RENTON, Wash., Dec. 8, 2015 – Today, thousands of Boeing (NYSE: BA) employees in Renton, Wash., celebrated the completion of final assembly of the first 737 MAX 8.
“Today marks another in a long series of milestones that our team has achieved on time, per plan, together,” said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “With the rollout of the new 737 MAX – the first new airplane of Boeing’s second century – our team is upholding an incredible legacy while taking the 737 to the next level of performance.”
The production-complete airplane rolled out of the Renton factory and into the paint hangar on Nov. 30, the precise date determined when the MAX development schedule was defined more than four years ago. Today the freshly painted 737 MAX 8, named the Spirit of Renton, was revealed to employees in a special teal version of the Boeing livery. After celebrations are complete, the airplane will undergo pre-flight preparation in the factory before departing for Renton Field to continue flight test readiness. The airplane is on track for first flight in early 2016.
With the second and third 737 MAX 8 flight test airplanes currently in final assembly and the fourth (and final) in sub-assembly, the 737 MAX remains on track for first delivery to launch customer Southwest Airlines in the third quarter of 2017.
The new single-aisle airplane will deliver 20 percent lower fuel use than the first Next-Generation 737s and the lowest operating costs: 8 percent per seat less than the A320neo.
The 737 MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Boeing-designed Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market. The 737 MAX 8 is the first member in Boeing’s new family of single-aisle airplanes – the 737 MAX 7, MAX 8, MAX 200 and MAX 9 – to begin production. The 737 MAX family has nearly 3,000 orders from 60 customers worldwide.
Boeing
QANTAS reveals “Retro Roo II”
A newly reconfigured Qantas Boeing 737-800 painted in vintage 1960s livery has been unveiled in Sydney as the national carrier celebrates 95 years of flying.
Retro Roo II (VH-VXQ) has the same livery that featured on Qantas’ Boeing 707 jets from 1959 to 1961 – when the flying kangaroo helped revolutionise long-haul travel.
The B707 represented a step-change in aviation and Qantas was the first carrier outside the United States to operate the jet. In 1959, Qantas used it to become the first airline to operate regular passenger jet services across the Pacific Ocean, connecting Sydney and San Francisco.
Qantas was also the first airline to offer a round-the-world jet service with the B707. The flying time was 70 hours compared to 127 hours with the Super Constellation aircraft that the B707 replaced. Today a Qantas flight from Sydney to London stops just once, in Dubai, and takes 21 flying hours.
Welcoming the freshly-painted jet into a hangar with more than 300 employees, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce described the vintage livery as a flying tribute to the airline’s history of innovation.
“None of the past 95 years would have been possible without all those who have worked for Qantas with such commitment and passion. Tens of thousands of people have dedicated their whole careers to the national carrier and many who work here today are the third or fourth generation in their family to do so,” he added.
“As we celebrate our 95th birthday today, I hope this livery inspires a sense of pride in what our national airline has achieved during all those years of taking Australians around the world and bringing them safely home again,” said Mr Joyce.
“A large part of the national pride people feel towards the flying kangaroo comes from the fact it has been responsible for so many innovations in global aviation.
“We were the first airline to introduce business class, we have operated record breaking endurance flights throughout our history and we’ve helped pioneer many breakthroughs in aviation technology.
“Innovation is still at the core of Qantas and we’re now looking to a new generation of aircraft with the arrival of Qantas’ first B787 Dreamliners in 2017. Like the 707 in 1959, these aircraft are at the cutting edge of aviation and we’re really excited about the opportunities they’ll open up for our customers.
The arrival of Retro Roo II, which was painted in Townsville, is part of Qantas’ 95th birthday celebrations. Events so far have included an Australia-wide Instameet and Qantas’ charity flight to Longreach, which raised over $110,000 for drought relief. A gala dinner for over 1,000 people in the airline’s A380 hangar in Mascot on Friday rounds out the activities.
Retro Roo II is the second Qantas 737 aircraft in vintage livery. Retro Roo I was launched last November, featuring the livery of 1971-1984, and regularly appears on social media as passengers photograph it at airports across the country.
Earlier this year, Qantas donated its record-breaking B747-400 (VH-OJA) to an aviation museum staffed largely by former Qantas employees. The aircraft was significant for operating the world’s longest non-stop flight from London to Sydney in 1989, and is now a big tourism draw for the Illawarra region.
QANTAS
Delta 361 involved in false cargo hold fire warning
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A Delta Air Lines plane aborted takeoff Monday in Jamaica after a fire was reported in its cargo area, forcing 160 people and six crew members to evacuate the commercial jetliner which was scheduled to fly from Montego Bay to Atlanta.
Nobody was injured in the afternoon incident at Sangster International Airport in the northern tourist city of Montego Bay. A Delta spokeswoman said the flight-deck warning was not accurate and there was no fire.
Photos posted on the Jamaica Gleaner’s website show passengers using emergency chutes on the Boeing 737 to get off the aircraft and onto the runway.
The Jamaican airport was forced to close after the incident and all flights were rerouted to the island’s capital of Kingston.
The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority said all efforts were made to reopen the runway to minimize disruptions.
Investigators have started looking into what caused the fire warning indication from the plane’s cargo bay.
FOX News