Boeing’s backlog of commercial aircraft declined by 39 aircraft in January, though the company did receive new orders during the month for four 747-8 Freighters. In January, the Chicago-based company delivered 26 aircraft, 13 fewer than one month earlier. The 26 delivered jets included 21 737 Max, which went to carriers including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Copa, Gol, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, Boeing says. In January Boeing also delivered one 737NG-based military surveillance jet and four widebody aircraft: one 767F to FedEx, two 777-300ERs to Novus Aviation Capital and one 777F to China Airlines. The airframer did not deliver any 787s during January, and has not handed over any of those jets since October 2020. Boeing has halted 787 deliveries as it completes what it describes as comprehensive inspections related to fuselage-join areas. During January, Boeing took new orders for four 747-8Fs from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, a deal Boeing says reflects the strength of the cargo and e-commerce markets. Boeing logged cancellations of six aircraft orders in January. Those included one 737 Max Boeing Business Jet for an unnamed customer, one 737 Max for Czech carrier Smartwings, three 747-8Fs for Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr and one 787-8 for Royal Jordanian. Additionally, Boeing’s backlog decreased by 11 aircraft in January because the company shifted more jets into an “ASC 606” accounting bucket. Boeing still holds contracts to sell aircraft in that bucket but has less confidence the sales will close. At the end of January, Boeing had 4,016 jetliners in its backlog, down from 4,055 at the end of 2020. The backlog includes 3,243 737s, 12 747s, 74 767s, 229 777s and 458 787s, company data shows.

KLM last month carried out a commercial passenger flight partly flown with sustainably produced synthetic kerosene, in the latest push by Dutch industry to develop alternative fuels for aviation. Details of the landmark flight were disclosed during a Synthetic Sustainable Aviation Fuels conference held in The Hague today. The KLM flight from Schiphol airport to Madrid was carried out on an admixture of 500 litres of sustainable synthetic kerosene. Shell produced the synthetic kerosene in Amsterdam based on CO2, water, and renewable solar and wind energy. KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers says: “I am proud that KLM is today operating the industry-first flight using synthetic kerosene made from renewable sources. The transition from fossil fuel to sustainable alternatives is one of the largest challenges in aviation. “Fleet renewal contributed significantly to the reduction of CO2 emissions, but the upscaling of production and the use of sustainable aviation fuel will make the biggest difference for the current generation of aircraft. That is why we teamed up with various partners some time ago, to stimulate the development of sustainable synthetic kerosene. This first flight on synthetic kerosene shows that it is possible in practice and that we can move forward.” Shell Netherlands chief executive Marjan van Loon describes the flight as an important first step, adding: “Together with our partners we now need to scale up, accelerate and make it commercially viable.” The Netherlands has been prominent in promoting sustainable aviation fuel projects, with the Dutch government supporting various initiatives to stimulate production and use, and thereby make it commercially viable. Notably that includes the construction of the first European factory for sustainable biokerosene in Delfzijl, on which SkyNRG is collaborating with KLM, Schiphol airport and SHV Energy. Details were also disclosed during the conference of further initiatives under way. They include a project under which start-up Synkero is collaborating with the Port of Amsterdam, Schiphol, KLM and SkyNRG on a commercial synthetic sustainable kerosene factory. Elsewhere, energy firm Uniperjhas has signed an MoU with the Zenid consortium, which includes Rotterdam airport, Climeworks and SkyNRG, to support the engineering and operation of a direct CO2 capture demonstration plant.

Rolls-Royce could shut down its civil aerospace business for two weeks during the summer in a bid to manage costs amid the coronavirus pandemic. “As we continue to manage our cost base in response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the whole commercial aviation sector, we are proposing a two-week operational shutdown of Civil Aerospace operations which are located around the world but the majority are in the UK where our primary site is in Derby,” it says. “Exactly how the shutdown operates needs to be discussed with union and employee representatives and abide by national laws.” The announcement follows the release of R-R’s outlook in late January, in which it forecast that twin-aisle, long-haul flying hours will be at just 55% of pre-crisis levels during 2021, sharply lower than its previous forecast of 70%. R-R remarks that it is also looking at its Singapore operations. “In Singapore, we continue to look at cost management options that are practical for our operations and setup,” it says. We are engaging directly with our colleagues as well as the union and relevant government stakeholders on this.” The company will disclose its full-year results in March. R-R is profoundly affected by Covid-19, given that its civil aerospace business is heavily weighted toward larger engines on widebodies.