Setback for sales of cargo version of giant Airbus

Khaleej Times ^ | 2 June 2006 | Staff

[Paleo Conservative]

Dusseldorf, Germany - European plane-maker Airbus has suffered a setback in sales of the cargo version of its giant A380 plane, with the airline Emirates dropping two from its order, a German magazine said on Friday.

In Paris, Airbus confirmed the Dubai-based airline had cancelled orders for two such A380F jets, but said Emirates had ordered two passenger versions of the huge double-deck aircraft instead.

Airbus said this meant Emirates, the biggest customer for the huge jet, would still be buying 45 of the new planes.

The magazine, Wirtschaftswoche, quoted the European manager of Emirates, Keith Longstaff, as saying there was lack of clarity in the ”technical data” for the cargo version, and adding, “We want to see first how the plane turns out.”

Airbus has booked just 25 orders for the cargo version, with the first delivery, to Fed Ex of the United States, set for early 2009, the magazine said. The passenger version is set to enter service later this year.

Boeing aims to bring a new cargo version of its jumbo, the 747-8F, onto the market half a year after the A380F.

The magazine said aerospace experts were beginning to doubt if Airbus would ever recover through sales the hundreds of millions of euros it has additionally spent on developing the freight version of the A380.

Although the plane would be the world’s biggest air-cargo jet, airlines are wary of its high cost.

The planemaker is already under pressure from customers on another front, with demands to revamp its planned A350, a smaller twin- engined plane set to go on sale in 2010. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has outsold the A350 three-to-one.

[Paleo Conservative]

This can't be good for Airbus. Emirates has ordered almost one third of all the 150+ A380's on order.

[Paleo Conservative]

If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.

[freedumb2003]

Emirates has ordered almost one third of all the 150+ A380's on order.

Do the Emerates just buy everything? It seems like they have hge Boeing orders, huge Airbus orders and an order for a bazillion cups of lemonade from the kid around the corner's lemonade stand.

[jebeier]

The magazine, Wirtschaftswoche, quoted the European manager of Emirates, Keith Longstaff, as saying there was lack of clarity in the ”technical data” for the cargo version, and adding, “We want to see first how the plane turns out.”

"Technical Data"? We all know what that means, don't we.

The only thing still unknown is the weight. If the aircraft comes in over weight, that excess weight comes right off the top of payload. And payload is what matters in air frieght.

Sure, Airbus has the cubes, but they are going to be limited to delivering the World's Largest Orders of Packing Peanuts if things keep on going the way they are going.

The magazine said aerospace experts were beginning to doubt if Airbus would ever recover through sales the hundreds of millions of euros it has additionally spent on developing the freight version of the A380.

As if Airbus gives a damn. They'll just bill the overrun to the taxpayers of the European Union. It's not like they have to make money, or anything. They're not going to break even on the passenger version, either, as if that mattered...

Although the plane would be the world’s biggest air-cargo jet, airlines are wary of its high cost.

The political objective of this aircraft has achieved because now Airbus can claim to have "The World's Biggest Air-Cargo Jet", just as they can claim to have the World's Biggest Jetliner. That was the purpose of the A380 project from the git-go. All the design work and financial analysis followed to bring about the pre-conceived political goal.

[llevrok]

I think Airbus would like to say about the 380 - "never mind".

[Jameison]

"They'll just bill the overrun to the taxpayers of the European Union"

Yep, like they have been doing in like forever.
# 1 reason why Airbus should be BANNED from bidding on the USAF tanker project.
We can't have Boeing bidding against a bunch of European cheats.
Tanker project should go to Boeing. Period.


"The political objective of this aircraft has achieved because now Airbus can claim to have "The World's Biggest Air-Cargo Jet", "

Like they had "the world's only commercial supersonic aircraft"(concorde) yes?

What happened to that one?
The Euros are very good at government funded white elephant projects.
Reason why Europe has been the slowest growing region in the world amongst the world's economic powers like America, China etc.
Europe is going to get increasingly weaker with time.

[CWOJackson]

When it comes to payload, performance, proven reliability and cost of operation, I don't think Boeing's going to have anything to worry about from the great white elephant.

[PAR35]

Like they had "the world's only commercial supersonic aircraft"(concorde) yes?

That wasn't an Airbus product.

We can't have Boeing bidding against a bunch of European cheats.

So you favor no-bid contracts to the American cheats? Boeing deserves the hit for what they did on the Tanker project.

[July 4th]

Do the Emerates just buy everything?

Pretty much, yeah. Not only is the airline a very high quality product, but they're bascially the hub airline for the Middle East and anyone traveling through the Middle East. Until super-long distances become regularly possible on flights, Dubai will always be a natural stopover for people on their way to East Asia or Australia from Europe.

The Dubai airport expansion project is also huge.

[Reeses]

the hub airline for the Middle East

The A380 is Muslim terrorist bait. What are they thinking? Are nuclear power plants built to handle a direct hit by a fully fueled and loaded A380?

[yankeedame]

As if Airbus gives a damn. They'll just bill the overrun to the taxpayers of the European Union. It's not like they have to make money, or anything. They're not going to break even on the passenger version, either, as if that mattered...

Thou speakest a hunk of wisdom there, neighbor.

[Jameison]

"That wasn't an Airbus product"

It was French government product, together with the British government.
Same thing. There is little division between the French goverment and the aerospace industry in France

"So you favor no-bid contracts to the American cheats? "

Boeing does not get Billions of dollars "loans" from the American government, which are the written off, to develop commercial planes.


"Boeing deserves the hit for what they did on the Tanker project."

Nothing Boeing has ever done even comes close to the utter sleaze and corruption of Airbus.
Airbus doesn't have one honest bone in it's body.

Read about the man at the heart of the current scandal in French politics, erstwhile Head of Strategic Coordination at EADS, Jean-Louis Gergorin, right here:


http://www.thespacereview.com/article/630/1

In France, they'd be giving a medal to Boeing to what they did on the tankers.

[skeptoid]

".....We can't have Boeing bidding against a bunch of European cheats. Tanker project should go to Boeing. Period."

The EADS tanker would be built by BBQ-eatin, beer drinkin, bass fishin, pickup truck drivin NASCAR fans right here in the USA.

See:

Landing The Tanker: When the South goes courting, it often wins Boeing's biggest competitor is welcomed with open arms

or

There's nothing more all-American than a (EADS) cowboy

There are a couple more on the this P.I. Business page. Sroll to June 1 articles.

[Jameison]

"The EADS tanker would be built by BBQ-eatin, beer drinkin, bass fishin, pickup truck drivin NASCAR fans right here in the USA."


Doesn't in the least change the fact that EADS cheats by receiving massive Euro-goverment subsidies, ostensibly as "loans", which they then conveniently forget to collect.
That is what matters.
EADS has no business being even allowed to bid for this contract.

[Paleo Conservative]

Jameison:
Like they had "the world's only commercial supersonic aircraft"(concorde) yes?

PAR35:
That wasn't an Airbus product.

It was a precursor to Airbus. The French part of the partnership were one of the founders of Airbus. Airbus also built the spare parts for the 16 Concordes that were built.

[PAR35]

The French part of the partnership were one of the founders of Airbus.

So would you consider the DC-8 to be a Boeing product?

[GATOR NAVY]

The political objective of this aircraft has achieved because now Airbus can claim to have "The World's Biggest Air-Cargo Jet", just as they can claim to have the World's Biggest Jetliner. That was the purpose of the A380 project from the git-go.

Sometimes it just doesn't do a damn bit of good to be "The World's Biggest..."

[jebeier]

So would you consider the DC-8 to be a Boeing product?

Boeing considers the Boeing 717 to be a Boeing product, not a McDonnell Douglas MD-95.

[bert]

........Are nuclear power plants built to handle a direct hit by a fully fueled and loaded A380?......

You have it all wrong. They are not going to use an airplane. They are going to use a 40' high cube container. The American public has already decided the issue.

[PAR35]

Yes, and if Airbus had continued to make a derivative of the Concorde, your point would be valid. But since they didn't you can't credit/blame them for aircraft developed and made by Bristol/BAC and Sud/Aerospatale. So the DC-8 analogy is better than the DC-9/MD-95/717 analogy.