Company Watch - Airbus

AirGuide Business, July 7, 2008

7/7/2008

Airbus is expected to sell five A380 superjumbo aircraft to All Nippon Airways (ANA), its first sale of the world's biggest passenger plane to a Japanese airline, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday. A sale in Japan would be a big breakthrough for the European plane maker as it has only about 4 percent of Japan's market, compared with a half share elsewhere. Japanese airlines have bought almost all their planes from Boeing as part of a wider effort to mend trade relations between Japan and the United States after a period of friction in the late 1980s, the Nikkei said. An ANA spokesman said the airline had set up a committee on Thursday to select a new fleet of large aircraft, but no decisions had been made. He said the committee was examining three options for a new fleet -- the A380, Boeing's 747-8, or not acquiring a new fleet at all. ANA does not know when the final decision will be made, though the airline has repeatedly expressed interest in the A380 aircraft, the spokesman said. 7/4/2008

Airbus parent EADS on Friday seemed close to two deals to spread the hefty cost of the next Airbus. EADS and British aerospace group GKN are close to a deal for GKN to take control of an Airbus wings factory at Filton in Britain, sources briefed on the matter said. The deal could be finalized around the time of the July 14-20 Farnborough air show, one of the sources said, asking not to be identified. EADS and GKN both declined comment. EADS said it was in exclusive talks with private French aerospace group Daher to sell it a majority stake in its general aviation unit EADS Socata. EADS has been edging towards deals with GKN and Daher for months as it seeks partners to share the EUR10 billion euro (USD$15.7 billion) cost of the next Airbus, the mid-sized A350 which will include costly composite materials. Daher is one of two companies which had been seen as a potential future partner for Socata, the other being Italian firm Piaggo, whose Avanti aircraft rivals the TBM. 7/5/2008

China Eastern Airlines announced a CNY1.3 billion lease deal for three Airbus A340s with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Leasing Co. China Eastern plans to add 20-30 aircraft each year through 2013, increasing capacity by 12% annually. It currently operates 220 aircraft. CEA MD Cao Jianxiong said the leases will help with the carrier's cash flow problem. 7/1/2008

Egypt Air plans to buy five planes from Airbus and Boeing, the state news agency said on Thursday, quoting the company's chairman. "It was decided to buy five airplanes instead of renting them," Tawfiq Assi was quoted as saying by MENA news agency. He said the airline was arranging financing to buy two Boeing 777 and three Airbus A330 planes. He did not say how much the company would pay. The purchase would bring the number of Boeing 777's in the fleet to eight and the number of Airbus A330's to 11, he said. Flag carrier Egypt Air, founded in 1932, flies to 60 cities. It aims to carry 11 million passengers by 2011, from about 6.5 million in 2007 and have a fleet of 75 aircraft by 2013. 7/4/2008

Germanwings will phase out four of its 29 Airbus A319s Nov. 1. "We don't want to make the mistake of expanding at any cost. The business of our industry has changed, especially the high fuel prices. We have to be profitable. That's why we have to reduce our fleet," MD Thomas Winkelmann said. It was not clear whether any destinations will be removed from the network or if there will be any employee reductions. 7/4/2008

Gulf Air received two Airbus A321-200s on lease from Macquarie AirFinance. 7/4/2008

Irkut is producing components and subassemblies for the A320, A330/A340 and A380 and also is partnered with Airbus on the A320 passenger-to-freighter conversion program. In late 2005 EADS bought a 10% stake in the company for $65.3 million. 7/2/2008

Madrid Aerospace Services, the 50/50 joint venture between Iberia and ST Aerospace, was founded officially, Iberia announced. The Madrid-based facility will maintain A320, A330 and A340 landing gear and complement the current Airbus aircraft maintenance services supplied by Iberia's maintenance division and ST Aerospace. The European Commission cleared creation of the JV last month. 7/2/2008

Middle East Airlines took delivery of its first A330-200 directly purchased from Airbus. The Trent 700-powered aircraft is part of an order for four placed in 2006 that will replace MEA's three leased A330s. It also operates six A321s, has six A320s on order and eventually wants to operate a fleet of around 16 aircraft. 6/30/2008

Socata[sup.1]s confirmed role on the Airbus A350 would lift recent doubts over the future of firm, a 97-year-old company which built the first plane to cross the Mediterranean. Socata's aircraft such as the recently unveiled 6-7 seat TBM 850 are at the opposite end of the scale from Airbus airliners, ranging up to the A380 superjumbo, and are aimed at businesses and wealthy owner-pilots. The TBM series has brought once loss-making Socata into a small profit in the past four years. But EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois said in January it could not manage without outside support.It has expertise in fuselage construction but lacks the financial muscle needed to keep up with demand for fuel-saving lightweight materials. 7/5/2008