FlightLines

Traveling this weekend? Get to CHS early

Passengers await flights in Concourse B at Charleston International Airport. (Photo/Liz Segrist)

In 2015, Transportation Security Administration officials screened about 5,300 passengers a day at Charleston International Airport during the Memorial Day weekend. This year, TSA expects to screen between 6,400 and 7,200 departing passengers each day in Charleston from Friday through Tuesday, according to a news release.

Overall, the airport expects nearly 14,500 people to be in and out of the airport each day over the holiday weekend.

Officials say anyone flying out of CHS this weekend should arrive at least two hours before takeoff. (Security lines are expected to get longer at airports around the country as TSA preps for a very busy summer. Read more about that here.)

The airport shared a couple of #CHStraveltips:

• Arrive earlier than planned and allot extra time to find parking, possibly in lots farther away from the terminal.
• Check the contents of carry-on bags ahead of time for anything prohibited to avoid slowing down the screening process. (This one is on us: Don’t be that person with keys in your pocket when you walk through the metal detector and a bottle of perfume in your carry-on. In addition to holding up the line, it's never fun to have expensive toiletries thrown out. Bonus tip: Bring smaller toiletries and snacks, as well as an empty, reusable water bottle that you can fill up after the checkpoint. Saves time, money and the environment. Win!)

“Charleston has grown and along with it the airport has grown to meet the travel needs of our passengers,” Paul G. Campbell, Jr., executive director and CEO of the Charleston County Aviation Authority, said in the release. “Don’t take the chance of missing your flight by arriving 30 minutes before takeoff. Get here early, get through security so you can relax at your gate and get something to eat or drink without rushing and so you have a great travel experience.”

French airline takes delivery of 1st Dreamliner

(Photo/Boeing)

French airline Air Austral has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The jet will touch down today at Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie, Reunion, France, after a 10,500-mile flight from the Boeing Everett Delivery Center in Everett, Wash. The 787 Dreamliners are built in North Charleston and Everett.

The airline announced an order for two 787-8 Dreamliners in 2015. Air Austral CEO Marie-Joseph Male said the plane will enable the airline to launch a route between Dzaoudzi-Pamandzi International Airport on Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean, and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

“The Dreamliner will complement Air Austral’s growing long-haul fleet, made up of 777s and now a 787, as well as its transcontinental network to Europe and Asia,” Van Rex Gallard, Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ sales vice president for Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, said in a news release.

Founded in 1975, Air Austral currently operates a fleet of nine aircraft to more than 10 destinations worldwide.

See the Holy City from space

A NASA astronaut snagged a stellar image of the Holy City from space and shared it on Twitter. 

Greetings @CityCharleston from @Space_Station. #SouthCarolina #CitiesFromSpace pic.twitter.com/2M9W9ClRFC

— Tim Kopra (@astro_tim) May 14, 2016

Cmdr. Tim Kopra of Houston is working aboard the International Space Station for the next 6 months as part of Expeditions 46 and 47. He shares images of cities, countries, famous landmarks and natural sights around the world on his Twitter account.

Thanks for the view and Charleston shout-out @astro_tim. Very cool.

Boeing: Q1 update on 787 program

Q1 Dreamliner update

Some of Boeing’s key milestones so far this year include beginning major assembly of the 787-10 Dreamliner at Boeing South Carolina and starting final assembly on the 787 program at the 12-per-month rate, according to company executives during the company's recent first-quarter earnings call.

Boeing CFO Greg Smith said the company expects to begin delivery at the 12-per-month rate by midyear.

“On the 787 program, our backlog of about 750 orders remains the foundation behind our planned production rate increases to 12 per month this year and 14 per month later this decade,” Smith said.

Boeing delivered 30 Dreamliners in the first quarter between its Everett, Wash., and North Charleston Dreamliner operations. To date, Boeing has delivered more than 390 Dreamliners, including nearly 100 787-9s. Smith said he expects 787-9 deliveries to “notably exceed” 787-8 delivers in 2016.

Smith said 787 deferred production “was better than planned” and increased $141 million to $28.7 billion in the first quarter, “reflecting the favorable mix towards more 787-9s, as well as continued unit cost reductions.”  As production becomes more efficient, the cost to build each Dreamliner goes down.

“This reflects a 30% decline in quarter-over-quarter deferred production growth,” Smith said. “We expect a similar rate of decline in deferred production growth in the second quarter. And for the full year, the deferred production balance should be flat year over year — again, no change to this fundamental milestone.”

“We continue to make progress on the 787 program, including successfully transitioning production of the 787-9, increasing deliveries, reducing production flow times, lowering unit cost and improving overall aircraft reliability,” Smith said. “However, more work ahead of us as we strive to further reduce unit costs and smoothly introduce the 787-10 into the production system, which is on track for later this year.”

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Q1

In the first quarter, Boeing Commercial delivered 176 commercial airplanes overall, down 4.3% from the same period a year ago. Boeing captured 121 net new orders, worth $6 billion, across its commercial jet programs. Backlog remains at more than 5,700 aircraft, or about seven years of production, valued at $424 billion.

First-quarter commercial revenue was $14.4 billion; overall company revenue was $22.6 billion. 

“This ongoing market demand, coupled with our sizable and diverse backlog of more than 5,700 airplanes, reinforces our planned production rate increases through the end of this decade as we ramp up annual deliveries to well above 900, and continues to position us for steady revenue, earnings and cash growth in the years ahead,” Boeing Co. CEO Dennis Muilenburg said during the call.

Boeing recently announced plans to eliminate about 4,000 jobs in its Commercial Airplanes division, likely this summer, amid intense competition from Airbus. About 200 Boeing S.C. engineers recently received notification of a voluntary layoff offer. Boeing has not disclosed how many employees it needs to accept the offer, but company officials indicated they did not plan to lay off as many as it gave the offer.