V-Flyer

link

Virgin Atlantic Airways chief operating officer Lyell Strambi said: We will have an indication from Boeing by the end of this month or early next month as to what the impact on the 787-9 will be. They have talked about delays to the 787-8 programme, but well know officially shortly.

well we can't say we werent expecting it after boeing delayed their schedule

First reports are now coming out about the revised schedule. If correct, the first delivery to ANA will not be until Sept 2009 which puts this 3rd delay announcement as being a further 6 month delay to the delay 2 announcement. Pure speculation though until confirmation by Boeing at the end of this month (which will also inform VS of their new EIS date).Link

Edited to put a better informed article link in

VS are now looking at Boeing lending them 777s as a stopgap ... I wonder if that A340 coming from Boeing is free of charge [}:)] link

Originally posted by McMaddog
VS are now looking at Boeing lending them 777s as a stopgap ... I wonder if that A340 coming from Boeing is free of charge [}:)] link

I understand BA might have one they can borrow. One careful owner, low mileage, in need of a little bodywork but should polish up well. [:w]

Its not just a matter of the delays - and they might be much more than 6 months! The wingbox is the primary structure that everything else get bolted onto.

The problem is that the current 'solution' adds weight - reported to be at least 6000kg for the 787-9.
That's a lot of profit gone and is certain to give rise to contractual penalties as it won't meet performance guarantees.

It then becomes a balancing exercise for B - what costs them most?

Originally posted by Bill S
The problem is that the current 'solution' adds weight - reported to be at least 6000kg for the 787-9.
That's a lot of profit gone and is certain to give rise to contractual penalties as it won't meet performance guarantees.

Wow, I'd never considered that angle - only that a redesign adds time. It seems we will find out reasonably quickly as to what the ironed out solution will be.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 00284.html

Virgin in talks with Boeing re 787 delays and possible short term replacement by 777's [:0]

David

This is a very interesting development and one that has got the VS/Airbus bashers on a.net going potty.

One would imagine that the 777's will be given to VS at an amazingly good price hence them not looking at the 330 as a stop gap measure (the 330 is the closest plane, capacity wise, to a 787 at the moment but very rare on the market).

It will be interesting to see if these a/c are new builds or second hand. Talk is that NZ are going to be getting a simular deal.

I think the airline will plump for the 777-200er over any other variant.

I am now seriously worried for the 787 production line, after all the first VS 787 was not supposed to be delivered until 2011. By giving VS the 777 it kind of hints at the fact that Boeing will not be able to get the production line caught up with the backlog of orders by 2011.

Whoops, sorry Mods, this has been reported before http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23494 could someone delete this please.

thanks

David [:I]

No problem David. Rather than deleting your topic, I've merged the 2 topics now, that way it keeps everything together.

Regards

And now another 6 months delay:
Boeing news release

With Oasis Hong Kong ceasing operations, there will be three GE-CF6 engined B744s going back on the leasing market.

ISTR these are ex-ANA aircraft, are less than 10 years old, and already fitted with the MAS 3000 IFE platform (the underlying platform for V:Port).

With the same IFE and the same GE engines, these aircraft would make a good fit for the VS 744 fleet, and are probably going to be achieveable for a good price, given the threatened depression in the market.

It would definitely avoid adding an additional type into the fleet and the complexity this brings to a smaller operation like VS, but there is the added cost of cabin refit for uniformity/full interchangeability with the rest of the fleet.

If aircraft availability practicalities don't interfere, it probably comes down to a cost-based toss-up - can VS make the additional fuel burn of the 744 pay in the short term, or does it desperately need the efficiency of the 777 to make it work out?

Mike

Originally posted by mike-smashing
With Oasis Hong Kong ceasing operations, there will be three GE-CF6 engined B744s going back on the leasing market.

ISTR these are ex-ANA aircraft, are less than 10 years old, and already fitted with the MAS 3000 IFE platform (the underlying platform for V:Port).

With the same IFE and the same GE engines, these aircraft would make a good fit for the VS 744 fleet, and are probably going to be achieveable for a good price, given the threatened depression in the market.

It would definitely avoid adding an additional type into the fleet and the complexity this brings to a smaller operation like VS, but there is the added cost of cabin refit for uniformity/full interchangeability with the rest of the fleet.

If aircraft availability practicalities don't interfere, it probably comes down to a cost-based toss-up - can VS make the additional fuel burn of the 744 pay in the short term, or does it desperately need the efficiency of the 777 to make it work out?

Mike

The fleet is as follows.
B-LFA ex-SIA 9V-SMC (PW)
B-LFB ex-SIA 9V-SME (PW)
B-LFC ex-ANA JA404A (GE)
B-LFD ex-ANA JA405A (GE)
B-LFE ex-ANA JA403A (GE)

So we have three ex ANA birds and two ex SIA.

4th delay now official link. First delivery now Q1 2010