 737 Max planes remain grounded.

"The combined company expects to introduce breakthrough technologies at an accelerated pace across high-value areas such as hypersonics, directed energy, avionics and cybersecurity," Raytheon Technologies said in a statement. Greg Hayes, CEO of the former United Technologies, is chief of the new company.

The standalone Carrier Global (CARR) company makes its debut on the S&P 500 Friday and closed at 15.96. Otis Worldwide (OTIS), which also debuts on the S&P 500, settled at 47.11.

Raytheon's divisions include Pratt & Whitney, a jet-engine rival to GE Aviation. On Thursday, General Electric (GE) said it would furlough half of its aviation unit's engine manufacturing staff.

That followed last week's move to lay off 10% of the staff at jet-engine business, and the furlough of half of the maintenance and repair employees.

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>>> Autonomous flying taxi Cora set for passenger trials in New Zealand

The venture is a partnership between Boeing and Kitty Hawk.


Engadget

by Rachel England

2-5-20


https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/05/autonomous-flying-taxi-cora-passenger-trials-new-zealand/


Companies have been saying for years that flying taxis are on the agenda. Now it looks like they're finally set to take flight. Wisk -- a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk -- has signed a memorandum of understanding with the New Zealand government to begin passenger trials of its electric, autonomous aircraft Cora. The trials are set to take place in the Canterbury region of the country, although it's not clear exactly when they'll start.

If the names Cora or Kitty Hawk sound familiar to you, it's because they've been kicking about in this sector for a while, albeit in varying forms. Kitty Hawk was formed in 2016; a secretive flying-car company that enjoyed the lucrative backing of Google co-founder Larry Page. Under the management of Sebastian Thrun -- the Stanford AI expert responsible for Google's self-driving car unit -- the company created the two-seated autonomous aircraft, Cora.

In 2018, Kitty Hawk announced it was teaming up with Air New Zealand to launch the world's first autonomous air taxi service, but without a major manufacturing partner it turned instead to Boeing, and in 2019 Wisk was born. Its goal is to develop a flying taxi service that can be summoned by an app, and flown by a combination of autopilot systems and a remote human pilot.

This isn't a new aspiration, of course. Uber has grand plans for its Elevate program, while Germany's Volocopter made big promises about its own offering. But such projects often fall foul of funding problems, technical difficulties and legislative challenges. If Wisk's passenger trials go ahead and are successful, the dream of flying taxis may actually start to come to fruition in a tangible way.

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[makinezmoney]

$SPCE: Virgin Atlantic on FIRE !


Going to $100


Now at $20




GO $SPCE

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>>> Boeing stock sinks as 737 MAX might not return till midyear


MSN

1-21-20

David Shepardson


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/boeing-stock-sinks-as-737-max-might-not-return-till-midyear/ar-BBZbS2G?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout


Boeing said Tuesday it does not expect to win approval for the return of the 737 MAX to service until midyear because of regulatory scrutiny on its flight control system.

Boeing has informed airlines and suppliers of the new estimate, it said, which was reported earlier on Tuesday by CNBC.

Boeing shares fell 5.5% to $306.23 before being halted briefly ahead of the announcement.

Reuters reported last week that regulators had been pushing back the time needed to approve the plane. Boeing's best-selling plane has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes killed 346 people in five months.

The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately comment.

Reuters reported on Monday that Boeing is in talks with banks about borrowing $10 billion or more amid rising costs for the U.S. plane maker after the two crashes involving the 737 MAX.

Boeing confirmed on Monday that it temporary halted production of the 737 MAX in Washington state in recent days. The company had said in December it would halt production at some point this month.

Boeing has estimated the costs of the 737 MAX grounding at more than $9 billion to date, and is expected to disclose significant additional costs during its fourth-quarter earnings release on Jan. 29. Boeing faces rising costs from halting production of the plane this month, compensating airlines for lost flights and assisting its supply chain.

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>>> Woodward to Combine With Hexcel in All-Stock Transaction


Bloomberg

By Linus Chua and Drew Singer


January 12, 2020

Deal values Hexcel at $6.4 billion, a 4.5% premium to Friday

Boeing suppliers said deal driven by efficiency, not 737 Max


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-12/woodward-to-take-over-hexcel-in-6-4-billion-all-stock-deal


Woodward Inc. will combine its operations with Hexcel Corp. in an all-stock transaction that gives it a controlling stake in the merged entity, creating one of the world’s biggest aerospace and defense suppliers.

The transaction, which the suppliers to Boeing Co. are billing as a merger of equals, will create a company named Woodward Hexcel with annual revenue of more than $5 billion. While suppliers are hurting because of Boeing’s travails following the crash of two 737 Maxes, executives said Sunday they’re driven by the pursuit for more-efficient engines over the next 20 years, not the 737 Max issues.

“This was not dependent on a specific segment or a specific program,” Nick Stanage, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Hexcel and will run the new entity, said on a conference call.

Hexcel shareholders will get 0.625 of Woodward stock for every share held, the companies said in a statement Sunday. That values Hexcel at $6.4 billion or about $76.23 a share, based on Woodward’s closing price Friday, a 4.5% premium from Hexcel’s last traded price. Woodward investors will continue to own the same number of shares, or about 55% of the combined company.

The new entity will be headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, where Woodward is based. Hexcel is located in Stamford, Connecticut.

Woodward’s Chairman and CEO Tom Gendron will take the role of executive chairman for one year from the close of the deal, then switch to non-executive chairman for another year before handing the reins to Stanage. The board of 10 will include five directors from each company.

Woodward shares have risen 60% in the past year, with a price-earnings ratio of 26, while Hexcel has gained 21%, with a valuation of 21 times earnings. The S&P 500 Index climbed 26% during that period.

Defense Consolidation

The deal extends a years-long rush to consolidation within the defense industry. It’s the sector’s ninth merger of at least $1 billion announced over the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Woodward itself has previously been the subject of deal speculation, and in 2018 the company denied a Wall Street Journal report that it was in talks with Boeing.

Boeing is halting production of the 737 Max while waiting for regulators to clear the planes to fly again, a decision that affects suppliers too. In October, Hexcel slightly trimmed its 2019 sales guidance in part because of the airplane’s grounding.

“Merger and acquisition activity has slowed because of uncertainty in the sector related to Boeing’s production freeze of the 737 MAX,” said Eric Reuther, investment banking head for U.S. industrials at CIBC Capital Markets. “However, we are also seeing some companies accelerate sales processes rather than stay on the sidelines to achieve greater certainty as they deal with significant changes in the supply chain.”

There are indeed other forces at work behind Sunday’s deal, the executives said on the call.

“What we’ve seen happening over the last year in particular is huge pressure on the aerospace industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Gendron said. “We’re both really focused on improving propulsion efficiency, aerodynamic efficiency, lightweighting the aircraft. We’re really pursuing the same initiatives with the same customers.”

Sunday’s merger with Hexcel marks Woodward’s largest deal ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs & Co. advised Hexcel on the deal, while JPMorgan Securities LLC worked with Woodward.

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>>> Fossil Fuel-Free Air Travel Gets Closer With a Short Electric Flight


Harbour Air’s seaplane flew for five minutes, but the limits of current battery technology still mean mass adoption is way off.


Bloomberg

By Josh Petri

December 11, 2019


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-11/harbour-air-s-electric-aircraft-flight-heralds-fossil-free-flight?srnd=premium


Vancouver-based Harbour Air just flew an all-electric commercial aircraft—for five minutes.

The neon green and indigo blue seaplane took off from the Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia, early Tuesday morning as a small crowd cheered from the dock. The propeller aircraft, a six-passenger de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver prototype, was powered by a magniX magni500 electric motor and piloted by Harbour Air Chief Executive Officer Greg McDougall.

It was a small but significant step in the broader quest to replace fossil fuel-powered aircraft, a mode of transport increasingly viewed through the prism of global warming.

The test was “far more than the laboratory exercises we’ve seen in the past,” said Robert Mann, the New York-based head of aviation consultancy R.W. Mann & Co. “It’s a real serious, practical test."

Harbour said it plans to spend the next two years getting its new plane approved for commercial flight. The carrier, which flies to a dozen destinations on the West Coast, has 53 planes and 450 employees spread between British Columbia and Seattle.

There are about 170 different electrically-propelled aircraft programs in development worldwide, up 50% since April 2018, according to consulting firm Roland Berger. Much of that development is in the urban air taxi category and general aviation segments. Current electric technology favors these aircraft, which have lower power needs than large commercial aircraft.

Harbour’s electric Beaver can fly about 60 minutes on one charge. But regulators require aircraft operating under visual flight rules (of the smaller, noncommercial variety) to have the ability to fly 30 additional minutes, which gives Harbour’s new plane a mere 30 minutes of flight time. The relatively short timeline isn’t a problem for the airline, however, said magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski.

“The majority of Harbour Air’s flights are less than 25 minutes in length,” he said, adding that once the plane is certified, the companies will focus on extending the flight envelope.

Those singing the gospel of electric vehicles often point to decreased operating costs. A fossil-fuel powered Beaver burns anywhere between $300 and $400 worth of fuel during a 100-mile flight, said Ganzarski. That same trip in the electric Beaver will cost anywhere from $4 to $10 in electricity, depending on the source, he said.

The electric Beaver is theoretically cheaper to maintain than its combustion engine predecessor, too. Electric motors are sealed units, with a minimum of moving parts. Of course, since there has yet to be a commercial electric aircraft maintenance program, there may be unforeseen expenses.

“The cost of being a pioneer is a relevant problem,” said Mann. “We don’t know the actual costs of operating electric airplanes.”

The near-term is likely to see a generation of hybrid aircraft, pairing electric and conventional power systems along with smaller all-electric craft. Larger, fully-electric aircraft are still about a decade off.

“This is a great milestone for electric aviation.”

Joby Aviation Inc. is targeting the air-taxi market with a plane that would carry four passengers and travel 150 miles. Uber Technologies Inc. plans to start an electric flying-taxi service, with pilot programs in Dallas, Los Angeles and Melbourne as soon as next year. Israel-based Eviation plans test flights next summer of its all-electric Alice, a nine-passenger plane powered by a smaller version of the magniX motor in Harbour’s Beaver.

“Eviation is excited to congratulate our partner, magniX on its successful test flight of the magni500 propulsion system,” Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay said Tuesday in a statement. “This is a great milestone for electric aviation.”

Siemens AG, Airbus SE and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc are working on a hybrid system, the E-Fan X, that would power a relatively large aircraft. Airbus said it’s targeting an initial flight of its demonstration aircraft in 2021 and expects to eventually phase in new electric technologies by about 2030.

“Airbus has been flying electric for a couple of years,” Mann said. “But they’ve all been laboratory exercises as opposed to practical.”

Consulting firm Roland Berger expects the first flight of such commercial aircraft to occur by 2032. Easyjet Plc has partnered with U.S.-based Wright Electric to develop a full-sized battery-powered airliner within a decade for flights of less than two hours.

While manufacturers and airlines alike plan for an electric future, they’re still dealing with the politics of the present. Europe’s top airlines on Tuesday attacked European Union plans for a planned kerosene tax, part of the bloc’s sweeping new environmental strategy. Airlines called the duty both unnecessary and unfair, arguing that an investment in sustainable fuels and electric planes would ultimately be more effective in reducing carbon emissions.

For its part, Harbour Air is likely to run into some infrastructure issues in the near term, Mann said, since most major airports lack fast-charging capabilities. Ganzarski said they will rely on existing infrastructure for now, but may attempt to build their own renewable infrastructure in the future. The company reported revenue of CAD $69.9 million ($52.8 million) in 2019. McDougall didn’t return a request for comment.

But there are other challenges. Seaplanes, as the name implies, operate from bodies of water rather than land. Unlike meticulously paved and maintained runways, open water is a high-friction surface which requires a far greater amount of energy for a plane to gain enough momentum to take flight.

Salt water is another issue. It’s naturally corrosive, eating away at a plane’s surfaces and parts. Finally, the Pacific Northwest isn’t exactly pleasant in December: Cold temperatures have a negative effect on power density and power conversion in batteries.

“If you were thinking of the toughest case for electric flight, it would probably be a seaplane in salt water,” said Mann.

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>>> AMETEK, Inc. (AME) manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices worldwide. The company's Electronic Instruments segment offers advanced instruments for the process, aerospace, power, and industrial markets; process control instruments for the oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, automation, and food and beverage industries; and instruments to the laboratory equipment, ultra-precision manufacturing, medical, and test and measurement markets. This segment also provides power quality monitoring and metering, uninterruptible power systems, programmable power equipment, electromagnetic compatibility test equipment, sensors for gas turbines, dashboard instruments for heavy trucks and other vehicles, and instrumentation and controls for the food and beverage industries; and aircraft and engine sensors, monitoring systems, power supplies, fuel and fluid measurement systems, and data acquisition units for the aerospace industry. Its Electromechanical Group segment offers engineered electrical connectors and electronics packaging used in aerospace and defense, medical, and industrial applications; advanced precision motion control products for use in a range of automation applications across the medical, semiconductor, aerospace, defense, and food and beverage industries; high-purity powdered metals, strip and foil, specialty clad metals, and metal matrix composites; blowers and heat exchangers for aerospace and defense industries; and motors for use in commercial appliances, fitness equipment, food and beverage machines, hydraulic pumps, and industrial blowers. This segment also operates a network of aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities. In addition, the company offers clinical and education communication solutions for hospitals, health systems, and educational facilities. AMETEK, Inc. was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

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Boeing - >>> United Air Turns to Airbus to Replace Boeing Mid-Size Jets


United ordered 50 A321 extra-long-range jets to be delivered starting in 2024.


The Street

12-4-19

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/boeing-120419


United Airlines, UAL one of Boeing’s BA biggest customers, placed an order for 50 Airbus EADSY A321 extra-long jets that will replace the airline’s fleet of Boeing 757 mid-sized jets.

United will retire the 757s. The new planes will be delivered starting in 2024, a move that the carrier says will enable it to explore serving additional destinations in Europe from its U.S. East Coast hubs in Newark/New York and Washington.

"The new Airbus A321XLR aircraft is an ideal one-for-one replacement for the older, less-efficient aircraft currently operating between some of the most vital cities in our intercontinental network," United Executive Vice President Andrew Nocella said in a statement.

"In addition to strengthening our ability to fly more efficiently, the A321XLR's range capabilities open potential new destinations to further develop our route network and provide customers with more options to travel the globe."

The about $6.5 billion deal with Boeing’s European rival comes just months after one of United’s executives, speaking on an earnings call, implored Boeing to provide clarity about whether it would proceed with the production of a line new mid-sized aircraft.

Boeing, at least publicly, did not respond to United’s request for clarity on the unofficially named Boeing 797.

And still hanging over Boeing is the grounding of the 737 MAX jet after a pair of fatal crashes.

Boeing shares at last check on Wednesday were up 0.3% to $354.09 while Airbus shares added 2.4% to $35.49. United Airlines shares added 0.7% to $89.52.

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>>> Airplanes Aren’t Selling Like They Used To


Soft demand at the Dubai Air Show suggests the aerospace cycle may have run its course, especially for the biggest planes.


Bloomberg

By Brooke Sutherland

November 18, 2019


https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-11-18/dubai-air-show-hints-at-aerospace-peak?srnd=premium


Have we reached peak aerospace?

Airplanes just aren’t selling like they used to.

Monday marked the second day of the Dubai Air Show, and while there was the usual smattering of headlines with big-dollar figures, there was also fresh evidence that the robust aerospace cycle that’s propelled the industry’s stocks to new highs is getting long in the tooth. Carriers including Emirates and Etihad Airways rejiggered orders at the Air Show as they sought to adapt to a global growth slowdown and weaker demand for travel in the Middle East amid stubbornly low oil prices. This follows similar rethinks at British Airways-parent IAG SA and Deutsche Lufthansa AG earlier this month, with both carriers seemingly pushing out or putting on hold orders for Boeing Co.’s 777X wide-body model. The general takeaway is that the world doesn’t need as many planes right now as airlines might have thought just a few years ago, especially when it comes to the biggest jets used for long-distance international flights.

The 777X in particular appears to be in trouble, with launch customer Emirates also reportedly contemplating cutting or delaying its order for 150 of the jets, perhaps in part by swapping in some of the smaller 787 Dreamliners. The Middle East is one of the more attractive markets for the 777 model, which is too big to fly in many other regions. So if airlines there are balking, then production rates may need to come down. Complicating things is a delay in the first deliveries of the 777X until 2021 due to durability issues with a General Electric Co. jet engine. Emirates chief Tim Clark has made it clear he’s fed up with a pattern of delayed rollouts, or worse, post-delivery glitches that force costly groundings, and the delay could factor into any decision. Stanley Deal, who took over as head of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division in October following the ouster of Kevin McAllister, told reporters over the weekend that the company was still in talks with Emirates on the 777X and a still yet-to-be-confirmed order for 40 Dreamliners. “Long term, the 777X’s value remains intact,” Deal said.

Early Cracks?

Boeing and Airbus's book-to-bill ratios are flagging, as demand for new planes fails to keep pace with the rate at which orders are getting shipped.

Boeing has also trimmed its production targets for the Dreamliner after expected orders from China failed to materialize. Etihad Airways said at the Dubai Air Show that it will take 20 fewer Dreamliners over the next four years than originally planned as it grapples with eye-popping losses. Airbus SE models weren’t spared from weakening demand, either. Emirates finalized a $16 billion order for 50 Airbus A350 widebody jets — more than it had committed to in February — but appears to have backed away from an earlier commitment to buy 40 A330neos as well, meaning the total value of the deal before customary discounts is less than originally outlined.

The news was better in the narrow-body market. Air Arabia inked a firm order for 120 of Airbus’s A320-model jets. Even Boeing’s troubled 737 Max got some love, with Turkish holiday carrier SunExpress exercising an option to add 10 more of the jets to its fleet. Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd. may also seize on the dearth of Max orders as an opportunity to pick up some of the jets at a discount as it contemplates a new hub in the Middle East. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh wouldn’t rule out signing a deal at the air show, although the size and ultimate timing remain up in the air.

Taking Off

Aerospace has been a rare bright spot in an industrial sector hit hard by the trade war and slowing growth.

Even so, the early returns on the Air Show would seem to be at odds with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury’s comments last week that aviation demand continues to move “up and up.” Global passenger traffic is indeed still growing, but at a much lower rate than over the past few years. And that matters, because aviation stocks aren’t cheap right now. The SPDR S&P Aerospace and Defense ETF is up 42% so far this year, well outpacing the broader S&P 500 benchmark. The high valuations for aerospace stocks can hold to the extent margins are still on an uptrend and the rebound investors are positioning for in the manufacturing industry plays out, Denise Chisholm, Fidelity’s head of sector strategy, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. At least some airlines, though, are choosing to plan more conservatively.

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>>> NASA unveils its first electric airplane - a work in progress


Reuters

By Jane Ross


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nasa-unveils-its-first-electric-airplane-a-work-in-progress/ar-BBWugPN?li=BBnbfcL#page=2


EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Nov 8 (Reuters) - NASA, most prominent for its many Florida-launched exploits into space, showcased an early version of its first all-electric experimental aircraft, the X-57 "Maxwell," on Friday at its lesser-known aeronautics lab in the California desert.

Adapted from a Italian-made Tecnam P2006T twin-engine propeller plane, the X-57 has been under development since 2015 and remains at least a year away from its first test flight in the skies over Edward Air Force Base.

But after attaching the two largest of 14 electric motors that will ultimately propel the plane - powered by specially designed lithium ion batteries - NASA deemed the Maxwell ready for its first public preview.

NASA also showed off a newly built simulator that allows engineers, and pilots, to get the feel of what it will be like to maneuver the finished version of the X-57 in flight, even as the plane remains under development.

The Maxwell is the latest in a proud line of experimental aircraft the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed over many decades for many purposes, including the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier and the X-15 rocket plane flown by Neil Armstrong before he joined the Apollo moon team.

The Maxwell will be the agency's first crewed X-plane to be developed in two decades.

While private companies have been developing all-electric planes and hover-craft for years, NASA's X-57 venture is aimed at designing and proving technology according to standards that commercial manufacturers can adapt for government certification.

Those will include standards for airworthiness and safety, as well as for energy efficiency and noise, Brent Cobleigh, a project manager for NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Los Angeles.

"We're focusing on things that can help the whole industry, not just one company," he told Reuters in an interview at the research center. "Our target right now is to fly this airplane in late 2020."

The final modification, or Mod IV, of the aircraft will feature narrower, lighter-weight wings fitted with a total of 14 electric engines - six smaller "lift" props along the leading edge of each wing, plus two larger "cruise" props at the tip of each wing.

The lift propellers will be activated for take-off and landings, but retract during the flight's cruise phase.

Because electric motor systems are more compact with fewer moving parts than internal-combustion engines, they are simpler to maintain and weigh much less, requiring less energy to fly, Cobleigh explained. They also are quieter that conventional engines.

One challenge is improving battery technology to store more energy to extend the plane's range, with faster re-charging.

Due to current battery limitations, the Maxwell's design is envisioned for use in short-haul flights as an air-taxi or commuter plane for a small number of passengers.

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>>> LightSail 2 Unfurls Sails, Next Step Toward Space Travel by Solar Sail


The Planetary Society deployed LightSail 2, aiming to further demonstrate the potential of the technology for space propulsion.


New York Times

By Shannon Stirone

July 23, 2019


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/science/lightsail-solar-sail.html


The ability to sail across the cosmos, powered by the energy of the sun, is finally becoming a reality.

Engineers in California pressed a button on Tuesday that unfurled the sails on a satellite that can be steered around Earth, advancing long held hopes for an inexhaustible form of spaceflight and expanding the possibilities for navigating the voids between worlds.

For centuries, it was only a dream: traveling through space propelled by the sun’s photons. It was first imagined in the 1600s by Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer who described the laws of the planets’ orbits. In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke moved it into the realm of science fiction in “Sunjammer,” a short story. Carl Sagan, the cosmologist, believed it could be more than a speculative fantasy, and in the 1970s began promoting the building of solar sails for space exploration.

After 10 years of planning and over 40,000 private donations worth $7 million, that idea took flight on Tuesday, as LightSail 2, a spacecraft built for the Planetary Society, co-founded by Mr. Sagan, began what its creators hope will be a year of sailing around Earth.

“This is still one of the most feasible pathways to have real interstellar space travel in the future,” said Sasha Sagan, a writer as well as the daughter of the astronomer.

If it succeeds in its mission, it will contribute to overcoming one of the greatest limitations on the outer bounds of space travel — that the power that steers spacecraft, usually hydrazine fuel, eventually runs out.

In contrast, the sun is a source of constant energy. It is always releasing photons into space. While these particles don’t have mass, they have momentum. Solar sailing relies on the ever so gentle nudge of photons to push a sail forward, moving whatever is attached to the sail in the desired direction.

Other fuel sources, such as solar power and ion propulsion, can power spacecraft for decades, but solar sailing could eliminate their need for fuel altogether.

“There is a limitless supply of solar pressure,” said Dave Spencer, an aeronautics professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. and LightSail’s mission manager.

Sailing could be one of the most fuel efficient options for space travel. While the force exerted on a solar sail is about the same as you might feel from the weight of a piece of paper in the palm of your hand, the momentum is able to build, increasing the speed of the sail over time.

For example, NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft, flying on pure momentum since they ran out of fuel, needed more than 40 years from launch to reach the interstellar medium. But if they had been powered by solar sails, their trips could have been completed in just over half that time.

Japan’s space agency, JAXA, experimented in 2010 with the first solar sail spacecraft, Ikaros. That probe traveled past Venus, but lacked mechanisms for steering. It is orbiting the sun and was last heard from in 2015.

NASA is also experimenting with the technology. Early in the next decade, it plans to launch Near Earth Asteroid Scout. That small cubesat will use a solar sail to visit and study an asteroid.

ImageAn artist's concept of LightSail 2 above Earth.
An artist's concept of LightSail 2 above Earth.CreditJosh Spradling/The Planetary Society, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
For now, space agencies will be watching the performance of LightSail 2, a cubesat that is about the size of a loaf of bread.

The spacecraft was launched last month by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, and has since been orbiting Earth while its managers on the ground prepared to unfurl its sails like a space-lotus.

At 11:40 a.m. in California, 2:40 p.m. Eastern time, the mission’s managers sent an order to orbit, and received readings indicating that LightSail 2 had successfully unfurled its sails.

“I’m really excited, things went just perfectly” said Dr. Spencer.

During the deployment, two wide-angle cameras on the cubesat were to capture 32 images. “It will effectively give us a kind of movie of the sail deployment,” Dr. Spencer said.

LightSail 2 is the first steerable solar sail ever launched into orbit around Earth. Its solar sail is about the size of a boxing ring, and made from a thin mylar material. It blossomed on Tuesday, and began to collect the sun’s energy.

The cubesat has a momentum wheel, which allows the Planetary Society’s engineering team on Earth to guide its sails. That will keep the spacecraft at a 90-degree angle to the sun at all times, not unlike the way a sailboat needs to tack into the wind to move.

“It’s a much more agile solar sail than has been flown before,” Dr. Spencer said.

As LightSail orbits Earth, engineers on the ground will attempt to extend the farthest point in its orbit, called apogee. To do this, the sail must get enough of a push from the sun, and also rely on steering from the ground.

“If everything goes perfectly, we ought to be able to raise the apogee by about 1,640 feet per day,” said Dr. Spencer in an interview before the deployment.

The primary mission is to last around a month, and after that LightSail 2 could orbit Earth for up to a year. Sometimes it will be visible from Earth with the naked eye, and the Planetary Society will provide updates on where it can be seen.

Eventually, Earth’s gravitational pull will drag the cubesat back toward the atmosphere, where it will burn up.

As the spacecraft’s name implies, LightSail 2 follows LightSail 1, launched in 2015 as a test. While accomplishing some of its goals, the test was hindered by a number of engineering snags.

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>>> Boeing Falls as FAA Orders More Max Changes to Address New Risk


Bloomberg

By Alan Levin , Julie Johnsson , and Christopher Jasper

June 26, 2019


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-26/faa-finds-new-risk-on-737-max-and-orders-boeing-to-make-changes?srnd=premium


Tests in simulators revealed issue unrelated to two crashes

Company’s best-selling jet has been grounded since March 13

Boeing Co. tumbled after tests on the 737 Max revealed a new safety risk, prompting U.S. regulators to order additional design changes to the grounded jetliner.

The Federal Aviation Administration discovered that data processing by a flight computer on the jetliner could cause the plane to dive in a way that pilots had difficulty recovering from in simulator tests, according to two people familiar with the finding who asked not to be named discussing it.

Boeing 737 Max Planes Sit Parked At Boeing Field In Seattle, Washington
Grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets at a Boeing facility in Seattle on May 31
“The FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate,” the agency said in an emailed statement Wednesday that didn’t provide specifics.

While the issue didn’t involve the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System linked to the two accidents since October that killed 346 people, it could produce an uncommanded dive similar to what occurred in the crashes, according to one person, who wasn’t authorized to speak about the matter.

Boeing dropped 2.8% to $364.40 at 9:53 a.m. Thursday in New York, by far the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

David Learmount, consulting aviation-safety editor at Flight Global and a former Royal Air Force pilot, said details of the new issue are sketchy but it’s possible that it could further delay the Max’s return.

“The implication is that this is different software in a different control computer that’s presenting similar symptoms,” he said. “When you control an aircraft with computers, which we do now, you’ve always got potential for problems.”

Yet Bank of America Merrill Lynch stuck with its original time frame of a six- to nine-month delay.

“Given that the FAA is reviewing a complex software/hardware system in a thorough manner, we would expect to see some back and forth before a final software/hardware package is determined,” analyst Ronald Epstein said in a note to clients.

Earlier: FAA Says Boeing to Revise Its Analysis of Max Software Fix

Gordon Johndroe, a Boeing spokesman, said the company agreed with the FAA finding and was addressing the issue as well as a broader software redesign that’s been underway for eight months.

“Addressing this condition will reduce pilot workload” by making it easier to respond to an uncommanded stabilizer motion, Johndroe said.

“The safety of our airplanes is Boeing’s highest priority,” he added. “We are working closely with the FAA to safely return the Max to service.”

IAG SA, which ordered 200 Max jets at the Paris Air Show last week, giving Boeing and the 737 a much needed boost, said it had no comment on the FAA’s latest findings. The British Airways parent has signed only a non-binding letter of intent for the planes, which aren’t due until 2023.

Southwest Airlines Co., the Max’s biggest operator, said it appreciated “any additional requirements” that support a safe return of the jet. American Airlines Group Inc., the world’s largest carrier, said it was working with the FAA, Boeing and its pilots union on the Max’s return.

The 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March 13, days after the second crash. “The FAA will lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so,” the FAA said in the statement.

Exercises on a Boeing 737 Max simulator in recent days showed pilots might have difficulty responding to the newly identified failure, the person said.

Just as MCAS uses a motor to move a small wing at the tail of the plane to lower the nose, the latest issue could prompt that same wing to move without pilot commands. The tail wing is known as a horizontal stabilizer.

The motor on the stabilizer adjusts up and down movements known as trim. Examining how trim failures occur has been an integral part of safety reviews of the plane because it was central to the accidents.

Read More: Fight for Survival on Doomed Jet Came Down to Two Cockpit Wheels

The FAA and an independent Technical Advisory Board have been reviewing Boeing’s software fix in multiple sessions in a special Boeing simulator that is designed for engineering reviews.

“We continue to evaluate Boeing’s software modification to the MCAS and we are still developing necessary training requirements,” the agency said in its statement.

Boeing hasn’t presented its final proposed fix to FAA for approval. Before it can do so, it has to conduct a final test flight with FAA pilots.

The International Air Transport Association separately urged the U.S. regulator and other state aviation-safety authorities to align efforts to return the Max to service, especially in areas of technical validation, timelines and pilot training.

While appreciative of the FAA’s role as the certifying body for the Max and the duty of other authorities to remain independent, the industry relies on “mutual recognition, trust, and reciprocity among safety regulators,” IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement Thursday.

The European Aviation Safety Agency didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the new FAA findings.

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>>> The Major Airplane Manufacturers at a Glance -


by MARK HUBER

MARCH 2019


https://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/the-major-airplane-manufacturers-at-a-glance


Eight airplane manufacturers account for the vast majority of business jets and turboprops being built today. Here are the key facts about each of those manufacturers and the models they offer.


Airbus Corporate Jets

Airliner manufacturer Airbus followed Boeing into the prepackaged bizliner market in 1997 when it announced the Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ), a then $35 million executive version of its Airbus A319 airliner. In 2006, Airbus established a beachhead in Miami to market the ACJ more aggressively in North America and added a second U.S. authorized completion center to finish the aircraft's custom interiors. The A319 ACJ is one of four aircraft (A318, A319, A320, and A321) in Airbus's A320 family. Worldwide, more than 8,600 A320-family aircraft are flying, mostly for airlines. More than 1,500 of them are based in North America with carriers that include Delta, Frontier, Jet Blue, and United. In 2015 Airbus opened an assembly line for A320-family aircraft in Mobile, Alabama. As of October 2018, 206 ACJs were in service, including widebodies and ACJneos—new aircraft equipped with more fuel-efficient engines.

Boeing Business Jets

The BBJ spawned in 1996 from a partnership between Boeing and General Electric (maker of the CFM-56 series of engines for newer-generation 737s). Now entering its fifth decade of production, the 737 twinjet is the most successful and ubiquitous jetliner ever produced.

The BBJ took components of two 737 models, the 737-700 series airframe and the larger 737-800 series wing, landing gear, and center fuselage section. Anywhere from three to 10 auxiliary fuel tanks can be installed in the belly of the airplane, giving it a maximum unrefueled range of 6,196 nautical miles (with eight passengers) or 14 hours in the air. A larger, stretched version called the BBJ2 boasts 25 percent more cabin capacity, but at the price of slightly reduced range. In 2005, Boeing announced the even larger BBJ3, based on the Next-Generation 737-900ER. The BBJ3 has 1,120 square feet of cabin space. Boeing announced the BBJ Max in 2012. The aircraft is the BBJ variant of the new 737 Max, which features more fuel-efficient engines and improved aerodynamics. The first Boeing Business Jet variants of the Max are designated Max 8 and Max 9. They are based on the current BBJ2 and BBJ3, respectively, and have the same cabin sizes as their predecessors but significantly more range. The BBJ Max 8 has a range of 6,325 nautical miles, a nearly 15 percent improvement over the BBJ2. The BBJ Max 9 will offer a 6,255-nautical-mile range, a 16 percent jump from what the BBJ3 provided. The first BBJ Max 8 was delivered in 2018. Altogether, 210 BBJs were in service through that year, including widebodies.

Bombardier Aerospace

Bombardier began as a snowmobile manufacturer in 1942 and has grown into one of the world's largest manufacturers of rail cars, business jets, and regional airliners. Over the years, the company has expanded its aircraft business largely through acquisitions, buying brands such as Canadair, DeHavilland, Learjet, and Shorts.

Bombardier entered the business jet market through its Canadair and Learjet acquisitions. Canadair had acquired the manufacturing rights to an innovative business jet designed by Learjet founder William Lear. The Learstar 600 featured a stand-up cabin, high-efficiency engines, and a new airfoil design. It was later badged the Challenger 600.

Canadair buckled under the strain of bringing the Challenger to market and Bombardier acquired the state-owned company in 1986. It used the 600 for the foundation of its popular regional jets and refined the model over time. It also added the larger and longer-range models of the Global series. In 1990, Bombardier bought Learjet, and in 1995 it founded the Flexjet fractional corporate jet ownership program, which it sold in 2013 to Directional Aviation Capital, the parent company of fractional ownership company FlightOptions.

After a prolonged gestation period, Bombardier certified its large-cabin, long-range bizjet, the Global 7500, in late 2018. The $75 million aircraft has a range of 7,700 nautical miles. Also in 2018, Bombardier announced two large-cabin models designed to challenge Gulfstream’s new G500 and G600 offerings. The Global 5500 and 6500 models will sport updated avionics, redesigned interiors, aerodynamically cleaner wings, and more fuel-efficient engines than their Global 5000 and 6000 progenitors.

Dassault Falcon

Dassault Industries, EADS, and a small group of private investors own Dassault Aviation, whose U.S. marketing and support subsidiary is Dassault Falcon Jet. The company's plant in southwestern France builds its airframes. Falcon Jets are outfitted with avionics, interiors, and paint at Dassault's Little Rock, Arkansas maintenance and completion facility.

Dassault's Falcon 20 business twinjet first appeared in the U.S. in 1963 and quickly developed a reputation as a rock-solid, comfortable airplane. The French company was already renowned for its Mirage fighter jets, and the Falcon's military heritage translated into an aircraft that in many ways was overbuilt. Using the Falcon 20's fuselage, development of the Falcon 50 trijet began in 1973. The model was the first civilian aircraft fitted with a highly efficient supercritical wing. That, along with new engines, gave the Falcon 50 a true unrefueled transatlantic cruising range. The three-engine design also provided the 50 with better safety margins over water and great short and "high-hot" airfield capabilities.

Production of the 50 series ended in 2008, but the trijet philosophy remains a Falcon Jet staple on the larger Falcon 900 series, first delivered in 1986, and the newer long-range 7X and 8X models. The same fuselage cross-section of those aircraft is used on the shorter, super-midsize, twin-engine Falcon 2000 series, which entered service in 1995.

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira DR AeronÁutica

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has been building airplanes since 1969 and made its first splash in the American market in the 1970s with its family of commuter turboprops. In 1994, the Brazilian government sold the company to private investors who began developing a regional jet, the ERJ Models 135/145. The RJs carried the company to $3.4 billion in annual sales and $380 million in profits by 2004. More than a thousand 135/145s have been built, and the airframe served as the foundation for the company's first business jet, the Legacy 600, in 1999. The Legacy represented the initial stage in a plan to develop the complete line of business jets that have since come to market.

In 2005, the company announced its intention to develop two entry-level jets, the Phenom 100 and 300. Deliveries of the 100 began in late 2008. The Phenom 300 was the bestselling business jet from 2012 to 2016. Embraer subsequently built an engineering, development, assembly, and delivery center for the aircraft in Melbourne, Florida. In 2006 the company announced the Lineage 1000, a large business jet based on its Model 190 airliner. Deliveries began in 2009. In 2008, Embraer announced that it was proceeding with development of two midsize jets, the Legacy 450 and 500. The company introduced updated and enhanced versions of those models, called the Praetor 500 and 600, in 2018. Embraer’s Melbourne center is also home to Embraer X, stood up in 2017 to explore “disruptive technologies,” including urban air vehicles.

Gulfstream Aerospace

Gulfstream has been building business aircraft since 1958. In 1966, it introduced the GII, the first large-cabin pure business jet. The GII was designed by Grumman, the company that developed carrier-based naval jet aircraft, most famously the F-14 "Tomcat" as well as the original GI turboprop.

Grumman sold its Gulfstream division in 1978. After subsequently passing through three civilian owners, the company is today owned by another defense contractor, General Dynamics. Over the years, iterations of the aircraft have been developed with different engines, avionics, wings, and fuselage length, but through the G550, they all used the same GII fuselage cross-section.

In 2001, Gulfstream bought Galaxy Aerospace, thus adding two smaller aircraft, which it renamed the G100 and G200, to its product line. Israel Aircraft Industries manufactures those aircraft, but they are completed at Gulfstream facilities in the U.S. The company introduced an improved version of the G100, the G150, in 2005, and the most current version of the G200 is the G280

Gulfstream manufactures its five current large-cabin jets—the G550, G500/600, and G650/650ER—in Savannah, Georgia. These aircraft are mainly differentiated by cabin volume, range, and price. The G550 has an unrefueled range of 6,750 nautical miles. In 2008, Gulfstream announced that it was developing the G650, with its larger and wider cabin, compared with the G550, and with a 7,000-nautical-mile range. A subsequently certified revised version, the G650ER, offers a range of 7,500 nautical miles. Both G650 variants have a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.925, making the model one of the world's fastest civil aircraft.

In 2014, Gulfstream launched the large-cabin G500 and G600, designed as successors to the now-discontinued G450 and the current G550, respectively. Both new aircraft feature fly-by-wire flight controls and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW800 series engines. G500 deliveries began in 2018 and G600 deliveries are scheduled to start in 2019. Production of the G550 is expected to wind down as the two new models enter service.

Pilatus Business Aircraft

Based in Stans, Switzerland, Pilatus has been making airplanes since 1939 and is the world's largest manufacturer of single-engine turboprops. Most of these are military trainers like the U.S. Air Force's "Texan II."

The first PC-12 flew in 1991. The single-engine turboprop can alight from rough and short airstrips—as short as 2,300 feet—climb to 30,000 feet, cruise at 269 knots, and fly nearly 1,400 nautical miles with 45 minutes of IFR reserve flying time. Maximum takeoff weight varies from 9,920 to 10,495 pounds, depending on serial number. The PC-12's maximum useful load (passengers, cargo, and fuel) is 4,233 pounds. Its electrically actuated 53-inch-wide rear cargo door can swallow motorcycles, snowmobiles, pianos, and even outsized wildlife. Various executive or utility configurations generally offer seating for two pilots and six to 14 passengers. The airplane is routinely flown single-pilot. After a two-and-a-half-year flight-test program, the PC-12 received Swiss certification in 1994. In 1996, Pilatus established its Broomfield, Colorado operations to better serve the Americas and, by 1997, the 100th PC-12 had rolled down the production line. Today, more than 1,600 PC-12s are in service.

In 2013 Pilatus unveiled plans for an 18,000-pound twinjet, the PC-24. Deliveries began in late 2017. The initial batch of aircraft sold out a mere 36 hours after Pilatus began taking orders in 2014. Like the PC-12, the model features a big rear door—4.1 feet wide and 4.25 feet tall—able to accommodate standard cargo pallets. Priced like a light jet at $8.9 million (2017 dollars) and with corresponding operating economics, but with the cabin space of a midsize, the PC-24 is able to use short grass and dirt runways like a turboprop and can also be flown by a single pilot. Pilatus’s “very versatile jet” can take off from runways as short as 2,690 feet fully loaded.

Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation manufactures Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker branded airplanes. Cessna spent $35 million in the late 1960s—then half the worth of the company—developing a twinjet it named the Citation, after the legendary racehorse. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Citation destroyed much of the market for business twin turboprops. Fairchild, Mitsubishi, Piper, Rockwell, and even Cessna itself stopped building them. Today, the only "vintage" twin turboprop still in production is the venerable Beech King Air.

Cessna's business jet models are precisely positioned along well-defined performance and price points. This strategy has enabled the company to sell more bizjets than any of its competitors. Probably not since Alfred P. Sloan commanded General Motors from 1923 to 1946 has a company so skillfully executed branding, market positioning, and the concept of stepping up customers through price-progressive products. Textron manufactures a full line of business jets, from the M2 through the super-midsize Longitude and is well on its way to relaunching development of a large-cabin offering, the Hemisphere. That project had been suspended due to concern over the Safran Silvercrest engines that have been selected but is now “on track,” according to Textron Aviation.

In 1937, Walter Beech introduced the Model 18, arguably the first cabin-class twin-engine business airplane. In 1958, Beech launched the Queen Air, a twin piston-engine aircraft that remarkably resembles today's twin turboprop King Air. Beech delivered the first King Air in 1964. It was an immediate hit; quickly Beech commanded an amazing 77 percent market share of the corporate twin turboprop market. Several models of updated King Airs remain in production.

Walter Beech died in 1950 and his widow, Olive Ann, oversaw the company until its sale to Raytheon in 1980. Raytheon sold the business to an entity formed by several investment firms in 2007. The company was renamed Hawker Beechcraft to reflect its two aircraft brands, having acquired the rights to produce the British Hawker line of light business jets. The newly constituted Hawker Beechcraft declared bankruptcy in 2012 and its parts and pieces were subsequently acquired by Textron, which opted to keep Beechcraft-brand piston and turboprop aircraft in production but kill off the jet offerings from Beechcraft (the Beechjet/Hawker400/450, itself a derivative of the Japanese-designed Mitsubishi Diamond; and the Premier line) and Hawker. However, Textron still supports those models with parts and service.

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>>> Embraer S.A. (ERJ) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircraft and systems in Brazil, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Commercial Aviation, Defense and Security, Executive Jets, Service & Support, and Other segments. The Commercial Aviation segment develops, produces, and sells commercial jets; and provides support services, as well as leases aircraft. Its products include ERJ 145 family, EMBRAER 170/190 family, and E-Jets family of commercial aircraft. The Defense and Security segment engages in the research, development, production, modification, and support for military defense and security aircraft, as well as offers a range of products and integrated solutions that include radars, special space systems (satellites), and information and communications systems, such as command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. The Executive Jets segment develops, produces, and sells executive jets; and offers support services. It also leases Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 executive jets in the super midsize and large categories; Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 executive jets in the midlight and midsize categories; Phenom family executive jets in the entry jet and light jet categories; Lineage 1000, an ultra-large executive jet; and Praetor 500 and Praetor 600, disruptive executive jets in the midsize and super midsize categories. The Service & Support segment after-service solutions and support services. The Other segment is involved in the supply of fuel systems, structural parts, and mechanical and hydraulic systems; and production of agricultural crop-spraying aircraft. The company was formerly known as Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A. and changed its name to Embraer S.A. in November 2010. Embraer S.A. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.

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>>> Dassault Aviation SA engages in the aeronautical business in France and internationally. The company designs and builds military aircraft, business jets, and space systems. It offers Rafale, a twin- engine multirole fighter that performs various combat missions for air forces and naval air arms; nEUROn and medium- altitude long- endurance (MALE) drones; Mirage 2000 aircraft; and aircraft to carry out maritime surveillance, intelligence, medical evacuation, and other special missions. The company operates a fleet of 2,100 Falcon jets and 1,000 combat aircraft. In addition, it is involved in the provision of aviation maintenance and services; repair and maintenance of landing gears and flight controls; overhaul and repair of civil aviation equipment; provision of structured financing for Falcon aircraft; leasing and management of Falcon aircraft as part of public passenger transport activity; production and distribution of simulation tools; and training and aeronautical documentation business. The company is headquartered in Paris, France. Dassault Aviation SA is a subsidiary of Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS.

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>>> Bombardier Inc. (BDRBF), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells transportation equipment worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft, Aerostructures and Engineering Services, and Transportation. The Business Aircraft segment designs, manufactures, and markets business jets, as well as provides aftermarket support services. The Commercial Aircraft segment designs and manufactures a portfolio of commercial aircraft in the 50- to 100-seat categories, including the CRJ550, CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 regional jets, as well as the Q400 turboprop. This segment also provides aftermarket services and support. The Aerostructures and Engineering Services segment designs, develops, and manufactures aircraft structural components, such as engine nacelles, fuselages, and wings; and provides aftermarket component repair, overhaul, and other engineering services. The Transportation segment offers a range of products and services in the rail industry, including trains, subsystems, system integration, and signaling solutions. Bombardier Inc. was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

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>>> Airbus Roiled by Secret Boeing Order That Stole the Paris Show


Bloomberg

By Christopher Jasper and Benjamin D Katz

June 20, 2019


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-20/airbus-will-challenge-boeing-to-undo-showstopping-737-max-deal?srnd=premium


British Airways owner IAG ordered 200 737 Max narrowbodies

European planemaker says didn’t receive request for proposal


Airbus SE vowed to put up a fight to undo a $24 billion deal landed by rival Boeing Co. for 737 Max planes that proved to be the sales coup of this year’s Paris Air Show.

Speaking at a final press conference from Le Bourget airfield outside the French capital on Thursday, Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer said the European planemaker never received a request for proposals -- a document that formally launches bidding for most major aircraft contracts -- from IAG SA, the owner of British Airways.

The secret negotiations between Boeing and IAG led to the biggest surprise of the week-long show: a letter of intent from the carrier to purchase 200 of the Max aircraft, a model that is grounded following two fatal crashes. IAG is currently an Airbus-only narrow-body customer and has said it plans to use the planes for its discount and leisure divisions, including Vueling and Level.

“We are taking the position that we would like to bid for this business,” Scherer told reporters. “IAG is a very good customer. Every one of these airlines are A320 operators. Our intent is to bid.”

The shock announcement came midway through the exhibition and helped Boeing clear some of the gloom surrounding the 737 Max by instilling a measure of confidence in its future.

The Boeing agreement was outlined as a letter of intent, meaning that negotiations over the details will need to be confirmed in the coming months. Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said he’d like to find a way in before the deal develops into a final contract.

“We’d be very happy to compete when it comes to a tender for this large number of planes,” he said. “We are quite sure we will have an opportunity to apply. And make sure that in the end the best solution prevails for IAG, which is an important customer.”

In many ways, the U.S. planemaker couldn’t have found a better buyer than IAG to endorse the Max, whose future has been clouded as regulators demand fixes to make the plane safer. IAG has proven to be a savvy aircraft buyer and is led by a former 737 pilot, CEO Willie Walsh.

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GE - >>> 'A New Energy' Is Seen In GE As Aviation Unit Leads Transformation; GE Stock Up


Investor's Business Daily

6-19-19


https://www.investors.com/news/ge-stock-rises-potential-buy-point-ge-aviation-leads-growth/?src=A00220&yptr=yahoo


General Electric's (GE) core aviation unit is leading GE's transformation on the back of its stability and underlying growth, Citigroup said. GE stock rose.

Analysts at Citigroup acknowledged "teething issues" on the new GE9x jet engine, but said they "sense a new energy in Aviation and across GE" after meetings with management and a GE Aviation investor presentation.

"The business does seem to be operating on all cylinders," Citi analyst Andrew Kaplowitz said, citing military growth, Leap engine purchases, and aftermarket service-related growth. He also backed his buy rating and 14 target price for GE stock.

Meanwhile, GE Aviation has booked more than $52 billion in orders so far this week at the Paris Air Show. That includes $20-billion-plus orders apiece from India's Indigo airlines and Malaysia's AirAsia, as well as aircraft leasing deal with Amazon Air as Amazon (AMZN) builds out its delivery and transport network. In 2017, GE booked roughly $31 billion at the same show.

The Citigroup note highlighted more disclosure and improvement in an area closely watched by investors — cash generation. GE Aviation's $4.2 billion in free cash flow in 2018 represented 88% conversion, Kaplowitz said.

He added: "There will be expected (Boeing) Max drag in 2019 (close to $300 million in Q2 and we lower our overall GE free cash estimate for Q2 to -$1.6 billion from -$800 million to be more in-line with guidance of -$1 billion to -$2 billion), but we sense management confidence in improved cash performance moving forward (flattish Aviation working capital expected for the year) led by a strong aftermarket environment, favorable terms on new orders, and focus on 'daily' cash collection vs. an end of quarter bias."

Two Boeing (BA) Max jets were involved in fatal crashes in the past year, leading to groundings as well as a halt to deliveries and slowdown in production.

Shares of General Electric rose 0.2% to 10.44 on the stock market today, rising further above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. While GE stock is forming a base with a potential 11.85 buy point, the entry is well below prior highs.

Fellow Boeing jet engine supplier United Technologies (UTX) was flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2%. United Tech and Boeing are Dow Jones stocks.

The relative strength line for GE stock has been on an uptrend year to date. The RS line, shown in blue below, tracks performance against the S&P 500.

'Hard To Poke Holes' In GE Aviation

GE Aviation is testing and redesigning a compressor part in the colossal new GE9x jet engine that has delayed the maiden flight of the Boeing 777x, the world's largest twin-engine jetliner.

Citigroup's Kaplowitz noted that, but found it's "hard to poke holes" in the aviation unit's strong commercial portfolio.

The International Air Transport Association's "2019 current forecast growth of 5% is still strong and GE's visibility toward continued aftermarket-led growth is impressive," he said.

He called the Indigo deal a "large win" for GE's Leap-1A, since the airline previously used United Tech's Pratt & Whitney engines.

Simultaneously, GE Aviation's revenue from military orders is growing, Citigroup said.

Meanwhile the GE9x debuted at the 2019 Paris Air Show this week, and has received more than 700 orders. The Leap engine has reached a record 17,000-plus orders, with GE on pace to deliver more than 1,800 Leap engines this year.

General Electric is focused on its "crown jewel" aviation segment even as CEO Larry Culp accelerates efforts to return its power segment to profitability.

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>>> United Technologies nears deal to merge aerospace unit with Raytheon: source


Reuters

Greg Roumeliotis, Harry Brumpton

6-8-19


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-utc-m-a-raytheon/united-technologies-nears-deal-to-merge-aerospace-unit-with-raytheon-source-idUSKCN1T90T0


(Reuters) - United Technologies Corp is nearing a deal to merge its aerospace business with U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Co and form a new company worth well over $100 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

United Technologies and Raytheon are seeking to pool resources through what would be the biggest merger in the aerospace and defense sectors.

United Technologies provides primarily commercial plane makers with equipment such as electronics and communications equipment, whereas Raytheon is a vendor mainly to the U.S. government for equipment in military aircraft and missiles.

The deal would be structured as an all-stock merger of equals because United Technologies would separately spin off its Carrier air conditioning business and Otis elevator division, as it has previously announced it would do, the source said.

If the negotiations between United Technologies and Raytheon are completed successfully, a deal could be announced as early as Monday, the source added, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

United Technologies declined to comment, while Raytheon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

United Technologies has a market capitalization of $114 billion, but without Carrier and Otis, its value could be less than $60 billion, bringing it closer to Raytheon’s market capitalization of $52 billion.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the potential deal, stating that United Technologies Chief Executive Greg Hayes is expected to lead the newly created company, while Raytheon CEO Thomas Kennedy would be chairman.

Raytheon, maker of the Tomahawk and the Patriot missile systems, and other U.S. military contractors are expected to benefit from strong global demand for fighter jets and munitions as well as higher U.S. defense spending in fiscal 2020, a lot of it driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

However, Pentagon spending is projected to slow down after an initial boost under Trump. A deal with United Technologies would allow Raytheon to expand into commercial aviation, which does not rely on government spending like the defense sector.

Conversely, United Technologies could benefit from reducing its exposure to commercial aerospace clients amid concerns over the rise of protectionism in international trade. The International Air Transport Association, which represents about 290 carriers accounting for more than 80% of global air traffic, cited these concerns earlier this month, when it said that the industry is expected to post a $28 billion profit in 2019, down from a December forecast of $35.5 billion.

United Technologies has said it is on track to separate Carrier and Otis in the first half of 2020, leaving the company focused on its aerospace business through its $23 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins, which was completed in 2018, and the Pratt & Whitney engines business.

CHINESE SCRUTINY

Chinese authorities scrutinized United Technologies’ Rockwell Collins acquisition heavily, given its footprint in that country’s market. This resulted in the deal closing in November 2018, as opposed to the third quarter of that year, which the companies initially targeted.

Trade tensions between the United States and China were blamed at least partly by analysts for that delay, and it is not clear whether the deteriorating relations between the world’s two largest economies could also weigh on the Raytheon deal.

United Technologies and Raytheon appear to have little overlap in their businesses, an argument the companies could make once U.S. antitrust regulators start scrutinizing their merger. However, major commercial aerospace companies, such as Boeing Co and Airbus SE, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense, have been known to use their significant purchasing power to seek concessions from their suppliers.

The deal with Raytheon could put pressure on General Electric Co, which also competes with United Technologies for commercial aerospace clients, to seek scale. It could also push other defense contractors, such as Lockheed Martin Corp, to explore expanding their commercial businesses.

Last year, military communication equipment providers Harris Corp and L3 Technologies Inc announced an all-stock merger that, once completed this summer, will create the sixth-largest U.S. defense contractor.

United Technologies was previously a bigger player in the defense sector. But in 2015, it agreed to sell Sikorsky, the maker of military helicopter Black Hawk, to Lockheed Martin for $9 billion.

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Eviation -- >>> All-electric jet firm Eviation announces US regional airline as first customer, predicts delivery in 2022


CNBC

JUN 18 2019

by David Reid


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/18/all-electric-jet-firm-eviation-announces-us-airline-as-first-customer.html


Venture capital-backed Eviation is developing a nine-seat electric aircraft.

The firm sees regional travel as being under served by aviation.

A prototype of its electric plane has been unveiled at the Paris Air Show.

Eviation chief executive Omer Bar-Yohay reveals future plans for his company’s nine-seat electric plane at the 2019 Paris Air Show.



PARIS — The Israeli start-up Eviation announced at the Paris Air Show that U.S regional airline Cape Air is to buy its electric aircraft.

Eviation is developing a nine-passenger aircraft designed to fly up to 650 miles at around 240 knots (276 miles per hour). A commercial jet would cruise around 500 miles per hour. The electric plane — called Alice with a prototype being unveiled at the show this week — is designed for the sort of distances usually conducted by train.

Cape Air is set to buy a “double-digit” number of the plane which has a list price of around $4 million each. It’s expected that any customer would be able to negotiate a smaller figure.

The company’s chief executive, Omer Bar-Yohay, told a press conference Tuesday that he expected to receive certification by late 2021, with deliveries predicted for 2022.

“This aircraft is not some future maybe. It is there, ready and waiting,” he said.

Bar-Yohay cited the contributions from Honeywell who built the plane’s controls as well as Siemens, and magniX who provided the electric motor and related functions.

A rendered image of the Eviation Alice. An electric aircraft designed to take 9 passengers up to 650 miles at 240 knots.



Source: Eviation

Bar-Yohay said the plane would now travel to Arizona in the United States where it would be flight tested before being put forward for certification with the U.S. FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).

The CEO added the plane should satisfy FAA concerns that it might create a backlog of training for pilots, as it was “probably one of the easiest planes to fly,” adding “this is one of the specimens that the FAA wants to see happen.”

The Eviation boss said that eventually, future planes would be built in the United States.

Most of Eviation’s funding is from Clermont Group, the private investment fund of Singapore-based billionaire Richard Chandler. Clermont has given Eviation $76 million in exchange for a 70% stake in the company, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dated January 3.

In a in a letter to staff, Chandler said commercial-scale electric aircraft would “change the culture of air travel for future generations,” and that the aerospace industry was entering a new era.

“45% of all flights are under 500 miles – approximately the distance from London to Zurich, or New York to Detroit. This puts almost half of all global flights within the range of an electric motor.”

Clermont also owns and funds magniX, the firm that manufactures the three electric motors that provide the aircraft with roughly 900 kilowatts of power. Bar-Yohay claimed if there was a problem with the two wing engines, it could continue flying on the rear rotor only.

The CEO of magniX, Roei Ganzarski, also attended the launch, telling CNBC it was “exciting to see a dream come true.”

Ganzarski said his engines would be split between new clean sheet aircraft such as the Eviation and retrofitting existing small aircraft.

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Rolls Royce, Seimens - >>> This Jet Engine Giant Accelerates Electric, Hybrid Propulsion Unit


Investor's Business Daily

by APARNA NARAYANAN4

6-18-19


https://www.investors.com/news/electric-planes-siemens-sells-eaircraft-business-rolls-royce/?src=A00220&yptr=yahoo


Siemens (SIEGY) agreed to sell its electric aircraft-propulsion business to Rolls-Royce, the U.K.-based rival to General Electric (GE) and United Technologies (UTX) in jet engines. Siemens stock, GE stock and United Technologies stock all rose.

Rolls-Royce and Siemens eAircraft were already working with plane maker Airbus (EADSY) on a hybrid-electric propulsion system, the E-Fan X, to power a large jet.

The acquisition is set to close in late 2019. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We have already made significant strides in realizing our strategy of 'championing electrification' and this move will accelerate our ambitions in aerospace by adding vital skills and technology to our portfolio," Rob Watson, director of Rolls-Royce Electrical, said. "It brings us increased scale and additional expertise as we develop a product range of hybrid power and propulsion systems."

Electric planes took center stage at this week's Paris Air Show. Airbus told the Associated Press Monday it hopes to sell hybrid or electric planes by 2035, aligning with earlier reports. United Technologies also told CNBC it seeks to fly a hybrid-electric commuter aircraft within three years, with the platform eventually benefiting both Airbus and Boeing (BA) jet.

And Israeli startup Eviation snagged the first customer for its electric planes — Cape Air, a regional U.S airline.

Shares of Siemens gained 2.3% on the stock market today to rise above the 50-day line. GE stock rose 3.7% and United Technologies stock gained 1.9%.

GE told IBD its aviation unit has booked $50 billion in orders so far this week at the Paris Air Show. That included a $23.1 billion Air Asia order for 200 Leap-1a engines to power 100 Airbus A321neos, which was booked Tuesday after being announced in July 2016.

It also included an aircraft-leasing deal for an undisclosed amount with Amazon Air, as Amazon (AMZN) Air builds out its delivery and transport network.

Amazon Air will add 15 Boeing 737 cargo planes to the five it already leases from GE's aviation financing and leasing arm. By 2021, Amazon Air will have 70 aircraft in its fleet, Amazon said in a release.

GE also booked $20 billion from Indigo for Leap-1a engines to power 280 Airbus planes, the largest single engine order in history.

Indigo, India's largest airline, reportedly moved the order to GE joint venture CFM International after United Tech's Pratt & Whitney engines developed issues.

In 2017, GE booked roughly $31 billion at the Paris Air Show.

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Eviation - >>> Electric Planes to Debut for Airline Serving Nantucket, Vineyard


Bloomberg

By Tara Patel

June 18, 2019


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18/electric-plane-maker-eviation-clinches-first-customer-cape-air


Israeli venture-backed aircraft maker predicts supply crunch

‘We’re talking to everyone’ on future sales, Eviation CEO says

EVIATION AIRCRAFT (EVTNF)

Electric-plane company Eviation Aircraft Ltd., which just signed up its first customer, predicts that in a few years it may not be able to keep up with orders.

“We’ll have a supply issue, not a demand issue,” Chief Executive Officer Omer Bar-Yohay said in an interview at the Paris Air Show. The founder of the Israeli venture capital-backed developer said U.S. regional airline Cape Air has agreed to buy a “double-digit” number of planes. The carrier flies some 88 Cessna turbo-props on routes such as Boston to Martha’s Vineyard and New York to Nantucket.

Eviation was showcasing a prototype, transported in pieces to the biennial exhibition, and is “talking to everyone” about future sales, said Bar-Yohay. Prospective customers include major U.S. carriers like United Continental Holdings Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp., which are interested in planes to feed hubs, he said.

Eviation’s plane, the Alice, is one of a host of electric models at the design stage, and its nine-passenger capacity and 650-mile range from a single charge could give it an edge in the commuter market, currently served by a variety of light aircraft. Interest in electric planes is growing as the aviation industry comes under criticism for increasing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Read: Stratospheric: What Happens to Airline Emissions Under Self-Rule

Eviation is planning a first flight later this year in the U.S., followed by the assembly of more planes in Arizona and Washington state and certification around 2021.

“We’re a bit ahead of the pack but I have no doubt others are coming,” Bar-Yohay said, adding that taking on a customer like Cape Air will also entail developing charging and maintenance infrastructure.

“The hurdles aren’t just about getting the plane out the door, but everything else that goes with them,” he said. “We need an environment to support the plane and trained engineers and mechanics.”

Aircraft Economics

Eviation contends its plane makes economic sense: Running costs for the Alice will be about $200 per flight hour versus $1,000 for a turboprop. The Alice will be slower than some conventional craft, with a cruising speed of 240 knots (276 miles per hour), half the pace of modern business jets but not far short of some turboprop models.

The company is targeting “middle mile” commutes like Paris to Toulouse, Oslo to Trondheim in Norway and San Jose to San Diego.

Read: Airbus May Make the Next Version of Top-Selling Jet a Hybrid

Based in Kadima, near Tel Aviv, Eviation was founded in 2015 by a team of aviation and technology specialists. It’s one of about 100 different electric-aircraft programs in development worldwide, up 30% since 2017, according to Roland Berger, a consulting firm.

Zunum Aero, backed by Boeing Co. and JetBlue, aims to bring a hybrid-electric commuter model to market by 2022, while MagniX Technologies Pty is developing a propulsion system for an all-electric plane with a similar date in mind. In September, it announced a successful ground test of a 350-horsepower motor attached to the nose section of a Cessna test rig.

Joby Aviation Inc. is aiming smaller, targeting the air-taxi market with a plane that would carry four passengers, travel 150 miles and fly at a few thousand feet. Unlike the Alice, it wouldn’t be pressurized. Uber Technologies Inc. has said it’s also working on a flying taxi as an extension of its ride-sharing product that would take off and land vertically and reach the market by 2023.

At the other end of the scale, Easyjet Plc has partnered with U.S.-based Wright Electric to develop a full-sized battery-powered airliner within a decade for flights of less than two hours, enough to link London with Paris or Amsterdam.

Siemens AG, Airbus SE and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc are working on a hybrid-electric propulsion system, the E-Fan X, that would also power a relatively large aircraft. Roland Berger predicts that the first 50-seat hybrid airliner will enter fare-paying service by 2032.

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