US plane-maker Boeing said its rival Airbus may sell so few of
its 555-seater superjumbo aircraft it could be unable to repay
the USD$3.5 billion in launch funds loaned by governments, the
UK’s Guardian newspaper said on Friday.
The newspaper said Randy Baseler, head of marketing for Boeing’s
commercial airplanes, ridiculed Airbus’ forecast global demand
of 1,138 planes. He said demand was at most 320 and Airbus would
find it impossible to break even on sales of 250 A380s.
The paper said Baseler said Airbus had won its first 129 orders
for the A380 by offering airlines a 40 percent discount on the
USD$230 million list price.
Boeing has been overtaken by Airbus as the world’s top
commercial planemaker, after the European firm topped it in
deliveries in 2003 for the first time. The rivals have been in a
long-running dispute about the level of demand for the
superjumbo, which Airbus plans to start delivering in 2006.
By: Airline owner - 31st March 2004 at 14:17
theyre rivals they are bound to slag each other off
By: 4 engines good - 31st March 2004 at 12:59
Airbus forecasts some 1,100 very-large aircraft being sold. Boeing says won’t even be 400. The true figure will probably lie in between.
Those two have a long history of rubbishing and forecasting gloom for each other. I’m sure privately they would both admit there is room in the market for both companies and also for both their new flagship aircrafts to co-exist.
By: Bmused55 - 31st March 2004 at 10:42
Originally posted by Ren Frew
Corporate mudslinging is normally founded in jealousy anyway.
Exactly. I beleive Airbus got the ball rolling on this one, slandering Boeings claims about the 7E7 a week or two ago
By: Ren Frew - 31st March 2004 at 10:38
Corporate mudslinging is normally founded in jealousy anyway.
By: Bmused55 - 31st March 2004 at 09:15
Originally posted by Jeanske_SN
How many A380’s are on order by now? What will be their production rate, two per month or so?
I read they were expecting 2.5 a month. Around 130 are on order… but these are just orders.. may disapate if the prototypes don’t perform as Airbus have promised.
Remember, orders mean nothing until they are delivered and paid for.
By: Jeanske_SN - 31st March 2004 at 08:44
How many A380’s are on order by now? What will be their production rate, two per month or so?
By: Bmused55 - 31st March 2004 at 07:42
This is just Boeings respoines to Airbus rubbishing the 7E7 as nothing but a fantasy and being unable to competed with their “superior” products.
Ignore anything they both say about each other…. LOL!
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March 31, 2004 at 5:49 am