Odds and Ends: CFM progress on LEAP-1B; advancing 737 MAX EIS, Bombardier and more

CFM on LEAP-1B: Aviation Week has this snippet about progress being made on the LEAP-1B. Contained within is a small reference to Boeing advancing EIS of the 737 MAX, which Boeing said was its desire from the get-go. For those who may have forgotten, EIS is 4Q2017. We understand Boeing would like to bring this forward to 1Q or 2Q2017.

Bombardier on CSeries: the company has been urged to deeply discount the CSeries to boost sales. Ain’t gonna happen, the CEO says.

Helping COMAC win certification: Bombardier says it will help COMAC win certification for the C919 outside China. But we’re still waiting to see what BBD gets out of the deal.

Inerting Boeing 757F fuel tanks: Or not.

Odds and Ends: Revisiting a 757 crash; Boeing-WTO appeal due this week

Boeing 757 Crash: In 1996 a Birgenair Boeing 757 crashed into the sea, following discrepancies with the pitot tubes speed indications. This story revisits the circumstances.

Boeing WTO appeal: The appeal of the WTO panel findings that Boeing received illegal subsidies is due Wednesday. The EU filed a technical appeal to start the clock while the US Trade Representative filed a substantive appeal. Both sides will claim victory, in yet another round of what we consider to be a meaningless load of [stuff]. Our disdain for the WTO is well known to readers of this column.

Rolls-Royce: Flight Global has an interesting piece on Rolls-Royce’s product strategy.

90-Seat Turbo-Props: Flight Global also has an article on the engine development for the prospective 90-seat turbo-props.

COMAC C919: China’s aerospace authority, CAAC, has taken a hands-off approach to the design of the COMAC C919–a development that isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of the project.

Southwest Airlines: A blog item from Terry Maxon of the Dallas Morning News lists Southwest operations at hub cities–and what’s interesting is that Chicago Midway Airport is one of WN”s least efficient city from an asset utilization standpoint. Look at the number of gates-to-flights in the charts.