Paris Air Show Analysis: Day 1

Day 1 of the Paris Air Show is over, and here are the results:

Boeing: 46 total orders (6 today)

• 6 x 777 Freighter (GECAS)
• 40 x 737-900ER (Lion Air - these had already been ordered but the customer was unidentified until today)
  

Airbus: 342 total orders (310 today)

• 3 x A320, 80 x A350, 3 x A380 (Qatar)
• 60 x A320, 10 x A330, 22 x A350 (US Airways - 20 of the A350s had already been noted on Airbus' order sheet)
• 8 x A380 (Emirates)
• 30 x A320 (Jazeera)
• 60 x A320 (GECAS)
• 12 x A350, 7 x A320 (ALAFCO - the A350 had already been noted on Airbus' order sheet)
• 2 x A320 (Nouvelair)
• 25 x A320 (S7)
• 2 x A380, 18 x A320 (Air France)

In other words, an excellent day for Airbus, which has seen its high-profile models, the A350 and the A380, struggle recently. Both of the models saw strong sales today. And the A320 family continues to be a serious competitor to the 737 family. Airbus' success today has garnered a lot of media attention - rightfully so.

But Randy Tinseth, VP of Marketing at Boeing, thinks that Boeing's relatively paltry order numbers aren't indicative of much. In his latest blog post, entitled 'The long run', he says, "So keep in mind it’s just one week out of 52." Translation: just because Airbus is doing so well here doesn't mean that they'll be in the lead when it comes to year-end totals. "We don’t save orders to score points in an artificial battle for the week," said Tinseth, referring to Airbus' practice of 'saving' orders for events like the Paris Air Show. "Other companies" - cough cough Airbus - "might have a different approach – and maybe that works for them," he said.

Tinseth has a point. Today's orders are good news for Airbus, but the folks in Toulouse can't let their 'newfound' success go to their head. Boeing has seen strong sales so far this year, and both companies will continue to battle it out after the air show is over. Even though they are interesting and important, there is a tendency for people to get carried away with the numbers. For Airbus: congratulations. For Boeing: it's only the first day of one week.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

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Paris Air Show: Day 1

The 47th Annual Paris Air Show opened earlier today in Le Bourget, France. The Air Show is a place where many airlines announce orders for airplanes from the major manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus, and this year, the main focus is on two airplanes in particular: the 787 and the A350. Here are the highlights of the first day's events. This post will also be updated throughout the day - check back later! (Pictures are courtesy of Boeing and Airbus.)

GECAS orders Boeing 777 freighters
GECAS (GE Commercial Finance) announced an order for six Boeing 777 Freighters, although GECAS could substitute some of them for passenger models in the future, if desired. The order is valued at $1.42 billion at list prices (keep in mind that for the majority of these large orders, there's usually a discount).

Lion Air orders Boeing 737-900ER
Indonesian carrier Lion Air announced an order for 40 more Boeing 737-900ER airplanes, an order valued at over $3 billion in list prices. Lion Air now has 100 total orders for the 737-900ER.

Akbar Al-Baker, CEO Qatar Airways, and Louis Gallois, CEO Airbus

Qatar Airways orders 80 A350s, 3 more A380s
Qatar has ordered 80 A350 'XWB' planes and an addition three A380s, meaning that they now have five A380s on order. The A350 order is broken up into 20 of the -800, 40 of the -900, and 20 of the -1000 varieties. Deliveries, according to Airbus, will begin in 2013. This order was a key one for Airbus, whose A350 has been slipping behind the Boeing 787 in terms of orders.

Chairman of Emirates Group Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Gallois

Emirates orders 8 more A380s
Dubai-based Emirates has agreed to buy eight more A380s. A launch customer for the type, Emirates has the largest number of A380s on order, with 55. “It gives us a great sense of pride that Emirates Airline are showing such faith in our A380 product and in Airbus," said Airbus chief Louis Gallois. "We thank Emirates Airlines for this."

Jazeera Airways orders 30 A320s
Kuwait-based Jazeera has ordered 30 Airbus A320 aircraft, bringing the number of A320s it has on order up to 40.

US Airways increased A350 order, announces 'fleet renewal'
US Airways has announced that it will buy 92 Airbus aircraft for its fleet renewal in the future. The order is comprised of 22 A350-800s, 10 A330-200s, and 60 A320 family airplanes (a mixture of A319s, A320s and A321s). This is a sign that US Airways is committed to operating a predominantly Airbus fleet - it already operates 205 Airbus aircraft.

Nouvelair orders 2 A320s
Tunisian charter carrier Nouvelair has ordered 2 A320s, complementing the fleet of thirteen A320 airplanes (A320s and A321s) that it already has.

GECAS orders 60 A320 family airplanes
GECAS, which earlier announced an order for the 777F, has also signed a deal with Airbus for 60 more A320 family airplanes, which include the A318, A319, A320 and A321.

ALAFCO chair Ahmed Al Zabin with Airbus COO John Leahy

ALAFCO orders A350, A320
Kuwait-based ALAFCO (Aviation Lease And Finance Co.) has signed a firm contract for 12 A350s and has also ordered seven A320s.

S7 CEO Vladislav Filev with Airbus COO Leahy

S7 orders 25 A320 family planes
Russian carrier S7 has ordered 25 A320-family airplanes, adding to its leased fleet of A319s. Deliveries start in 2009, and the order is worth $1.8 billion at list prices (even though Airbus sales chief John Leahy said the actual price was "somewhat" less than list). Interestingly, S7 also recently ordered new Boeing 737s.

Air France signs MOU for A380, A320
Airbus announced that Air France would sign a 'memorandum of understanding' to buy two A380s and 18 A320s, although it should be noted that this is not yet an official order.

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Lufthansa, JAL go for Embraer

I'm creating a new post here because the other one was getting a bit long. Not to be outdone by Boeing and Airbus, Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer has also announced new aircraft orders at the Paris Air Show:

Lufthansa has ordered 30 Embraer 190 airplanes, with the option to order other planes in the 'E-Jet' family. The order is valued at over $1 billion (at list prices, of course). The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in January 2009.

JAL has ordered 10 Embraer 170 airplanes, with options for five more. The first delivery is scheduled for 2008; notably, the planes will have a single-class interior and fly for J-AIR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JAL, which flies regional routes throughout Japan.

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EasyJet announces the 'ecoJet'

Amid much prodding of major airplane manufacturers to produce 'greener' planes, European budget airline easyJet has unveiled its design for an aircraft that it calls the 'ecoJet', an airplane that it says will be "25% quieter and would emit 50% less CO2 and 75% less NOx [nitrogen oxide] than today’s newest aircraft (the 737 and A320 families of aircraft)".

The design, which is made up of a variety of current technologies, should be implemented by easyJet by the year 2015. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are projected to be cut in half by the design. It would be built probably by either Airbus or Boeing, and could, according to Andy Harrison, easyJet CEO, be built within eight years: "We are spending £4 billion on aircraft. They will listen to us."

He also said, “The aviation industry has an excellent record in reducing the environmental footprint of aircraft. Today’s aircraft are typically 70% cleaner and 75% quieter than their 1960s counterparts. Now we are planning the next generation that will help towards taking the plane out of the emissions equation. The aircraft example we have unveiled today represents the next major step forward in airframe and engine technology. The lightweight structure and open-rotor engines are based on technologies that are being developed right now by the major manufacturers. The “easyJet ecoJet” is realistic and it is achievable. If the “easyJet ecoJet” were to be made available today we would order hundreds them for fleet replacement and to achieve the ‘green growth’ that our industry has committed to."

The ecoJet makes sense from a marketing perspective for easyJet. Airlines, especially in Europe, have come under fire from politicians and environmental groups for contributing large amounts of greenhouse gases like CO2. And 'budget' airlines, like easyJet and Ryanair, have been singled out in particular, mostly because of their rapid expansion.

Leo Van Wijk, vice-chairman of Air France-KLM, has dismissed the airline industry's concern over global warming as "a load of BS". But it is important that airlines, airports and governments do everything they can do to reduce emissions. Airplane designs need to be more efficient; airports need to have less wait times, and air traffic control could be more efficient. That said, people ought to keep in mind that airlines only produce about 1.6% of global CO2 emissions.

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United: still looking to merge

United Airlines CFO Jake Brace recently said that his airline is still looking for a merger partner. He recently said that there are still airlines that United could merge with, but that it isn't looking to do a hostile take-over. He said that "consolidation is not something that one company can do in isolation. We don't believe that ... hostiles in the airline industry are very successful. Our belief is that you have to do something on a consensual basis." Evidently he was referring to the failed US Airways hostile takeover attempt of Delta.

Brace also said what United was looking for in a merger partner:

• an airline with a strong Atlantic network (like Continental or Delta). This is one of United's weaker areas.
• an airline with a southern hub (like Delta) so that it can increase its presence in the Caribbean and Latin America, which is its other main 'weaker area'.
• an airline with a strong northeast presence (like Continental, US Airways, and to a lesser extent, Delta)

United has long called for increased consolidation within the industry, but hasn't really been specific in saying which airline would be a best fit. Both Continental and Delta have been rumored to be serious possibilities, and United actually contacted Delta back in 2005 about a merger. (Delta declined.) Delta seems, at this point, the most likely candidate - it has one of the strongest Atlantic networks, it has a southern hub (at Atlanta), and it has a pretty good northeast presence. Of course, other airlines are fair game, too - and until United management announces which airline it's interested in, we probably won't know for sure.

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Air France retires Boeing 737

photo courtesy albspotter

Yesterday, French carrier Air France retired the Boeing 737 after 25 years of service. According to a press release issued by the airline, Air France ordered twelve Boeing 737-200s in 1982 - the first aircraft ordered by Air France that required only two pilots.

Yesterday's flight was flown by F-GJND, a Boeing 737-500, which was delivered to Air France in December 1991 and flew over 34,500 hours four the airline. The flight, AF1703, was from Turin to Paris and was flown by Eric Monlouis, the head of the airline's 737 division.

Air France, which has operated the -200, -300 and -500 versions of the 737, now uses an all-Airbus fleet (comprised of the A318, A319, A320 and A321) on its short and medium haul routes.

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Interflug IL-62

It's been a slow past few days in terms of news, so here's an interesting video clip featuring defunct East German airline Interflug. It's the opening titles from the East German TV show "Treffpunkt Flughafen", which appeared on TV from 1985 to 1986, a show which followed around the crew of an Ilyushin IL-62.

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