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Subject: A380 Sucks - FedEx
VelocityVector    11/7/2006 5:18:45 PM
International Herald Tribune Airbus loses its first A380 customer By Carter Dougherty International Herald Tribune FedEx, the American freight and logistics company, on Tuesday canceled an order for 10 Airbus A380 superjumbo jets, becoming the first customer to abandon the plane in the wake of the production delays that have shaken the European company. The order will instead go to its American rival, Boeing, which will supply FedEx with 15 of its 777 Freighters, a plane also designed for long-haul cargo flights. Frederick Smith, chairman and chief executive of FedEx, cited Airbus's recent decision to delay delivery of the superjumbo amid production bottlenecks as the reason for shifting its order to Boeing. "Global demand for air cargo and express services continues to grow rapidly, and FedEx has made significant investments in our network to meet customers' needs and fulfill our business objectives," he said. "Therefore, it was necessary and prudent for us to acquire the Boeing 777 Freighter." The value of the FedEx contract for Airbus was confidential, but the passenger version of the A380 lists for about $300 million. Still, Airbus is not likely to lose $3 billion because freighters, which have less elaborate interiors, are somewhat cheaper, and because the FedEx order was placed at the lower rates from 2001, an Airbus spokeswoman, Barbara Kracht, said. Though the industry has been rife with speculation about possible cancellations of A380 deliveries, FedEx's decision is nonetheless a jolt to Airbus orders at a time when it can ill afford such losses. It also could set off what Airbus likely fears the most: other cancellations and fewer orders. "This is a disaster for Airbus," said Doug McVitie, managing director of Arran Aerospace, a consultancy in Dinan, France. "The fact that it is a freighter and not a passenger version does not minimize the impact in any way." The company has also been jousting with its largest customer, Emirates, which last month sent teams to Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, the main Airbus production sites, to review its orders for 43 planes. A second team of Emirates engineers is expected to arrive in Toulouse this month to study the progress of A380 assembly there. Two weeks ago, Virgin Atlantic Airways announced it would postpone by four years an order for six A380s, becoming the first airline to step back from its commitment to the plane. At the very least, analysts said, FedEx's move will be a heavy burden for the Airbus sales force, though whether it will prompt further cancellations from other A380 customers is unpredictable. Airbus, already in the deepest crisis of its 36-year history, has said it expects to sell 751 planes during the life of the program. That goal is now in jeopardy. "Having the first outright cancellation of an A380 won't make it any easier to sell it to other airlines," McVitie said. Until FedEx abandoned the A380, Airbus had 159 firm orders for the plane, unchanged in about a year, making the decision a painful blow, analysts said. The future of the A380, the world's largest passenger jet, began to look uncertain last year when Airbus announced a first delay amid problems in wiring the planes at its factory in Hamburg. But the problem persisted into this June, when Airbus announced another delay, lost a new chief executive to political turmoil, and began laying the groundwork for a cost-cutting program designed to shave €2 billion off its yearly costs. To achieve that goal, Airbus plans to reduce the number of suppliers it uses to 500 from 3,000, though that shift will affect general procurement of things like office supplies and furniture rather than aircraft parts. Thousands of jobs, most likely spread across its German and French facilities, are also at stake. Airbus, the main subsidiary of European Aeronautic Space & Defense, said it regretted the FedEx decision. "That said, we respect their need to address capacity growth," an Airbus spokesman, David Voskuhl, said. Boeing, for its part, touted a new success for its 777, the world's longest- range twin engine aircraft, which will replace FedEx's aging fleet of McDonnell Douglas-11F airplanes. "We're looking forward to working with FedEx on this new chapter in our relationship," said Ray Conner, vice president of sales for the Americas at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The order is worth up to $3.6 billion for Boeing based on the list price of the 777, double that if FedEx exercises options it has also obtained to purchase another 15 planes, according to a spokesman, Bob Saling. FedEx announced plans to buy the freighter version of the A380 for its FedEx Express subsidiary in January 2001 after a two-year study of the its long-term needs for long-range jumbo aircraft. The 777 freighter was not available in 2001. "The Boeing 777F will allow FedEx Express to fly directly between major markets and hubs in Asia, Europe and the U.S. wit
 
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Herc the Merc    I don't like Airbus either   11/7/2006 5:23:59 PM
But the new A310 and 320 are ok-- Nothing like a Boeing, all American muscle. Zoom in perfect comfort. Cadillac of the skies.
 
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Danton74       11/7/2006 6:53:56 PM
Ahem, yes. FedEx makes a sound business decision - is that your point? Oh, no, the title of this thread is Airbus Sucks so you must work for Boeing, right? Or perhaps you know someone who does.
 
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TAC II       11/8/2006 7:11:29 PM
Qantas Orders Additional A380 Aircraft
 
 
 
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TAC II       11/8/2006 7:12:30 PM
Qantas Orders Additional A380 Aircraft
 
 (Source: Qantas; issued Oct. 29, 2006)
 
SYDNEY, Australia --- Qantas Airways announced today that it had placed firm orders for eight more Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger aircraft.  
 
The Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Mr Geoff Dixon, said the order increased the airline’s commitment to the A380 to 20 aircraft, to be delivered between August 2008 and 2015.  
 
Mr Dixon said the A380 was clearly the most suitable aircraft for Qantas to deploy on dense longhaul routes from Australia to the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and possibly the Middle East.  
 
"Our decision to increase our order has been made after an extensive review of the recent problems at Airbus and the delivery schedule delays of the A380.  
 
"We are convinced that these problems relate to industrialisation issues at Airbus and will be remedied, and in no way relate to the technical capacity of the A380.  
 
"The A380 has breakthrough technology and everything we have seen reinforces our view that it is the best available aircraft for Qantas.  
 
"It will provide unprecedented comfort and space, as well as meeting our payload and range requirements."  
 
Mr Dixon said Qantas had made an original order for 12 A380s with options for a further 12 aircraft in 2000.  
 
"We have negotiated an attractive ‘package’ to firm up an additional eight A380s. The package also includes an additional four A330-200 aircraft which will help Qantas mitigate capacity concerns associated with the delay of the airline’s first A380s.  
 
"The four A330-200s will be delivered between December 2007 and December 2008."  
 
Mr Dixon said the terms of the new contract provided, among other things, protection against any further delay in the A380 delivery schedule and slide rights in the event of changed circumstances.  
 
He said the Qantas Board believed the new aircraft order gave the Qantas Group long term certainty of supply of the world’s most up to date aircraft.  
 
"In parallel with the A380 order, we have a contract with Boeing for the supply from 2008 of up to 115 B787 new generation aircraft, which also have the very latest technology for aircraft in the 300 seater range.  
 
"The Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 both have up to 20 per cent lower operating costs than existing aircraft and will form the nucleus of the fleets out to 2015 for Qantas and our low cost airline Jetstar."  
 
Mr Dixon said Qantas would use a combination of outright purchase and operating leases in acquiring the aircraft. "All the costs of these new aircraft will be met by operating cash flows," he said.  
 
Mr Dixon said Qantas had also decided to buy five more Boeing 737-800 aircraft for delivery from February 2008.  
 
"The Boeing 737-800s will be used along with our existing 33 B737-800s in Australian domestic operations and will replace older B737-400s. The B737-400s will be sold, redeployed or converted to dedicated freighter aircraft."  
 
The Qantas Airways Group has a fleet of 219 aircraft.  
 
-ends-  
 
 
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jean       11/9/2006 2:34:56 AM
that was foresseable. I rely on airbus industrie , and the capacity to solve all the problems. A3xx are good planes.
 
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Herc the Merc    Jean   11/9/2006 5:47:37 PM

that was foresseable. I rely on airbus industrie , and the capacity to solve all the problems. A3xx are good planes.


L'Airbus A300 est scary and noisy, the takeoff est tres scary--it runs on le runway forever before it lifts off. I mean what engines are these?
 
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Claymore       11/11/2006 2:26:57 AM
The government funded experiment is a few more delays away from deflating
 
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jean       11/11/2006 4:11:52 AM



that was foresseable. I rely on airbus industrie , and the capacity to solve all the problems. A3xx are good planes.



L'Airbus A300 est scary and noisy, the takeoff est tres scary--it runs on le runway forever before it lifts off. I mean what engines are these?
2 kind of engines made in the USA .............sorry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A300

 
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Danton74       11/11/2006 6:22:34 AM

The government funded experiment is a few more delays away from deflating

I hear tell of Boeing being extremely quiet about its own delays and leaving the all the attention fall on Airbus.

Besides, many in the aircraft business would argue that all the tax breaks and subsidies Boeing gets that it should really not complain too loudly about what others do - not to mention the rank corruption in the bidding process for US government contracts it enters into - if you wish to find out more check - Lockheed Martin spying scandal, Japanese government subsidy payments, over pricing of aircraft for US Air force contracts etc etc.
 
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Danton74       11/11/2006 6:24:18 AM







that was foresseable. I rely on airbus industrie , and the capacity to solve all the problems. A3xx are good planes.




L'Airbus A300 est scary and noisy, the takeoff est
tres scary--it runs on le runway forever before it lifts
off. I mean what engines are these?


2 kind of engines made in the USA .............sorry.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A300" target="_blank">link


Its only after American pilots flew the Airbus range that sales really took off - so in Herc's own opinion they don't know what the hell they're talking about.
 
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