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#1 |
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Senior Collector
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 194
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MADRID, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Spanish airline Iberia (Madrid:IBLA.MC - News) said on Thursday it had decided to order nine long range Airbus A340-600 planes, with options for another three, to replace aging Boeing 747s in its fleet.
Iberia said in a statement three Airbuses would be delivered in 2004, five in 2005 and one in 2006 and the deal came with a guarantee from Airbus for the residual value of the planes. The firm, one of the few European airlines to have shown profit growth in 2002, said the deal would considerably increase profitability on long-haul services, increasing income per passenger kilometre and reducing fuel, maintenance and crew costs as well as the cost of capital. European manufacturer Airbus and its U.S. rival Boeing Co (NYSE:BA - News) had been locked in a fierce contest for the order as airlines worldwide scale back their fleet expansion plans and aircraft orders dry up. Airbus looks likely to overtake Boeing as number one in the aircraft industry in 2003. Boeing expects to deliver 280 aircraft from Seattle this year, down 27 percent from 2002 and lagging far behind Airbus which plans to ship 300 jets over the same period. But Airbus also concedes an Iraq war could cut that number. In mid-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange Boeing shares were up 1.0 percent at $30.89 in a falling market. |
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#2 |
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AirBoeingBus
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Thats great , its not a surprise anyway since they are already operating the A340-300s but I am disappointed with Boeing comments about the Iberia's Airbus deal .
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My jetphotos.net photos Plane pictures.net photos Let's welcome Boeing newest product, the Boeing 7E7.
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#3 |
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Insane Collector
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Omaha
Age: 38
Posts: 1,042
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With the 7e7 coming out....you would think that the 747-500/600 with a new economical design, composite/aluminum-alloy construction, redesigned cockpit, etc. would be in the works. It is a fantastic plane, but honestly it hasn't kept up with the times. It is the model-T of widebodies....but they never really worked on a major re-design.
It is a tried and true frame...it just needs to adjust a bit. Boeing is already tooled for it's production...just re-examine the big picture. I am not an Airbus conspiracy theorist....but Boeing is resting a bit to hard on it's laurels. If they don't learn to evolve, they might just be the next Lockheed or Douglas of civil aviation. Embraer, Bombadier and Airbus are wanting a bite of their lunch. While talking about it...isn't that Embraer 170 bad-***? ![]() |
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