Aerospace Notebook: Boeing turns tables on Airbus sales ace

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER ^ | Wednesday, February 8, 2006 | JAMES WALLACE

[Paleo Conservative]

John Leahy, the hard-driving, always entertaining super airplane salesman for Airbus, has made life miserable over the years for The Boeing Co.'s commercial jetliner sales people. He's kept them up late at night trying to figure out how to outfox him.

But it may be Leahy who is burning the midnight oil these days.

The German magazine Der Spiegel, in a report published this week, quotes from a fiery internal Airbus memo written by Leahy in which he blasts strategic mistakes made by Airbus in its showdown with Boeing.

"In the view of the investors, Boeing has taken over the leadership in all airplane categories," according to an English translation of the Leahy memo, which the magazine said is dated Nov. 10, 2005.

Airbus could fall even further behind Boeing, Leahy warned, and his memo suggested an aggressive Airbus PR campaign "to win back lost territory," Der Spiegel said.

The magazine said Airbus unofficially suggested that the memo was deliberately exaggerated to galvanize Leahy's colleagues.

Although Airbus is delivering more planes than Boeing, and has won the order battle each year since 2001, many industry analysts believe Boeing ended 2005 in a much better position than its rival, owing in large measure to the sales success of its 787 Dreamliner and the 777, which is crushing the Airbus A340 in market share.

Leahy's memo was sent to Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert and four other high-level managers in the company, the magazine said.

The A340 family is the airplane model that is "worrying us the most," Leahy wrote in his memo, according to the magazine.

Asked for comment Tuesday, an Airbus spokeswoman said the company does not talk about internal memos. But she added:

"That said, prefacing and following a record year for Airbus, the commercial team continues to motivate management in its quest for success, rather than simply celebrate and then go about business as usual. Though 'business as usual' has been quite good for Airbus, we will strive to top our own achievements with even better products and services for our customers and better performance from our employees."

[Paleo Conservative]

If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.

[Moonman62]

I'm so ashamed for laughing at that picture.

[appeal2]

As they used to say on Batman, "The Worst is Yet to Come."

When Boeing goes ahead with the composite/plastic 737, they have a tremendous headstart. All of the composite subcontractors are already in place. Further Airbus has no money to begin their plastic A320. They will have to get the funds from gifts from Germany France, Spain and England and there will be another nasty trade spat. In addition they can't find the funds yet for the A350 which will allow them to stay in the market going against the 787, but everyone acknowledges that its a loser.

Its a sad commentary when Scairbus can't bribe, blackmail or exert EU political pressure to get their planes sold. This shows that their products are heavily inferior to Boeings. And that is the deep dark secret.

[Turbopilot]

You should be. The death of human beings should not be acceptable material for a dig at a corporate entity. I appreciate the ping, but as conservatives and Freepers we should be better than that.

[nightdriver]

Where was this Air France crash? Was it the one in Canada during a rainstorm a year ago or so?

[Paleo Conservative]

Nobody died in that crash.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

The A340 family is the airplane model that is "worrying us the most," Leahy wrote in his memo, according to the magazine.



A340 = Gas sucking piece of junk. Give it up Airbust. You sold a whole 15 of them last year and they were all EU dictated orders.

[conservative in nyc]

According to the CBC, nobody was even seriously injured as a result of last year's Air France Flight 358 crash in Toronto. Yes, it was an Airbus 340.

[bybybill]

The deep dark secret is that the private sector can adapt faster and ultimiately make a better product then a government run industry.
Now, we need to use this information to fix the schools.

[Paleo Conservative]

The deep dark secret is that the private sector can adapt faster and ultimiately make a better product then a government run industry. Now, we need to use this information to fix the schools.

Read this article.

Schools of Reeducation?

[Tribune7]

PR can only take you so far.

[Wiz]

Made in USA nummmmmmmbbbbbbbberrrrrrr ONE!

[RayChuang88]

The thing that is really helping Boeing is the fact it appears that Boeing's model of more point to point service for international flights instead of hub to hub service is becoming true. That's why the 787 sales have been so amazingly strong.

Airbus will be lucky if they can sell more than 375 A380 planes.

[gridlock]

Airbus will be lucky if they can sell more than 375 A380 planes.

It seems to me that the Airbus model of hub to hub service was devised after they decided that they wanted to build the biggest airliner in the World. That decision was a political one, and all the rest of the justification is nonsense devised to support the pre-determined conclusion.

Now reality is coming back to bite them in the butt.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Liberals/Anti-Americanist/Socialist/EUs/ are saddened

[Prophet in the wilderness]

" Its a sad commentary when Scairbus can't bribe, blackmail or exert EU political pressure to get their planes sold. This shows that their products are heavily inferior to Boeings. And that is the deep dark secret. " ,,,,,

Thats what happens when you build your business/government/or everyday life on a flimsy foundation of socialism/communism/anti-captialism.
That is a great testament to a American company like Boeing that can go up against a company ( a company that is just a front for socialism/communism ) and be successful and compete against a company that is funded by a few EU countries.

BTW..... Boeing MAYBE already working on a composite replacement of the 737.
A sad point though, Boeing has adopted some of the liberalism of Washington state, or either by force or by choice to adopt liberalism by the liberals of that area.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

PR ? You mean petroleum refined ? lol.... forgive for the pun.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

I don't have any current update information of how many orders the A-380 has, but, as of June 2005, only 159 were ordered.
The delay that Airbus announced last year really had a bad effect on the airlines that were hoping to get the plane sooner.
Those airline who were sitting on the fence, or could have backed out of the orders might just give the 747-8I another look.
" Airbus will be lucky if they can sell more than 375 A380 planes. "
That's being a little to optimistic of 375 for the A-375 being ordered, most of those airlines that did order the A-380 did it out of the prestige of having the largest passenger airliner in the world.
Yes, I know, I know, well what about when the 747 came into service ?
Well, back then ? the 747 was a large techiclogial step and size step forward in uncharted territory, and the size difference between the 747 and the A-380 is not that great.
How long do you think that the novelty of having the largest ( WHALE JET ) pax airliner in the world will last and wear off ?
Most of those airports were those airlines are that ordered the A-380 have to spend MILLIONS if not BILLIONS to upgrade the airports and runways to accept the A-380.
I think only 4 airports in the USA is only going to spend that kind of money to accept the A-380.

[Tribune7]

forgive for the pun.

Now, that is asking a lot for that one :-)