BoeingBus From United States of America, joined May 2004, 1588 posts, RR: 18 Posted (7 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 2156 times:
But what I found interesting is the following response from Carson... and I wonder how true is this??? seems logical as there are certain costs associated with 'all-new' aircraft to an Airliner.
"Discussing the Airbus rival to the 787, the A350, Carson said the European decision to make the proposed plane an "all-new" jet, not a derivative of the A330, could work to his advantage. His reasoning: Common parts between the A350 and the A330 would have reduced the costs of a mixed fleet that used both, but now A330 operators will have less reason to stick with Airbus..
"By making it an all-new airplane, they've really opened up the marketplace for us," Carson said."
Starrion From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 1081 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (7 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 2053 times:
And sticking too much with the A330 could make the 787 vastly more competitive.
It really comes down to the raw numbers between the two models. Right now the airlines that have been placing orders have found the 787 fits their needs. Other airlines that have not yet placed orders may find the new A350 meets their needs. Other than HP/US who just needed the money.
AirFrnt From United States of America, joined Jul 2004, 2775 posts, RR: 43 Reply 3, posted (7 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 1914 times:
Quoting BoeingBus (Thread starter): "Discussing the Airbus rival to the 787, the A350, Carson said the European decision to make the proposed plane an "all-new" jet, not a derivative of the A330, could work to his advantage. His reasoning: Common parts between the A350 and the A330 would have reduced the costs of a mixed fleet that used both, but now A330 operators will have less reason to stick with Airbus..
Airbus is really stuck between a rock and a hard place as many people opposed to the A380 have been pointing out for years. Several different articles from European press is reporting that BAE is unhappy with the current state of things with the A380 and hinting that the board of Airbus is not letting them move ahead until they have the A400M and the A380 done.
The economist predicted that the A380 would have to break 500 planes to look decent. These orders have been very slow to materialize, and even EK which has a huge percentage of the back order is holding out on future orders right now. Now add that it looks certain the 747ADV is going to launch, and the A380 looks like more of a drag then a help to Airbus.
Airbus finally seems to be realizing that they are going to have to compete with the 787 with something other then a new plane. Carson's statement is spin. It's much better for Boeing if Airbus puts a inferior product on the market and they have a 10 year rather then a 2 year advantage.
The questions now are:
a) Will Airbus continue seeking launch aid? The launch aid is now going to act as a drag rather then a boost for the A380 since they have to repay debt on a per plane basis. Likewise the United States is finally getting smart on how to use the international insitutions (WTO) to their advantage. Airbus may win if they take the Japanese manufacturers to case, but if the US wins, they can slap tariffs on a whole bevy of European goods. That includes airlines, of which the United States currently contains half of world wide capacity.
b) Will Airbus be able to launch a A350 while dealing with the fiscal drag of the A380 and the new competitiveness of the 787? Obviously the answer here is yes, because answering no effectively returns Airbus to the B-market space they had prior to the A320/330/340.
c) How will Airbus deal with the 350's introduction? The 350 cuts off two Airbus families, the A330 and A340. That's fine for the 340 family which was always a bit weak against the 777s, but the A330 was a strong product line that the 787 and 350 have weakened considerably. Plus, they are now playing according to Boeing's Yellowstone plane. Not good when you dance to your opponents tune?
d) What happens when Boeing announces the 737NNG next year? (and it will happen that soon).
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