U.S. Air Force won’t release final terms for new tanker until at least Feb. 23

An hour and 36 minutes ago

The U.S. Air Force will release the final rules for the selection of a new aerial refueling tanker no earlier than Feb. 23, it said in a presolicitation notice for a new tanker released Monday.

Bids will be due 75 days after the release of the final rules, according to the notice. The contract will be awarded between July 1 and Sept. 30.

The notice said the contract will be a fixed-price type. It contract will be for four developmental aircraft with options for up to 175 production aerial refuelers based on bidders’ existing commercial aircraft designs. The Air Force expects a production rate of 15 aircraft a year, it said.

The Air Force anticipates that it will make a single award, but also said it reserves the right to split the award to multiple contractors or to not award a contract at all, it said.

Northrop Grumman has said it won’t submit a bid unless there are significant changes made from an earlier draft request for proposal. It said the rules favor Boeing. Northrop Grumman  partnered with EADS to supply an Airbus aircraft for the tanker.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Boeing, aircraft manufacturers | Comments (0)

Hawker Beechcraft unveils new Web site

Yesterday4:04 p.m.

Hawker Beechcraft’s Web site has a new look. The company unveiled the site today.

It’s more interactive and includes a variety of new features.

For example, an aircraft comparison tool lets customers compare models to specifications like performance, range and seat configurations. It also includes a color selection tool so customers can browse through color samples and designs to pick interior fabrics and paint schemes. And it includes product videos and customer testimonials.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Hawker Beechcraft | Comments (1)

Sen. Richard Shelby blocking Obama nominees because of tanker controversy

Yesterday1:52 p.m.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) is playing some hardball when it comes to the Air Force’s desire to replace its aging fleet of refueling tankers, according to the Press Register.

Shelby moved last week to block Senate approval of at least four White House nominees for top federal jobs, saying that the Obama administration must change the way it’s handing the tanker contract, the report said.

Northrop Grumman has said it won’t bid for the tanker competition because the bidding favors Boeing. A Northrop win, in which it would use Airbus planes for the tankers, would mean up to 1,500 jobs for Mobile, Ala.

Shelby is holding up the president’s nominees for positions at the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, the report said.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Airbus, Boeing | Comments (5)

Boeing’s 747-8 freighter could make first flight today

Yesterday11:04 a.m.

Boeing’s 747-8 could fly as early as noon today. The flight will be webcast live from Paine Field in Everett, Wash. The exact timing is subject to change, Boeing says, but you can watch it here. Additional content is also available at www.newairplane.com/747

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Boeing | Comments (0)

Cessna rolls out 300th Citation Mustang

Thursday11:22 a.m.

mustangIt’s been almost three years since Cessna Aircraft delivered the first entry-level business jet, the Citation Mustang. The company announced today that it’s rolled out the 300th aircraft at its plant in Independence.

The 300th Mustang will be delivered to a customer from Australia later this year.

Cessna announced the plane at the 2002 National Business Aviation Association convention. The $3 million jet made its first flight in April 2005.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Cessna | Comments (5)

Mississippi House votes to sell state’s Citation jet

Wednesday5:18 p.m.

The Mississippi House voted today to sell the Wichita-built state jet used by  its governor, but the effort may be nixed by the Senate, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The plane, a Cessna Citation is worth $2.7 million, down from about $3.5 million a year ago, the report said. The state still owes about $400,000 on the aircraft it bought through a lease-purchase agreement in 2004. A sale could bring the state about $2.3 million.

Gov. Haley Barbour told the Associated Press that selling the jet would be bad for business because the plane has been used for state business in attracting jobs and to fly to Washington to get hurricane relief.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Cessna, aircraft manufacturers, aviation industry | Comments (2)

Asia-Pacific airlines will need 8,000 new planes over next two decades

Wednesday3:57 p.m.

Big demand for airliners and cargo planes will come out of Asia and the Pacific over the next two decades, a new study says.

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will take delivery of about 8,000 new passenger and cargo aircraft worth $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years, according to a study released by Airbus at the Singapore Airshow on Wednesday.

The planes represent one-third of predicted global deliveries between now and 2028, Airbus said.

Traffic growth in the region, along with continuous fleet replacement, will drive sales of about 880 very large aircraft, 2,570 twin-aisle widebody aircraft and 4,560 single-aisle aircraft, Airbus said.

Demand for larger planes reflects the concentration of populations around large urban areas in the region generating traffic on key intra-regional and international routes, it said. Demand for single-aisle aircraft, meanwhile, will accelerate in the next few years, driven by growth of low-cost carriers and the opening of new routes between secondary locations, especially in China, India and Southeast Asia.

Traffic in the region is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 5.9 percent, while cargo traffic is expected to grow at 6.3 percent a year.

Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said that within 20 years, the Asia-Pacific region would overtake the U.S. and Europe as the world’s largest transport market, with the airlines in that region carrying more than 30 percent of passenger traffic worldwide and 40 percent of all air freight.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Airbus, Boeing, aircraft manufacturers | Comments (1)

Gates: Tanker bid will move forward, even if there’s one bidder

Wednesday3:23 p.m.

A bid to replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging tanker fleet will move forward even if Northrop Grumman and its European partner, EADS, fail to submit a bid, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, according to a Reuters story.

“Obviously we would like to have a competition for it, and we hope that both companies will agree to participate, but we will move forward,” Gates told the House Armed Services Committee, when asked how the Pentagon would respond if one of the companies did not bid. “We have to have new tankers.”

Northrop Grumman has said it won’t submit a bid unless significant changes are made to the final request for proposals for the tankers.

The Air Force plans to issue the final RFP sometime this month and select a winner for the $35 billion contract this summer.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Airbus, Boeing | Comments (1)

Hawker Beechcraft to revamp website

Feb. 2, 20103:12 p.m.

Hawker Beechcraft is launching a new company Web site next week. The company is counting down the days, minutes and hours on its site.

As I write this, it’s five days, 20 hours, 48 minutes and 20 seconds away.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Hawker Beechcraft | Comments (0)

U.S. Air Force to award tanker contract this summer

Feb. 2, 20103:01 p.m.

It’s taken years, but the Department of Defense is months away from awarding a contract for new refueling tankers. Boeing and Northrop Grumman are in a battle for the tanker contract.

The contract will be awarded in summer 2010 with procurement beginning in 2013, according to an overview on the FY 2011 defense budget,  released Monday. Replacing the aging tanker fleet remains a “very high” priority, it said.

The first phase of the tanker program includes the purchase of 179 planes worth $35 billion, replacing about one third of the current tanker fleet.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Boeing | Comments (4)