This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Boeing and Airbus Intensify Their Sales Pitches to AirTran June 27, 2003 By EDWARD WONG Sales executives from Airbus and Boeing have been meeting with AirTran Airways this week to try to land what would be one of the largest aircraft orders this year, Airbus and AirTran officials said yesterday. The executives have been meeting at AirTran's headquarters in Orlando, Fla. The order, for 100 planes, is valued at several billion dollars and will be announced this summer, said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran's marketing director. It would be the biggest order placed so far this year in terms of the number of planes. AirTran intends to take delivery of the first aircraft next year, Mr. Hutcheson said. AirTran, a low-cost carrier and one of the few profitable airlines in the United States, called for proposals in March for 100 aircraft. Airbus and Boeing began wooing the company immediately, and talks have intensified in recent weeks. AirTran is considering planes from either Boeing's 737 family or the Airbus A320 family - exactly the types of jets that have proved to be popular with growing low-cost airlines. "We've got a team talking to the airline this week," said Mary Anne Greczyn, an Airbus spokeswoman. "Orlando is a very busy place this week. Everybody who's got a horse in this race is down there." Ms. Greczyn added that sales representatives from the major engine manufacturers were also in Orlando talking to AirTran. Engines are the most expensive pieces of equipment on a plane. Airbus has been sending sales executives from its North American headquarters in Herndon, Va. The company is based in Toulouse, France. As for the progress of negotiations, Mr. Hutcheson simply said, "It's a buyer's market out there." The order is critical for both airplane makers. Boeing, based in Chicago, is depending on it to show the industry that it can compete favorably against Airbus, especially among low-cost airlines. Airbus, meanwhile, is seeking to increase further its lead over Boeing in terms of numbers of orders landed this year. A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations. AirTran uses a fleet of 64 Boeing 717's and 8 DC-9's. It is phasing out the DC-9's, used on shorter routes, and is taking delivery of nine more 717's before the end of the year. Last year, Airbus scored a big victory against Boeing when it landed an order for 120 A319's from easyJet, the profitable low-cost airline based near London. That was the biggest commercial plane order placed last year, and the deal also included an option for 120 more planes. JetBlue Airways announced in April that it was ordering 65 more A320's. On June 16, Emirates Airline signed a contract with Airbus at the Paris Air Show for 41 planes, including 21 A380's, the giant 550-seat aircraft that Airbus will roll into service three years from now. The Emirates deal was valued at $12.5 billion and generated a lot of talk at the air show. Airbus and Boeing executives at the show shied away from talking much about the pending AirTran order, despite their usual air of braggadocio at the show about potential orders. Mr. Hutcheson said AirTran intended to place an initial order for either Boeing 737-700's or Airbus A319's. But the company could ask for options to upgrade those jets to larger ones from the same fleet families to give it more flexibility. That means the order could later be changed to include the larger 737-800's and 737-900's, or the A320's and A321's. Depending on the plane type, the number of seats could range from about 120 to 180. Mr. Hutcheson said the new aircraft would allow AirTran to add more transcontinental routes. AirTran's Boeing 717's cannot fly from the airline's hub in Atlanta to the West Coast. This month, AirTran began service between Los Angeles and Atlanta by leasing two A320's from Ryan International Airlines, based in Wichita, Kan. Raymond E. Neidl, an analyst at Blaylock & Partners, wrote in an investors' note yesterday that "multiple expansion is warranted" in AirTran's near future and that he expected the airline to gain market share and remain profitable at least until 2005. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/27/business/27AIR.html?ex=1057718209&ei=1&en=3134310c58686211 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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