All Opinion articles – Page 7
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OpinionCan fighter designers keep delivering the right stuff?
In the realm of aerial combat, the ability to see further and strike faster than an adversary is in most cases the difference between death or glory. For combat aircraft manufacturers, the coming decade holds great potential, with the USA and several European nations embarking on the development of so-called ...
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OpinionTime to slim down aviation’s ever-expanding rule book
In the latest of a series, FlightGlobal takes a view from behind the cockpit door with a column from Captain Wim De Wannemacker, who flies Boeing 737s for TuiFly Belgium
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OpinionWhy now is chance to shape air traffic systems for the future
Graham Lake, former director general of CANSO, examines why the immediate financial choices facing air navigation service providers are destined to have a direct impact on airline operations and passenger services for years to come
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OpinionLondon has much to learn from French aerospace bailout
While France has taken a multifacted approach to rescuing its aerospace industry, there is little sign of action on the other side of the English Channel
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OpinionWhy cargo will no longer be boring in the new normal
Passengers sharing airliner cabins with freight? That could be just one legacy of an aviation industry turned upside down by coronavirus and feeling its way to recovery
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OpinionHow pilots can overcome challenge of finding employment outside cockpit
As an airline pilot who’s been recently been made redundant, I’m now struggling to find any type of employment. Sure, the economy is not looking good and we are in unprecedented times, but even the most ‘basic’ industries must need people to fill roles (maybe even to fill rolls).
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OpinionWhy airline industry can only trust instinct to beat coronavirus
Tim Clark has delivered his view on the coronavirus pandemic with his usual succinct style: “A $15 trillion torpedo has hit the global economy.” And the fundamentals for the industry’s recovery are largely outside its control.
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OpinionNASA boom reduction project should be left to private sector
NASA does wonderful things, and wonderful things often cost big money - but should supersonic flying without big booms be one of them?
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OpinionSpaceJet waiting game plays on at Mitsubishi
True patience involves bearing what is unbearable, according to a Japanese proverb. By that measure, it is fair to say that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the parent of Mitsubishi Aircraft, has displayed that quality in spades.
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OpinionWhy freighter strategy is a loaded question for Boeing
Seattle faces some crucial decisions if it is to sustain its dominance in the freight sector
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OpinionSupersonic flight is the future, just as it was in the past
Although over 50 years have passed since Concorde proved commercial supersonic flight was possible, the industry is once again looking to ride a wave of interest in the concept
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OpinionWhy things are looking grim for the A380
Doubts about size and shape of many fleets as operators plan their coronavirus crisis recovery strategies
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OpinionWhat’s next for airline pilots?
Being an airline pilot in May 2020 is an unnerving experience. A workforce that thrives on mobility is largely furloughed, with many also awaiting redundancy; a small minority, meanwhile, are still operating what few flights remain.
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OpinionWhy carriers cannot rush return from coronavirus
Quarantine might not completely kill any tentative recovery in air travel, but it would certainly limit its appeal to the few passengers who are either booking a one-way journey or do not mind spending time cooped up like a dog suspected of rabies.
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OpinionF-35 programme still lacking agility
For seasoned observers of the Joint Strike Fighter programme, the revelation that Lockheed Martin’s Block 4 modernisation effort for the F-35 is already running two years late and $1.5 billion over budget will come as no surprise.
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OpinionWhy strong supplier chain could save Boeing
With the world’s number one aerospace manufacturer facing a barrage of problems, from the Max grounding to the Covid-19 collapse in demand, Alex Krutz, manging director at Patriot Industrial Partners, considers whether a supply chain that is much more robust than in the past can be crucial to getting it through the crisis?
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OpinionFor 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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OpinionYears 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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OpinionWhy 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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OpinionEmbraer must present convincing ‘Plan B’
Collapse of merger with Boeing leaves the Brazilian airframer needing to detail an alternative.