European Aircraft Manufacture: Airbus and Boeing Compete to Win American Airlines Plane Order

European aircraft builder Airbus aims to win a large plane order from AMR Corp’s American Airlines by offering $6 billion in preferential financing to woo the American carrier away from rival Boeing , according to the Wall Street Journal.

Airbus wants to break Boeing’s monopoly at American Airlines and has assembled a team of lenders and leasing firms to help the European company win the deal, people familiar with the proposal told the newspaper.

Airbus’s offer has a catalog value of almost $23 billion, but that is being heavily discounted, the people told the paper.

The European plane maker is offering American, a unit of AMR Corp , 130 of the current-generation A320s and 130 of the more fuel-efficient A320neo, the new engine option slated to enter service in 2015, the newspaper said.

American Airlines, which currently operates an all Boeing fleet, might make a decision about its airplane order as soon as next Wednesday, the people familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, Boeing is offering 737-800s and 737-900 Extended Range planes, people familiar with the matter said. However, the price and financing terms were unclear, the paper said.

Boeing is also racing to develop a product strategy for its best-selling 737 model to compete with redesigns of the A320.

“Boeing does not discuss our ongoing talks or sales campaigns with our airline customers,” Boeing spokesman Jim Condelles told Reuters.

Official at American Airlines and Airbus could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner International Debut at Farnborough International Airshow

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing will introduce the latest technology for commercial aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing 787 Dreamliner will make its first international debut at Farnborough International Airshow.

Senior Vice President, Boeing, said “We have chosen Farnborough as a place to highlight the breakthroughs and innovation capabilities of both our commercial aircraft and defense, space and security business. We look forward to an optimistic mood this year as an industry leader meet amid signs of economic recovery. ”

The 787 flight-test airplane, ZA003, will touch down at Farnborough the morning of Sunday, July 18 and will remain on static display through mid-day July 20. Read more

Airbus Receives Record Order from Emirates for A380

As more signs begin to emerge indicating the aerospace industry is on a slow recovery from the recession, Dubai-based carrier Emirates revealed Tuesday a request for the largest order of Airbus A380s ever placed.

Emirates Airlines is quickly becoming the Middle East’s largest carrier, and was already the top customer for the A380s, with 58 on order. However, Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, said the recent expansion of the order marked a ‘vote of confidence’ for the airline.

Emirates received its first A380 back in July 2008, and now operates 10 of the aircraft to eight different locations including Toronto, London, and Paris. Read more

Virgin Blue Signed Agreement With Boeing for Large Aircraft Orders

Virgin Blue airlines announced today its signing of an agreement with Boeing for its largest order of aircraft ever.

It has signed for up to 105 brand new 737 aircraft, completing nine months of negotiations between the carrier and the aircraft manufacturer.

The order includes 50 firm B737-800NG aircraft, with flexibility to convert to either B737-700 or B737-900, 25 additional firm delivery positions secured as options and 30 future purchase rights.

Virgin Blue did not disclose the pricing of the aircraft but said that it expected to finalise its funding arrangements for the aircraft soon.
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Boeing Commercial Airplanes Possibility to Modify Structural Next Generation 737 Engine

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing may modify the production of Boeing 737 Next Generation. VP of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in an interview with ATI and Flightglobal ISTAT, “We’ve talked in moderate detail about what to do. What do we think we’ll have to do is we should have a new mast, new nacelle, wing reinforcement and strengthening of the potential wingbox. ”

Tinseth explains that Boeing “doesn’t really want to touch the main landing gear and we don’t have to. We’ve looked a little bit around maybe some minor modifications around the nose landing gear, still yet to be determined.”
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United Airlines Signs Firm Order for 25 Airbus A350 XWB Aircraft

United Airlines has made a firm order for 25 of Airbus’ A350 extra-wide bodied jets, fulfilling a commitment signed in December, the European aircraft manufacturer said Wednesday.

Deliveries of the 314-seat A350-900s are scheduled to begin in 2016 and run through 2019, Airbus said in a statement.

The order is half of a 50-aircraft order United announced in December, when it also unveiled plans to buy 25 of Airbus’ rival Boeing Co.’s 787 jets.
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KLM Takes Delivery Of Eco-Friendly Aircraft

KLM has taken delivery of a new Boeing 777-300 long-haul aircraft that is reportedly more environmentally friendly than its predecessors.

The plane is the first to leave the manufacturer’s plant using a new form of paint that does not include chromate, a development that reduces the environmental impact of the painting and stripping processes. Read more