| Airbus back on track |
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| World Affairs Talk | |
| Friday, 01 June 2007 | |
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The $16 billion deal with Qatar was signed by the head of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, and Louis Gallois, Airbus chief executive, during a ceremony also attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani. Air bus described the deal as the largest contract to date. The deal is a strong gesture of friendship for France from Qatar. The accord, expected to be converted into a firm order shortly, is a boost for the struggling Aisbus, which has suffered damaging setbacks to its key A380 superjumbo program. The long-haul A350 is being designed to compete with the 787 Dreamliner manufactured by US rival Boeing. But while the 787 is expected to enter service in 2008, the fuel-efficient A350 will not be ready until 2013. Airbus chief said that the first plane will be delivered in the summer of 2013. The rival Boeing 787, largely made of complex materials, already has 584 orders in hand. Airbus by contrast had to abandon the original version of the A350 in 2006 under pressure from customers who thought the new aircraft was too similar to the existing A330 and wanted a version with a bigger body, up to 50 percent of which would be made with composite materials. The manufacturer also hesitated for several months when faced with the $10 billion cost of the programme, twice as much as originally expected. The green light for development was finally given at the end of 2006 at a time Airbus was reporting an annual loss of $450 million. The A350 can carry between 250 and 350 passengers. Airbus estimated at the beginning of the year that the A350 should have 200 orders by the end of 2007. At conservative estimates, however, the firm has until now received 13 firm orders; two from the US carrier Pegasus and 11 from Finnair. A further 91 orders that was abandoned will possibly be converted into re-orders for the re-designed aircraft. Airbus gives a more upbeat count, saying it has received 104 firm orders and 164 commitments to buy. The large majority of the orders are for the new version, which gives the company the chance of meeting its objectives. Separately on 30 May 2007, Colombia's Avianca announced it has purchased 38 medium and long-haul A320 and A330 jets from Airbus for a combined total of 2.9 billion dollars. Avianca also took options on another 32 Airbus aircraft. Delivery of the jets was to start in mid 2008. Airbus chief Gallois said on radio BFM that the orders from Qatar and Columbia showed that "Airbus is back". Share & Bookmark             |
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