Op-Ed Columnists – Page 6
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Opinion
For SMEs, the crisis is only beginning
The situation could hardly be worse for Airbus, Boeing and first-tier suppliers. But for companies further down the supply chain it is. Highly geared and often dependent on a single customer, small- and medium-sized enterprises face a fight for survival as demand dries up. Their only hope is some sort of airline revival before it is too late
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Opinion
Years after cancellation, A380 freighter’s time may have come
FedEx’s crystal ball was clearly having an off-day when it churned out predictions for the Airbus A380 freighter 15 years ago. The US express cargo giant, once the launch operator of the A380F, expected to take delivery of the aircraft in 2008, enthused about a -900 stretched cargo variant, and forecast that passenger-to-freighter A380s would arrive by 2020.
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Opinion
Why airlines must mind the training bubble
Getting carriers back into service at the end of this crisis could run up against a perhaps unexpected obstacle: a shortage of simulator capacity for pilots
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Opinion
Will pandemic prompt a green reset for aviation?
The coronavirus crisis will abate before too long, but how will its impact change the nature of air travel?
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Opinion
Hailing the A310’s lasting legacy
Airbus invented the original widebody twinjet more than half a century ago, so it seems appropriate that a Toulouse product looks set to be the first of the breed to become extinct.
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Opinion
US Marine Corps backs away from tailor-made aircraft - and their expense
Expeditionary demands have honed the US Marine Corps into a unique force with enviable equipment – but its Pacific pivot means much could change
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Opinion
Will Boeing cancel the 737 Max?
Rob Morris, global head of consultancy with Ascend by Cirium, provides an overview of the 737 Max programme and uses the data available to evaluate whether Boeing should cancel it.
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Opinion
ET302 interim report raises more questions
A preliminary report into the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 accident of 10 March has resolved some of the mystery behind flight ET302’s loss, but also raised new questions for me as FlightGlobal’s test pilot – and who operates the type for a major carrier.
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Opinion
OPINION: Forget the FAA, the Regulator in Chief has spoken
In an unprecedented move today, the President Trump issued the order to ground the USA's Boeing Max fleet.
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Opinion
OPINION: New Delhi's 'Lease in India' delusion
India’s commercial aviation sector has, arguably, been built on the back of favourable aircraft finance for its airlines, but could it follow to become the next air finance powerhouse?
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Opinion
OPINION: A320neo and great expectations
An eagerly anticipated new aircraft type delivers much, disappoints some and implies a few hard truths about aviation in 2019
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Opinion
OPINION: Flying high and feeling fine?
Spare a kind word and smile for the cabin crew next time you fly; they may need a lift
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Opinion
OPINION: HNA's annus horribilis set to roll into 2019
As the year comes to an end, China’s mysterious HNA Group appears to have made little headway in its ongoing struggles to pay down its debts, while investors punish its various operating arms.
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Opinion
OPINION: Pilots need answers on 737 Max safety systems
Readers may recognise my name from the many flight tests I have written for Flight International over the years.
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Opinion
OPINION: Should lessors be worried about India’s airlines?
India’s aviation market is huge and growing, but revelations that at least two carriers are feeling the strain from aircraft delays slowing sale-and-leaseback payments should raise some concern for lessors playing in that market.
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Opinion
OPINION: Will a GECAS sale be ‘Guinness Peat 2.0’?
Over 20 years since Guinness Peat Aviation’s collapse became a defining moment in the aircraft leasing industry, the prospect of General Electric hiving off the world’s largest lessor, GECAS, could do the same.
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Opinion
OPINION: Lessors will be lenders of last resort in Turkey
Turkey is in the midst of a currency crisis as the lira continues to devalue. On 7 August the Turkish currency took a nosedive, falling 30% against the dollar.
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Opinion
OPINION: Eye-catching figures belie nuances of Farnborough deals
After last year's intolerable heat in Paris and Farnborough 2016's rainy deluge, the forecast for this year's major air show was sunny skies and mild temperatures – and for the most part the weather held up. The deal announcements, meanwhile, reflected the weather – the OEMs shone a bright light ...
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Opinion
OPINION: Aircastle's rating upgrades de-risk business
"We're pushing hard to get our friends at S&P to be where we think we should have been long ago," Aircastle chief executive Michael Inglese told investors on 13 February during an earnings call. "It's front and centre, and what we're focused on."
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Opinion
OPINION: Why 2018 is a seller's market – for now
Buying an aircraft at the right price is not proving an easy task in 2018.