Company Watch - Boeing.

Oct 23, 2006

Lufthansa To Wait For A350 Detail Before Order. Lufthansa chief executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber said he would wait for more information on Airbus's planned A350 XWB mid-sized aircraft before making a decision on renewing its long-haul fleet. Lufthansa last month announced it was buying 30 Airbus A320-family aircraft with options for 30 more, as well as 5 A330s to offset delays to the A380 superjumbo, of which it has ordered 15. The carrier said then it would make a decision on further long-haul aircraft before the end of the year. Oct 19, 2006

Lufthansa wants to weigh up the A350 against Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, which is set to enter service in 2008, at least 4 years ahead of the rival Airbus model should it go ahead. Lufthansa is Europe's second-biggest airline. Oct 19, 2006

Philippine Airlines said on Friday it wanted to add eight wide-bodied planes to its fleet and would decide by the end of the year whether to buy them from Boeing or Airbus, for delivery from 2008. The Philippine flag carrier will use the new aircraft to expand its routes to the United States and Canada and to return to Europe after an absence of about a decade. He said PAL, Asia's first commercial airline, was considering buying or leasing either Airbus A340-600 or Boeing 777-300ER planes. Oct 20, 2006

Philippine Airlines expansion is on top of the 20 narrow-bodied Airbus planes that PAL is set to acquire, starting this year, for more than USD$840 million. On Friday PAL unveiled the first of the 20 planes, an A319, which it plans to use for domestic and regional flights. PAL officials said the list price of each wide-bodied plane was around USD$250 million. The airline now has nine wide-bodied planes -- five Boeing 747-400s and four Airbus A340-300s -- flying to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the United States and Vancouver, Canada. PAL flies to 19 domestic and 24 international destinations. It wants to expand its foreign routes to include Seattle and San Diego initially. The airline had a fleet of 32 aircraft at the end of March. PAL, which shut briefly in 1998 due to labor disputes before entering into a 10 year rehabilitation program, is aggressively expanding despite a projection of a global industry loss of USD$1.7 billion this year, volatile fuel costs and only a modest expected rise in global passenger traffic of 4.8 percent. Oct 20, 2006

The 747-8 Intercontinental will now seat 467 people, up from 450 in the previous design, Randy Baseler, vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a recent Web log posting. The passenger version is now expected to be 250 feet, 8 inches, the same length as the freighter version of the new airplane. The current 747-400 model seats 416 people. The new 747 is still a far cry from the A380, which can seat 550 people in a typical three-class configuration. But the move narrows the gap between the two and could help Boeing attract more customers. Baseler said in his Web posting that the company is still aiming for customers wishing to replace older 747s. Chicago-based Boeing has seen interest in the freighter version of its new 747, but no airline has ordered the passenger version of the airplane. Airlines will begin receiving the new 747 freighters in late 2009, and the passenger version isn't expected to be delivered until 2010. The A380, which has yet to enter service, is facing significant delays that have led to major upheaval at Airbus. http://www.newairplane.com/747/ Oct 19, 2006

Boeing said that global air cargo traffic growth is expected to average 6.1 percent over the next 20 years, according to Boeing's World Air Cargo Forecast 2006/2007. Additionally, large freighters, such as the 747-8 Freighter, will comprise an increasingly large segment of the world freighter fleet, as operators look for high efficiency with low tonne-kilometer costs. Oct 17, 2006

Boeing's 747-8 Freighter improves on the current best-in-class 747-400F with 16 percent more payload capacity, due to a larger airframe that allows it to hold seven additional standard pallets while maintaining its customer-preferred nose-door-loading capability. In addition, both the 747-8 Freighter and 747-8 Intercontinental (passenger) models provide improved fuel burn, achieved by an improved wing design and new engines -- General Electric's new GEnx engines, which deliver greater fuel efficiency, engine durability, weight reduction and lower overall operating costs than today's engines. Including today's order, 44 747-8 Freighters have been ordered by five customers since program launch in November 2005. Oct 17, 2006

Boeing Business Jets announced it has won seven orders for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-8. Undisclosed customers have ordered one 787-8, three 787-9 and three 747-8 airplanes specifically designated for the VIP market. These orders are already reflected on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries website. Boeing does not reveal the identity of private owners at the request of its customers. Oct 17, 2006

Boeing delivers its VIP airplanes in so-called "green" condition, meaning the airplane does not have interior furnishings or exterior paint. Customers then work with designers and interior completion centers to install an interior that exactly matches the owner's preferences and needs. Typical interiors could include staterooms with ensuite bathrooms, dining areas, lounge areas, meeting rooms and private offices. Oct 17, 2006

Boeing said that with the previously announced orders of 12 BBJs and the new widebody orders, the Boeing Business Jets sales team has won a total of 19 new airplane orders within the last 11 months -- business valued at $2.25 billion at list prices. In addition to the 737-based BBJs and the 787 and 747-8 VIP airplanes, Boeing Business Jets also offers VIP versions of the 767 and 777. Nearly 300 Boeing airplanes are in service in the VIP and business jet market. For more about Boeing Business Jets, visit http://www.boeing.com/commercial/bbj/index.html

Oct 17, 2006

Boeing's VIP version of the 747-8 provides a cabin with 4,786 square feet (444.6 square meters). It can carry 100 passengers and fly up to 9,260 nautical miles (17,150 km). The airplane also is the fastest large-cabin business jet, capable of cruising at Mach 0.86. Oct 17, 2006

Boeing's VIP-configured 787-8 offers 2,404 square feet (223.3 square meters) of cabin space and a range of 9,590 nautical miles (17,760 km), while the VIP-configured 787-9 offers 2,762 square feet (256.6 square meters) of cabin space and a range of 9,950 nautical miles (18,425 km). This capability allows owners of the 787 VIP jet to fly anywhere in the world nonstop while carrying up to 75 passengers. Oct 17, 2006

Boeing announced that Guggenheim Aviation Partners, LLC (GAP), the U.S.-based aviation investment firm, acting on behalf of one of its investment funds, has ordered four 747-8 Freighters, with an option to order an additional two airplanes. At list prices, the order is valued at approximately $1.12 billion. Delivery of the 747-8 Freighters will begin in 2009. These airplanes were added to the Boeing Orders and Deliveries Web site on Oct. 5, attributed to an unidentified customer. Investment funds managed by GAP currently own a fleet of 30 Boeing aircraft, including a fleet of seven 747-400s that will be modified through the Boeing Converted Freighter program. In addition to those airplanes, the funds ordered six 747-400ER (Extended Range) Freighters in July 2005. Oct 17, 2006

Korean Air to order 10 freighters, 'considering' new passenger aircraft. Korean Air will place an order for 10 freighters by year end, most likely a combination of 777Fs and 747-8Fs, and also is "considering" orders for the 777-300ER and/or the 747-8 Intercontinental, according to senior executives who briefed reporters yesterday in Seoul. Oct 17, 2006

Singapore Air Boeing 747 Drops Bolt On Sydney. Singapore Airlines said it has put one of its Boeing 747-400s out of service after the aircraft lost a bolt while flying over Sydney on its way to the city-state on Wednesday. Oct 19, 2006

UPS leaves open the possibility that it may buy or lease Boeing planes as a stopgap measure, or even cancel the order outright and buy Boeing planes instead. On October 9, Bob Lekites, vice president of UPS airline and international operations, ordered a team to evaluate the Airbus A380 order, according to a company spokesman. Oct 22, 2006

British Airways issues RFP for long-haul fleet renewal. British Airways yesterday took the first step in its long-awaited long-haul fleet renewal, issuing an RFP to Airbus and Boeing as well as Engine Alliance, General Electric, Rolls-Royce and other key component suppliers. Oct 18, 2006

General Electric said the GEnx order for Emirates' 10 747-8s, Oct. 10) covers 45 engines and is valued at more than $600 million. The carrier also signed a 10-year, $300 million OnPoint Solutions MRO agreement. Oct 17, 2006

Northwest Airlines yesterday announced the completion of restructured agreements with Boeing and Rolls-Royce that will allow the bankrupt carrier to begin taking delivery of its 787s in August 2008. NWA placed an order for 18 Trent 1000-powered 787s, with purchase rights for an additional 50, last year. The agreements, details of which were not revealed, are subject to US Bankruptcy Court approval. Oct 19, 2006

Panasonic is considering taking over the Connexion by Boeing inflight Internet service when Boeing ends it at year end. Korean Air President and COO Jong Hee Lee revealed. Briefing reporters in Seoul, Lee said Panasonic has told Korean, which equipped 29 aircraft with the service at a cost of $400,000 per plane, that it will take over the program if it can be assured of firm orders to equip 500 aircraft with the service. Fewer than 150 aircraft are believed to be outfitted with Connexion currently. Fewer than 5% of passengers on aircraft with Connexion use the service, commenting that the $20 price for usage may be "too expensive." He said Korean was "very, very disappointed" that Boeing decided to pull the plug. The airline has been reported to be seeking $12 million in compensation. Lee declined to confirm the figure and suggested that it may be higher. Oct 17, 2006

Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: [e-mail]

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Oct 16, 2006