On this week’s episode of AvTalk, JetBlue and Spirit walk away, American Airlines adds to its order book, and the NTSB isn’t pleased with Boeing.

JetBlue and Spirit call it quits

JetBlue and Spirit agreed to terminate their merger agreement, deciding that it would be impossible to meet regulatory conditions by the time their agreement ended in June.

American Airlines expands its order book, but there’s a catch

American Airlines order 260 narrowbody aircraft this week. Lots of attention was given to the airline’s order for the 737-10 MAX, but our resident numbers expert Gavin Werbeloff points out when the airline plans to take delivery of all the aircraft it has ordered is a much more interesting story.

NTSB chair criticizes Boeing’s lack of assistance in door plug probe

Testifying in front of the US Senate this week, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy criticized Boeing for a lack of transparency during the Alaska Airlines door plug investigation. And Boeing’s response isn’t encouraging.

FAA audit finds Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems quality control failures

The FAA said this week that it has completed a six week audit of Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems, finding “multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.”

Boeing thinking about bringing Spirit back in house

In the midst of multiple investigations and an effort to right the ship, Boeing is considering buying Spirit and re-making the once-Boeing division part of Boeing-proper again.

Ethiopian Airlines orders the 777X

In an order that came seemingly out of thin air, Ethiopian Airlines ordered up to 20 777-9s this week.

Wizz Air has 20% of its fleet on the ground

Because of the issues affecting Pratt and Whitney GTF engines, Wizz Air has more than 20% of its fleet parked. They’ve even wet leased aircraft, including a Go2Sky 737-800 registered OM-GTF.

Delivery times for aircraft are… fluid

Seemingly no one can delivery an aircraft on time. In 2024, United Airlines says it expects to take 102 fewer aircraft than it originally forecast from Airbus and Boeing. Ryanair plans on taking only 40 of its 57 expected 737 MAX on order through June. And the Russian aircraft programs, they’re also years behind schedule.

Airbus working on software update for CFM thrust reversers

Following last week’s discussion on the incident involving a TAP A320, we come with an update as Airbus completes work on a software update for the CFM thrust reverser.

Thank you for listening!

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Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.

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