Company Watch - Airbus.

Sep 10, 2007

Aegean Airlines' new Airbus A320 aircraft will allow the carrier to expand its international routes and benefit from lower operating costs per seat. After all jets are delivered, Aegean says its fleet will be the youngest in southeast Europe. The A320 jets will be powered by International Aero V2500 engines and will gradually replace 15 Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The carrier went public in late June this year, raising EUR136 million in its initial public offering. Sep 7, 2007

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines said on Thursday it placed an order for an additional six A320 aircraft with Airbus, bringing its fleet total to 25. Aegean, which competes with state carrier Olympic Airlines on domestic and international routes, took delivery of the first three jets earlier in the year and expects 10 more to be delivered next year. The airline said the full renewal of its fleet will be completed by 2010. The order for the 25 jets from Airbus exceeds USD$1.5 billion based on the manufacturer's price list, Aegean said. Sep 7, 2007

Air Malta is wet-leasing two Airbus A320s to Etihad Airways and providing operational support on a third for the winter schedule from Sept. 1. Sep 5, 2007

Airbus wants to source more parts from China and grab more market share from Boeing in a market it expects to double every five to six years. Airbus, which edged ahead of Boeing this year in the annual race to chalk up more sales, plans to buy up to USD$400 million worth of parts from Chinese manufacturers by 2015, Airbus China President Laurence Barron said at an industry summit. Sep 7, 2007

Airbus wants to source more parts from China despite a global backlash over the quality and safety of goods made on the world's factory floor, Barron said Airbus would source more and more complex aircraft components, such as wings. They "started out making basic parts like doors, fairly simple stuff. But a wing is about as complex as air structures get," Barron said at the summit, held in Hong Kong. Sep 7, 2007

Airbus will pay higher production costs at China plant. Airbus officials concede that it will cost more to assemble planes at the plant it co-owns with local companies in China. The increased costs stem from the time and expense inherent in moving needed parts to that part of the world. Company executives hope to recoup the cost in increased business from China. Sep 7, 2007

Airbus 380 configuration may not yield big benefits to airports. Airports around the world that upgraded facilities to accommodate the Airbus A380 may not see the strategic advantages they originally envisioned. So far, airlines are seating fewer passengers than expected on the huge planes, negating some of the expected congestion-easing benefits. Sep 5, 2007

Airbus expects Chinese airlines will need up to 150 of its jets a year over the next five years, including its giant A380s, as Chinese carriers expand to serve a domestic and international travel boom. Airbus foresees local carriers needing 113 of its A380s -- the world's largest passenger aircraft -- over the next two decades. Asia and China are a pivotal battleground between Airbus and Boeing, both of whom are battling to sell airliners to the country's three top carriers: China Southern, China Eastern and Air China. Sep 4, 2007

Airbus, which this year is edging out Boeing in the annual race to sell planes globally after losing in 2006, expects its first assembled-in-China jet to be delivered in 2009. The Airbus assembly line in Tianjin should hit full capacity -- four planes a month -- in 2011. China Southern Air, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, has placed five orders for the A380, on which Airbus has spent more than USD$10 billion developing. Sep 4, 2007

China is a pivotal battleground between Airbus and Boeing, both of which are battling to sell airliners to the country's top carriers: China Southern Air, China Eastern and Air China. Travel to and from China, the world's fourth-largest economy, is expected to keep climbing alongside double-digit economic growth and dwindling restrictions. Boeing currently controls roughly 60 percent of China's in-service fleet, compared to Airbus's 36 percent, but Barron says the rivals should draw level by 2013. Airbus expects Chinese airlines to need up to 150 of its jets in each of the next five years, including its giant A380s, as they expand to serve a domestic and international travel boom. Sep 7, 2007

Garuda Indonesia is in talks with Airbus to acquire around 20 Airbus A320 aircraft to expand its fleet for domestic services, an airline official said on Thursday. The talks with Airbus, a unit of European aerospace group EADS, come after the company signed a deal with Boeing in March for 25 Boeing 737-800 planes, with an estimated total value of USD$1 billion. He said the number of the aircraft to be acquired was under review, but it would be "around 20 jets". Sep 7, 2007

Oman Air will lease three Airbus aircraft as part of its plan to launch new long-haul services in November, the Arab Air Carriers Organization confirmed. The first two aircraft, an Airbus A330 and an A310, will arrive in October. The A330 will operate to Europe while the A310 will fly on Middle Eastern routes and to Bangkok and other destinations. Sep 4, 2007

TAM decelerated its Airbus A320 family fleet plan for 2008-11 based on lower "demand growth expectations in the domestic market" resulting from Brazil's ongoing ATC challenges. Its 2008 fleet will contain 98 Airbus narrow bodies, down from 103 originally planned. A320 family aircraft in TAM's fleet will total 101 in 2009, down from 106; 107 in 2010, down from 112, and 110 in 2011, down from 115. Sep 5, 2007

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