Europe has expanded its cybersecurity rules around airline flight safety. And for the first time, the requirements cover a range of companies in the aviation supply chain. WSJ Pro Cybersecurity reporter Catherine Stupp joins host Julie Chang to discuss the new rules and how companies are responding.
Excerpt from WSJ
Read the full article
Finance companies that buy and lease out airliners have a problem: Planes they own that are collectively worth billions of dollars are trapped in Russia.
Still, the risk of major losses for investors is relatively small, a new Moody's analysis finds.
The airliners, leased to Russian airlines and stuck there since Russia's ties with the West dissolved this year, are only a small portion of global leasing fleets: less than 10%, for the companies Moody's tracks.
Plus, insurance contracts should help the aircraft lessors—companies such as AerCap Holdings and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise—eventually recover some of the value of their lost planes. Claims could reach around $11 billion, per Moody's.
That could take time. But meanwhile, lessors may be able to sell the rights to their insurance claims to other investors. That would help the leasing companies sooner fund purchases of more planes, which they could lease out to other airlines to make up for some of the lost leasing revenue from the Russian airlines.
Other tailwinds are helping minimize the pain from the Russian freeze-out. Coming out of the pandemic, global travel demand is strengthening again. Meanwhile, Airbus and Boeing have been slow to deliver new jetliners, boosting the going rate for the planes in the leasing companies' fleets.
Excerpt from WSJ
Read the full article
The U.S. will rely on existing B-52 jets, like this one landing at England’s RAF Fairford station, until the made-over versions debut.
The U.S. is pushing to upgrade its 60-year-old fleet of strategic bombers to keep them flying into the second half of the 21st century in an effort to deter potential adversaries such as China and Russia.
Air Force officials and military experts have said the refresh of the B-52 bomber—a long-range jet built by Boeing Co. that can carry large loads of conventional and nuclear weapons—is crucial to providing an effective deterrent. The B-52 revamp could cost $11.8 billion, according to Pentagon budget documents in the spring.
The challenge for the Air Force and aerospace suppliers is to refresh long-running programs such as the B-52 while newer systems come online. Upgrading older aircraft takes time as the new systems need testing and the changes have to be staggered so that enough jets remain in service.
Excerpt from WSJ
Read the full article
Carriers try to plan their flight networks as plane makers juggle supply-chain, other constraints
Airlines in need of more pilots and spare parts are increasingly facing another shortage: new jets.
Boeing Co. and Airbus SE are months behind handing over new single-aisle jets often used for U.S. domestic flights or other short-haul trips, constraining carriers’ ability to add flights to meet resurgent demand and plan their schedules, according to company executives and industry officials.
“It makes it really hard for our team to plan,” Southwest Airlines Co. Chairman Gary Kelly said at an aerospace industry event in Washington, D.C., last month.
A Boeing spokeswoman said the company continues to work closely with suppliers to meet its commitments to customers.
In addition to supply problems, Boeing is facing regulatory challenges for its latest two iterations of the 737 MAX. Both face uncertain futures if Boeing can’t win Federal Aviation Administration approval for them by the end of the year. Current federal law would require a cockpit overhaul if the planes aren’t approved in 2022.
Excerpt from WSJ
Read the full article
