Company Watch - Airbus

AirGuide Business, April 27, 2009

New York (AirGuideBusiness - Company Watch) Apr 26, 2009

Airbus is looking at having some A350 manufacturing work done in Tianjin, the Chinese port city where it already has an A320-family assembly plant. The aircraft-maker's VP of co-operation and partnership with China, Marc Bertiaux, told state-run China Daily "negotiations are underway between Airbus and relevant Chinese counterparts to locate part of the A350 work in Tianjin". Apr 24, 2009

Airbus has established a Watchtower Committee to monitor its customers and financing needs, an operation similar to the War Room established by Boeing Capital in August 2007. It replicates a similar process which followed 9/11, says Nigel Taylor, senior vice-president, customer, project and structured finance for Airbus. It analyses the "real" needs of airlines over the next two years, seeking to determine if any carrier may not need the equipment this year and moving the aircraft around if necessary. It also analyses pre-delivery payments and surveysthe banks in line to finance customers. Apr 24, 2009

Airbus' new A320 assembly plant in China has already produced two aircraft and is on track to deliver its first before the end of June as scheduled. Airbus Tianjin general manager Jean-Luc Charles says two aircraft have already been painted and the first has its engines fully installed and the factory is installing the engines on the second aircraft. Chinese leasing firm Dragon Aviation Leasing owns the first aircraft and this is to be leased to Sichuan Airlines while the second aircraft is going to Hainan Airlines, says Charles. Apr 24, 2009

Seven countries have signed a three-month moratorium on the Airbus A400M military plane, a French spokesman confirmed on Tuesday, a reprieve which was offered to planemaker Airbus last month. The seven countries -- Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and non-EU member Turkey -- had in March agreed a three-month moratorium to prevent automatic cancellation of the EUR20 billion euro (USD$25.81 billion) contract. For Airbus the moratorium is a reprieve amid a delay in delivery of the A400M military transport plane, with governments deliberating whether to scrap Europe's biggest arms project. The seven countries have ordered a total of 180 of the A400M planes, and some countries, notably Germany and Britain, have expressed anger over delays of 3-4 years on the delivery of the plane, which could cause billions of euros in penalties. Apr 23, 2009

Airbus said it "achieved a significant maintenance cost improvement due to the optimization of scheduled maintenance program intervals" for the A330/A340 family. The A check interval has been extended from 600 to 800 flight hr. and the heavy maintenance check from 10 years to 12. The company said that as a result, operators typically will need to perform five A checks per year rather than seven based on "typical utilization" of 4,400 flight hr. per year. The new 12-year heavy check interval means operators can "synchronize" the six yearly intermediate checks and heavy checks, "leading to a reduction of one heavy check in the aircraft life." It estimated the savings from the revised intervals at potentially up to 6%, or around $1 million per aircraft, "over a 15-year period at present values." Apr 20, 2009

GMT Global Republic Aviation announced the purchase of four Airbus A320-200s from Orix Aviation. Dublin-based GMT now has 24 aircraft in its portfolio. Apr 20, 2009

Macquarie AirFinance closed the purchase of two CFM56-5B3/P-powered A321-200s from Aercap. Aircraft are on lease to Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia through 2015. Apr 21, 2009

Singapore Airlines Engineering extended the coverage of a three-year Fleet Management and Support Services contract with Gulf Air. Initial deal covered 14 A320s, six A330s and nine A340s and was valued at $100 million. Subsequently, the contract was extended to cover an additional four A330s, one A320 and increased scope of services, bringing the total value of to $135 million. Apr 20, 2009

Undeterred by the global economic slump Star Alliance member Swiss International Air Lines is pressing ahead with efforts to reinforce its identity as a premium brand with the introduction of fresh first- and business-class products on factory-new Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Launched in 2002 from the remnants of defunct Swissair, Zurich-based Swiss struggled to carve out a long-term survival strategy. Three years later the loss-making carrier agreed to be acquired by Lufthansa, while retaining a separate identity within the group. Since that time, "a new kind of spirit has come to the company", Swiss chief network and distribution officer Harry Hohmeister said on 20 April, just before the carrier's first A330-300 took its inaugural return flight to Zurich from New York JFK. Apr 24, 2009

According to Swiss International, the eco-friendly Airbus A330-300 long-hauler consumes around 13% less fuel per passenger than the A330-200 it replaces, largely through its more advanced and fuel-efficient engines but also because of a number of innovations on board. The latter include the new air cushions, which make the Business Class seat some four kilos lighter than they would be with conventional foam padding. The new seat technology alone will save over 650 tonnes of kerosene a year fleetwide, and this in turn will reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 2 000 tonnes. Lighter materials have also been used for the inflight trolleys. Not only does this save a further 240 kilos per aircraft, and thus 380 tonnes of kerosene and 1 200 tonnes of CO2; the lighter trolleys are easier to handle and manoeuvre, too. Apr 21, 2009