BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government on Monday said it was in talks with Airbus about 600 million euros (514 million pounds) in outstanding loans for developing the A30 superjumbo jet, which Airbus now plans to scrap.
A spokeswoman for the German Economy Ministry confirmed the value of the outstanding loans, first reported by Funke Mediengruppe newspaper chain, but said it was premature to discuss how the issue would be resolved.
“We are analysing the consequences and discussing the issue with the company,” the spokeswoman told a regular government news conference.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Tassilo Hummel; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michelle Martin)
LONDON
(Reuters) – Rolls-Royce dropped out of the race to power Boeing’s
planned mid-market aircraft on Thursday, saying it did not want to risk
more disruption for its airline customers by rushing out a product
without extensive testing.
The
move strengthens a leading position in the high-profile contest already
held by a transatlantic venture involving Rolls’ arch-rival General
Electric, industry sources said,
Britain’s
Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for large civil aircraft and military
planes, wants to avoid a repeat of the problems with its Trent 1000
engine that powers Boeing’s Dreamliner 787.
Chief
Executive Warren East said he had taken the “very difficult decision”
to withdraw from the Boeing competition because it couldn’t make the
development of its new UltraFan architecture fit the timetable for the
aircraft.
Boeing
has proposed launching a new mid-sized jetliner to fill a gap between
the narrow and wide-body aircraft, with airline operations beginning in
2025.
“If
you enter into service with an engine that is not sufficiently mature,
then you are almost inevitably going to run into lots of in-service
issues, lots of customer disruption and lots of incremental costs,” East
told reporters.
He
said, however, that Rolls was still committed to UltraFan, a major new
fuel-efficient architecture that will power wide-body jets towards the
back end of the next decade.
CFM
International — a joint venture between GE and France’s Safran — as
well as Pratt & Whitney are also potential suppliers for the new
Boeing jet.
Pratt
& Whitney recently re-entered the civil market for narrow-body jets
and wants to expand to larger ones, but has been hit by industrial
problems.
UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS
In
the nearer term, Rolls is still dealing with the costs and disruption
of fixing Trent 1000 engines caused by the poor durability of
components.
“On
this issue we have indeed turned the corner,” East said, although he
added that the level of customer disruption was still unacceptable.
It
raised the Trent 1000 charge to 790 million pounds from 554 million
pounds at the half year, contributing to a full-year operating loss of
1.16 billion pounds ($1.54 billion), and allocated another 100 million
pounds in cash to the problem.
The issue has damaged Rolls’ standing with its big customers.
British
Airways owner IAG said on Thursday it would order 18 Boeing 777-9s,
rather than a competing package from Airbus that industry sources said
included the A350, which is powered by Rolls.
“I
have been frustrated, largely with the performance of Rolls-Royce, not
so much with Airbus,” IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh said.
East, however, said Rolls had an excellent relationship with BA and put the choice down to IAG’s fleet requirements.
“I am totally confident we will be continuing to be a major partner with BA for many, many years into the future,” he said.
East
said that aside from Trent 1000, the rest of the business was
performing well, although the large engine deliveries of 480 fell short
of its 500 target, in part due to the challenge of stepping up Trent
7000 production.
Shares in Rolls were trading down 3.4 percent at 950 pence, underperforming a 1 percent drop in the FTSE 100.
The
company reported a 8 percent rise in underlying revenue to 15.1 billion
pounds and a doubling of operating profit to 616 million pounds.
However,
changes in Rolls-Royce’s dollar-pound hedge book had a significant
impact on its results, and were in part responsible for a reported
full-year loss of 2.9 billion pounds.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle, Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair and Keith Weir)
Melbourne, 26th February 2019 – Air Vanuatu, the national flag carrier of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, has signed a firm order with Airbus for four A220s (two A220-100s and two A220-300s). Air Vanuatu’s first ever order with Airbus makes it the launch customer of the A220 in the Pacific region.
Based at Bauerfield International Airport in the capital Port Vila, Air Vanuatu operates to 26 domestic airports and internationally to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia. It began services in 1987, and has played a vital role in establishing Vanuatu as a tourist and investment destination. Currently the airline operates a Boeing 737 and ATR 72 fleet.
Air Vanuatu Chief Executive Officer Derek Nice said: “We are proud to be the launch airline in the South Pacific of the best-in-class Airbus A220. These aircraft will be deployed to operate on our current domestic and international routes, including our newly announced non-stop Melbourne-Vanuatu service, and will bolster plans to expand our network in the South Pacific.”
“By ordering the A220 Air Vanuatu is making a significant investment in advanced technology and superior passenger comfort, while demonstrating its respect for fuel efficiency and the environment. Air Vanuatu’s decision to place the Airbus A220 at the centre of its expansion plans will surely keep it one step ahead of the competition,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.
Passengers on board the A220 will experience superior cabin comfort, the widest seats and the largest windows in its market segment. The A220’s performance and range capabilities will enable Air Vanuatu to streamline its current operations and launch a growth plan that is a key pillar of Vanuatu’s economic development goals.
The A220 delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency. It brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft.
With an order book of over 530 aircraft to date, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lion’s share of the 100- to 150-seat aircraft market, estimated to represent at least 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.
About Airbus
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018 it generated revenues of €64 billion restated for IFRS 15 and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
Tokyo, 18 February 2019 – Airbus confirms the growing success of its Flight Hour Services (FHS) business in Japan with a new contract from soon-to-be A350 XWB operator Japan Airlines (JAL).
Airbus is welcoming JAL into its FHS Components Services programme for its new fleet of 31 A350-900 and A350-1000 aircraft.
JAL will become the first Airbus FHS A350 operator in Japan to benefit from the increased operational reliability provided by Airbus FHS, world leader for this service in the A350 market. The Japanese carrier plans to introduce the highly anticipated A350-900 on its Haneda – Fukuoka route from September. This FHS contract will make JAL’s A350 entry-into-service even smoother on one of Japan’s busiest routes.
Airbus FHS will provide fully integrated component services including spare pool access, on-site-stock replenishment at the main base and components repair.
Through FHS, Airbus offers airlines its extensive and proven expertise in fully integrated maintenance services, and the advantage of its OEM expertise as well as one single interface to manage their whole fleets and associated component support operations.
About Airbus Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2017 it generated revenues of € 59 billion restated for IFRS 15 and employed a workforce of around 129,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus has begun lining up tentative orders for a longer-range version of its A321 jetliner, seeking to exploit signs of hesitation at arch-rival Boeing over whether to develop a new model in a hotly contested niche of the airplane market.
The European firm is in detailed talks with airlines over the price and timing of the longer-range design – known as A321XLR – and has pencilled in some orders subject to a formal launch, expected this year, industry sources said.
Airbus is looking for 200-300 draft orders before committing to build the A321XLR, in a move that would limit the space available for a mid-market alternative that Boeing hopes to launch in a gap between medium-haul and long-haul jets.
“Every A321XLR that Airbus sells, means one less potential sale for the NMA (Boeing’s proposed New Mid-sized Airplane),” an industry source said.
An Airbus spokesman said the planemaker is “always talking to customers” and declined further comment.
The middle of the jet market is at the centre of one of the most widely watched airplane design battles for years.
Boeing is aiming its potential new 220 to 260-seat NMA at a niche previously served by two models: its own 757, a long-range single-aisle jet, and its 767, a larger twin-aisle model.
Boeing dominates the upper end of that spectrum but has come under pressure from Airbus at the lower end.
Last month it postponed a decision on whether to launch the NMA to 2020 from 2019, though it said it could still decide whether to offer the plane on a preliminary basis this year. It maintained its goal of seeing any new jet enter service in 2025.
Facing a potential new competitor, Airbus plans a pincer move, using derivatives of two existing models: the A321neo and its souped-up sister versions – the A321LR and the proposed A321XLR – at the lower end and an upgraded A330 at the top end.
Unlike the smaller A321neo, the upgraded A330neo has been selling poorly but received a boost last week when Emirates ordered 40 of the planes.
The A321XLR would attempt to make it harder for Boeing to launch its new plane by increasing pressure at the lower end of the roughly 200-270-seat mid-market, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars over 20 years.
It would have a higher maximum take-off weight of 101 tonnes and 400-500 nautical miles more range than the A321LR, Airbus’ longest-range single-aisle. It would not carry extra passengers.
The A321LR can carry 206 people for 4,000 miles or up to 240 people on shorter trips. Boeing’s proposed new jet is expected to fly 4,000-5,000 miles, but Boeing says it will do so with the greater comfort of a twin-aisle jet and at a lower cost.
Airbus is expected to try to create momentum for the A321XLR by offering airlines with existing orders for the A321neo or A321LR versions a chance to upgrade to the A321XLR.
U.S. sources have dismissed the A321XLR, saying another model in the A321 family would dilute the second-hand market, making it harder to finance orders of the new longer range version for which the market remains relatively niche.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Richard Lough)
Bengaluru
(Reuters) – European aircraft maker Airbus deliveries of its A320neo
aircraft are back on track in India with fewer problems being seen with
the narrowbody jet’s Pratt & Whitney engines, a senior company
executive said on Wednesday.
“Pratt
has informed Airbus that engine issues have come down by a factor of
four in the last 12 months,” said Airbus’ India head Anand Stanley, on
the sidelines of the Aero India airshow in Bengaluru.
Last
month, India’s aviation safety watchdog forced airlines to make extra
checks on their Airbus A320neo aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney
engines, as part of new safety protocols after temporary grounding
orders affected the planes last year.
IndiGo, India’s biggest carrier by market share, and its low-cost rival GoAir, both fly the A320neos.
The
aircraft, which entered service in early 2016, boasts significant fuel
efficiency benefits, but it has been plagued by teething issues with its
engines that have forced Interglobe Aviation-owned IndiGo and Wadia
Group-owned GoAir to regularly ground a number of the planes.
This caused a backlog in deliveries of the planes by Airbus.
IndiGo
has over 60 A320neos in its fleet and is one of Airbus’ biggest global
customer with over 400 more A320neo and A321neo jets on order. GoAir has
about 30 A320neos in its fleet and over 100 more of the jets ordered.
Stanley
said that the reliability rate on A320neo engines is now 99.6 percent
and that it has retrofitted engines of about 95 percent of the A320neos
in service. It expects to finish work on the remainder in the next two
months.
(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Writing by Euan Rocha; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
TOULOUSE,
France (Reuters) – Loved by passengers, feared by accountants, the
world’s largest airliner has run out of runway after Airbus decided to
close A380 production after 12 years in service due to weak sales.
The
decision to halt production of the A380 superjumbo is the final act in
one of Europe’s greatest industrial adventures and reflects a dearth of
orders by airline bosses unwilling to back Airbus’s vision of huge jets
to combat airport congestion.
Air
traffic is growing at a near-record pace but this has mainly generated
demand for twin-engined jets nimble enough to fly directly to where
people want to travel, rather than bulky four-engined jets forcing
passengers to change at hub airports.
And
while loyal supporters like top customer Emirates say the popular
544-seat jet makes money when full, each unsold seat potentially burns a
hole in airline finances because of the fuel needed to keep the huge
double-decker structure aloft.
“It’s
an aircraft that frightens airline CFOs; the risk of failing to sell so
many seats is just too high,” said a senior aerospace industry source
familiar with the program.
Once
hailed as the industrial counterpart to Europe’s single currency, the
demise of a globally recognized European symbol coincides with growing
political strains between Britain, France, Germany and Spain where the
plane is built.
That’s
in stark contrast to the display of European unity and optimism when
the engineering behemoth was unveiled in front of European leaders under
a spectacular light show in 2005.
British
Prime Minister Tony Blair called the A380 a “symbol of economic
strength” while Spanish premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called the
rollout “the realization of a dream”.
Passengers
marveled at the European giant with room for 70 cars on its wings,
looking rather like the hump-backed Boeing 747 but with the top section
stretching all the way to the back.
Airlines had initially rushed to place orders, expecting it to lower operating costs and boost profits as the industry crawled out of a slowdown in tourism since September 2001.
Airbus boasted it would sell 700-750 A380s, which nowadays cost $446 million at list prices, and render the 747 obsolete.
In
fact, A380 orders barely crossed the 300 threshold and the 747 has
outlived its rival, after reaching the age of 50 this week.
FALL FROM GRACE
The seeds of the A380’s fall from grace were already present behind the scenes of the 2005 launch party, insiders say.
Despite
public talk of unity, the huge task was about to expose fractures in
Franco-German co-operation that sparked an industrial meltdown. When the
delayed jet finally reached the market in 2007, the global financial
crisis was starting to bite. Scale and opulence were no longer wanted.
Sales slowed.
At
the same time, engine makers who had promised Airbus a decade of
unbeatable efficiencies with their new superjumbo engines were
fine-tuning even more efficient designs for the next generation of
dual-engined planes, competing with the A380.
Finally,
a restless Airbus board started demanding a return and stronger prices
just when the plane desperately needed an aggressive relaunch and fresh
investment, insiders said.
“It was a triple whammy,” said a person close to the debate.
As demand see-sawed, so did the plane’s marketing: starting with luxuries including showers, then vaunting its green credentials with the messianic slogan ‘Saving The Planet One A380 at a Time” before joining the race to squeeze in more people and cut costs.
Yet
despite its own deep industrial problems, Boeing was winning the
argument with its newest jet, the 787 Dreamliner. It was designed to
bypass hubs served by the A380 and open routes between secondary cities:
a strategy known as “point to point”.
Airbus fought back, arguing that travel between megacities would nonetheless dominate air transport.
But
economic growth would splinter in ways Airbus did not predict.
Intermediary cities are growing almost twice as fast as megacities,
according to a 2018 paper posted by the Organisation for Economic
Co-Operation and Development.https://bit.ly/2P28F3h
That’s a boon for twinjets like the Boeing 787 and 777 or Airbus’s own A350, which has outsold the A380 three to one.
Airbus
Chief Executive Tom Enders, who was rarely seen as an enthusiastic
backer of the A380, toyed with ending the project about two years ago
but was persuaded to give it a last chance.
But with Emirates unable to hammer out an engine deal needed to confirm its most recent A380 order, time had finally run out.
“Airbus
tends to think of it as a flagship; Enders looks at it and sees a lack
of orders,” said a person close to the German-born CEO, who steps down
in April.
Some insiders worry that Airbus will lose a valuable symbol of pride and commercial audacity when production ends in 2021.
Now,
airline bosses are seeking assurances that Airbus will support the A380
with spare parts for years to come. Many invested in the A380 as their
flagship while airports also spent heavily on new facilities.
Some customers like Air France and Lufthansa may not shed too many tears, analysts say.
They
too invested in the A380 but may also be relieved to see a potent
weapon removed from Gulf rivals like Emirates, whom they accuse of
flooding the market.
Emirates insists it plays fairly and has called the A380 a “passenger magnet,” misunderstood and badly marketed by rivals.
Its
chairman said on Thursday he was disappointed in the A380’s demise, but
added “we accept that this is the reality of the situation”.
Airbus acknowledged reports last Thursday that Quantas has cancelled an order for its 8 remaining A380 aircraft. The announcement comes on the heels of Emirates re-evaluating its decision to add on to its remaining Super Jumbo order book.
Qantas Airlines of Australia confirmed it would not take any more of the world’s largest airplane, operating a fleet of 12 aircraft, instead of the 20 it had originally ordered. This news comes on the heels of Airbus’ largest A380 customer Emirates beginning discussions with Airbus over the possibility of changing some, or all, of its remaining A380 orders to smaller A350 or A330neo models after failing to secure an engine contract from Rolls-Royce for the last A380 order it placed.
Airbus has declined to comment on the future of the A380 at this time, but reports indicate that an announcement could come as soon as this Thursday.
Airbus also reported the cancellation of an order for five of its smallest aircraft, the 110-seat A220-100. The identity of the A220 buyer was not disclosed, but is widely believed to be the Swiss-based business charter carrier PrivatAir, which filed for insolvency at the end of 2018. PrivatAir had placed an ordered for 5 of the type, the Canadian Bombardier CS100 at the time of the order, in early 2012.
Paris / Munich, 6 February 2019 – France and Germany have
awarded the first-ever contract – a Joint Concept Study (JCS) – to
Dassault Aviation (stock exchange symbol: AM) and Airbus (stock exchange
symbol: AIR) for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme. The
launch of the JCS was announced by the French Minister of the Armed
Forces, Florence Parly, and her German counterpart, Ursula von der
Leyen, at a meeting today in Paris.
The decision by both countries represents a milestone to secure
European sovereignty and technological leadership in the military
aviation sector for the coming decades. Starting date for the two-year
study is 20 February 2019.
Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said: “This new
step is the cornerstone to ensure tomorrow’s European strategic
autonomy. We, as Dassault Aviation, will mobilize our competencies as
System Architect and Integrator, to meet the requirements of the Nations
and to keep our continent as a world-class leader in the crucial field
of
Air Combat Systems.”
Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “FCAS is one of the
most ambitious European defence programmes of the century. With today’s
contract signature, we are finally setting this high-technology
programme fully in motion. Both companies are committed to providing the
best solutions to our Nations with regard to the New Generation Fighter
as well as the systems of systems accompanying it. We are truly excited
about having been given this opportunity and appreciate the trust
placed in both our companies.”
This planned Next Generation Weapons System will consist of a highly
capable manned “New Generation Fighter” (NGF) teaming with a set of new
and upgraded weapons as well as a set of unmanned systems (Remote
Carriers) linked by a Combat Cloud and its Ecosystem embedded in a
System-of-Systems FCAS architecture.
The JCS is based on the bi-nationally agreed High Level Common
Operational Requirements Document (HLCORD) signed at Berlin Air Show ILA
in April 2018 between the Defence Ministers of France and Germany as
well as respective national concept studies.
Its aim is to conceptualise the different FCAS capabilities and to pave the way for future design, industrialisation, as well as an estimated full operational capability by 2040. The study will prepare and initiate demonstrator programmes for launch at the Paris Air Show in June 2019.
British Airways’ new year’s resolution is to provide its customers with even more quality and choice in every cabin on every route – with a £6.5bn investment and 18 great reasons to look forward to flying with the airline in 2019.
Here are some of the reasons to fly with British Airways this year:
New routes. Customers can try out the airline’s new routes to Charleston y’all, with Pittsburgh, Osaka, Kos and Corsica, Ljubljana, Montpellier, among others. It’s the airline’s most extensive route network in more than a decade.
New aircraft. Customers can fly on one of the carrier’s 15 plush new aircraft being delivered this year – including four fabulous A350 aircraft.
A brand-new Club World seat, featuring on the new A350 aircraft, and two 777 aircraft by the end of the year.
WiFi. The best, live streaming WiFi on all short-haul flights and the vast majority of long-haul flights so customers can sit back and enjoy films and TV shows from their favourite streaming service.
A new look for First. New first-class dining, bedding and amenity kits from one of the UK’s best-loved designers.
An industry-leading makeover for World Traveller Plus. Look out for new bedding and new dining in this intimate and exclusive cabin.
New lounges for customers to relax and enjoy ahead of their flight, in San Francisco, Johannesburg, Geneva and JFK.
An extended partnership with premium dining supremo Do&Co, the airline’s new in-flight caterer from Heathrow and already providing meals in Club Europe.
A new ba.com homepage, making booking with British Airways even easier and more intuitive.
New partners for the British Airways Executive Club, offering even more ways to collect and spend Avios.
Digital bag tags. A UK airline first. Sync your personal baggage tag with the BA app, drop your luggage at the airport, and fly.
Self-service baggage drops at Heathrow T3 offering customers the same service as T5.
Facial recognition technology. More biometric technology at Heathrow, London City and Gatwick, New York JFK, Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami and many more. The system makes boarding faster and more convenient, helping British Airways depart flights on, or ahead of time.
New emissions-free, remote-controlled pushback vehicles for long-haul aircraft to continue to improve punctuality. Short-haul versions reduced pushback delays by more than 70 per cent.
New winter equipment – helping British Airways safely de-ice its fleet of almost 300 aircraft quicker than ever during the frosty winter months.
Hotel reservations. Investment in new technology will see rooms automatically booked for customers who miss their flights due to disruption.
Enhanced customer service. Almost 30,000 staff will receive the airline’s all-new customer service training. At T5 – more airport hosts than ever before are being re-trained to manage any customer issue, from re-booking to upgrades, lounge access, baggage and transfer queries and flight information.
And last but not least – look out for British Airways’ Centenary celebrations. It’s going to be 100 years’ old this year, and will be celebrating in style, sharing its heritage and looking at what to expect from flying in the future.