Posted on 02/22/2007 8:10:08 AM PST by ConservativeStatement
Boeing has lost a huge potential order from Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot for 22 787 Dreamliners, company sources said.
The deal was all but sealed last June, requiring only the approval of the Russian government. Worth $3.2 billion at list prices, it would have been about $2.2 billion with standard discounts as estimated by aircraft-valuation firm Avitas.
But steadily worsening political relations between the U.S. and Russia have killed it and given Airbus a big, though still-unannounced, win for its A350 rival to the 787.
In an August interview, Sergei Koltovich, Aeroflot's head of fleet planning, said "both Boeing and Aeroflot are trying to make this order happen," but complained that U.S. criticism of Russia was stalling the deal.
Boeing finally wrote off the Aeroflot order "a month or so ago," said a Boeing insider familiar with the negotiations.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
People are just going to stop doing business with Russia. Boeing doesn't need to be jerked around like this.
Either that, or they are going to require independent bonding whenever they do business in Russia. This is going to wind up costing the Russians a lot of business.
Businessmen are going to have to come to the conclusion that there are no rules when you deal with Russia, and protect themselves accordingly.
We'll see how the Rooskies like their A350s when they get them...
Just in case one is to have forgetten.
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There is a myth about the pre-war intelligence. That it was flawed. It wasn’t. Those weapons that were reported as being in Iraq were there up to 6 weeks before the invasion. Some are even suggesting that Russia had a part in moving them.
Russia Moved Iraqi WMD
Charles R. Smith
Thursday, March 3, 2005
Moscow Moved Weapons to Syria and Lebanon
According to a former top Bush administration official, Russian special forces teams moved weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq to Syria.
“I am absolutely sure that Russian Spetsnatz units moved WMD out of Iraq before the war,” stated John Shaw, the former deputy undersecretary for international technology security.
According to Shaw, Russian units hid Saddam’s arsenal inside Syria and in Lebanon’s Bekka valley.
“While in Iraq I uncovered detailed information that Spetsnatz units shredded records and moved all WMD and specified advanced munitions out of Iraq to Syria and Lebanon,” stated Shaw during an exclusive interview.
“I received information from several sources naming the exact Russian units, what they took and where they took both WMD materials and conventional explosives. Moscow made a 2001 agreement with Saddam Hussein to clear up all Russian involvement in WMD systems in Iraq,” stated Shaw.
Shaw’s assertions match the information provided by U.S. military forces that satellite surveillance showed extensive large-vehicle traffic crossing the Syrian border prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
China is doing the same thing. There's an obvious anti-American bias in the marketplace. A bottle of California wine costs 10 times what it does here.
The only thing that could screw up Airbus even more is to have the Russians as large stake-holders. And it looks like this might come to pass.
Following the rules that require fair dealing is one of the cornerstones of modern trade and economic development. Airbus bends those rules. Russia completely ignores them.
There! Fixed it for ya!
The real story is that the government's investing in EADS at what they hope is a low point in their fortunes, and forcing the Airbusses on Aeroflot.
A pretty blatant conflict of interest, but that's global business for you.
D
Probably for the best. If they bought some, they would only cancel half the order once Tupolev figured out how to copy the Boeing design.
Go ahead, Putin, cut your friggin' nose off to spite your face.
Boeing has a design facility in Russia, and they designed the modifications to the Boeing 747-400 DreamLifter that will carry 787 DreamLiner parts to Washington for final assembly. So with Boeing already invested in Russia, there is no political gain for Putin to continue to prime the Boeing pump, and lots of political gain cozying up to Airbus.
Please, when can we say the cold war is officially re started?
The USSR had to change the rules if it was ever to have a chance if winning. They already control much of the worlds press and university system but the bad name they had earned was holding them back.
The new kinder USSR.
Aeroflot will have to settle for Il-96s again when Airtbust can't deliver and Boeing won't.
Cubana Airlines flies these smoky old dogs. I saw a couple of these come and go in Mexico City some years back...
This is a retaliation for our sanctions against Russian companies that sell weapons to the Iranian ayatollahs who kill Americans in Iraq.
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