Boeing Commercial Aircraft has made such a big noise about its newest commercial aircraft prospect, the 7E7 Dreamliner, that it may be too late to back out. Boeing's board of directors is scheduled to decide whether the company will push forward with the project at its meeting December 15th. New Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher said last week that he fully supports the new project. Already, the company has staged a worldwide competition to name the aircraft, a nationwide competition for a community in which to base its assembly plant and has divided work on the project among several different countries. It looks for all the world like the only thing left is to sign on the bottom line.

Richard Branson went to Toulouse, France, recently, looking in on his order for six Airbus A380s. He apparently liked what he saw. "It's an absolute dream," Branson said enthusiastically. The A380 will be able to hold as many as 800 passengers. The Boeing 747 typically comes with 450 seats. Boeing's only aim at competing with the Airbus, the 747X, was cancelled in 2001. "It's going to be a beautiful plane," said Branson of the A380, "and it's going to have a lot of wonderful things in it."

A WestJet 737 headed from Calgary to Winnipeg last week was forced to turn back because of a faulty air conditioning unit, which caused a slow depressurization in the aircraft cabin, according to the airline. The aircraft was able to return to Calgary without incident, albeit at a much-increased rate of descent. WestJet executives were angry at Canadian media reports the aircraft "nose dived" toward the airport after the pressurization problem was discovered. Some media outlets reported the aircraft lost more than 16,000 feet of altitude in only one minute.

Bombardier President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Tellier (right), wants government policy-makers and industry stake holders to develop a comprehensive Canadian aerospace policy. "If the Canadian aerospace industry is to survive with the reputation of excellence it has gained worldwide with continued benefits to our economy, the Government of Canada and all stake holders will have to join together to establish the basic tenets of a comprehensive aerospace policy," Tellier told the Vancouver Board of Trade.

Thai 747 Lands Safely After Damage Discovered Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Authority says there was never really any danger when the crew on board Orient Thai Airlines Flight 261 spotted a hole in the wing of their 747-200. It happened Thursday, about 15 minutes into the flight from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, Thailand. "The aircraft didn't request any sort of assistance, but we took our own initiative to provide what we call a local stand-by ... the lightest level for [the] airport's emergency service," said Norman Lo, deputy director of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department. "If there is anything wrong with the aircraft or if the aircraft has any handling difficulties, I'm sure the pilot would be requesting emergency landing and full emergency service."

Just when Air Canada thought it was going to meet up with its white knight and all his money, it now appears there's another suitor for the bankrupt Canadian airline. Cerberus Corporation is expected to tender an offer for the company that could top an offer already on the table from Victor Li's Trinity Time Investments. The Trinity offer is about $650 million and would make Li the biggest single investor in Air Canada. "We'll be vigorously seeking the court's approval of the agreement," Mark Gelowitz, a lawyer for Trinity, said of tomorrow's court hearing.