Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Chicago-based Boeing Corp has just announced a revised schedule that will further delay the 787 Dreamliner delivery date to near the end of 2010.

Boeing is using the additional time to fine-tune the design of the aircraft, more specifically a structural design flaw with the sides of the fuselage. Boeing will also use the extra time for additional test flights to ensure the safety of the aircraft.

As of right now, Boeing currently has 850 orders from 56 customers worldwide who have contracts in place to buy the Dreamliner.

One of the first customers that are scheduled to receive the new Dreamliner, All Nippon Airways of

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Montreal-based airplane and rail maker Bombardier has announced it will cut 3,000 (10% of its total worldwide headcount). jobs from its aerospace division. The jobs cuts will affect workers in Toronto, Montreal, Mexico, Ireland, and the U.S.

Bombardier sales of airplanes have fallen significantly given lower demand as a result of the global financial crisis. Bombardier reported it delivered 349 planes last fiscal year, down from 361 delivered planes the year before.

Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin said today, “We believe we are well positioned to face this difficult economic environment with a strong balance sheet, high level of liquidity,”

Despite the new job cuts, Bombardier is still actively hiring for other aircraft divisions such as the CSeries division.

More recently, Bombardier’s biggest competitor Boeing announced 10,000 job cuts. Competitor Cessna Aircraft also recently announced 2,000 more job cuts.

The national airline of the United Arab Emirates has just announced it will begin flying the new A380 superjumbo jet into Toronto starting on June 1. The company says the move comes due to increasing demand. The airline currently flies Toronto-Dubai three times per week. It will be the first time the A380 lands in Canada.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority has announced new measures to curb the effects of the economic downturn. The GTAA has forecasted 1.8 million fewer travelers in 2009, and has announced various cost cutting measures. The passenger fee now at Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport, will go up $5 to $25. The GTAA has also announced a hiring freeze on its 1,200 total employees at Pearson, along with a salary freeze for management employees. The GTAA CEO and President Lloyd McCoomb said, “Our response to this challenging situation was not taken lightly, but we feel this is the responsible course of action,”

WestJet has just reported Q4 earnings. Profits are down 46% to $41 million despite the company operating at higher capacity. Total Q4 revenue was up 11.6% to $615.8 million from $552 million in Q4 2007.

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney has announced the company will cut 10,000 jobs in 2009. This number includes the latest 4,500 job cuts previously announced. McNerney said, “the global economy continues to weaken, and it’s affecting air traffic and financing,” hence the job cuts as Boeing tries to position itself during this tuff economic time. Boeing also just announced Q4 revenues declined to $12.7 billion from $17.5 billion as labor strike pushed airplane deliveries out of the quarter. Competitor Airbus sees a 60% drop in new airplane sales for 2009.

Airbus CEO Thomas Enders today warned he believed world demand for new aircraft would fall by 50%-60% in 2009, citing the global economic downturn and the credit freeze. Enders also noted Airbus was having problems getting credit for its customers. Airbus sold 483 planes in 2008 netting $100 billion with 777 orders.

United Airlines has announced it will start offering in-flight WiFi service for $13 on its flights. Senior VP and Chief customer Officer at United said “we are investing in products and services that are most important to our customers, and having Wi-Fi access on board is something that they have told us is key…” Virgin already offers comparable in-flight internet connectivity.

Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group has announced it has delayed the purchase of 10 CRJ-700 Bombardier built regional aircraft by up to 3 years. Mesa Air Group originally ordered the planes in 2007 for $334 million. Bombardier said the company must reduce production on some models and should continue to analyze the current economic state. Bombardier said it would up production on its Q400 turboprop plane.

Troubled Italian Airliner company AItalia has announced it has sold a US $430 million (25%) stake to Air France-KLM. The only big change here is that they will now make 670 daily flights, down from 1,050. The decision was passed unanimously by the AItalia board. No job cuts or other cost cutting measures were disclosed.