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☆ Analysis: Airbus and Boeing try to fill giant factories with small jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A350 passenger aircraft are seen parked at the Airbus factory in Blagnac near Toulouse in France, June 18, 2020. That comes as Airbus is mid-way through installing a new production line for its hot-selling A321neo narrow-body jet in the deserted Lagardere building. 'STATEMENT' TO AIRBUS AND INVESTORSAirbus and Boeing were for years evenly matched in the single-aisle market which generates most cash. "(Boeing) don't want to be in a situation where Airbus moves to 70 and they are stuck at 50. "So this is a very important statement (to Airbus): 'We are not going to withdraw from the market'," he added.

[1/10] A Boeing E-4B "Doomsday Plane" military aircraft takes off at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, U.S., May 11, 2022. But it was in the seemingly endless rows at the back of the new jumbo that the 747 transformed travel. "This was THE airplane that introduced flying for the middle class in the U.S.," said Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith. "Prior to the 747 your average family couldn't fly from the U.S. to Europe affordably," Smith told Reuters. Now, two previously delivered 747s are being fitted to replace U.S. presidential jets known globally as Air Force One.

☆ Tata's Air India to seal half of jumbo plane order - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Air India did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported last month Air India was closing in on a deal for about 500 jets. The aim is to corner 30% of the domestic air travel market over the next five years thus narrowing the gap with market leader IndiGo. Tata's four airlines, including two budget carriers, Air India and Vistara its joint venture with Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI), have a combined market share of 24%. Analysts have said Air India has the ability to claw back some passengers from rival Gulf carriers but not before it matches their quality of fleet and service.

☆ European regulator sees progress in talks on Boeing 777X
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File PhotoJan 24 (Reuters) - Europe's chief aviation regulator pointed on Tuesday to a narrowing gap in talks with Boeing (BA.N) over cockpit design requirements for the future 777X airliner. "We are hopefully converging," Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) told Reuters, when asked about the progress of ongoing discussions on the 777X. Ky's remarks come shortly after industry sources said EASA held talks earlier this month with Boeing and the FAA to review certification expectations for the delayed jet. U.S. executives argue the 777 jet, which is being upgraded to create the 400-seat 777X, is one of the industry's safest.

"Our industry is still climbing out of - call it a 100-year event, call it a macro shock of epic proportions. "We are bullish and these are the reasons why I suspect there's a disconnect between the Davos in Switzerland and the Davos in Dublin," Cronin told Reuters. "It's a good time to be a lessor," said Tony Diaz, chairman of the smaller Zephyrus Aviation Capital. It's probably easy to take that second one too," Robert Korn, president and co-founder of fast growing Carlyle Aviation Partners, added. Additional reporting by Tim Hepher and Joanna Plucinska Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] The logo of Airbus is picuted at the Airbus facility in Montoir-de-Bretagne near Saint-Nazaire, France, March 4, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane MaheDELHI/PARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) is set to win an order for 235 single-aisle planes as part of a historic purchase of some 495 jets due to be announced by a resurgent Air India on Jan. 27, industry sources told Reuters. Air India and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters reported last month that Air India was close to placing orders for around 500 jets from both Airbus and Boeing after months of intense talks on the core plane order. Air India, with its maharajah mascot, was once known for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service but its reputation declined in the mid-2000s as financial troubles mounted.

☆ Airbus implements A350 design change amid Qatar Airways feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] An undelivered Airbus A350 built for Qatar Airways is seen in storage at Chateauroux, France, September 3, 2022 as Airbus and the Gulf carrier remain locked in a contractual and safety dispute. Qatar Airways has blamed the damage on a possible design defect. European regulators say the jets are safe but Qatar Airways says this can't be guaranteed without more detailed analysis. Qatar Airways seeks access to raw modelling data that would allow its technical experts to simulate the impact of lightning. In a recurring theme of the preliminary hearings, Airbus and Qatar Airways argued about how many emails and other records should be shared ahead of the trial.

DUBLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A battle for compensation is brewing over delays in the delivery of commercial jets, with a Dublin aviation summit descending into a blame game over the worst industrial disruption in years. Aircraft contracts contain dense descriptions of adverse factors which excuse manufacturers for multiple types of delay, meaning they can avoid paying penalties or "liquidated damages". Excusable delays include "acts of God", natural disasters, fire, flood, earthquakes and epidemics, among other examples, according to extracts of past contracts filed with regulators. Non-excusable delays include anything that falls outside this catalogue, but are rare, experts say. 'OVER-OPTIMISTIC'"They are not excusable at all," Aengus Kelly, chief executive of lease giant AerCap (AER.N) told the Airfinance Journal conference when asked about the delays.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents global airlines, is predicting full recovery in 2024. The crippling impact of COVID-19 saw dozens of airlines go out of business and wiped billions of dollars off balance sheets. In public, airlines and leasing firms have deplored delivery delays and are seen likely to press aircraft makers for compensation. Inflation is driving up aircraft parts and prices, while raising questions over the resilience of travel demand. Overall, more than half of the world's airline fleet is controlled by global leasing companies rather than owned directly by airlines.

☆ Lessor says Air India to order around 500 jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBLIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Air India is set to order around 500 planes as an airline industry recovery takes hold following the pandemic, one of the world's leading aircraft lessors said on Monday. The comments are the first public indication of the scale of the planned order after Reuters reported in December that Air India was close to ordering as many as 500 jets as it carves out a renaissance under the Tata Group conglomerate. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China last year placed a block order for Airbus jets. "We do expect a number of airlines will place large orders and again most of these orders will be for replacement," Udvar-Hazy said.

☆ Industry vs. Regulator - aviation heavyweights spar in Dublin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Joanna Plucinska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Willie Walsh, outspoken head of the world's biggest airline trade body, IATA, joined the European Union's top permanent transport official Henrik Hololei on stage at the Airline Economics conference in the world's aviation finance capital. But Walsh wanted to know what could be done to lift that closure, which threatens to penalise some Western airlines at the expense of Chinese and other carriers that continue to fly over Russia. He added there would be no "business as usual" if Russian airspace did reopen. Airlines accuse airports of overcharging carriers, while airports say they have to fund huge capital investments. "We allowed those who wanted to find the poster child for environmental damage to pick on aviation," he said.

☆ Airbus maintains jetmaker top spot despite missing goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The France-based company said it had delivered 663 jets or a net total of 661 after allowing for two Aeroflot jets previously caught up in Western sanctions against Russia. It won 1,078 jet orders during 2022, or a net total of 820 after allowing for cancellations. Reuters reported last week that Airbus had provisionally delivered as many as 663 aircraft in 2022. Airbus last month abandoned a target of "around 700" deliveries for the year, saying the final outcome would not be materially below this. Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury blamed the shortfall on the "complexity of the operating environment" but said Airbus would continue to ramp up production.

Russian airlines continue to operate many of the jets, but some have struggled to secure replacement parts. AerCap (AER.N), SMBC Aviation Capital and Avolon, the world's largest lessors, declined to comment on whether they were involved in talks on payment for jets from Russian airlines or their insurers. RUSSIAN STATE FUNDSRussian state backing for the talks was demonstrated in an Aug. 30 letter from its Transport Ministry to 23 airlines. That was "considerably less than the aggregate Agreed Values" for the aircraft, SMBC said in the letter. But one Western finance official said any deal would face major legal and diplomatic hurdles and talks may be premature.

☆ Airbus pledges deeper industrial ties with India
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A Airbus A350 aircraft during a display at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter CziborraPARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) plans to deepen its industrial presence in India, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said on Wednesday after meeting the country's prime minister. Faury's comments on industrial presence come as India is increasingly involved in the civil supply chain. Airbus declined to comment and Tata Group was not immediately available to comment. In October, Tata Group and Airbus said they would make the C-295 military transport aircraft in India.

[1/2] Boeing Commercial Sales and Marketing Vice President Ihssane Mounir attends a news conference at the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 20, 2019. Ihssane Mounir has been named senior vice president of global supply chain, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Stan Deal said in an email to employees. Mounir was previously senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing. Among other moves, Deal said Brad McMullen, vice president of commercial sales North America, would succeed Mounir in his sales position while Kim Smith was named to the new role of vice president of Boeing Global Services (BGS) Total Quality. Deal told reporters last week that Boeing faces a number of supply-chain issues.

ROME/PARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Italy's Vega rockets have been grounded and an investigation is under way after the latest model failed on its second mission, destroying two Earth-imaging satellites and further complicating Europe's access to space on top of the war in Ukraine. A spokesperson for Arianespace said both the Vega C and its Vega predecessor had been grounded pending the findings of an investigative commission co-chaired by technical officials from the European Space Agency and Arianespace itself. Italy's Vega C rocket is due to play an increasingly crucial role in Europe's access to space after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine forced Arianespace to stop using Russian Soyuz vehicles. But Arianespace has been forced to scrap plans to announce a Vega C launch schedule for 2023 in coming weeks. Analysts said only a few operational alternatives to Vega C exist, such as potential rideshares aboard U.S.-based SpaceX's bigger Falcon 9 or Firefly Aerospace's new Alpha launcher, which can loft roughly half the payload weight of Vega C.Other options, though somewhat larger than Vega C, include rockets from Japan and India.

LONDON/NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Air India is close to a deal to order more than 200 Boeing (BA.N) jets including 190 narrowbody 737 MAX and 30 widebody 787s - part of an historic fleet shake-up roughly split with Boeing's European rival Airbus, industry sources said on Friday. The deal is also expected to include an unspecified number of Boeing 777X long-range jets, they added. Airbus (AIR.PA) is separately moving towards a deal with Air India including at least 200 of its A320-family narrowbody jets as well as dozens of larger A350s, industry sources said. Industry sources said Airbus is expected to win a slightly larger share of the huge fleet replacement and expansion. Bloomberg reported on Friday that Boeing was closing in on an order for as many as 200 of its 737 MAX jets.

☆ Airbus and Qatar Airways line up for new UK court tussle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The latest court confrontation comes as France's progression to the World Cup final in Qatar increases high-level contacts that have previously been seen as the opportunity to explore room for agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron was welcomed at Doha airport on his arrival for Wednesday's semi-final by officials including Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, Qatar News Agency reported. Qatar Airways says widespread paint cracking has exposed deeper surface damage on the jets, prompting it to stop taking deliveries. Airbus (AIR.PA) has acknowledged quality problems with its premier long-haul model but denies any risk to safety and has cancelled all outstanding new business with Qatar Airways, which has increased purchases from rival Boeing (BA.N). Additional reporting by Andrew Mills Reporting by Tim Hepher Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Air India nears historic order for up to 500 jets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS/NEW DELHI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Air India is close to placing historic orders for as many as 500 jetliners worth tens of billions of dollars from both Airbus and Boeing as it carves out an ambitious revival under the Tata Group conglomerate, industry sources said on Sunday. Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing declined to comment. Tata Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Tim Hepher, Aditi Shah. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Air India nears historic order for up to 500 jets -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a bridge between Europe and Asia that marks Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. The two new platforms would compete head-on with each other and the United States in the global fighter market. "There is going to be a Battle Royal in the next 10-15 years in positioning the various players," said UK defence analyst Francis Tusa. The United States, which has pledged to defend all three countries through NATO and a separate security pact with Japan, welcomed the new Europe-Japan agreement.

☆ Airbus CEO details broad post-crisis industrial hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury speaks during a visit of German Economy and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck at Airbus research facilities in Hamburg, Germany, January 18, 2022. Airbus (AIR.PA) Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said the situation had also been aggravated by recent COVID restrictions leading to capacity closures in China, a major supplier. "There is an enormous problem in bringing the industrial supply chain back to strength worldwide, in the aviation world but not only in aviation," Faury told French journalists. "There is a lot of interdependence between the aerospace supply chain and electronic cards and components, raw materials and the availability of energy and skills at a worldwide level," Faury told the AJPAE French aerospace media association. Airbus assembles some aircraft and derives a large proportion of parts from suppliers in the United States.

☆ Airbus sees wide-body demand boost in 2023 and 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said on Thursday that 2023 and 2024 would be positive years for wide-body jet demand, but sounded a cautious note on fragmented global supply chains. Faury, who visited Washington last week with French President Emmanuel Macron, also told reporters the competitive impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which includes support for alternative fuel, was "a real subject of concern". Faury was speaking to the AJPAE aerospace media association in his role as head of France's aerospace industry asociation, GIFAS. Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. approves conditions for Airbus A321XLR to address fire risks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON/PARIS Dec 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it has approved special conditions for the Airbus (AIR.PA) A321XLR after concerns were raised that a novel type of fuel tank could pose fire risks in its newest narrow-body jet. Rival planemaker Boeing (BA.N) told European regulators in 2021 the architecture of a fuel tank intended to increase the A321XLR's range "presents many potential hazards". The FAA said in a filing it will require that the lower half of the A321XLR fuselage, spanning the longitudinal area of the tank, be resistant to fire penetration to protect passengers. Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Airbus drops 2022 delivery forecast, softens output goal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters reported on Friday that the target was under review after November deliveries had fallen short of expectations. Once closely tied, production and deliveries have become disconnected since the pandemic hit demand and rippled through supply chains. The speed of the production increase will depend in part on how many 2022 jet deliveries get pushed into 2023. Airbus is pushing buyers to take delivery of jets scheduled for this month, even though it has also started delaying further deliveries planned for 2023, some of which may spill into 2024. Boeing (BA.N), which has been lagging on orders and deliveries so far this year, will issue new data next week.

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