Friday Flyer – October 13, 2023

It felt like a bit of a slow week in the airline industry, but that is likely to change next week as the quarterly earnings calls get fully underway.  One thing to watch as the earnings start coming out is the difference in numbers for the “big 4” US airlines vs. the LCC and ULCCs in the US.  There’s a lot of chatter right now about how the big 4 are doing quite well, while the ULCC/LCCs warning of a slowdown.  While a bit slow, there were still some stories to follow this week, so let’s see what’s going on.

Interesting Aviation News

  • Speaking of earnings, Delta kicked things off yesterday with their call.  They announced a huge profit number for Q3, sharing some very positive results and the strength of demand.  There are also some interesting nuggets about where the demand is coming from too.  So far that big announcement on their loyalty program changes had no impact.
  • And speaking of loyalty, I thought this was a good interview of Emirates head of loyalty.  Emirates takes a different approach than other airlines, so it is interesting to read about that.  As a side note, this article is free this week from The Airline Observer.  The author of this page is really in touch with the airline industry and writes very honest and detailed analysis.  While a subscription is required, it’s been well-worth it for me to get good information on the industry.
  • Air New Zealand is already hinting about a lower than expected earnings announcement due to softening demand.  (h/t: Sharon D.)  
  • The last few weeks I’ve shared stories about airlines making large plane orders.  That’s continued this week as EasyJet (one of Europe’s premier LCCs) announced a huge order for 56 A320neos and 101 A321neos.  This order comes as part of a quarterly announcement that was very strong.
  • This story gets into the depths of the US airline industry, but thought some out there may find it interesting.  It’s no secret that there is a pilot shortage.  One of the biggest barriers for airlines to get qualified pilots is the 1500-hour rule, which requires (you guessed it) 1500 hours to become a commercial pilot.  This story is about an airline, Southern Airways, that you’ve likely never heard of, but locks pilots into contracts while they work to get those 1500 hours.  The result is lawsuits and lots of accusations.  The details are interesting.

Interesting Aviation Fact

Naming an airplane seems like something that should be straightforward.  And when it comes to Boeing planes, you can probably tell the pattern they have with the 7X7 naming.  But there are a lot more details even after that.  Here’s the details behind what all those numbers and letters mean in the name of a Boeing airplane.

Cool Aviation Photo

And here is a United Boeing B777-322ER taking off at HKG.  Using what we learned above, we know that the numbers stand for the following:

  • 1st 7: It’s a Boeing Jet
  • 2nd 7: It’s the 7th generation of Boeing Jet
  • 3rd 7: Boeing thought it sounded cool
  • 3: It’s the 3rd variant of the 777
  • 22: This is the Boeing internal airline code that was the first recipient of this aircraft (in this case 22 is for United); often this is omitted and just 00 is used, e.g., B777-300ER
  • ER: Extended Range