Company Watch - Boeing.

Bush, Merkel may discuss Airbus-Boeing trade dispute. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel may discuss the trade dispute between Airbus and Boeing when they meet this week. A German government official said there are signs of progress being made toward settling the dispute, which is due to go before the World Trade Organization if it isn't resolved. May 2, 2006

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to purchase six A330s and four 777s, according to Director-Marketing and Sales Mahmoodur Rahman, who was quoted in Gulf News. The Bangladesh Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism reportedly recommended a combination of Boeing and Airbus aircraft to augment an aging fleet comprising five DC-10-30s, four A310-300s and four F28s. Biman also is planning to offload 61% of its shares through an IPO, as the government wants to improve the performance of the loss-making airline, which carried 1.52 million passengers in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005. May 1, 2006

Boeing explores possibility of futuristic jets. Two teams of Boeing engineers are designing futuristic airplanes. The company is interested in lower costs and quieter, environmentally-friendly airplanes. May 5, 2006

Boeing 787 will require less maintenance: Boeing's new 787 will require out-of-service maintenance once every 12 years, a company executive said. The plane will generate more revenue for airlines because it requires fewer maintenance checks, said Bob Avery, vice president of services and support on the 787 program. May 5, 2006

Boeing says high fuel prices will drive orders: Boeing expects large carriers such as United Airlines to place orders for jetliners in 2007 or 2008. The higher cost of jet fuel will push airlines to buy more efficient airplanes, Boeing Chief Executive James McNerney said. May 5, 2006

Boeing CEO hopes for resolution to subsidy dispute. Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney said the U.S. and the EU are increasing dialogue aimed at solving a trade dispute over aircraft subsidies. However, an EU official said the sides have not made significant progress. May 3, 2006

Boeing mulls new business jet. Boeing is considering building a new business jet based on its 737-700C. The plane could convert between passenger and cargo layouts, Boeing said. May 3, 2006

Boeing in talks to buy parts distributor Aviall. Boeing is close to buying aviation part distributor and services firm Aviall for $1.7 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting unnamed sources. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment. May 1, 2006

Boeing announced last week that its Phantom Works Advanced Air Traffic Management unit signed a two-year, [euro]615,000 ($762,000) contract with Air Traffic Alliance--the European consortium that includes Eurocontrol, EADS, Airbus and Thales--to assist in development of the Single European Sky ATM Research program. Phantom Works VP and GM Kevin Brown called the deal, which also involves Honeywell and Rockwell Collins, "strategically critical" at a press briefing in Arlington, Va., saying that it is in Boeing's best interest to help improve upon an ATM system whose capacity constraints might mitigate the sale of new aircraft. "There is a lot of sky out there for a lot more airplanes," said Michael Lewis, PW's director-business development. May 1, 2006

Air Pacific placed an order for five 787-9s with three additional purchase rights. The first will be delivered to the Fijian flag carrier in 2011. The Dreamliners will replace two 747-400s and one 767-300ER. The airline plans to use them to fly from Nadi to Australia, New Zealand, North America and Japan. Retiring Chairman Gerald Barrack said the decision was reached after "many months of detailed study and negotiation," adding he was satisfied with the sale price the carrier negotiated but declining to release the figure. No list prices are available for the 787-9 model. Air Pacific still is evaluating the GEnx and Trent 1000 powerplants. May 1, 2006

Ethiopian Airlines completed an agreement to buy five 787s with purchase rights for five more. The carrier also will wet-lease two Air Atlanta Icelandic 747-400s later this year for flights from Addis Ababa to the US and Asia, CEO Girma Wake said. May 2, 2006

Stork Aerospace of the Netherlands and its Fokker Elmo subsidiary reached an agreement with Boeing for the manufacture and supply of a second work package of electrical wiring for the 737NG. Deliveries are scheduled through 2011. May 3, 2006

Polar spokesperson Alan Caminiti confirmed that the airline will retire four 747-200Fs, a dash 100F and a dash 300F by July 1, reducing its fleet of 11 freighters to five dash 400Fs that be joined by a sixth from Atlas Air's fleet. The smaller fleet and retirement of older aircraft requiring three-person crews means that Polar will furlough a to-be-determined number of pilots later this year, Caminiti said. The furloughs come as AAWH moves toward consolidating the pilot workforces of Atlas and Polar into one unit, a plan long favored by the company that was delayed by last fall's brief strike by Polar pilots and its aftermath. AAWH, the largest operator of 747Fs in the world with 41, could replace the retired planes with conversions; it has reserved up to 10 747 passenger-to-freighter conversion slots with Israel Aircraft Industries in 2007-11 but has not determined whether it will use them. Caminiti also revealed that AAWH, which now exclusively operates 747Fs, is "open to a lot of aircraft types" and may add other types in coming years. May 4, 2006

Transaero took delivery of a fourth 747 last month and will add two more "in the months to come." It will use the type on a new Moscow-Anadyr service launching in June. May 1, 2006