Company Watch - Boeing.

Jun 18, 2007

Russian national airline Aeroflot signed a multi-billion dollar deal on Saturday to buy 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and said it would soon sign a similar deal with Airbus. Jun 11, 2007

Air Arabia is to order 34 aircraft with either Boeing or Airbus by September this year, according to Reuters. Jun 14, 2007

Air France has retired its last Boeing 737 after 24 years using the type across its European and North African network. Flight AF1703 operating from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Turin, made its farewell trip under the command of Captain Eric Monlouis, who is also chief of Air France's 737 division, with 89 passengers on board. Air France ordered its first 737 - a -200 model - from Boeing at the relatively late date of 1982 - with the first aircraft put into service on the Paris-Barcelona route the following year. An Air France statement said: "The Boeing 737 was our first aircraft to be flown with two pilots. By the end of the 1990s, the company operated 50 737-200/300 and -500 machines across European and North African routes." The 737-300 and -500 models began Air France's use of the 737 Next Generation aircraft. Jun 13, 2007

Airbus A380 versus Boeing 747, Boeing manufactured 1388 747 and an active fleet of 947 aircraft operated by the airlines, and 116 on order, includingcargo versions. Airbus has manufactured 5 A380 and has 161 firm orders. For more http://www.airguideonline.com/aircraft.htm Jun 12, 2007

US-EU Airbus-Boeing subsidies case moves ahead The US-EU dispute over subsidies for Airbus and Boeing is moving to a conclusion that could reshape civil aircraft development. Jun 12, 2007

The world's biggest air show is bigger than ever this year but the main story hasn't changed: trans-Atlantic rivalry between Boeing Co. and Airbus will again dominate the 47th Paris Air Show which opens Monday at Le Bourget, north of the French capital. Jun 15, 2007

Boeing is aiming for a window of between late August and the end of September to undertake the first flight of the 787 if it is to be sure of keeping to the May 2008 first delivery schedule. Meanwhile, the Boeing is playing down the impact of pressures on one of its key suppliers Vought Aircraft Industries on the 787's build schedule. Boeing Commercial Airlines vice-president marketing Randy Tinseth says that final assembly of the first aircraft is proceeding on schedule to meet the July 8 rollout schedule, and the first flight is expected "in late August or September". Tinseth says that 787-8 number one "will fly when it's ready to fly", and has about the scope of about a month to get airborne without disrupting the flight-test schedule. Jun 15, 2007

Boeing Projects 28,600 New Aircraft Sales Over 20 Years. Just in time forthe Paris Air Show, Boeing forecast that 28,600 new aircraft worth about USD$2.8 trillion will be bought over the next 20 years on the back of rising demand for passenger travel and air cargo. The forecast exceeds last year's figure of 27,210 new planes by 2025, due to the inclusion of data for the Russian market for the first time. World airlines would be operating a total of 36,400 passenger and cargo planes by 2026, twice today's figure of 18,200. Jun 14, 2007

Boeing published its forecast the week before the Paris Air Show, which traditionally heralds a race for high-profile orders with European rival Airbus. Boeing said it expects 5 percent annual growth in passenger traffic up to 2026 and 6.1 percent growth in cargo traffic. Last year Boeing forecast a slightly lower 4.9 percent annual growth in passenger traffic and the same rate of growth for cargo. The threat of government environmental curbs on air travel or travellers cutting their air miles voluntarily could subdue growth over the period, Boeing marketing chief Randy Tinseth said at a presentation in London. Boeing is working on lighter, more efficient aircraft, he said, such as its new 787 Dreamliner, to help cut fuel costs and address environmental concerns. Jun 14, 2007

Boeing forecasts that the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region would make it the biggest market in terms of the dollar value of new planes, Boeing said, accounting for 36 percent of the total. North America would make up 26 percent with Europe, including Russia and other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, on 25 percent. Latin America, the Middle East and Africa is expected to account for 13 percent. Boeing said better data from Russia and other CIS members had allowed the region to included for the first time. He said those countries would account for 1,060 new planes over the next 20 years, worth about USD$70 billion. Jun 14, 2007

Boeing forecasts that the market for single aisle planes -- currently dominated by Boeing's 737 and Airbus's A320 family -- would account for most of the new aircraft, Boeing said, with sales of 17,650 such planes expected by 2026. But larger, wide-bodied planes would represent the greater share by value. Mid-sized twin-aisle planes, such as Boeing's 787 and Airbus's A350, would account for 6,290 of the new planes, Boeing said. It expects very large aircraft with more than 400 seats, such as Boeing's 747 jumbo and Airbus's even larger A380, to account for 960 new planes. Boeing said most growth is expected in the market for planes with 90 to 400 seats, consistent with Boeing's bet that more airlines will want to fly small and mid-sized aircraft between a greater range of airports, rather than fly larger planes between major airports. It forecast a market for 3,700 new regional planes, with fewer than 90 seats, over the next 20 years. Boeing and Airbus do not build planes aimed at that market, Canada's Bombardier and Brasil's Embraer do. Jun 14, 2007

Boeing Sees 28,600 New Planes Over 20 Years Boeing forecast that 28,600 new aircraft worth about USD$2.8 trillion will be bought over the next 20 years on the back of rising demand for passenger travel and air cargo. Jun 14, 2007

Leasing company likely to order 50 Boeing 787s. Speculation is rife that Boeing is to score a huge order worth $10 billion at the Paris air show next week. Jun 13, 2007

Boeing's 767 used in dress rehearsal for unveiling 787. A big party is planned for the unveiling of the Boeing 787 on July 8 and Boeing bosses with nearly 15,000 workers who have put the aircraft together. Jun 13, 2007

Engineers Boeing have completed 50 percent of the design for the new 777 Freighter. The completion of this work means that half of the detailed design of the 777 Freighter is defined and has been released to Boeing factories and its suppliers to begin building parts, assemblies and tools for the new cargo airplane. "We are seeing strong market acceptance for the 777 Freighter, along with a growing cargo market around the world. We have a broad set of customers for the new airplane that includes traditional cargo operators, airlines and leasing companies." Boeing is on schedule to complete the detailed design work and is on track to meet its commitments for the 777 Freighter's performance capabilities, Pastega said. The 777 Freighter will provide more capacity than any other twin-engine freighter and the lowest trip cost of any large freighter. The 777 Freighter has a revenue payload capability of 229,000 lbs (104 metric tonnes) and a range of 4,885 nautical miles (9,045 kilometers) with a full payload and general cargo market densities, making it the longest-range twin-engine freighter. Boeing launched the 777 Freighter in May 2005 with an order from Air France for five freighters. Boeing continues to work closely with Air France and other customers to complete the new cargo airplane's design. Jun 11, 2007

Russian national airline Aeroflot signed a multi-billion dollar deal on Saturday to buy 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and said it would soon sign a similar deal with Airbus. Russia has tried to use the deals to play off US Boeing against Europe's Airbus for more than a year as the Kremlin seeks to flex its growing economic clout on the world stage. Asked whether the revival of the order would affect an earlier tentative deal to buy 22 planes from rival Airbus, Aeroflot CEO Valery Okulov said a firm order would be signed later in the year. Jun 11, 2007

Timco Aviation Services' Brice Manufacturing subsidiary was selected by Boeing as the exclusive supplier of courier seats for new 747-8 and 777 freighters. Jun 11, 2007

Boeing, which is aiming to deliver 112 787s during the first two full years of production (2008 and 2009), says that challenges faced by Vought are not affecting the 787's overall program schedule. A memo to Vought employees obtained by Seattle newspapers reveals the company has experienced "ongoing schedule slippage" in obtaining parts it is supposed to install before shipping fuselage sections to Boeing. This comes after reports surfaced that the head of 787 operations at Vought, Ted Perdue, recently left the company. Vought says the issues faced by the company "are typical" and that Boeing has plans in place "for all of this". Jun 15, 2007

Heavyweight bout for British Airways. The Airbus A380 or the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental?. The airline ponders whether to buy the A380 or 747-8 Intercontinental, its decision could have far-reaching consequences for other airlines. British has one of the wolrd's agest Boeing 747 and 777 widebody fleets. Jun 12, 2007

CAE signed contracts to design and manufacture three CAE 7000 Series full flight simulators and training devices valued at C$48 million ($44.9 million), bringing first-quarter simulator sales to 13. CAE will build a 7000 Series 747-8 Freighter FFS and a suite of Simfinity747 ground school training devices for Cargolux International Airlines, launch customer for the 747-8F. Emirates ordered a 777-300ER FFS. Hainan Airlines will receive an ERJ-145 FFS along with a suite of Simfinity training devices. Jun 15, 2007

CAE said it launched the first advanced simulation-based program for Boeing 737NG "maintenance type training." Jun 14, 2007

China Southern Airlines has outlined its strategy to seize a greater share of the international cargo market. It will begin by converting six Airbus A330 passenger aircraft into freighters over the next two years in addition to taking delivery of six Boeing 777Fs in 2008-10. It intends to add to its domestic network but will commit most of the increased capacity to international routes. It aims to build a medium-haul network in the Asia/Pacific region with the reconfigured A330s and expand its long-haul network into Western countries with the 777s and the two 747s that constitute its current freighter fleet. Dalian, Guangzhou and other cities in the Pearl River Delta region will serve as hubs for medium-haul flights while Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen will operate as its global hubs. It expects to have 14 freighters in 2010, giving it the biggest cargo fleet among Chinese carriers. Jun 13, 2007

Continental Airlines plans to delay the delivery of six new Boeing 737 jets by a year to 2010 and is mulling unloading some older planes, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday. Continental had planned to accept delivery of 30 new Boeing 737 planes in 2009, but now plans to defer delivery of six of those planes, said Jeff Misner. Continental also may seek to place five to 15 older Boeing 737s with other carriers, but is still targeting 5 percent to 7 percent annual capacity growth, Misner added. The fleet adjustments come with US airlines facing slackening demand as the US economy slows, which is putting pressure on air fares. "It is a competitive marketplace in terms of pricing," said Misner, echoing comments by other US carriers. Jun 14, 2007

Avionica won orders from Continental Airlines to outfit nine Boeing 737-800s with its new satLINK Iridium system. Avionica said the initial installations will provide an Iridium phone handset in the cockpit, which is expected to be augmented by a wireless cabin handset and integration with the aircraft's communications management unit. Jun 14, 2007

Emirates ponders a 100-jet order from Airbus and Boeing Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based airline Emirates is considering a potential 100-jet order from either Airbus and Boeing. Jun 12, 2007

Launch customer Lion Air takes delivery of Boeing 737-900ER Boeing delivered the Next Generation 737-900 (Extended Range), to launch customer Jakarta-based Lion Air in Seattle. Jun 13, 2007

Alteon Training signed an agreement with Northwest Airlines to provide simulator training for carriers on seven aircraft types at NWA's training center in Eagan, Minn. NWA and Alteon will place a Boeing 787 full flight simulator and other 787 training equipment in the center by April 2008. Alteon will have exclusive rights to market excess simulator time to all 787 operators and will provide training at the facility to airlines throughout the world on the 747-400, 747-200, 757, DC-9, A320 and A330. Jun 13, 2007

Rolls-Royce said it shipped the first pair of Trent 1000 engines for installation on the Boeing 787. A total of nine development engines are involved in ground running, with a further 10 scheduled to support the flight test phase. Production engines are due to begin delivering to Boeing in the first quarter of next year. Jun 12, 2007

US Airways Group may reach a decision this month on whether to proceed with an order for 20 Airbus wide-body planes or switch to Boeing aircraft, the carrier's chief financial officer said on Wednesday. Jun 13, 2007

Russian charter specialist VIM-Avia is planning a comprehensive fleet renewal by replacing all of its Boeing 757s with Boeing 737-900ERs. Jun 11, 2007

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