About this episode
David Neeleman’s new airline, Breeze Aviation; Boeing’s board of directors, the 737 MAX, the NMA, and the FSA; United’s flight school purchase; NASA’s experimental X-59 jet and the prospects for supersonic transport; and a Southwest Airlines Teddy bear. Plus, the Igor Sikorsky Weekend Fly-In, other upcoming aviation events, the EAA mobile unit, carbon monoxide detectors and pulse oximetry, and a physics lesson. Guest Richard Aboulafia Richard Aboulafia is Vice President, Analysis at Teal Group . He manages consulting projects for clients in the commercial and military aircraft field, and has advised numerous aerospace companies. He also writes and edits Teal’s World Military and Civil Aircraft Briefing, a forecasting tool covering over 135 aircraft programs and markets. Richard also writes publicly about the aviation field, with numerous articles in Aviation Week, Aerospace America, and other publications. Frequently cited as an aviation industry authority by trade and news publications, he has appeared on numerous television news programs and has spoken at a wide variety of conferences. Aviation News JetBlue founder unveils new, Utah-based ‘world’s nicest airline’ The new airline being started by David Neeleman will be known as Breeze Aviation, headquartered in Utah. Neeleman’s previous startups include Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue, and Azul. Breeze will nonstop fly between currently underserved airports. Breeze ordered 60 new Airbus 220-300 aircraft, with deliveries beginning in April 2021. The company leased 30 Embraer 195 aircraft from Azul, which will be delivered starting May 2020. Experts question whether Boeing’s board of directors is capable of righting the company Some think the Boeing board took a long time to fire Muilenberg. Is that an indicator of the board’s ability to deal with the crisis Boeing faces? New CEO Dave Calhoun says the board repeatedly considered confidence, but then in December decided it was lost. Richard Aboulafia was quoted: “The board you see today was largely created by McNerney, and he packed it with people with zero engineering experience.” United Airlines buys flight-training academy to speed up hiring of 10,000 pilots United Airlines needs to hire more than 10,000 pilots during the next decade. The airline is buying the Westwind School of Aeronautics in Phoenix, a flight-training academy, with plans to bring student pilots into the academy with zero flight experience to become fully-rated commercial pilots. NASA’s experimental X-59 supersonic jet could be built by the end of 2020 The X-59 QueSST is designed to test “quiet” supersonic transport over land. The aircraft was approved for final assembly in 2019. NASA commissioned Lockheed Martin to build the plane and they expect to have it completed by the end of 2020. First flight is expected in 2021. Video: Quiet Supersonic X-Plane https://youtu.be/C3ESPCQgDok Unbearably cute: A boy lost his teddy bear on a Southwest flight – so the airline sent him a new one After a young boy lost his favorite Teddy bear on a Southwest flight during the Thanksgiving holiday, his mother took to social media to try and locate the Teddy. The airline assigned an employee to find the bear but after an investigation, the Teddy couldn’t be located. So the corporate office decided to send the boy a new Teddy bear along with a storyline on how it was coming to live with the boy. Mentioned Igor I. Sikorsky Weekend Fly-In at The Bradford Camps on Munsungun Lake in northern Maine. Meals and private lodging in waterfront cabins are included. July 10-12, 2020. College Park Aviation Museum That Last Decade , by Courtney Miller. https://youtu.be/K7JnVCGubS4 The Air Current Expands with new analysis, new director The Experimental Aircraft Association will deliver the excitement of flight throughout the United States in 2020 as EAA’s “Spirit of Aviation” mobile unit, sponsored by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), visits numerous events in 2020. The traveling experiential exhibit introduces EAA to enthusiasts through aviation activities for people of all ages. April 17-18: Purdue University Aviation Day ; West Lafayette, Indiana May 13-16: Joe Nall Fly-In ; Woodruff, South Carolina May 29-30: AOPA Fly-In; San Marcos, Texas June 12-14: Chippewa Valley Air Show ; Eau Claire, Wisconsin September 5-7: Lunken Airport Days ; Cincinnati, Ohio September 11-12: AOPA Fly-In; Rochester, New York October 16-18: Fort Worth Alliance Air Show ; Fort Worth, Texas AOPA’s 2020 Fly-ins (now in AvGeekFests.com ) #StormCiara at London Heathrow – 20+ Go-Arounds and Crosswind Landings!! https://youtu.be/Gln7T-xxE4k