London Bound
Today marks the beginning of what is likely to be the busiest two weeks of the year for aviation. Farnborough begins for me this Wednesday night when I leave for the UK.
All those little tools I’ve been trying out on the blog over the last year will be put into action to bring you a unique view of the Farnborough Air Show which kicks off one week from today. Friendfeed, flickr, and Twitter will be out in full force.
One key feature, which will really come in handy to follow the show is the ability to receive SMS updates of my Twitter feed directly to your mobile. This will also come in handy for live blogged events like 777F first flight. You’ll have to set up your device to receive the updates. Signing up for this is free, but keep your own mobile plan in mind. I’ll be updating a lot with all the latest orders, news and observations from the show.
777F First Flight Watch
My constant vigil continues into week two for WF001. Boeing targeted its window for first flight to July 9th. First engine start was during the third week of June and we should be seeing taxi tests start very soon. I’ll keep you posted.
A380 v. 747-8
At the end of last week, ANA announced it was setting up a committee to study the purchase of A380s or 747-8s. Quite surprisingly, on the same day, Nikkei English News reported that ANA was going to buy five A380s. They cited no one. This might be a game changing order as the heavy aircraft market is 100% dominated by Boeing. ANA opted for the 777-300ER to be its biggest aircraft, so a change of strategy giving Airbus a long awaited foothold in Japan would be huge. This is just as, if not more important, than the BA battle last year. Cathay, JAL, ANA and Asiana have yet to choose between the 747-8 and A380. Stay tuned.
Quiet Week
Aside from pre-show buzz and 777F first flight, this is probably going to be a relatively quiet week. Trust me, for whatever lack of news there will be this week, the next week will greatly make up for that.
Complaining about the airlines isn’t exactly breaking news, but this is good for a laugh.
New Look
You may have noticed that FlightBlogger received a facelift late last week. Think of it as our new digs. The walls have been freshly painted, but we haven’t moved the furniture back in yet. Over the next few days I’ll be getting all the widgets back in place, so bear with me as we get things up and running.
P.S. FlightBlogger crossed the million hit mark last week. Thanks to everyone for making that possible!
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.