Company Watch - Airbus.

For more company news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Jun 12, 2006

Airbus handed over 28 A320 family aircraft, two A300-600Rs, six A330-200s and an A340-600 in May for a total of 37, bringing the five-month figure to 170. Boeing delivered 126 aircraft through April including 28 in that month but has not released May delivery figures. Jun 9, 2006

Airbus picks city for Chinese assembly plant. Airbus will build an assembly plant for its A320 jetliner in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The new plant could help Airbus land orders in China and will likely spark intense competition from Boeing. Tianjin will be site of possible A320 China assembly line. Airbus and the National Development & Reform Commission of China announced the selection of the Tianjin Binhai New Coastal District as the site for a potential A320 final assembly line should Airbus decide to move forward with the project.The selection follows the signing of an MOU between Airbus and NDRC last December. In a statement, Airbus said that Tianjin, which has a population of more than 10 million, was one of four cities considered and was chosen "after a thorough evaluation including multiple criteria such as, facility site and land, seaport proximity, airport characteristics, labor and industrial capability." Jun 9, 2006

Airbus interested in Iran sales. Airbus on Wednesday said it is interested in selling jetliners to Iran but respects an international embargo. Governments did not consult the company when they were drafting proposals aimed at defusing Iran's nuclear program, an Airbus spokeswoman said. Jun 8, 2006

Air China took delivery of its first A330-200 yesterday in Chengdu. The aircraft seats 283 passengers in a two-class configuration and will serve high-altitude routes for the carrier's Southwest Branch, which operates six A340-300s and 11 A319s. Jun 9, 2006

Boeing maintained a better than 3:1 sales lead over Airbus through the month of May, based on information obtained from both companies' websites. Airbus received orders for six aircraft in the month--two A318s, three A319s and one A330-200--bringing year-to-date sales to 105. The A330 and two of the A319s were sold to private customers. Jun 9, 2006

British Airways[sup.1] CEO said that the carrier needs to be satisfied that the additional cost and complexity associated with a new fleet type is justified by increased capability and performance. "The A380 is in evaluation, but you have to bring a strong argument for BA to have [it] in our fleet," he stated. He noted that BA operates 57 747s and does not see the A380 "as a necessary replacement for this huge number of aircraft." Jun 8, 2006

Royal Jordanian took delivery of an IAE V2500-powered A321 last month. The 167-seat aircraft is the fourth of a group of six new A320s/A321s acquired to replace older A310s and A320s. Jun 5, 2006

Ural Airlines, based at Koltsovo International Airport in Ekaterinburg, signed a letter of intent with Aughras Trading of Ireland for the lease of two A320-211s scheduled for delivery in August and September. They will be the carrier's first Western aircraft. Ural said it would have preferred to purchase the aircraft but could not secure a delivery slot prior to 2009. Jun 5, 2006