Posted on 12/08/2005 3:04:41 AM PST by lowbuck
Australia’s Qantas Airways has deferred a decision on a major order for new aircraft for at least a week.
The Oneworld alliance carrier’s board met yesterday to consider orders for as many as 100 long-range widebodies and chief executive Geoff Dixon had hinted that decisions were likely at that time.
Qantas says in a statement today, however, that no firm decisions were taken and that its board has called a special meeting for 14 December “to further consider its long-term fleet plan”.
Dixon adds: “This meeting is expected to discuss and approve major aircraft purchases, including the new aircraft for Jetstar’s international operations.” Executives have for months been considering orders for Airbus A340-500/600s or Boeing 777-200LR/300ERs as well as A350s and/or 787s and the airline has said it could commit to as many as 100 orders. Reports have suggested that Boeing is in the lead with its long-range 777 variants over Airbus’ A340 offerings, while the A350/787 competition is considered a much closer race and some reports say Qantas may order both types. Fleet plans are particularly complicated now as many of the new widebody aircraft will be intended for low-cost carrier Jetstar. Jetstar currently only operates services within Australia as well as to New Zealand using narrowbody aircraft but Qantas’ board yesterday approved a proposal to make it a long-haul international operator by January 2007.
Dixon said at the weekend that the fight for orders between Airbus and Boeing represented “the closest contractual race I have ever seen in my time in the industry”. He added that “the tenders we have got are the best we’ve seen for a rollover case for aircraft in the history of Qantas”.
I'm flying AIR NEW ZEALAND to Aussie and back later this month and it will be my last flight with them or QANTAS. The trans-Tasman route has plenty of operators flying it and lots of capacity. I'll switch to EMIRATES or AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS or any other carrier after this crap from these two airlines.
ping
You might not have much luck - a friend is quite high up in Qantas and I've had a go at him about this policy. He says it is very close to universal on all airlines now - Qantas and Air New Zealand have just attracted attention.
QANTAS is assessing Airbus's last-minute bribes to see if they arrive at the level of rationalization and/or justification for its acqisition of more of the Euro-peon Neo-Soviet oooperative/committee-designed and piece-rate/scattered-cottage-industry built flying computer games.
It'll be a sad and sorry day for the flying kangarooted if the "sophisticated"* Euro-peons' Airbus's bribes beat out Boeing's better birds.
[*"Sophisticated:" - Dead-and-decadent-Euro-peon euphamism for 'Arse deep in corruption']
,,, I'm taking a fifteen year old daughter, a thirteen year old son and a nine month old daughter with me - that's three seats to the aisle with the infant on mum's lap. I'll enjoy my flight in the cargo hold.
,,, isn't that amazing? Surely a development like this would have hit this forum like a farm fresh egg hits a frypan.
,,, what offends me just as much is we didn't get cheapie internet fares and no meal is served on these flights :)
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