Boeing to end F-18 production line in 2025

Boeing will end the F/A-18E-F Super Hornet production line in 2025 and will not accept any more U.S. orders beyond the eight aircraft Congress added to the fiscal 2023 budget. The company, describing the move as a “pivot,” will refocus its people and facilities on other projects and look ahead at future work, it said in a Feb. 23 statement.

With the St. Louis-based workforce and production facility freed up, Boeing said it will be able to increase production of the T-7A Red Hawk all-digital training system, F-15EX Eagle IIs and 777X wing components for the U.S. Air Force and the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker drone for the U.S. Navy.

Additionally, the company plans to devote more attention to developing future programs. The company is building three new facilities in St. Louis for advanced crewed and uncrewed platforms.

Boeing will close Super Hornet production line in 2025.

Boeing’s announcement caps off a decade of fluctuations for the Super Hornet production line. The Navy initially planned to stop buying the jets in FY14, amid sequestration budget caps, only for Congress to continue adding planes incrementally over the next few years.

The Navy will have bought a total of 698 Super Hornets over 30 years, according to budget documents. India is still in the process of selecting a fighter, and the Super Hornet is one option under consideration. If the Indian Navy selects the Super Hornet, Boeing would build those aircraft and shut down the line in 2027 upon their completion.

Asked about the timing of the decision to close the production line, VanNierop cited internal and external factors.“We must inform our customer and supply base as long-lead aircraft parts and components are ordered and built well ahead of Boeing’s final assembly schedule,” she said.

Boeing’s announcement caps off a decade of fluctuations for the Super Hornet production line.

The Super Hornet Service Life Modification program, which upgrades the jets and adds about 4,000 flight hours to their service life, along with an EA-18G Growler modernization program, will continue into the 2030s on a separate production line in St. Louis.Boeing has not spoken publicly about specific future projects.

However, Boeing Defense, Space and Security CEO Ted Colbert told reporters last summer, months after taking the helm, that “fighters are an important business to the Boeing Company.” Despite the last major U.S. military aircraft programs going to Boeing competitors — the Joint Strike Fighter program to Lockheed Martin and the B-21 bomber to Northrop Grumman — Colbert said “we haven’t given up the fight in that space. We are continuing to invest in it.”

With inputs from Defense news.

Recently, there have been claims that Chinese airlines have an unfair advantage when flying over Russia. This issue has sparked a heated debate among airlines, aviation experts, and governments around the world.

European airlines have warned they will struggle to compete with Chinese rivals as travel rebounds after Covid-19 lockdowns because they are forced to take longer routes to Asia to avoid flying over Russia.

Ben Smith, chief executive of Air France-KLM, said Chinese airlines had an “unfair advantage” over European carriers that have been banned from Russian airspace since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine redrew some of the world’s main flight paths, cutting European airlines off from Russian airspace when flying the “great circle route” over northern Russia. But Chinese carriers can still fly over Russia and take shorter routes to Europe.

Airlines claim Chinese carriers flying over Russia have unfair advantage'

“Between Paris and Seoul, it can add up to three hours in flight time,” Smith told the Financial Times. “If you’ve got a Chinese carrier that is flying over Russia, they’ve got an unfair advantage over us.”

Finnair chief executive Topi Manner this week also warned that European airlines were at a “significant” disadvantage. “We think that what this will mean is that it will be very hard to make secondary cities of China profitable in terms of flying,” he said.

Finland’s flag carrier built its business by using its location in the north of Europe to offer quick flight paths to Asia through northern Russia, and was badly hit by the sudden closure of the country’s airspace last year. “It adds hours to the journey and thus fuel, costs and emissions,” said Andrew Charlton, an aviation consultant.

Finnair flights between Helsinki and Tokyo now take over 13 hours, up from 9 hours 30 before the airspace closures. Charlton said the rerouted flights would also add to congestion in the skies over Europe, leading to likely air traffic control delays.

With inputs from financial times.

In a first for an Indian private company, Godrej Aerospace has bagged the order to manufacture eight modules of the DRDO's turbojet engine.

On Monday, Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej Aerospace is the first Indian private company to win the order for manufacturing eight modules of the DRDO Engine for aerial applications.

Godrej Aerospace won the order competing with over 25 companies owing to its strong infrastructure, proficiency in working with unique materials, and decades of experience in producing liquid engines for rockets, as well as its service to global aviation majors.

This venture opens up a world of opportunities for future projects to be manufactured indigenously in India, the company noted.

"We are thrilled to have won the project to manufacture the DRDO Engine modules, which is a testament to our capabilities and expertise in the aerospace sector. This achievement reinforces our commitment to making India self-reliant in aerospace manufacturing thereby, contributing to the country's economic growth."We look forward to leveraging our extensive experience and competencies to serve the needs of global majors in the aviation & defence sector and contribute to the growth of the industry."

Maneck Behramkamdin, AVP & Business Head, Godrej Aerospace.

This experience will pave the way for future projects to develop modules for civil aviation engines as well, the release noted. The company has made an investment of around 500 crores for aerospace and defence projects and has incorporated new processes into its manufacturing processes.

With inputs from economic times.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, February 24 welcomed the authorisation for Israeli carriers to fly over Oman as a "great day" for the aviation industry as it will connect the country directly with India and also help establish Israel as the main transit point between Asia and Europe.

"The Far East is not so far away and the skies are no longer the limit", Netanyahu said in a statement after receiving the Omani authorisation. "This is a day of great news for Israeli aviation. Israel has, in effect, become the main transit point between Asia and Europe", the Israeli prime minister added.

Israel received authorisation from Saudi Arabia and the Israeli leader said that he worked since his 2018 visit to Oman on getting permission for Israeli carriers to fly over its airspace so that they could go directly to India and onwards to Australia. Oman and Israel do not have diplomatic ties.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the authorisation for Israeli carriers to fly over Oman as a "great day" for the aviation industry as it will connect the country directly with India

"This was achieved today, after considerable effort, including in recent months. Here is good news - Israel is opening up to the east on an unprecedented scale", Netanyahu stressed.

Until now, Israeli airlines' flights to East Asia, India and Thailand were forced to fly south to avoid the Arabian Peninsula - a route that added two and a half hours and wasted expensive fuel, local media reported. With the Omani announcement, Israeli flights can shave off two to four hours to popular destinations like India and Thailand.

The development could potentially reduce ticket prices as well, given that airlines would save money on fuel. Air India has been flying from Tel Aviv to Delhi directly using Saudi and Omani airspace, which saves time and makes the flights much more cost-efficient.

“Tel Aviv-bound foreign carriers such as Air India could operate over territory which El Al couldn’t. There was a significant fare difference because of the routing in favor of the likes of Air India,” he said.

El Al’s nonstop flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok is currently listed as taking 10 hours 45 minutes. But a nonstop flight on Royal Jordanian from Amman – 100 miles east of Tel Aviv – takes 8 hours 10 minutes. In fact, flying from Tel Aviv to Amman, and then on to Bangkok can be quicker, even including transfer time at the airport – a connecting flight can take as little as nine hours 55 minutes on Royal Jordanian.

When the airline was banned from Saudi airspace, El Al flights from Tel Aviv to Mumbai took 7 hours 45 minutes. That flight time was then slashed to 5 hours 15 minutes before the route was put on hold.

On February 23, the Civil Aviation Authority of Oman announced that it will open its airspace to “all carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying” – effectively ending the ban on El Al, Israir and Arkia, Israel’s three airlines.

Last year Saudi Arabia allowed Israeli airlines to use its airspace but because Omani airspace was closed, Israeli carriers could not use the route to fly to Asia. The Saudi Arabian decision came after United States President Joe Biden visited the region last year.

The Wadia Group-controlled no-frills carrier GoFirst has withheld payments worth INR 5 crore in February to its employees, hotel vendors, and transport vendors, multiple officials aware of the situation told Moneycontrol.

"The airline regularly pays its fuel vendor, but all the rest are paid intermittently and this month at least, hotels and transport vendors have not been paid," an official working with GoFirst said.

He added that the airline has paid employees up to the designation of an assistant manager including its ground staff and cabin crew, but has yet to pay senior staff in all departments including pilots and engineers.

"Entry-level pilots usually make around INR 1-1.25 lakh as salary every month while senior pilots make around INR 5 lakh as salary every month," an industry insider said.

GoFirst withheld payments worth INR 5 crore to employees and vendors in February

ALSO READ - Go First expects INR 210 crore funding under ECLGS to boost its financial position

Another official said that the airline is in talks with its vendors and has assured them of payment once it receives INR 210 crore under the government’s Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by the end of February. GoFirst has already availed INR 600 crore under ECLGS till now.

ALSO READ - Go First grounds over a fifth of its fleet due to delayed deliveries of engines by Pratt & Whitney

The second official added that the airline has held back payments to vendors as it is looking to pay Pratt & Whitney for deliveries of engines. He added that nine GoFirst planes were still grounded as of February 15. Apart from the coronavirus pandemic headwinds and intense competition, the airline is grappling with the Pratt & Whitney engine issues that have forced it to ground many planes due to a shortage of spares.

ALSO READ - How Bad is IndiGo’s and GoFirst’s A320 Engine Problem?

GoFirst aims to have 53 operational aircraft in its fleet by the start of April. It has a fleet of 61 aircraft and employs around 265 pilots to operate these.

The first official also said that GoFirst's employees have reached out to their respective managers and the airline's chief executive officer Kaushik Khona over non-payment of salaries but have not received any response. He added that outstanding dues for most vendors have accrued over time and on average, 60-90 days of payment are due to most vendors.

ALSO READ - Go First files for IPO at INR 3,600 crore valuation

The airline has also struggled to raise funds as its plans for an INR 3,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) has been delayed for the last two years. According to protocol, the airline will have to reapply for approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since it missed its deadline to launch its IPO in August last year.

The airline had received approval from the market regulator for its IPO in 2021 but had held back the share sale plan first in August 2021 after SEBI called the promoters, the Wadias, for a pending inquiry, and then in December 2021, GoFirst further delayed the offering due to the outbreak of the Omicron wave of the pandemic.

In July 2022, maintenance technicians of GoFirst went on "mass sick leave" for four days at multiple stations across India. The employees had asked the management to increase salaries and reimburse some technicians for working without pay between April 2020 and November 2021.

The protest, which began on July 10 in Delhi and then spread to Mumbai and Bengaluru on July 11, ended after GoFirst asked the technicians to return to work by July 14 or risk being terminated.

ALSO READ - Wadia Group to infuse Rs. 510 crores in Go First for its working capital needs

(With Inputs from MoneyControl)

Cover Image - Eurospot

International aircraft leasing company Avolon has completed the delivery of 15 A320neo family aircraft to India’s largest passenger airline, IndiGo. As a result, Avalon now has 21 aircraft on lease with IndiGo.  

This was a sale and leaseback transaction, which involved a mix of six A320neo aircraft and nine A321neo aircraft. Delivery of the aircraft started in September 2022 and was completed in February 2023. 

“We are proud to support IndiGo through this sale and leaseback of fifteen fuel-efficient Airbus neo aircraft. We look forward to playing a central role with IndiGo as they continue to build on their position as a leading carrier in the Indian market."

Paul Geaney, President and CCO, Avolon

IndiGo is one of the most low-cost carriers and it operates over 1700 flights daily. It connects 78 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations.  

"We are pleased to have completed this deal with Avolon, which is part of IndiGo’s broader expansion plans and the upgrading of our fleet. In 2023 we are committed to enhancing connectivity both within India and internationally."

Riyaz Peermohamed, Chief Aircraft Acquisition and Financing Officer, IndiGo

ALSO READ - IndiGo negotiating “several hundred aircraft” order from Airbus – French FM Bruno Le Maire

Earlier it was reported that  IndiGo is negotiating the purchase of “several hundred aircraft” from Airbus, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in comments published by Les Echos on Thursday, February 23.

The contract could be signed at the French airshow in Le Bourget in June, the paper said, adding that Le Maire made the comments during his trip to India for a G20 Summit.

IndiGo receives last 15 A320neo & A321neo aircraft from Avolon

Most recently, IndiGo announced new flights between Mumbai Silchar and Delhi-Itanagar via Kolkata. These flights will begin in March and aim to strengthen domestic connectivity. As well as increasing flight options, this will cut down air travel time by half.

This connectivity will help to promote trade and tourism in the region. Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales, at IndiGo said: “These flights have been added in response to the increasing demand for travel to these destinations. We are confident that many customers will benefit from the commencement of these connections, particularly as the summer season approaches.” 

ALSO READ - Air France-KLM and IndiGo officially launch their codeshare agreement

In December 2021 IndiGo announced a codeshare agreement with Air France and KLM, giving IndiGo customers access to the Air France and KLM global network, which covers more than 250 destinations across the globe.