1/15/2023

Bavarian Airlines! Bavarian... What???

This week a "new airline" was announced: Bavarian Airlines, to be based in Munich. According to founder Adem Karagöz the airline wants to offer better service than their competitor(s). Looking at the routes the new airline wants to start with (MUC to FRA, BER, DUS, AMS) there is almost only LH and their affiliates (KLM as well in case of AMS) the compete with.
For LH and KLM these flights are important as feeder flights for their longhaul routes from MUC, FRA and AMS and these will fly with LH and KLM anyway. So Bavarian Airlines could only shoot for business travelers which want to go from MUC to FRA, BER etc. for a day-trip and for leisure traveler. Not too much to gain here I think.
But there is another doubt I have: the airlines wants to fly with leased E195E2, getting their first of planned twelve plane(s) this year. Now I tell you something: there is no chance Bavarian Airlines will get a E195E2 this year unless other customers jump from Embraers customer list! I even doubt that Embraer will fulfill their delivery commitments they gave to their existing customers (Porter for example wants to have their full first batch of 30 aircraft until the end of this year.

So for now I take Bavarian Airlines as a very early April fools joke!

And I can only wonder why there are so many press articles out there (especially in the german press) which are reporting the airlines and their CEO's plans without any critical question!

 

6/04/2021

Boeing's big gamble

A recent article by Bloomberg about the new composite wing that could replace the current wing on the A320neo, a project called “The Wing of Tomorrow” by Airbus, spurred some discussions about the future Airbus narrowbody product line and how Boeing would/could react.

The subject, as Scott Hamilton writes, is not new at all. I heard about it in 2013 for the first time. Airbus at that time thought that Bombardier would launch a CS500 (today discussed as the A220-500) and thought that the CS300 was about 5% better in economics than even advertised by Bombardier to customers. This gives us a first indication of how good an A220-500 could be, as the A220-300 has at least the same costs per seat than the A320neo, if not better. A stretched aircraft always tends to have better seat costs than the original one, so the A220-500 has better seat mile costs than the A320neo “by definition”.

If the A220-500 it would be an A320neo and B737-8 killer, as Scott Hamilton thinks, is another question though and depends on how the A220-500 exactly would look like and what the mission is an airline is looking for.

Start with the current payload-range diagrams of the A320neo and the A220-300.

Looking at the payload-range diagram we see that indeed with 165 x 220lbs per passenger = 33klbs of payload the range is in the 3400nm range.



The payload-range diagram of the A220-300 is not yet updated by Airbus (at least not for the “flying public”) and still shows around 3100nm range with 140 passengers and 149000lbf MTOW. If we believe in the Airbus claim that with the new MTOW of 156000lb range would be 3550nm we get the new range-payload line approximately as a parallel line to the old one. Now let us seat 165 in that aircraft (knowing that it would not work of course) and we see that range would fall to around 3000nm by the addition of the extra 25 passengers of payload.

To seat these 25 passenger we would need to stretch the aircraft by five rows of about 4m of 13ft. This is about the same difference in length than between the A220-100 and the A220-300.

For simplicity, let us consider that the difference in OEW between the A220-300 and a potential A220-500 with unchanged MTOW would be same as the difference between the OEW of the A22-100 and the A220-300: 4100lb. Then we would get a range of the stretched A220-500 aircraft of around 2500nm.

On one hand, this is enough for probably around 95% of all flight a A320neo of a B737-8 is used for today. On the other hand, flexibility is key for many airlines, so the limited range of an A220-500 would be a problem for many airlines.

Now we can increase the MTOW of the A220-500 to increase range.

Start with a comparison of the wing loading: the A220 wing has 112.3 square meter, the A320neo 122.6. To get to same wing loading we could increase the MTOW of the A220-500 by about 3500lb. This would increase the range by approximately 300nm to about 2800nm. The original CS300 was advertised with this range. With the same wing loading and the same generation of engines, especially with a bypass ratio that is in the same range, runway characteristics should be comparable as well then.

So would the A220-500 be a A320neo and B737-8 killer? If you definitely do not need more range than 2800nm it could be.

For Airbus, with their “Wing of Tomorrow”, this would not be such a big problem. They could do the A320.5neo++ (or whatever it will be called). For Boeing, not having a competitive product against the A220-100 and -300 to begin with, the A220-500, together with a A320.5, could turn into a bigger problem. Both aircraft would squeeze the B737-8 from both above and below, the A320.5 with better range and economics and the A220-500 with dramatically better economics.

But the ball is in Boeings court. As it looks, they have to move first, either with an aircraft that aims at the so called Middle of the Market, that is now captured by the A321XLR, but leaving the B737-8 alone. Or by replacing the MAX family soon, which could counter an A220-500 on the low end but leaving the A321XLR and even more a potential A322 alone on the playground.

Canceling the joint venture with Embraer could have been a big failure going forward, as “Boeing Brazil” could have worked on the lower end of the narrowbody product line.

Disclaimer: these thoughts are just easy considerations without going through all the (engineering) steps necessary. But it gives us a hint where the different aircraft are relative to each other.

4/05/2021

5X – what 5X?

During the last weeks Aviation Week had a few articles (here and here) about an alleged new Boeing widebody aircraft code-named -5X. More or less a NMA reloaded, this aircraft would be targeting the A330neo family, but in turn as well the 787-8/9.

Stop –say what? The 787 is right now not selling like hot cakes, but the A330neo not as well and the main reason is COVID-19, although also without the pandemic both aircraft would see lower production rates today than until 2019. So where is the point in developing a new aircraft there? The NMA, which was not able to produce a business case for Boeing, was shelved and was probably almost the same aircraft. Part of the problem back then was that the engine companies did not see the market as attractive as Boeing (officially) did and both CFMI and P&WA only wanted to develop an engine as a sole source.

So where is the reason to believe that now, two years later, it actually looks better for an aircraft like this?

The only thing Boeing should concentrate on is a new Single Aisle aircraft family! If Boeing would start an aircraft like -5X now with an EIS not before 2027, themselves as well as the engine companies would not have the resources to be able to counter an A320neo++ family with a new wing and engines that will then get a performance improvement package from the -5X engine(s). Also, as Scott Hamilton from Leeham writes today, the A220-500 is only a question of when, not if. So the lower end of the B737MAX would get increasing pressure once the - 500 is on the market. The B737MAX would be dead then, "killed" from the A220-550 from the lower end and from the A320neo++ and A321neo++ from the upper end – and in turn BCA would be dead!

But is it possible to design an aircraft family that can compete with the A220-500 on the lower end and a future (possible) A322? No, but the Airbus narrowbody aircraft family has two wings, two fuselages and different engines as well. So a clever scaling of the fuselage and the wings could do the trick for Boeing. Starting with the larger (6 abreast) family, starting just north of today's 737MAX-8 up to a A322 sized aircraft. After that scaling fuselage and wings down to a 5 abreast aircraft with a second or third generation of the PW1500G for example.

Just my 2 cents of course - but I see less than these 2 cents of value in a -5X! 

12/27/2020

GE and the Geared Turbofan

There was quite a lot of hype in the last days around a story, first reported by Bloomberg, saying that GE talked with Airbus about a new engine for “a narrow-body jetliner in development”. In the article (and many that followed that first story) there is a lot of speculation about the aircraft: If it would be a successor of today's A320, a future stretched variant of the A220 or if that aircraft would in the end be the ZERO E (E for Emissions) aircraft announced by Airbus in September and the engine GE and Airbus discuss here would be an engine that would be used for that aircraft until a ZERO E engine (technology) would be available.

To make it short: this last consideration is – sorry to say it that way – bullshit! Whatever the source of energy of the future ZERO E aircraft would be – hydrogen or electricity comes to mind- the aircraft has to look very different from the design of a jet fuel powered aircraft and it would make no sense at all to hang a Geared Turbofan on an aircraft designed and optimized for zero emissions.

The fact that GE and Airbus talk about a new narrowbody is not a big story in the first place, as there are always discussions between airframers and engine companies about all kinds of possible future projects. But Bloomberg made a lot of noise due to the fact, that the design proposed by GE would be a geared turbofan, which is the engine design that today only Pratt & Whitney uses. GE always more or less dismissed the geared design in public because of the added complexity of the gear. Rolls Royce began developing their own geared engine concept called Ultrafan a few years ago.

So does GE not believe in the conventional turbofan anymore?

Not necessarily: believe it or not, but it is not the first time that GE proposes a geared design to an aircraft manufacturer. For the B777X, today's B777-9, GE also pitched a geared design towards Boeing, as did P&W at that time (I believe RR proposed a 3 spool design). But obviously Boeing went down the low-risk path of the GE9X engine, an evolution of the GE90-115B and the GENx engines, although the geared engines would have had a better fuel burn.

For the now (forever?) dormant NMA, Boeings reference engine was a geared turbofan. This makes sense, as at least in the beginning two of the three possible engine provider offered a geared design (P&W and RR), so we can only guess that GE (or CFM) also offered both variants (geared and non-geared) to Boeing. Later RR went out of the discussions as the aimed EIS timing was too early for the UltraFan.

So when today GE talks with Airbus about a geared engine, there is nothing sensational in there. Most likely the geared engine is just one out of two or more designs. And it most likely not more than a paper study, in which P&W and RR are involved as well. It is not more than the usual business of the future concept groups of all parties involved.

So do not expect an announcement of a new aircraft in the near future. Even a stretched A220 (-500) seems not to be on the horizon too soon...

5/02/2020

Next (new) airplanes


After NMA is obviously no more, some people seem to believe, that Boeing could instead bring a refreshed B757 or B767 to market.
Is that viable? No, I would say, at least not for passenger traffic!
Both aircraft are late 1970’s aircraft, thus about ten years older than the A320ceo. Both were the first narrow- and widebodies with a two-crew-glass-cockpit.

But: the design of the airframe and the wing keep to be from these days, aside from getting winglets, saving up to 4% fuel burn.

So a new wing, along with the new engines, would be inevitable. Along with that goes a new center wing box. That means typically at least 50% of the development costs of a complete new aircraft.
But it does not stop here. A new cockpit with all the technology of B787 or B777X would be needed to make these airplanes attractive to airlines.

Now to the engines: for the B767 GEnx engines would be the likely candidate, and here the -2B version, as it has the right thrust and also a bleed air system. The GEnx though is an engine which was designed in the early 2000’s. The concept would me more than 20 years old if Boeing would decide to start development now with an EIS in 4 to 5 years. The basic aircraft concept would then be 50 years old.

The same is basically true for the B757: with the difference that there would not be an “off the shelf” engine with the right thrust available. But would any engine company spend $1bn for a brand new engine for a 50 year old fuselage? CFM/GE and PWA for sure not, as they have their engines in place on the A321XLR. So only RR could have an interest, but with todays news that they are laying off some 8000 people and delaying the development of their Ultra Fan this is more than questionable. In fact, I see RR in danger as they are so heavily exposed to the widebody market, which, in the opinion of all experts, will be the last market segment to recover.

So there won’t be a new aircraft from Boeing for the time being. CEO Dave Calhoun though says that the “true differentiator” of Boeing’s next aircraft will be “the way we manufacture and the way we engineer, as opposed to the… design of the airplane itself” (quote from the Flightglobal article). What does that mean? As I understand it: the B737MAX will stay the B737MAX, Boeing will (just) look into the cost of production. Well, hopefully they will get it right…

What does that mean for Airbus? A great opportunity, if they are bold and can get money in a similar manner as Boeing raised $25bn on the capital market. If Airbus can raise enough money with a lower yield than Boeing did, Airbus could use that money to invest in the so-called A320neo++, where the A320neo and the A321neo will get a new and larger composite wing and a new cockpit and both would be stretched to a “A320.5” (between todays A320 and A321) and a A322. Then Airbus would also need to develop the A220-500 and would have the perfect product line for the rest of the century and the early 2030’s.

Boeing meanwhile is stuck with the problems of the B737MAX:
1.     The grounded fleet at the airline customers has to be upgraded.
2.     The undelivered fleet has to be upgraded and to be delivered.
3.     Reacting to the potential A320neo++ would lead to the B737MAX being a non-seller
4.     The MAX is MAXed out: without a new wing, a complete new, longer undercarriage and larger bypass engines (from the A320neo) the B737MAX could not compete against the A320neo++. But would that make sense? No, then a complete new aircraft would be needed. Means another $15bn to be found somewhere, meanwhile back the $25bn bonds. Not easy…

So far for my theory…