Carry on: Boeing beats Airbus, '797' unveiled, Skytrax awards and more

Boeing beats Airbus at Paris
Boeing has secured twice as much in order value at the Paris Air Show as rival Airbus, the first time this has occurred in five years. Boeing won orders and expressions of interest for about 370 planes worth as much as $US52 billion, most of it for the 737 Max 10. Chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg says the boost from the Max 10 should help its order flow come close to matching deliveries this year.

Airbus posted a tally of 229 airliners valued at about $US25 billion. It says it is focusing on speeding up deliveries, too. The total of about $US77 billion easily surpassed the $US50 billion signed at last year’s Farnborough Air Show. The biggest buyer at Paris was GE Capital Aviation Services with an order for 100 Airbus planes valued at $US10.8 billion and 20 conversions of smaller Boeing Max version orders to the 10.

Boeing unveils ‘797’
Meanwhile, Boeing has given a sneak preview (above) of its next all-new plane, a mid-market, twin-aisle model unofficially called the 797. It's been nearly six years since Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner first went into service after a decade in development. Reports say it seats between 220 and 270 passengers for flights of up to 5200 nautical miles or just over 10 hours. By comparison, the hottest launch at the Paris Air Show – the single-aisled Boeing 737 Max 10 – seats up to 230 but with a shorter range.

Qantas researches jetlag effects
Qantas says a new partnership with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre will give passengers the benefits of health research into long-haul air travel. The centre has researchers in nutrition, physical activity, sleep and complex systems modelling. Projects will include counteracting jetlag, on-board exercise and movement, menu design and service timing, pre and post-flight preparation, transit lounge wellness concepts and cabin environment including lighting and temperature. Qantas is planning several ultra-long distance flights next year, starting with Perth-London Heathrow using specially configured Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

A critter called Quokka
The “cute critter" craze has spread from wine labels to aircraft. Qantas has chosen names for the first three of its eight long-range Dreamliners. One is Quokka, which looks like a mix of a koala, a possum and guinea pig (pictured above at Syndey Zoo with Kersha Johnson). The others are Waltzing Matilda and Boomerang. Qantas received more than 60,000 suggestions and 45,000 votes were cast in selecting names for the aircraft that will fly routes including Perth-London and Melbourne-Los Angeles.

Air NZ makes top 20
Air New Zealand, rated by some as one of the world’s best airlines, finished 19^th in the Skytrax top 20. Qantas slipped to 15^th, overtaken by Virgin Australia at 13^th. Qatar Airways headed the list for the fourth time, followed by Singapore Airlines, ANA All Nippon Airways, Emirates and Cathay Pacific. No North or South American airline made the top 10. Emirates was top for entertainment systems, while Etihad was best for first class. AirAsia was best low-cost airline.

Eid breaks Dubai records
The start of the Muslim Eid holidays this weekend will break records at Dubai Airport. The airline says 106,000 travellers will pass through Emirates Terminal 3 over the long weekend, with 37,000 departing on Friday alone. The airline has told passengers to turn up three hours before departure to cope with the congestion. Check-in facilities for luggage will be available in the car parks and boarding of aircraft will begin 45 minutes before takeoff.

SIA codeshares with Eurowings
Singapore Airlines customers will have easier access to 15 new European destinations through a codeshare with Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings, based in Dusseldorf. The routes are via Dusseldorf: Berlin, Budapest, Dresden, Hamburg, Leipzig, Manchester, Nuremberg, Prague, Vienna, Warsaw and Wroclaw; via Munich: Edinburgh and Rome; and via Manchester and Zurich: Hamburg.

Route news of the week
Air New Zealand's planned Auckland-Tokyo Haneda service will now use a Boeing 777-200ER instead of a Boeing 787-9. The thrice weekly service starts on December 8. Etihad Airways will end its Abu Dhabi-San Francisco route on October 28. It operates three times a week using Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. Etihad’s Abu Dhabi-London Heathrow route will move to an all-Airbus A380 service from July 12. The twice-daily operation has A340-600 and/or 777-300ER aircraft on Wednesdays. AirAsia X will add a further Friday flight to its Kuala Lumpur-Taipei Taoyuan schedule from August 25. It will take the weekly number of flights to 18. Norwegian Air will launch its first route to South America from Europe with a London Gatwick-Buenos Aires Ezeiza service operating four times a week from February 14, 2018, using Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

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