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Jon Ostrower Profile picture
Jon Ostrower
@jonostrower
Editor-in-chief of @theaircurrent, co-founder @yawmanflight. Chaser of things that fly, dad, unapologetic geek. CNN, WSJ & Flightglobal alum.
5 subscribers
Sep 13, 2024 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
A couple of early observations on the first day of the @IAM751 strike at @Boeing. First, this 2024 contract (which had the leadership's blessing) failed by a greater margin compared to the last time the machinists went on strike. In 2008, 87% voted to strike. In 2024 it was 96%. Second, there was a major difference in the mood of then union members at the hall and on the picket lines just after midnight last night. I went back and listened to my audio from the 2008 contract vote. There was intense, white hot anger from the assembled crowd back then.
May 14, 2024 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
The families of the twin 737 Max crashes today received the following letter from the DOJ regarding its determination that Boeing was in breach of its 2020 deferred prosecution agreement.

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Image "The Department has determined that Boeing breached its obligations...by failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."
Aug 16, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
I am pleased to report that with 25 years of reflection, I have always been me. June 1997: 7th grade English class project was to publish your own magazine, fake ads and all. Before there was @theaircurrent. Before there was FlightBlogger. There was SpaceWorld. @theaircurrent Oh yeah, we had a website. It’s not there anymore. (I checked) All “published” a month before Pathfinder and Sojourner landed on Mars.
Jul 1, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
How did we get here?

The rumblings of a ~300 airplane Airbus deal date back to fall 2020, but all indications at that point suggested it would wait until after the U.S. presidential election. It was clear that the Max was a pawn in the geopolitical game. theaircurrent.com/china/737-max-… In the closing days of the Trump administration, U.S. policy underwent a major shift that largely derailed China's own move toward cultivating a home-grown commercial aircraft capability to fly alongside Boeing & Airbus. theaircurrent.com/china/chinas-c…
Mar 2, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
We need to stop for moment and take stock of the abject evisceration of the Russian commercial aircraft fleet and airline market that is currently taking place. Prior to the sanctions, Russia had one of the most active domestic aviation operations, a global highlight in an otherwise ailing airline market with the two-year pandemic. The market was actually ABOVE 2019 levels of traffic last summer.
Feb 19, 2022 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
A lot of folks are going to be watching Downfall this weekend, the new @netflix documentary on the 737 Max. I had a chance to be a part of the film, offering technical & historical context drawn from my time reporting on Boeing. I wanted to share some additional reading. November 7, 2018: Boeing issues 737 Max fleet bulletin on AoA warning after Lion Air crash theaircurrent.com/aviation-safet…
Feb 18, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
My Valentines Day present just arrived. Married up. Way up. The collection of Boeing annual reports, internal company magazines and newsletters span the pre-WWII era through the 1960s. Pristine condition.
Mar 12, 2021 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Today is a very special day for my family, one I've had marked on my calendar since I was a kid. On March 12, 1921, four Ostrower brothers aged 9 to 15 arrived with their mother, Sara, at Ellis Island. They had left a tiny village in what is today Ukraine in search of a better life. They were eager to leave a Europe ravaged by World War I and rapidly rising antisemitism.
Mar 11, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
We've dropped paywall on The Air Current’s recent reporting on the Southwest/Boeing/GE 737 Max 7 deal and the hurdles to getting the deal done and all the intricate dynamics at play. bit.ly/3p9EJU5 That article was built on this foundation from Nov. 2019. Here’s your primer for the 737 Max 7 deal.

Southwest wants a small airplane from Boeing or Airbus and that could reshape aviation. bit.ly/34HedYh
Feb 20, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Okay let’s talk engine design: If the forward fan loses a blade, the brown casing that surrounds it is designed to catch any debris without a breach. If parts of the core fail, the casing isn’t designed for containment because of the incredible internal energy. What engine designers do is they engineer out (as best as possible) the possible causes of failure. Clearly whatever befell this engine had tremendous energy involved given the near-total disintegration of the nacelle.
Dec 3, 2020 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
File this in the ‘There’s always an aviation angle’ folder. There’s a leading indicator that will definitively tell the world if President Trump has decided to leave the Presidency. It’s his airplane. His private 757-200 (N757AF) has been stored at Stewart Airport in upstate NY since 2019. If it’s going to fly as his personal plane again, it’s going to need maintenance. It was seen
Oct 9, 2020 • 29 tweets • 11 min read
Let's go on a journey through history. (a thread) Earlier this week, @theaircurrent published a news analysis on Boeing's decision to consolidate 787 production to South Carolina. bit.ly/3lkx4B0 @theaircurrent I started my career as a journalist in 2007 trying to understand what was going on inside of Boeing and two factories in South Carolina owned by Vought Aircraft Industries and Alenia Aeronautica (now Leonardo) that built and assembled parts of the 787. bit.ly/36Qpnyb
Sep 9, 2020 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
NEWS: United Pilot's MEC told members today that it had reached an Agreement in Principle with @united management to avoid layoffs ahead of the Oct. 1 expiration of CARES Act funds. @united A message from union president @insler_todd

"Today, the MEC received a briefing from the Negotiating Committee on an Agreement in Principle (AIP) reached with management...
Sep 1, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
To save and reignite democracy, you have to change the economics of media, a 785-part thread. But seriously, here are the front pages from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th largest circulation newspapers in the U.S. today. Can you see what's missing from all of them? ImageImageImageImage
Aug 10, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
For the record, everyone’s looking at this and seeing Pete Buttigieg, I’m seeing possibilities from Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, crossing the border to throw folks off the scent. Also, for those sleuthing, there’s a curveball in the mix. Who flies them is totally random. I went through Biden Campaign FEC filings and they used a broker (that doesn’t own any aircraft directly) to arrange their recent private air travel.
Jul 29, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Boeing CEO Calhoun: 737 Max re-certification aimed at restarting deliveries in fourth quarter. Boeing booked $7 billion in orders for its defense and space business during the second quarter.
Jul 22, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
I want to tell you a story about aviation and vice presidential picks. Aviation holds no secrets. In 2004, a worker spotted a Kerry-Edwards decal being affixed to the Kerry Campaign 757 inside paint hangar the day before the John Edwards announcement.
Jul 4, 2020 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
For whatever reason I unearthed my old CD carrier (zoomers, this is where kids kept their music) and found this mix dated 7/4/2000. Holds up. Image Yes, I know my handwriting was/is barely legible.
Jul 1, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
BREAKING: FAA says it has completed certification test flights on the 737 Max with Boeing. FAA: "While completion of the flights is an important milestone, a number of key tasks remain, including evaluating the data gathered during these flights.”
May 4, 2020 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
I want to tell you something about @dominicgates, who won a Pulitzer Prize today for his reporting on Boeing and the 737 Max. I’ve never shared this story publicly. @dominicgates I first met Dominic when I was a 23-year old blogger working in state government. He called me, quite out of the blue, in spring 2007. I had ruined a few days of reporting when he was chasing a post on American Airlines I had written about plans to buy 100 787s.
Jan 2, 2018 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Let’s unpack this, shall we?

My news analysis from last night: Flying in 2017 was safer than it's ever been money.cnn.com/2018/01/01/new…

1/X Scheduled U.S. passenger airline fatalities by year since 9/11/2001:

2017: 0
2016: 0
2015: 0
2014: 0
2013: 0
2012: 0
2011: 0
2010: 0
2009: 50 (Colgan 3407)
2008: 0
2007: 0
2006: 49
2005: 20
2004: 13
2003: 19
2002: 0
2001: 265 (American 587)