The war of words between aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus has taken a subtle, yet biting, turn. On March 30, Reuters quoted the President of Airbus China as saying that no Chinese carriers have canceled their aircraft orders. The following day, the Wall Street Journal quotes the President of Boeing India as saying that it doesn’t expect Indian carriers to defer or cancel orders. It’s nice to hear such an upbeat assessment of the Asian aircraft market by both manufacturers, though the pronouncement of such good news is a subtle jab at its fierce competitor.
Both Boeing and Airbus have faced challenges in the rapidly growing Chinese and Indian markets, respectively. India-based Kingfisher Airlines was forced to defer taking
delivery of 32 of 48 Airbus A320 planes due for delivery in
late 2008 and 2009 and is seeking a delay in delivery of its A380s to 2014. For Boeing, Chinese state owned carrier Shanghai Airlines raised questions about the performance of the early 787s and openly entertained the idea of cancellations.
It’s no coincidence that these two stories were published a day apart:
No China airlines have cancelled orders -Airbus
SHANGHAI, March 30 (Reuters) – European aircraft maker
Airbus (EAD.PA) has had no order cancellations from Chinese
airlines so far amid the global industry downturn, its China
president said on Monday.
China’s three biggest carriers have all predicted losses for
2008 as a slowing economy curbs air travel, spurring the
government to encourage cancellation or postponement in
deliveries of plane orders.
A few Chinese airlines have asked for delays in taking
delivery of previous orders but none has cancelled, Laurence
Barron told Reuters on the sidelines of an event to mark the
delivery of an A320 single-aisle plane to China’s privately
owned Spring Airlines.
“We have some discussions to help certain airlines get
through the difficult period, but we are talking about a
relatively small number of aircraft. We don’t have any
significant problem at the moment in delivering our aircraft,”
Barron said.
Boeing: Don’t Expect Indian Carriers to Defer, Cancel Orders
BANGALORE, March 31 — Boeing Co. reiterated Tuesday that it doesn’t expect any Indian carriers to
defer or cancel orders already placed with the U.S. plane maker despite
a slowdown in the air travel sector.Boeing has to deliver 100 planes worth $17 billion to Indian
carriers over the next five years, Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing
India said.“We have had zero cancellations in India” despite the economic
downturn, Mr. Keskar told reporters on the sidelines of a news
conference held to open Boeing’s research and technology center in the
southern Indian city of Bangalore.“We managed our order book and that’s why today we are reaping the benefits (of no cancellations),” Mr. Keskar said.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.