Company Watch - Airbus.

Oct 1, 2007

Airbus's decision to switch the fuselage frames from aluminium to carbonfibre has eliminated one advantage that the former offered. Airbus has completed a portable mock-up of its new A350 XWB cabin, which is now on display at the airframer[sup.1]s marketing centre in Toulouse. Sep 28, 2007

BOC Aviation chose IAE V2500s to power up to 20 Airbus A320 family aircraft including 10 firm and 10 options, worth $240 million if all options are realized. Sep 24, 2007

Boeing took the lead over Airbus in commercial airplane orders in the third quarter, according to an early tally, as both aircraft makers kept drumming up business from fast-growing Asian markets and got some late-period purchases from venerable European carriers. Sep 28, 2007

British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh told reporters the airline would use the superjumbo to make best use of its limited take-off slots at London's crowded Heathrow Airport. He denied the company had experienced political pressure to buy the superjumbo, the wings and engines of which will be built in Britain. The Airbus A380 is the biggest airliner in production, and its first delivery due next month, to Singapore Airlines, comes after wiring troubles triggered a costly two-year delay and management upheaval at Airbus. The double-decker has a maximum seating capacity of 853 passengers, though most airlines plan to use configurations of fewer than 650, which is still a jump from Boeing's jumbo, which British Airways currently flies with a maximum of 351 seats. Sep 27, 2007

Analysts said British Airways had probably received significant discounts as Boeing and Airbus battled for the high-profile orders. "With the A380 likely to have been heavily discounted, and a reasonable discount on 24 787s also applied, we'd estimate the real value of the order at around GBP3 billion pounds (USD$6 billion)," said analyst Andrew Fitchie at Collins Stewart. Walsh declined to discuss discounts, which are common in the industry, but said: "I'm very pleased with the way Boeing and Airbus approached this." British Air has arranged for a group of banks to provide USD$1.5 billion of debt financing to cover its firm orders to the end of 2011. Sep 27, 2007

British Airways ended decades of loyalty to Boeing's 747 jumbo with a switch to Airbus's new A380 superjumbo on Thursday as it announced a mixed plane order worth up to USD$8.2 billion. The order for 12 superjumbos from Airbus and 24 787 Dreamliners from Boeing will replace 34 of the airline's older long-haul planes. British Airways took delivery of its first jumbo on April 22, 1970, becoming just the fifth airline to get one. "It's an excellent boost for UK manufacturing, with Airbus and Rolls-Royce plants benefiting," said Tony Woodley of Britain's biggest union, Unite. "This order will secure many thousands of jobs." Sep 27, 2007

British Airways said it was considering aircraft to replace a further 37 Boeing 747s and is examining the Boeing 777-300 ER, the Airbus A350XWB, as well as a stretched version of Boeing's 787, the 787-10, which the planemaker has yet to launch. "This puts big pressure on Boeing to actually launch the 787-10," said one London-based brokerage analyst. Another said that while Airbus had scored a major victory in selling the superjumbo to British, it had missed a key opportunity to secure a deal for its newest plane, the A350 XWB, and selling it to British Air would remain a priority for the planemaker. Sep 27, 2007

The British Airways superjumbo will fly on routes from London to Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and the west coast of the United States. The 24 mid-sized 787 Dreamliners, a model whose rapid sales have revived Boeing's fortunes, will be used to open up new routes and increase the frequency of flights on existing ones. The 787 breaks new ground with a fuselage made of light-weight carbon composite, and is due to enter service next year. The two types of new aircraft will be delivered between 2010 and 2014, and British said it had also taken options for a further seven Airbus superjumbos and 18 of Boeing's Dreamliners. Sep 27, 2007

British Airways has revealed its Airbus A380 long-haul routes and delivery dates, following today[sup.1]s long-awaited Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 order. The Oneworld carrier has ordered 12 Airbus A380s and 24 Boeing 787s, with options on seven more A380s and 18 more 787s. British Airways[sup.1]s first 787 will arrive in 2010, followed by its first A380 in 2012. Both types will be Rolls-Royce powered. British Air[sup.1]s long-haul fleet comprises 57 Boeing 747-400s, 43 Boeing 777s and 14 Boeing 767s. The new aircraft will replace 20 of the 747-400s and 14 of its 767s. Although the spokeswoman says that the configuration and network for the A380s and 787s is yet to be detailed, she lists Los Angeles, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong as destinations for the new aircraft type. Sep 27, 2007

Northrop Grumman has announced that its first KC-30 Tanker aircraft flew for the first time Tuesday. Northrop Grumman said its D-1 aircraft "flew for nearly four hours and will be the first aircraft delivered to the U.S. Air Force if the Northrop Grumman team is awarded the KC-X contract. Contract award is currently expected in December 2007 or early January 2008." The KC-30 aircraft is based on a commercial Airbus A330-200F freighter. Sep 28, 2007

Guests were kept well clear of its 15,000 military workers or hardware from Russia's biggest war plane maker, apart from an occasional glimpse of a Sukhoi "Flanker" -- a legendary fighter designed to combat the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15 Eagle. Russian aviation collapsed after the fall of the Soviet Union but President Vladimir Putin has promised to breathe new life into the sector in a move to reassert Moscow's clout. Russian aerospace ambitions have caused some unease in Europe after a state-controlled bank grabbed a 5 percent stake in Airbus parent EADS last year. Nerves were also rattled when Moscow recently restored strategic bomber patrols. In Sukhoi's workshops, traces of the Cold War remain as welding sparks fly under giant paintings depicting the strength of the Soviet worker. But Western industrialists were left with few doubts that Sukhoi is retooling for a commercial battle. Sep 26, 2007

Brazil's National Civil Aviation Council imposed new rules for airline operations at Sao Paulo Congonhas beginning Oct. 1, changes that were anticipated in the wake of the fatal TAM Airbus A320 crash in July that killed 199 people. According to TAM, from Oct. 1 flights departing from Congonhas can only fly to destinations within 1,000 km. of the airport. In addition, all flights to and from CGH must be direct, eliminating all stopovers and connections at the airport. Operations will be restricted to 33 movements per hr., down from 46 prior to the accident and a high of 62 earlier this decade. Sep 26, 2007

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