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Posted on 10/08/2006 5:21:35 PM PDT by Righty_McRight
DUBAI (AFP) - Dubai-based carrier Emirates announced plans to buy 20 747-8 Freighter planes from US aerospace giant Boeing for a total of 5.6 billion dollars.
"Emirates Airline today signed a contract for 10 Boeing 747-8Fs, and announced purchase rights for a further 10 747-8Fs," the company said in a statement.
"The combined value of these 20 aircraft is worth an estimated 5.6 billion US dollars at list prices."
The "firm order" of 10 aircraft is valued at some 2.8 billion dollars and is scheduled for first delivery in 2010, it said.
The contract was signed in Dubai by Emirates chief Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum and Boeing Commercial Airplanes Sales Director Ken Schultz.
"Our order for the 747-8Fs will be essential in helping us service our rapidly growing network of 28 freighter destinations which include exclusive freighter services in Bangalore, Lilongwe, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, and Taipei," Sheikh Ahmed said in the statement.
"Our cargo operations currently also serve Emirates 85 destinations as belly-hold space in our scheduled passenger services."
It said the planes offered "additional capacity and operational flexibility" as well as reduced noise, lower emissions, reduced trip costs, and payload capacity of 140 metric tonnes.
"The acquisition will position the carrier to take advantage of a strong regional and international cargo market," Emirates said.
"Air cargo traffic into, out of and within the Middle East accounted for 5.8 percent of the worlds tonnage and nearly five percent of the worlds revenue tonne-kilometers during 2005."
How many of them are listed as ammunition ?
If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.
Nah, not yet. These are just freighters.
I don't think so. The A380 orders were all for the passenger model. Two of them were converted from the freighter model. I think they've given up on the A380-800F. The 747-8F's will be delivered well before the A380F's could be. Placing big orders for 747 freighters will put lots of pressure on Airbus to get the passenger A380 out. The 747-8 project is close to or already reached sufficient orders to break even regardless of whether the 747-8I ever gets ordered. The 747-8I would be almost pure gravy for Boeing. Keeping the 747 line viable will put lots of pressure on Airbus's A380 pricing. The A380 will never be the cash cow the 747 was for Boeing.
A close friend in "the industry" told me at the football game yesterday that no way the Emirates will cut their 380 order b/c, with all the discounts they are getting for the delays, etc, the 380's are almost free. The euros are taking a real bath, and it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch. Schadenfreude.
I bet the breakeven number for the A380 has at least doubled. Airbus orginally claimed they'd break even with 250 airframes. I bet now it's at least 500. Boeing didn't get up to 500 deliveries of 747's till 1981 which was twelve years after the first deliveries with no competitor in its class. Boeing didn't get up to 1,000 deliveries of 747's till 1993 twenty four years after the first deliveries. By the time the 747-400 production is finished about half of all the 747's ever built will be the 400 series.
After Boeing finishes the 787, they will surely build a composite replacement for the 737 AN 757 using technologies derived from the 787 program. After that program Boeing will be ready to tackle a replacement for the 777-300ER and the various 747 models still in service using 787 based technologies. Boeing could cut the legs from under the A380 program by announcing that program in 10-15 years. A large twin engined plane big enough to replace the 747-400 and 747-8 would be so much more efficient than the quad-engined 747's and A380's that it would kill off new A380 orders. If Boeing offered a cargo version of this plane with a swinging tail door to allow loading of oversized freight, there would be absolutely no reason to continue even the freight version of the 747. The A380 would have to be terminated without ever producing the high profits Airbus promised.
Three passenger versions have been sold but they're Boeing Business Jet's so we'll never know who ordered them.
"The new orders included two VIP passenger versions of the new 747-8 derivative of the jumbo jet and also a VIP version of the mid-size new 787. The tally also included two 737 Boeing Business Jets, which are standard VIP jets."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003290459_webbdigboeing05.html?syndication=rss
Pretty sure 1 other was sold earlier this year.
It's probably for head of state aircraft for some country. It's pretty hard to hide something as large as a 747-8I. I bet several people will have pictures of them posted on websites, and we'll know who bought them.
Haha, guess I should of said we wont know until after they're delivered.
Highly likely to be Middle Eastern governments such as the UAE, Qatar, Oman, or Saudi Arabia as well as the country of Brunei. All of them fly a large number of luxury aircraft including 747SP's.
As per my friend, AT LEAST DOUBLED. Your analysis is exactly what he said, and he is in a position to know.
I read this week that Airbust's problems are even worse than they are disclosing.
1) The new CEO is stepping down because the leadership at EADS refused to accept his proposals on how to fix Airbusts current crisis. These included many of the same types of actions Boeing did back in 1997 to streamline their assembly lines when they were experiencing delays on their assembly lines and getting parts delivered ontime. Cutting redundant headcount, outsourcing some parts manufacturing, and consolidating where planes are put together. He suggested that all A320 assembly take place at the Hamburg, Germany location, and everything else in Toulouse, France. But the german reps went nuts since this would mean many job cuts on the german side, and much less on the french side.
2)The fact that Airbust is spread out among a bunch of european countries (UK, France, Germany, Spain, etc....) and that these governments have say in what happens at the company. Complicates everything 10 fold anytime the company wants to do anything related to job cuts or moving assembly.
3) Airbust has no budget for the A350, their current design had to be scrapped due to lack of interest by airlines, and all the resources that would be currently going to A350 are still working on fixing the A380.
But there is no other option but to build it, or face completely ceding the wide body commercial airplance market to Boeing for decades. Worse timing possible since they have had their butts dragged into the WTO by Boeing for the billions in subsides they were given for the A380.
Analysts have said the EU will refuse to let Airbust fail on this project and will find some backhanded way to get the billions in subsides they will need to develop it. Airbusts main reason for existence is its one of europes biggest subsidized welfare program. The euro taxpayers are going to be put into the bent over position, but Airbust wont give up the A350.
If they were planning on buying any A-380F's, that answer would be yes.
Well, Germany could always cobble together three tanks and a Jeep and conquer France... again. Anything is better than listening to them whine 11 months out of the year. In August, of course, there is no whining while they are on vacation.
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