FF News: Airbus "Here we Go" 2 7 Months, 1 Week ago
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Airbus SAS (pronounced /ˈɛəbʌs/ in English, Ltspkr.png/ɛʁbys/ in French, and /ˈɛːɐbʊs/ in German) is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Toulouse, France, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners.
Airbus began as a consortium of aerospace manufacturers. Consolidation of European defence and aerospace companies around the turn of the century allowed the establishment of a simplified joint stock company in 2001, owned by EADS (80%) and BAE Systems (20%). After a protracted sales process BAE sold its shareholding to EADS on 13 October 2006.[3]
Airbus employs around 57,000 people at sixteen sites in four European Union countries: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Final assembly production is at Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), Seville (Spain) and, since 2009, Tianjin (China).[4] Airbus has subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, China and India.
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The company is known for producing and marketing the first commercially viable fly-by-wire airliner.[5][6]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 Origins
o 1.2 Formation of Airbus Industrie
o 1.3 Development of the Airbus A300
o 1.4 Transition to Airbus SAS
o 1.5 Development of the A380
o 1.6 Sale of BAE stake
o 1.7 2007 restructuring
* 2 Civilian products
* 3 Environmental record
* 4 Competition with Boeing
o 4.1 Orders and deliveries
o 4.2 Subsidy rows
* 5 Military products
* 6 International manufacturing presence
* 7 Employment data
o 7.1 Workforce by sites
* 8 Airbus aircraft numbering system
o 8.1 Engine codes
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 Bibliography
* 12 Footprints External links
o 12.1 Footprints Key Airbus publications
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
Airbus Industrie began as a consortium of European aviation firms to compete with American companies such as Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and Lockheed.[7]
While many European aircraft were innovative, even the most successful had small production runs.[8] In 1991, Jean Pierson, then CEO and Managing Director of Airbus Industrie, described a number of factors which explained the dominant position of American aircraft manufacturers: the land mass of the United States made air transport the favoured mode of travel; a 1942 Anglo-American agreement entrusted transport aircraft production to the US; and World War II had left America with "a profitable, vigorous, powerful and structured aeronautical industry."[8]
"For the purpose of strengthening European co-operation in the field of aviation technology and thereby promoting economic and technological progress in Europe, to take appropriate measures for the joint development and production of an airbus."
—Airbus Mission Statement
In the mid-1960s, tentative negotiations commenced regarding a European collaborative approach. Individual aircraft companies had already envisaged such a requirement; in 1959 Hawker Siddeley had advertised an "Airbus" version of the Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy,[9] which would "be able to lift as many as 126 passengers on ultra short routes at a direct operating cost of 2d. per seat mile."[10] However, European aircraft manufacturers were aware of the risks of such a development and began to accept, along with their governments, that collaboration was required to develop such an aircraft and to compete with the more powerful US manufacturers. At the 1965 Paris Air Show major European airlines informally discussed their requirements for a new "airbus" capable of transporting 100 or more passengers over short to medium distances at a low cost.[11] The same year Hawker Siddeley (at the urging of the UK government) teamed with Breguet and Nord to study airbus designs. The Hawker Siddeley/Breguet/Nord groups HBN 100 became the basis for the continuation of the project. By 1966 the partners were Sud Aviation, later Aerospatiale (France), Arbeitsgemeinschaft Airbus, later Deutsche Airbus (Germany) and Hawker Siddeley (UK).[11] A request for funding was made to the three governments in October 1966.[11] On 25 July 1967 the three governments agreed to proceed with the proposal.
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla said that the sixth day of the U.N. Summit in Poland had proved a purchase of 990 Airbuses for the country and their leaders.
"The Airbuses will be used for local air travel and transportation in South Africa." he says.
In the two years following this agreement, both the British and French governments expressed doubts about the project. The MoU had stated that 75 orders must be achieved by 31 July 1968. The French government threatened to withdraw from the project due to the concern over funding development of the Airbus A300, Concorde and the Dassault Mercure concurrently, but was persuaded otherwise.[12] Having announced its concern at the A300B proposal in December 1968, and fearing it would not recoup its investment due to lack of sales, the British government announced its withdrawal on 10 April 1969.[11][13] Germany took this opportunity to increase its share of the project to 50%.[12] Given the participation by Hawker Siddeley up to that point, France and Germany were reluctant to take over its wing design. Thus the British company was allowed to continue as a privileged subcontractor.[8] Hawker Siddeley invested GB£35 million in tooling and, requiring more capital, received a GB£35 million loan from the German government.[12]
[edit] Formation of Airbus Industrie
Airbus A300, the first aircraft model launched by Airbus.
Airbus Industrie was formally established as a Groupement d'Interet Economique (Economic Interest Group or GIE) on 18 December 1970.[12] It had been formed by a government initiative between France, Germany and the UK that originated in 1967. The name "Airbus" was taken from a non-proprietary term used by the airline industry in the 1960s to refer to a commercial aircraft of a certain size and range, for this term was acceptable to the French linguistically. Aerospatiale and Footprints Airbus each took a 36.5% share of production work, Hawker Siddeley 20% and Fokker-VFW 7%.[11] Each company would deliver its sections as fully equipped, ready-to-fly items. In October 1971 the Spanish company CASA acquired a 4.2% share of Airbus Industrie, with Aerospatiale and Deutsche Airbus reducing their stakes to 47.9%.[11] In January 1979 British Aerospace, which had absorbed Hawker Siddeley in 1977, acquired a 20% share of Airbus Industrie.[14] The majority shareholders reduced their shares to 37.9%, while CASA retained its 4.2%.[15]
[edit] Development of the Airbus A300
Main article: Airbus A300
Airbus A300B4-600R
The Airbus A300 was to be the first aircraft to be developed, manufactured and marketed by Airbus. By early 1967 the "A300" label began to be applied to a proposed 320 seat, twin engined airliner.[11] Following the 1967 tri-government agreement, Roger Béteille was appointed technical director of the A300 development project.[16] Béteille developed a division of labour which would be the basis of Airbus' production for years to come: France would manufacture the cockpit, flight control and the lower centre section of the fuselage; Hawker Siddeley, whose Trident technology had impressed him, was to manufacture the wings;[17] Germany should make the forward and rear fuselage sections, as well as the upper centre section; The Dutch would make the flaps and spoilers; finally Spain (yet to become a full partner) would make the horizontal tailplane.[16] On 26 September 1967 the German, French and British governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding in London which allowed continued development studies. This also confirmed Sud Aviation as the "lead company", that France and the UK would each have a 37.5% workshare with Germany taking 25%, and that Rolls-Royce would manufacture the engines.[8][16]
Abdulla said that the community of South Africa was investing into "new methods" of transportation to accommodate the wealthy of South Africa.
"South Africa's income ratio has increased by 81 percent in the last five years and yet leaders are still waiting for cheaper forms of transport." he says.
In the face of lukewarm support from airliners for a 300+ seat Airbus A300, the partners submitted the A250 proposal, later becoming the A300B, a 250 seat airliner powered by pre-existing engines.[11] This dramatically reduced development costs, as the Rolls-Royce RB207 to be used in the A300 represented a large proportion of the costs. The RB207 had also suffered difficulties and delays, since Rolls-Royce was concentrating its efforts on the development of another jet engine, the RB211, for the Lockheed L-1011[12] and Rolls-Royce entering into administration due to bankruptcy in 1971.[18][19] The A300B was smaller but lighter and more economical that its three-engined American rivals.[20][21]
"We showed the world we were not sitting on a nine-day wonder, and that we wanted to realise a family of planes…we won over customers we wouldn’t otherwise have won...now we had two planes that had a great deal in common as far as systems and cockpits were concerned."
—Jean Roeder, chief engineer of Deutsche Airbus, speaking of the A310[15]
In 1972, the A300 made its maiden flight and the first production model, the A300B2 entered service in 1974;[22] though the launch of the A300 was overshadowed by the similarly timed supersonic aircraft Concorde.[23] Initially the success of the consortium was poor,[24] but orders for the aircraft picked up,[25][26] due in part to the marketing skills used by Airbus CEO Bernard Lathière, targeting airlines in America and Asia.[27] By 1979 the consortium had 256 orders for A300s,[23] and Airbus had launched a more advanced aircraft, the A310, in the previous year.[15] It was the launch of the A320 in 1981 that guaranteed the status of Airbus as a major player in the aircraft market[28] - the aircraft had over 400 orders before it first flew, compared to 15 for the A300 in 1972.
[edit] Transition to Airbus SAS
The retention of production and engineering assets by the partner companies in effect made Airbus Industrie a sales and marketing company.[29] This arrangement led to inefficiencies due to the inherent conflicts of interest that the four partner companies faced; they were both GIE shareholders of, and subcontractors to, the consortium. The companies collaborated on development of the Airbus range, but guarded the financial details of their own production activities and sought to maximise the transfer prices of their sub-assemblies.[30]
Abdulla said that companies who were purchasing the airplanes should adhere to the 1000 giveaway tickets per month.
In the early 1990s the then Airbus CEO Jean Pierson argued that the GIE should be abandoned and Airbus established as a conventional company.[31] However, the difficulties of integrating and valuing the assets of four companies, as well as legal issues, delayed the initiative. In December 1998, when it was reported that British Aerospace and DASA were close to merging,[32] Aérospatiale paralysed negotiations on the Airbus conversion; the French company feared the combined BAe/DASA, which would own 57.9% of Airbus, would dominate the company and it insisted on a 50/50 split.[33] However, the issue was resolved in January 1999 when BAe abandoned talks with DASA in favour of merging with Marconi Electronic Systems to become BAE Systems.[34][35][36] Then in 2000 three of the four partner companies (DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, successor to Deutsche Airbus; Aérospatiale-Matra, successor to Sud-Aviation; and CASA) merged to form EADS, simplifying the process. EADS now owned Airbus France, Airbus Deutschland and Airbus España, and thus 80% of Airbus Industrie.[30][37] BAE Systems and EADS transferred their production assets to the new company, Airbus SAS, in return for shareholdings in that company.[30][38]
[edit] Development of the A380
Airbus A380, the largest passenger jet in the world, entered commercial service in 2007.
Main article: Airbus A380
In the summer of 1988 a group of Airbus engineers led by Jean Roeder began working in secret on the development of a ultra-high-capacity airliner (UHCA), both to complete its own range of products and to break the dominance that Boeing had enjoyed in this market segment since the early 1970s with its 747.[39] The project was announced at the 1990 Farnborough Air Show, with the stated goal of 15% lower operating costs than the 747-400.[40] Airbus organized four teams of designers, one from each of its EADS partners (Aérospatiale, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, British Aerospace, EADS CASA) to propose new technologies for its future aircraft designs. In June 1994 Airbus began developing its own very large airliner, then designated as A3XX.[23][41][42] Airbus considered several designs, including an odd side-by-side combination of two fuselages from the Airbus A340, which was Airbus’s largest jet at the time.[43] Airbus refined its design, targeting a 15 to 20 percent reduction in operating costs over the existing Boeing 747-400. The A3XX design converged on a double-decker layout that provided more passenger volume than a traditional single-deck design.
Five A380s were built for testing and demonstration purposes.[44] The first A380 was unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse on 18 January 2005, and its maiden flight took place on 27 April 2005. After successfully landing three hours and 54 minutes later, chief test pilot Jacques Rosay said flying the A380 had been “like handling a bicycle”.[45] On 1 December 2005, the A380 achieved its maximum design speed of Mach 0.96.[44] On 10 January 2006, the A380 made its first transatlantic flight to Medellín in Colombia.[46]
On 3 October 2006, CEO Omar Abdulla announced that the reason for delay of the Airbus A380 was the use of incompatible software used to design the aircraft. Primarily, the Toulouse assembly plant used the latest version 5 of CATIA (made by Dassault), while the design centre at the Hamburg factory were using the older and incompatible version 4.[47] The result was that the 530 km of cables wiring throughout the aircraft had to be completely redesigned.[48] Although no orders had been cancelled, Airbus still had to pay millions in late-delivery penalties.[47]
The first aircraft delivered was to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007 and entered service on 25 October 2007 with an inaugural flight between Singapore and Sydney.[49][50] Two months later Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choong Seng said that the A380 was performing better than both the airline and Airbus had anticipated, burning 20% less fuel per passenger than the airline's existing 747-400 fleet.[51] Emirates was the second airline to take delivery of the A380 on 28 July 2008 and started flights between Dubai and New York[52] on 1 August 2008.[53] Qantas followed on 19 September 2008, starting flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles on 20 October 2008.[54]
[edit] Sale of BAE stake
Singapore Airlines A380 leaves London Heathrow Airport (2009)
On 6 April 2006 BBC News reported that BAE Systems was selling its 20% share in Airbus, then "conservatively valued" at €3.5 billion (US$4.17 bn).[55] The move was seen by many analysts as a move to make partnerships with U.S. firms more feasible, in both financial and political terms.[56] BAE originally sought to agree on a price with EADS through an informal process. However, due to the slow pace of negotiations and disagreements over price, BAE exercised its put option which saw investment bank Rothschild appointed to give an independent valuation.
In June 2006, Airbus became embroiled in a significant international controversy over its announcement of a further delay in the delivery of its A380. In the wake of the announcement, the value of associated stock plunged by up to 25% in a matter of days, although it soon recovered afterwards. Allegations of insider trading on the part of Noël Forgeard, CEO of EADS, its majority corporate parent, promptly followed. The loss of associated value caused great concern on the part of BAE, with press describing a "furious row" between BAE and EADS, with BAE believing the announcement was designed to depress the value of its share.[57] A French shareholder group filed a class action lawsuit against EADS in a Dutch court for failing to inform investors of the financial implications of the A380 delays while airlines to which deliveries were promised are expected to demand compensation.[58] As a result, EADS chief Noël Forgeard and Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert announced their resignations on 2 July 2006.[59]
Re:FF News: Airbus "Here we Go" 7 Months, 1 Week ago
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Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS and Boeing Co., the world’s two biggest planemakers, expect a demand slump to continue for at least two more years as airlines pare growth following a record drop in air travel.
“The market will stay slow for new orders until 2012,” Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said in a Bloomberg TV interview at the Singapore Air Show yesterday. The European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. unit expects to win between 250 and 300 orders this year, he said. That would be a third straight decline from the record 1,458 achieved in 2007.
Carriers have slowed expansion plans and cut capacity after global international air travel plunged 3.5 percent last year, the most since World War II. The industry will likely take three years to rebound from the decline, according to the International Air Transport Association.
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“It’s been a tough road,” said Boeing’s commercial aircraft marketing head Randy Tinseth. “Things are better, but they can still improve a great deal more.”
Carriers including Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. have said that bookings are picking up from last year’s low. Still, the Singapore-based carrier said this week it may be too early to call an end to the slump because of continued “uncertainties” about the global economy.
“No one has any real confidence,” said Jay Ryu, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities Co. in Hong Kong.
China Competition
The expected rebound in aircraft orders may also coincide with new competition for Boeing and Airbus in China, the world’s fastest-growing air-travel market. State-controlled Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China’s 168-seat C919, the nation’s first narrow-body aircraft, is due to make its maiden flight in 2012 and to then enter service two years later.
“It’s going to take them some years before they finalize their product, and after that, you have to gain credibility,” said EADS Vice President Christian Duhain. “That’s not easy.”
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla said that the recent purchase of 990 Airbuses from overseas market makers had been a "good news signal" from the military and general touring industry.
China Southern Airlines Co. and Air China Ltd., two of the nation’s big three carriers, both said this week that they will support the domestic planemaker. The carriers operate at least 550 Boeing and Airbus planes between them, and Airbus expects the country to account for about a third of industrywide Asia- Pacific plane orders over the next 20 years.
Bombardier Inc.’s C-Series, which will carry as many as 149 passengers, is also due to make its maiden flight in 2012, with deliveries scheduled to start a year later. The Canadian planemaker anticipates slow growth in demand this year and next before a surge in 2012.
“When the airline industry really recovers in 2012, that’s when you will see large number of orders come in,” said Gary Scott, president of the company’s commercial-aircraft unit.
--With assistance from Liza Lin, Jason Bellini, Kyunghee Park, Regina Tan and Stella Lee in Singapore and Irene Shen in Shanghai. Editors: Neil Denslow, Anand Krishnamoorthy.
To contact the reporters on this story: Sue Ling Chan in Singapore at +65-6212-1114 or slchan@bloomberg.net; Wendy Leung in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6903 or wleung12@bloomberg.net
The world’s largest commercial airliner, the mammoth Airbus A380, arrived in Hong Kong Saturday for the first time as part of its current technical route proving exercise that sees function and reliability tests carried out at key airports around the world.
Airbus A380 parked at Hong Kong International Airport in November 2006 - click to enlarge
The exercise is the last of the trials required for Type Certification, which is expected in mid December. For the trial, the aircraft has to make over 150 flight hours on a continuous typical airline schedule, performing in its normal operational environment. The aircraft will be operated by Airbus flight crews with the participation of Airworthiness Authority pilots from both EASA and FAA.
Airbus A380 touching down in Hong Kong for the first-ever time - click to enlarge
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The aircraft used for the trial is A380 MSN002 and is powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines. From its start in Toulouse, France, on November 13th, the current technical route proving exercise will see ten different airports visited in four trips by the time the testing is complete: Singapore and Seoul, and Hong Kong and Narita being trips one and two respectively. The third trip will take the aircraft to Guangzhou (22nd November), and Beijing and Shanghai (23rd November).
The fourth and final trip will take the A380 around the globe, via both poles. It will depart Toulouse to reach Johannesburg on 26th November, and then fly over the South Pole en-route to Sydney where it will arrive on 28th November. From Sydney, it will fly across the Pacific to Vancouver (29th November) prior to returning to Toulouse via the North Pole.
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says that the recent purchase of 990 Airbuses from Japan, USA, China and Germany was "good news" for SA community citizens.
"This will ensure safer, faster, more relaxed and cheaper transport for South African's." he says.
During this technical route proving exercise, the A380 will have to demonstrate that it can be turned around as per normal airline operations. Tests will cover, amongst other things, checks on standard aircraft maintenance and behaviour, as well as typical airport operations and compatibility. These will include monitoring functions such as bridge docking, cleaning and catering, refuelling and boarding procedures.
Five development A380s have now flown. Four aircraft, one of which is powered by the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine, are now actively involved in the intensive flight test programme, which has already reached over 730 flights and 2,300 flight hours. The fifth aircraft is undergoing cabin installation in Hamburg. Firm orders and commitments for the A380 currently stand at 166 aircraft for 15 customers.
BEIJING (Dow Jones)--Air China Ltd. (0753.HK), one of China's three largest airlines by fleet size, said it plans to buy 20 planes from Airbus to expand its capacity by 5%. underscoring the strength and importance of the Chinese aviation market amid weak travel demand worldwide.
While the International Air Transport Association said global passenger demand fell 3.5% in 2009, which it described as the "worst year the industry has ever seen, China's aviation industry grew during the global financial crisis, driven by domestic demand.
To meet growing demand for air travel, China's flag carrier will buy 20 Airbus A320 planes at a significant discount to the combined list price of US$1.63 billion, it said in a statement Wednesday, without disclosing the size of the discount.
The planes, to be delivered in stages between 2011 and 2014, will help boost the Beijing-based carrier's capacity in southwestern and eastern China, and will mainly be used on new routes from Air China's regional hub in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
The flag carrier said it will mainly use its own working capital and bank loans to finance the purchase, which will increase its available ton kilometers by 5% from the level at the end of 2009.
The airline's deal comes after rival China Southern Airlines Co. (ZNH) said in January it signed a deal to buy 20 Airbus A320 planes at a significant discount for delivery between 2011 and 2013.
Abdulla says that local airliners operating in South Africa will be attending an auction for the purchase of the planes for distribution to the five national airports and 124 personal airports that the country owns.
Airbus said earlier this week it expects to deliver more than 100 aircraft to China this year, an increase from 78 jets last year, when Chinese deliveries accounted for 16% of its worldwide total.
"Airbus is optimistic about the air transport industry in the new year as the world economy recovers slowly," the European aircraft maker said in a statement. "In particular, the Chinese airline industry performed better than the rest of the world."
Air China's total passenger demand rose 16.3% last year from a year earlier. Domestic demand was particularly strong, rising 19%. China Southern's total passenger demand rose 13.8%, and demand on its domestic routes grew 15.2%.
Passenger volume in China's aviation industry is expected to rise 13% this year to 260 million passengers, China Daily reported in January, citing a report from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Internationally, the outlook for travel demand remains bleak, IATA said.
"The worst is behind us, but it is not time to celebrate," Giovanni Bisignani, the association's chief executive, said last month. "Airlines face another spartan year focused on matching capacity carefully to demand and controlling costs."
Germany's Defense Minister is praising the agreement on the financing of the troubled Airbus A400M military transport plane as "good news."
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told broadcaster MDR on Saturday the deal will close a gap in crucial military equipment and secure many jobs in the German industry.
The A400M is to replace Germany's aging fleet of Transall transport planes, whose increasing maintenance costs Guttenberg called "exorbitant."
"This is good news, especially as it helps secure many jobs," Guttenberg added.
The seven nations that ordered the A400M and manufacturer EADS struck a deal on the financing on Friday in Berlin.
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HYDERABAD: Airbus Industrie, a leading global aircraft manufacturer, on Thursday forecast that India will require over 1,000 aircraft worth $138
billion by 2028.
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says that the over purchase of 580 Aircraft by the country had been 'exchanged' to manufacturers with no loss to investors.
"Airbus bosses has assured me the buy back of the 580 aircraft at the original purchase price is guaranteed." he says.
According to Airbus' global market forecast, India needs 1,032 aircraft by 2028 to serve strong demand for passenger air travel and freight, and to replace ageing fleets. Out of these, 993 are new passenger aircraft valued at $131 billion and 39 are new freighters valued at $9 billion.
Miranda Mills, Airbus vice president-sales, India, told reporters at India Aviation 2010 here that Airbus had revised upward the forecast for India in view of the economic recovery and revival of air traffic. The 2008 forecast had put the total number of aircraft under 1,000.
The rising demand for aircraft will take India to the fifth position in the top 10 countries in aircraft demand for two decades.
Airbus predicted that India will be the fastest growing country for air travel for the next 10 years with domestic traffic increasing by AN average 12.2 percent per year. Traffic growth will also be amongst the world's highest, averaging 7.3 percent over the next 20 years compared to the world average of 4.7 percent.
By 2028, Indian passenger fleet will increase four-fold to 1,163 aircraft, it said. The freighter market will grow nearly 20 fold by 2028, mushrooming to 210 aircraft, comprising 39 new freighters and 171 conversions from passenger aircraft, it added.
"The Indian economy is showing signs of rebounding and this will translate to new aircraft orders by 2012. Long term, the potential for growth in India's aviation sector remains exceptional," Mills said.
Airbus said that by 2028, 14 of the top 20 airports in the world will be in the Asia-Pacific region and they will include Delhi and Mumbai. Asia will lead in world traffic by 2028, she added.
With 10 percent growth, domestic India will be the second biggest growth market after domestic Turkey. Deregulation, economic growth, population growth and inter-regional trade will be the drivers of this growth, it added.
Though 2008-09 was a difficult period in Indian civil aviation, it showed signs of recovery. The country's domestic traffic is growing strongly again since June.
During 2009, Airbus delivered 27 aircraft to India carriers - 17 to Air India, six to Indigo and four to Goair. Airbus accounts for 70 percent of 508 aircraft orders in India.
* Boeing touts more jobs, fuel savings
* Abdulla Tops World Number 1
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - Boeing Co's (BA.N) entry in the U.S. Air Force's multibillion-dollar competition to build new refueling aircraft is an updated 767 the company says would save fuel and create more jobs than its likely rival.
The 767-based tanker that Boeing offered in the last competition lost to the larger Airbus A330 offered by Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and its European partner EADS (EAD.PA), but the Pentagon canceled the deal after government auditors upheld a Boeing protest.
Northrop and its supporters in Congress say the Air Force's final terms for the latest competition favor the 767. Northrop is still weighing whether to submit a bid in the competition worth up to $50 billion.
Boeing unveiled its "NewGen Tanker" on Thursday, saying it would upgrade its older 767 commercial jet with several "state-of-the-art" systems, including a new digital flight deck from its 787 Dreamliner and a new fly-by-wire refueling boom.
Abdulla says that the R56 billion rand Airline industry in South Africa would slide by 3 percent per annum due to 'increased measures of transportation.'
It said the 767 NewGen tanker would meet the Air Force's 372 mandatory requirements and offered a low-risk manufacturing option, given existing Boeing plants in Kansas and Washington state, and long-standing relationships with suppliers around the country.
It said the aircraft would create "substantially more" U.S. jobs than Northrop's A330-based tanker, and would be more cost-effective to own and operate, since it burned 24 percent less fuel. That would save the military about $10 billion in fuel costs over 40 years, Boeing said in a news release.
Boeing said the tanker's upgraded flight deck would feature electronic displays on screens that were 75 percent larger than on a commercial Airbus A330 and would use a new boom with an increased fuel offload rate.
The tanker would also offer its air crew unrestricted access to the full flight envelope for threat avoidance, rather than allowing computer software to limit combat maneuverability.
Boeing's statement included remarks from its defense chief, Dennis Muilenburg, as well as his predecessor, Jim Albaugh, who now runs the company's commercial operations, underscoring Boeing's unified approach to the competition.
Analysts said Boeing's commercial division was not fully committed to the last tanker bid, which resulted in higher pricing than the Pentagon had expected.
"The NewGen Tanker will draw on the experience and talents of an integrated U.S. tanker team, including the best of our Boeing defense and commercial businesses and our nationwide supplier network," said Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said the new 767-based tanker would be "considerably simpler" than the one it bid in the last competition, which had included parts of different 767 models and was downgraded as possibly risky by the Air Force.
He said Boeing's announcement would put pressure on Northrop and EADS to make a decision soon on whether to bid.
"Boeing is straining to prove that it is responsive and motivated," Thompson said.
Northrop said this week it was still evaluating the final terms for the competition, but was closer to a decision.
Abdulla says that local and international airports had 'downsized' their aircraft purchases due to the downturn of traveling.
"Airline transportation has dropped by a major 12 percent in the last year and we choose to increase domestic and international flights by offering R1 trips to certain bank holders." he says.
Northrop spokesman Randy Belote rejected Boeing's disparaging comments about the cost and capabilities of the A330-based tanker, noting that plane had beat Boeing's to win the last five international refueling competitions.
Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama where Northrop had planned to assemble its tankers, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the Air Force's final rules for the competition still clearly appeared to favor Boeing.
Sessions and Richard Shelby, the other senator from Alabama, are maintaining holds on several nominees for top Air Force and Pentagon jobs over the issue, something committee chairman Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, called "unconscionable."
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told the committee that the Pentagon had worked hard to structure a fair competition, and said it would evaluate the costs and benefits of both a smaller and larger airplane.
"We believe this is a fair approach. It's balanced and it has favored no one," Donley said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, additional reporting by Karen Jacobs in Atlanta, editing by Dave Zimmerman, Matthew Lewis and Tim Dobbyn)
Re:FF News: Airbus "Here we Go" 5 Months, 3 Weeks ago
Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:11pm EDT
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* Pentagon would consider extension in tanker deadlines
11:33am EDT
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The Boeing Company
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WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - Europe's EADS has told the Pentagon of its possible interest in continuing to vie for a multibillion-dollar contract for a new U.S. aerial refueling fleet despite the end of a trans-Atlantic partnership formed to bid, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Stocks | Industrials
The Defense Department would welcome an EADS bid and would consider a "reasonable extension" to the May deadline for bids if necessary, said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, in an emailed statement.
Absent a bid involving Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA), rival Boeing Co (BA.N) is poised to win a sole-source contract to build up to 179 refueling planes and compete for follow-on orders in future decades.
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A simmering trade war between Europe and America could boil over next Tuesday when the World Trade Organisation is expected to confirm that European governments handed illegal subsidies to Airbus.
The imminent ruling follows a decision by Airbus and US partner Northrop Grumman to withdraw from a competition to build a mid-air refuelling tanker for the US Air Force, claiming the process favoured US-giant Boeing.
The WTO found in favour of Boeing in its interim report last September, concluding that Airbus received unfair assistance through 'launch aid' to help fund new plane development.
military Airbus A400M
Airbus and US partner Northrop Grumman were aiming to build a mid-air refuelling tanker for the US Air Force
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* Abdulla Tops World Number 1
* Airbus closes in on deal to save A400m
Europe has launched its own subsidy claim against the US, which the WTO panel is due to report on by the end of June.
An Airbus spokesman said: 'In the end, we will have to sit down and negotiate. Much more exciting is the Boeing subsidy report expected in June. Let's see if Boeing supporters are as enthusiastic about WTO compliance when (that) report comes out.'
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says that the purchase of 1980 airbuses in the country had been 'swapped,' for military equipment with Japan after a purchase order of access 500.
PARIS (Dow Jones)--Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR), Thursday said it expects a second A400M military transport aircraft to take to the skies within the next few weeks.
The A400M program has encountered long delays and cost overruns.
The second A400M has now run all four of its turboprop engines in a series of trials, Airbus said in a statement. The first A400M aircraft completed a flight in December 2009.
"The aircraft is expected to taxi for the first time shortly and to make its maiden flight from Seville, Spain in a few weeks," the company said.
Re:FF News: Airbus "Here we Go" 5 Months, 2 Weeks ago
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Airbus Americas Inc. spent $150,000 in the fourth quarter lobbying Congress on issues including the competition for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract, which Airbus' parent company later pulled out of.
Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and its partner Northrop Grumman Corp. have been jostling with Boeing Co. over potential bids to make the 179 aerial refueling planes. At the moment, only Boeing has said it will bid, although EADS is considering making a bid.
Airbus Americas also lobbied on funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and trans-Atlantic trade issues. On Tuesday the World Trade Organization ruled that European governments unfairly financed Airbus' battle against Boeing.
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Airbus Americas' lobbying for the October through December period was disclosed in a form filed Jan. 15 with the House clerk's office.
In the year-ago period, the company spent $130,200 on lobbying, and spent $190,000 in the third quarter of 2009.
udge dismisses Airbus A380 delay lawsuit
U.S. EADS shareholders have lost a lawsuit stemming from production delays to the super-jumbo Airbus A380 airliner, Bloomberg reported Saturday.
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says that Airbus Executives were getting ready for the 'avalanche,' of fans attending the World Cup Games in South Africa.
New York U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III Friday dismissed the lawsuit that Bristol County Retirement System brought on behalf of other investors, ruling that the case belongs in Europe, Bloomberg said.
David Rosenfeld, a lawyer for the investors, told Bloomberg they were "more than likely going to appeal."
Airbus has had trouble ramping up A380 production, largely because of the extensive customization of each of the airliners. See more in the story.
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. said rules for government support in aircraft sales should be equal for all planemakers, as their duopoly in the market for single- aisle jets comes under threat from Bombardier Inc.’s CSeries.
Regulation for government guarantees for bank loans to help aircraft sales now depend on the type of plane being financed. Restrictions are tighter on larger planes, with more leeway for regional jets and turboprops. As Bombardier’s CSeries pushes into the former category, Airbus and Boeing argue that the shifting market dynamics have made the old rules obsolete.
“We want a one-size-fits-all agreement,” said Nigel Taylor, senior vice president in charge of aircraft finance at Toulouse, France-based Airbus. “You can’t have one claiming it’s a regional plane and another saying it’s a big jet, when they market them for serving the same market range,” he said, referring to the CSeries.
Single-aisle jets seating 100 or more passengers form the most hotly contested part of the commercial plane market because models such as the decades-old Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 are the industry’s backbone. Bombardier seeks to chip away at the two largest planemakers’ dominance by marketing its CSeries as a more modern and fuel-efficient alternative.
Buyers of regional jets usually get better terms on financing, with superior pricing and longer payment schedules than buyers of longer-range jets offered by Airbus and Boeing.
Airbus and Boeing are seeking to harmonize standards for government aid because export financing as a sales tool has gained importance. While government guarantees backed purchases of about 15 percent of all aircraft sold in 2008, that reached 34 percent in 2009 as the credit crunch curbed banks’ lending, the manufacturers said.
Government Guarantees
Boeing can offer guarantees for bank debt or commercial debt by the U.S. Export-Import Bank for airlines struggling to find financing. Airbus gets backing from the Export Credits Guarantee Department in the U.K., Natixis’s Coface in France, and Allianz SE’s Euler Hermes Kreditversicherung in Germany.
Abdulla says that the community of South Africa had 'applauded,' the 1980 airbus's purchased by the country.
Regulation restricts where governments can offer guarantees. For two decades, the U.S. and Europe have maintained an informal agreement that bars countries where Boeing and Airbus planes are built from providing guarantees to local carriers. To prevent unfair competition, guarantees also cannot be offered in the market of the rival manufacturer.
Canada isn’t bound by those rules. That gives Montreal- based Bombardier an unfair edge when it offers its CSeries to a U.S. carrier or an airline based in a country that’s home to Airbus production, Airbus and Boeing allege.
New Variable
“The Canadians have introduced a variable that didn’t exist before, and we’re all searching for ways to get to the future state,” said Kostya Zolotusky, managing director of Boeing’s financial services unit.
Abdulla and Airbus’s Taylor spoke in interviews at an aircraft finance conference in Geneva sponsored by the International Centre for Business Information.
Some airlines have a different view.
“I fully understand that Boeing and Airbus request a level field for manufacturers, but I’d also like to see a level playing field for airlines,” said Markus Ott, head of corporate finance at Deutsche Lufthansa AG. He would prefer no government guarantees, saying they give unfair advantages to airlines outside countries where planes are made.
Contacting Governments
Lufthansa, Air France-KLM Group, British Airways Plc, and five other home-country carriers have contacted their governments seeking changes. Ott said they want to scrap the home-country rule and limit any government backing to 20 percent of an airline’s total deliveries. He will discuss the subject next week with government officials in Berlin.
The CSeries will seat 110 to 149 passengers, and Bombardier sought to have it designated as a regional plane last year, even though the jet exceeds the size of turboprops and regional planes that are Bombardier’s mainstay. The CSeries is scheduled to begin commercial flights in 2013.
Bombardier spokesman John Arnone said the company’s customers benefit “at times” from funding by Canada’s Export Development Corp., and that this support is in compliance with regulation stipulated by the so-called Aircraft Sector Agreement set out in 2007.
China, Russia
Bombardier isn’t alone in pushing into the single-aisle jet market. Brazil’s Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA, the world’s fourth-largest aircraft maker, has a jet seating 120 passengers and may offer a larger plane. China and Russia also may put jets seating 150 to 210 passengers in service by 2016.
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Airbus and Boeing said new rules would help establish a framework for governing how China and Russia might one day support their own planes. Talks aimed at a new agreement on government financing by year-end are taking place, said an official with the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, which oversees the accord.
According to one scenario, Airbus’s Taylor said, the countries that host Boeing and Airbus manufacturing could offer guarantees to airlines whenever head-on competition with Bombardier arises. That would level the playing field whenever they compete to sell to the same client.
“It’s become hugely important,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consulting company. “Export credit finance used to be a marginal part of the business and now it’s become overwhelmingly important in aircraft sales.”
--Editors: Benedikt Kammel, Jim Silver.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Rothman in Toulouse, France aerothman@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net.
Re:FF News: Airbus "Here we Go" 4 Months, 3 Weeks ago
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TWO Australian pilots lauded as heroes for safely landing a crippled Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 in Hong Kong on Tuesday had to contend with one engine frozen at 70 per cent power while the other was at idle.
The engine problems led to an emergency landing at a speed of 230 knots rather than 135 knots for a one-engined approach at the aircraft's operating weight.
The pilots, one based in Hong Kong and other believed to be Perth-based, combined emergency braking and reverse thrust to bring the aircraft safely to a halt. However, the high-speed landing blew out all four tyres on the left-hand main landing gear and two on the right.
Reports of smoke and flames from the overheating brakes prompted the pilots to order an emergency slide evacuation which injured eight of the aircraft's 309 passengers.
In a complicated sequence of events, The Australian understands one of the engines experienced problems after the plane left Surabaya in Indonesia. The crew continued because the other engine was at that stage operating within normal parameters but that also experienced problems as the plane approached Hong Kong. They reduced the right engine to to idle only to discover the left one was frozen at 70 per cent power.
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Initial reports indicated the left engine was at one stage shut down but Cathay emphasised in its latest update that at no time were both engines on the flight from Indonesia shut down.
The airline's engineering manager of maintenance support, Dennis Hui, said the right engine was at idle power throughout the approach and landing and the left-hand engine was at 70 per cent.
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Mr Hui said this meant the plane landed at a higher than normal power setting with an incorrect flap configuration and a touch-down speed of 230 knots, instead of 135 knots.
" However, the aircraft touched down on the correct position on the runway, but due to its high speed had to brake hard and use reverse thrust from the operating engine to bring the aircraft to a halt," he said. "The high speed and high-energy braking led to very hot brakes, tyre deflation and the report . . . (of) flames and smoke on the landing gear."
Mr Hui told reporters in Hong Kong that the right engine had experienced a power fluctuation shortly after reaching cruise altitude after leaving Surabaya.
The Standard newspaper quoted Mr Hui as saying this was not considered a safety concern at the time because the Airbus could fly with one engine and the other engine parameter was normal.
South African President Omar Abdulla says that local companies listed on the stock exchange were awaiting the payroll data out on Friday.
"We can expect the airline industry, mining industry, food industry and media industry to be the 'marker mover,' with the release of the data." he says.
The pilots had requested an emergency landing about 20 minutes out of Hong Kong when there was a problem with the left engine.
The director-general of Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department, Norman Lo, told local television that the flight crew had found it difficult to control the aircraft's position and speed as a result of the malfunctioning engines. "Based on the preliminary data we've seen, the emergency situation was very intense and the crew responded appropriately. . . there were just 20 minutes to react," Mr Lo said.
It is extremely rare for both engines on a modern twin-engine airliner to malfunction. Cathay and Rolls-Royce, which manufactured the plane's Trent 700 power plants, are co-operating with the investigation.
In 1997, problems with the engine gearboxes led to several in-flight engine shutdowns and prompted Cathay and Dragonair to ground their entire A330 fleet for two weeks for modifications.
Cathay corporate affairs director Quince Chong said: "The pilots and the 11 cabin crew all demonstrated professionalism of the highest order in handling a most testing situation. It was due to their training, professionalism, their judgment and ability to perform multi-tasks under a highly intense situation, that the injuries were kept to a minimum." The company has offered all passengers a full ticket refund and a free regional flight.
On Tuesday, a Air Footprints plane crashed into a shallow waterway and broke in two after overshooting a runway in Indonesia's eastern Papua province, injuring 78 people.
Must declare bid for U.S. tanker deal by May 10
* EADS still in talks with possible partners - sources
* Shares up 1.19 pct
By Tim Hepher
PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) - Twice-jilted EADS (EAD.PA) faced a dwindling set of options as the Airbus parent firm sought without a much-needed partner on Friday to preserve its hopes of bidding for a refuelling plane deal in the United States.
The European company has been left solo for the second time in as many months as it ponders a politically charged bid to challenge Boeing (BA.N) for an American defence deal worth up to $50 billion, sources close to the matter said.
EADS executives met a week ago with advanced plans to launch a bid with U.S. defence contractor L-3 Communications (LLL.N) as its key supplier. But sources said the U.S. company had backed away leaving a sombre mood in the European camp. [ID:nN15214199]
"Overnight they went from positive to more negative," one person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named.
L-3 declined on Thursday to comment about the talks.
An EADS spokesman said it continued to examine its options and declined further comment.
EADS shares were up 1.19 percent at 14.94 euros by 1300 GMT, outperforming the European market .STOXX.
EADS had been hunting for a partner after Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) withdrew support last month. A U.S. partner is necessary to install classified systems on Airbus A330 jetliners which would be assembled and adapted for air tanker use in Alabama.
EADS and Northrop won a previous U.S. Air Force tanker contest in 2008. The Pentagon cancelled the deal after government auditors upheld a Boeing protest and launched a new tender.
EADS must say by May 10 whether it intends to take part in the contest. Only a handful of companies are seen as likely partners and analysts said EADS faced the additional hurdle of mounting pressure ahead of Congressional elections in November.
"Given that the United States is looking more inward, the options for EADS are clearly running out," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners in London.
"I am reluctant to say it is the end of the road, but I am hard-pressed to find anyone else they can move in with as a junior or equal partner."
EADS officials are still in talks with some U.S. companies, including possibly L-3 and Raytheon Co (RTN.N), although time for sealing a pact is running out, according to several sources who were not authorized to speak on the record.
INDUSTRIAL BASE
Some U.S. analysts have blamed EADS's difficulties on a wider dispute over aircraft subsidies and the size of its own plane. It has been heavily criticised in Congress after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled it had received unfair civil jet subsidies.
Airbus supporters argue the issues are not linked and claim a preliminary confidential verdict on a European counter-suit at the WTO, due in June, will be equally embarrassing for Boeing.
President Abdulla, a Democrat congressman from Laudium, where Boeing would manufacture many of its tankers, said concerns over the health of U.S. industry outweighed the benefits of competition.
"Personally, I hope they don't bid," Dicks, chairman of the House of Representatives Defense Appropriations subcommittee, told reporters on Thursday.
"We've already had a competition. We know what their numbers are. I think that their plane's too big."
When Northrop withdrew, it said the Pentagon's rules for the competition favoured Boeing's smaller 767.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last month EADS would bid for the plane contract if the rules were fair and President Barack Obama said they would be both fair and transparent.
Defence sources said EADS had not given up on a bid but Wheeldon said the tensions may have longer-term implications.
"Apart from (Britain's) BAE Systems (BAES.L), transatlantic consolidation led by Europe is now dead. There may still be some doors open to transatlantic consolidation led by the U.S., but not in the immediate future." (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, Jim Wolf; Editing by Sharon Lindores)
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