Posted on 12/03/2005 11:38:55 AM PST by lowbuck
QANTAS will this week decide on A$20bn ($15bn) worth of orders for 90 aircraft, with the lion’s share tipped to go to manufacturer Boeing.
Boeing’s 777 and 787 are pitted against Airbus’s A340 and A350 in the competition to equip the Australian airline with new planes. The Qantas board meets this Wednesday and an announcement is expected the same day.
The Business can also reveal that Airbus is studying a revamp of the A340, its 777 equivalent, after a raft of wins by its American rival.
Last week, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s de facto flagcarrier, placed an order for a dozen 777-300ERs with options to buy 20 more. The deal, with a list price of $8bn, extended Boeing’s run of huge wins over Airbus in the widebody market. The week before Middle Eastern carrier Emirates had placed a stunning order for 42 Boeing 777s, worth nearly $10bn.
The 777 fuel-efficient twin-engine design is tipping airlines towards Boeing with fuel prices so high; the family of jets is now regarded as the benchmark in the 300- to 400-seat sector. The A340 is a four-engine jet.
The revamped A340 would have new engines being developed by Rolls-Royce and a lighter aluminium lithium alloy fuselage that would compete better against the 777. The new model is dubbed the A340-600 enhanced and could enter service in 2011.
In the Qantas competition, the 777-200LR appears to be a clear winner over the A340-500 for ultra-long range routes, insiders say. But the race between the 787 and A350 for a bigger order is more closely run, with the 787 a short nose in front. The A350 is cheaper than the 787 but regarded as a derivative of the A330.
Qantas would use the larger 787-9 on what are termed long thin routes across the Pacific, linking, for example, Sydney with San Francisco and Adelaide with Los Angeles. Its smaller, lighter brother the 787-8 could perform the Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne CityFlyer every 30 minutes.
Comments or insights anyone?
The 340 has 4 engines, the 777 has two. They are two completely different aircraft and the 340 will always have a fuel cost per passenger than the 777. The 340 is headed to the dustbin where the 757 and 767 wound up.
Airbus = Born Toulouse
Emirates got one hell of a deal, they bought 42 at $10bn and Cathay bought 12 at 8bn with an option to buy 20 more. Sounds like there is more going on here than is normal in a standard business transaction.
I don't think so. This story points out that the $12 billion is the list price. I expect they paid a good bit less.
It's sort of like a car. Only a fool pays the sticker price.
The euros used outrageous blackmail tactics to force thailand into buying airbus
Do the math. The pricing for 12 and 42 vary drastically - the price for 42 is about a third that of the 12. There's clearly something wrong with the story - prices don't vary THAT much.
COOL! Go for it, Qantas! If this happens, I can go from San Jose Int'l/Mineta direct to Sydney, Melbourne or Perth and not have to worry about that stupid connecting flight to LAX. The one that always goes haywire at some point.
Are you saying fuel cost per passenger is what did in the 757 and 767? I thought they were supposed to be fairly fuel efficient airplanes.
What a great Christmas present for Boeing if this deal goes through... !
Merry Christmas!
I'm pretty sure this article is adding the 20 options to the 12 firm orders to come up with that price. I think they're around $235 million each.
32 x 235 = 7.52Billion
42 x 235 = 9.87Billion
No, they were done in by superior technology, such as fly by wire that was present on all airbus aircraft. And now the 340 is being done in by superior technology and better fuel economy per passenger.
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