looking at the USA airlines, I think AA is the forerunner to make a 7E7 order to replace their aging A300s. UA and CO are content with their 767 & 777 fleet. US may not be around, and they're leaning toward Airbus with the A330, as well as, NW. DL can't figure out how to handle their pilots and their mixed widebody fleet of MD11s, 767, and 777s. kr -----Original Message----- From: Jim Klug <j_2h@xxxxxxxxx> Sent: Apr 30, 2004 4:23 AM To: orders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [orders] A lively airplane rivalry ahead Lots of interesting tidbits in this article - especially the number of 7e7 delivery slots. - Jim Friday, April 30, 2004 A lively airplane rivalry ahead 'An interesting battle' between Boeing, Airbus By JAMES WALLACE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER AEROSPACE REPORTER EVERETT -- The chief executive of one of Boeing's best customers expects a lively competition in the coming years between the 7E7 and the Airbus A330-200. "It will be an interesting battle, and my prediction is that Airbus will win some contests and Boeing will win some others," said Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman and chief executive of International Lease Finance Corp., one of the world's biggest leasing companies "And it will be beneficial to the airlines because there will be two strong products," said Hazy, who was at Paine Field yesterday to take delivery, along with Air France, of the first of Boeing's longer range 777-300ER jets. Air France is leasing the plane from ILFC. The midsize Airbus A330-200 will be the main competitor to the 7E7, which is scheduled to enter service in 2008. The Airbus plane has been in operation with airlines since the late 1990s and has been taking significant widebody market share from Boeing and its slow- selling 767. The 7E7 will be a replacement for the 767, as well as for older jets such as the A300 and A310 and even Boeing's 757. "I think the program will get off to a good start," Hazy said of the 7E7. "I'm confident Boeing will get additional orders this year from some high-profile customers. And then the momentum will go from there and we will see how Airbus responds." ILFC was one of the launch customers for the A330-200. Boeing is wooing the leasing giant to be a launch customer for the 7E7 this year. "They are trying," Hazy said of Boeing. He said Boeing sent a large team down to visit ILFC, which is based in Los Angeles, last Friday. And earlier this week, Boeing commercial boss Alan Mulally had dinner with Hazy in Beverly Hills, Calif. Boeing officially kicked off development of the 7E7 on Monday with a 50-plane order from All Nippon Airways of Japan. "The ANA order will obviously increase the momentum," Hazy said. But Hazy said it was premature to say whether ILFC will be a launch customer for the 7E7. The leasing giant is talking with a number of airlines that would likely lease the new Boeing jet as part of any order. ILFC has about 75 customers who lease Boeing and Airbus widebody jets. "We are doing a lot of analysis," Hazy said. "We are talking to a lot of our customers." He said Airbus also has an agenda. "They would like to sell us more A330-200s. So it will be an interesting competition." Since 1977, ILFC has bought about 600 jets from Boeing. It is also a key Airbus customer. Hazy named several airline campaigns now under way that could possibly produce launch orders for the 7E7. He mentioned Singapore, Emirates, China Airlines and China Southern. "There is increasing interest and the rest of this year will see a lot of activities," Hazy said. Initial delivery slots could be hard to come by. Boeing said yesterday that it has just 92 delivery positions available though 2009. Boeing Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher said Tuesday that Boeing could have at least 100 total launch orders for the 7E7 by year's end. Boeing has said it has made 7E7 offers to at least a couple U.S. airlines. But Hazy does see anyone stepping up and ordering the plane this year. Airlines in this country are still trying to recover financially from the industry's worst downturn. "The interest in the 7E7 is different than on past widebody programs," Hazy said. "Historically, the major U.S. airlines were an integral part of any launch of a Boeing or Douglas plane. This time around, we are seeing the biggest amount of interest in Asia and a considerable interest in Europe and the Middle East. "But the U.S. carriers obviously have some short-term issues they have to deal with. Even though they like the (7E7), they like its capabilities, from a financial point of view, I don't think this year they are ready to make major commitments." This week, Mike Bair, senior vice president of the 7E7 program, said Boeing will have made proposals to airlines by the end of May that total about 500 7E7s. Many of those orders could be finalized by the time the 7E7 makes its first flight in 2007, he said. But Hazy said reaching that goal depends on what happens in the North American market. "If the North American market continues to be sluggish, and under financial pressure, then the 500 planes would be difficult to achieve," he said. Airbus claims that it is not worried about the 7E7. Airbus argues that its planes can carry more passengers and that that offsets Boeing's technological advantage of a newer plane with a mostly composite structure. Airbus has said it will wait for the new 7E7 engines to be developed and then use them on its A330-200. "I assume Airbus will incorporate some improvements into the A330 as time moves on," Hazy said. "How radical those improvements will be is a question of how successful the 7E7 will be. But I don't expect Airbus to just watch the show go by without doing something." Initially, Hazy expects Airbus to try to win A330-200 orders on pricing. "By the time the 7E7 comes out, all of the research and development costs of the A330-200 will have been paid for," he said. Airbus also has the advantage that its plane is already in the market place, he said. Even though Boeing won the All Nippon order easily, Hazy predicted that other order campaigns will be hard fought. "Boeing is going to win many of those campaigns," he said. "But Airbus is going to fight back. They are just not going to sit on the sidelines. And customers will benefit from the competition. It will make Boeing sharper and Airbus sharper. It is good for all of us." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. 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