This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Air New Zealand Picks Airbus Over Boeing for 15-Jet Order July 5, 2002 By BLOOMBERG NEWS AUCKLAND, New Zealand, July 4 (Bloomberg News) - The European plane maker Airbus won an order today from Air New Zealand for 15 A320 single-aisle planes worth about $750 million, wresting a longtime customer from the Boeing Company. Air New Zealand, the national carrier, also took options on 20 additional A320 aircraft to replace its fleet of leased Boeing planes. Delivery of the aircraft will begin in October 2003, as leases on Boeing 737-300's expire. Airbus and Boeing are struggling to win orders after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and as the slow economy has sapped demand for new planes. Air New Zealand wants more fuel-efficient jetliners to help it return to a profit. "It's a good win for Airbus," said John Middleton, an analyst at ABN Amro in London. "Winning these orders is a question of two things: who offers the best price, and who gives the most useful product." Airlines typically try to avoid switching types of aircraft as the move requires additional training for pilots and repair crews, and more expenses for spare parts. Shares of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, which owns 80 percent of Airbus, rose 4.8 percent today. Shares of BAE Systems, which owns the other 20 percent, rose 0.4 percent. "It was a hard-fought contest with Boeing's 737 new-generation planes," the chief commercial officer of Airbus, John J. Leahy, said. "This airline has been around for 60 years and this is the first time it's taken Airbus planes." Charlie Miller, a spokesman for Boeing in Europe, said he had no immediate comment on the Air New Zealand order, but he said Boeing believed Airbus was producing more planes than the market required, reducing prices and profits for both manufacturers. Boeing, based in Chicago, has said it will produce 28 percent fewer planes this year, and will cut back output by an additional 20 percent in 2003, to between 275 and 300 aircraft. Earlier this week, Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, said it would deliver about 300 jetliners this year and next. Production in 2002 will fall about 8 percent from last year. The chief executive of Air New Zealand, Ralph Norris, said the A320 offers more flexibility on short-haul international routes in terms of range, capacity and cabin layout than Boeing planes. The new aircraft, he said, "will have a net positive impact" on the carrier's financial performance. The 150-seat A320 has a list price of about $52 million each. Air New Zealand will lease five of the new planes through the General Electric Company's aircraft leasing unit, GE Capital Aviation Services. The remaining 10 planes and other equipment will be acquired through a combination of leasing and outright purchases still to be determined within a capital budget "in excess of $400 million," Air New Zealand said. It has not yet chosen engines for the planes. The replacement of current leases will require a "very small" additional financing commitment, Mr. Norris said. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/05/business/worldbusiness/05AIR.html?ex=1026873758&ei=1&en=e97624cb0d7aff30 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company