Company Watch - Airbus.

Jun 11, 2007

Irish carrier Aer Lingus is doubling its long haul fleet with the order of 12 new aircraft, announced today, including six Airbus A350 XWB and six. Jun 7, 2007

Airbus Lowers National Flags In New Structure. Airbus, buoyed by new plane orders as it tries to close the gap on resurgent Boeing, unveiled a leaner management on Wednesday aimed at uprooting nationalist rivalries inside the European planemaker. Jun 6, 2007

Airbus is confident of securing a new customer for its A350 mid-sized airliner in coming weeks, possibly before the June 18-22 Paris air show. In a sign that the buyer is likely to be a stock market-listed company, Gallois said that although it was preferable to announce high-profile orders at the air show, the customer may be obliged to announce the deal beforehand. The weeks running up to the world's biggest annual air shows, which rotate each year between Le Bourget outside Paris and Farnborough in Britain, are traditionally a quiet period as some companies store up announcements for maximum effect. Jun 5, 2007

Airbus is moving to reassure suppliers of their long-term future as partners of the manufacturer as it pushes ahead with its new radical plan Power8. Jun 5, 2007

Irish airline Aer Lingus said it is to acquire 12 new Airbus aircraft valued at USD$2.4 billion. The former state carrier said it will take six A330-300E and six A350 XWB planes, with deliveries to start in 2009. Aer Lingus said it will have the option to purchase a further six A350 XWB aircraft for delivery by 2018. Airbus's planned A350 mid-range passenger jet is intended to rival Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. Airbus President Louis Gallois had said on Monday the company would see a new order for the A350 before the Paris air show later this month. Jun 6, 2007

Airbus EADS Strategy Chief Resigns. One of the senior executives of European aerospace firm EADS, strategy chief Jean-Paul Gut, announced his resignation on Monday in what he described as a rift with its French and German leaders over its structure. Gut's departure follows weeks of speculation that he was about to leave to pursue interests in the Middle East, where he has brokered some of the Airbus parent firm's biggest deals. "I have had disagreements with my employer on organization," Gut, an EADS board member, said in an interview with French daily newspaper Le Figaro, adding that he would receive a EUR2.8 million euro (USD$3.76 million) payoff. Le Figaro, echoing recent industry speculation, said Gut would be replaced by Marwan Lahoud, 41, the head of European missiles maker MBDA. Coming a week before the Paris Air Show, Gut's resignation is the latest tremor at EADS, which has been wrestling with management changes, aircraft delays and an insider-trading probe in the past year, but which says it is now recovering quickly. Jun 11, 2007

DaimlerChrysler, which recently agreed to sell its Chrysler unit, will retain a 15 percent stake in aerospace group EADS and rejected calls to change the Franco-German company's shareholder structure. In an interview to be published on Tuesday in German business daily Handelsblatt, Daimler Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber spoke out in favor of retaining a parity in the balance of influence between German and French stakeholders. Jun 5, 2007

India's Kingfisher Airlines is finalising another widebody aircraft order with Airbus that it expects to announce this month at the Paris air show. Jun 5, 2007

State-owned airline Kuwait Airways plans to buy 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and seven Airbus A320s from a local firm that has standing orders for the aircraft, a local newspaper said on Monday. Al-Watan newspaper said the airline would buy the aircraft from Aviation Lease and Finance Co. (ALAFCO), which has confirmed contracts with the aircraft makers to avoid delays in delivery. It cited sources familiar with the talks. KAC has said it was in talks with Airbus and Boeing to renew its ageing fleet. The paper said the memorandum of understanding would give Kuwait Airways the option to buy 7 extra A320 planes. ALAFCO would be able to deliver the A320s in 2009 and the Boeings in 2010. Jun 5, 2007

Kuwait Air To Buy 12 Boeing, 7 Airbus Planes. State-owned airline Kuwait Airways plans to buy 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and seven Airbus A320s from a local firm that has standing orders for the aircraft, a local newspaper said on Monday. Jun 4, 2007

LAN Airlines and its related companies, one of the leading airline groups in Latin America, today held the reception ceremony for the first Airbus A318 aircraft to be incorporated into the Company's fleet. This plane features the most advanced technology and will operate the Company's Chilean domestic routes. Between 2007 and 2008, LAN expects to receive 20 new Airbus A318 aircraft. Jun 4, 2007

Qantas said in March it had ordered nine additional Airbus A320 aircraft for Jetstar to be delivered from late 2007. Jetstar is also scheduled to take delivery of 15 Boeing 787s in 2008. Jetstar this week flagged plans for a possible franchise system with Southeast Asian carriers when the region's airline markets are deregulated. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review business daily, Joyce said Qantas was looking to invest in carriers in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand who would be allowed to adopt the Jetstar brand. Jun 6, 2007

Qatar Airways is the largest all-Airbus operator in the Middle East and is a customer of the A380 superjumbo. Last week, it added an additional 20 A350 aircraft to an existing order of 60. The airline has a fleet of 57 with total orders of 120 aircraft, but Baker did not rule out further adding to the fleet. "We will wait and see how things evolve," he said. The airline, which flies to 75 cities, plans to reach 110 destinations early next decade. It is launching nine new destinations this year, including four weekly services to Newark and daily services to Washington this summer. Jun 4, 2007

B/E Aerospace said yesterday that it has been selected to provide main cabin retrofit and new-buy seating programs for some 250 aircraft by US Airways, Frontier Airlines and AirAsia in contracts collectively valued at more than $70 million. The US deal includes retrofitting Airbus A320s and equipping new-buy single-aisle aircraft with economy and first class seating. The contract with Frontier covers retrofitting A318s and A319s as well as equipping A320s with economy seating. The AirAsia award is a follow-on order for economy seating for new-buy A320s. Jun 5, 2007

Virgin's Branson said that Virgin was currently in talks with manufacturers for a suitable aircraft for its newly announced all business class service flights, but remained tightlipped as to any possible configuration or model, confining himself to noting that it would be one of the big four of Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer. If the latter two, any eventual decision would clearly be predicated on a smaller all-business model such as PrivatAir's Airbus A319, able to fly transatlantic as a minimum requirement. Jun 4, 2007

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Jun 4, 2007