They’re keeping their options open long term!
SIA says “door still open” to A350 order
Nicholas Ionides, Singapore (15Jun06, 08:58 GMT, 251 words)Singapore Airlines (SIA) is willing to continue discussing a possible A350 deal with Airbus despite announcing plans yesterday to order up to 40 competing Boeing 787s.
The Star Alliance carrier’s spokesman says that “we don’t believe in closing the door on anything”, adding that SIA still intends to continue talking with Airbus about the A350.
“The door is still open.”
SIA announced yesterday that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire 20 787-9s and take purchase rights for another 20, for delivery between 2011 and 2013. The announcement came after a long-running evaluation of the 787 against the A350 that had been slowed in part by the many changes that were made to the A350 over the course of the campaign.
In April, senior Airbus executives asked SIA to delay placing a widely expected order for 787s until they were able to present it with full details of a radical revision planned to the A350, which is expected in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, SIA is continuing to assess offers from Airbus and Boeing for additional ultra-large and ultra-long-range aircraft. It has been considering ordering more Airbus A380s or becoming a launch customer for the Boeing 747-8 for some time, while also considering firming up Boeing 777-300ER options and/or ordering 777-200LRs to replace its five Airbus A340-500s.
“They are still under consideration,” the spokesman says of aircraft in the ultra-large and ultra-long-range categories, adding that SIA’s CEO, Chew Choon Seng, said recently that those evaluations were “in the final stages”.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
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June 15, 2006 at 9:15 am