Showing posts with label Airbus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airbus. Show all posts

Saturday, December 17, 2011

DTN News - AIRBUS NEWS: 7,000th Airbus Aircraft Delivered – An A321 To US Airways


DTN News - AIRBUS NEWS: 7,000th Airbus Aircraft Delivered – An A321 To US Airways
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 16, 2011: Airbus delivered today its 7,000th aircraft, an A321, to US Airways – the airline that operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world – from the Airbus facility in Hamburg, Germany. This milestone comes just two years after the delivery of Airbus’ 6,000th aircraft which underlines the continued vibrancy of the commercial aviation sector and the market’s clear vote for eco-efficient aircraft.
 
The 1,000th Airbus delivery was an A340-300 that went to Air France in 1993, nineteen years after the first Airbus aircraft was delivered – an A300B2 also to Air France, in 1974.
The 2,000th delivery was six years later in 1999. It took half that time, just three years, to get to the 3,000th delivery in 2002 and three more years to reach 4,000 deliveries. The tempo went up another notch taking Airbus only two years to hand over its 5,000th aircraft, an A330-200 to Qantas in December 2007. The 6,000th Airbus was an A380 which was delivered to Emirates in January 2010.
"It’s particularly fitting that our 7,000th aircraft is an A321 going to US Airways. The airline not only operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world; with over 220 A320 Family aircraft flying in US Airways colours today, they also operate the largest fleet of our best-selling, eco-efficient A320 Family," said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. "This milestone is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of Airbus teams around the world. We have improved efficiencies company-wide and this has enabled us to deliver record numbers of latest generation aircraft at continually increasing rates, with an environmental footprint ever decreasing."
"Airbus has been a long-term strategic partner to US Airways. Today we celebrate a significant milestone in Airbus’ history," said US Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Parker. "It is an honor to be the recipient of their 7,000th delivery. On behalf of the 32,000 employees at US Airways, we applaud this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to a continued successful partnership."
By the end of the year, US Airways will operate a fleet of 93 A319s, 72 A320s, 63 A321s and 16 A330s. The airline also has firm orders for an additional 58 A320 Family aircraft, eight A330 aircraft and 22 A350 XWBs on backlog.
Over 8,200 A320 Family aircraft have already been ordered and more than 4,900 delivered to more than 340 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality with the current A320, making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

ORDERS & DELIVERIES

THE MONTH IN REVIEW: NOVEMBER 2011

Airbus maintained its sales and delivery pace in November, booking 149 orders for its A320, A330 and A380 jetliner families, while delivering 59 aircraft from these three product lines.
The A320neo new engine option for Airbus’ best-selling A320 Family once again led the month’s new business, with orders coming from key customers in the Middle East, United States and Europe.
ALAFCO, the Kuwait-based international aviation lease and finance company, ordered 50 A320neo jetliners, stating that this fuel-efficient new version was an absolute “must have” for its portfolio. 
Qatar Airways selected the A320neo as the reference aircraft for expansion of its short- to medium-haul fleet, ordering all three aircraft types offered in this latest version: 30 A320neos, 14 A321neos and six A319neos. 
Additionally, Aviation Capital Group – the United States-based global aircraft leasing company – signed a purchase agreement for 30 A320neo aircraft, while Transaero became the A320neo’s first customer in Russia and CIS with its order for eight of the jetliners.
With these bookings, firm orders for the A320neo Family reached 1,196, ordered by a total of 21 customers.
In other new business for November, Qatar Airways became the latest Airbus customer to place a repeat order for the A380 – adding five of the 21st century flagship airliners to its five already on contract.   This brings total A380 orders to 243 from 18 customers.
Completing the month’s bookings were Hawaiian Airlines’ order for five more A330-200s – which will support the continued expansion of its network and replace the carrier’s current 767-300s; and BOC Aviation’s contract for an A330-300.
The sustained delivery cadence continued in November, with Airbus providing nearly two new aircraft per day.  Its deliveries were composed of 45 A320 Family jetliners, 11 A330s (including another of the new A330-200F freighters), and three A380s (one each to Korean Air, Emirates and Qantas).  As a result, Airbus delivered a total of 477 aircraft to 84 customers in 2011 through the end of November, compared to 461 during the same 11-month period last year.
With November’s new business and deliveries, Airbus’ total backlog stood at a new record of 4,453 – consisting of 3,348 A320 Family jetliners, 925 aircraft in the A330/A340/A350 XWB families, and 180 A380s.

O&DS VIEWER

Review the worldwide Airbus orders and deliveries totals with the summary table, below.  For a full listing, utilise the link underneath the summary table to download the latest Excel file – which is updated monthly and lists all firm commercial aircraft transactions, including the family of Airbus executive and private aviation jetliners. 
Summary to 30th November 2011
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS: Qantas Overhauls With $9 Billion Fleet Order

DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS: Qantas Overhauls With $9 Billion Fleet Order
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / SYDNEY, Australia - August 16, 2011: Australia's Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN.AX - News) is setting up two new airlines in Asia and ordering $9 billion of new Airbus (Paris:EAD.PA - News) aircraft as part of a do-or-die makeover to salvage its loss-making international business.

Qantas will also cut 1,000 jobs in Australia as it shifts its focus to the world's fastest-growing aviation market, triggering threats by unions to block the move and a government pledge to scrutinize the plans.

Qantas, which has been reviewing its offshore operations to cut costs and unprofitable routes, said it will launch a new, premium Asian airline and a Japanese budget carrier, the latter jointly with Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Corp (Tokyo:8058.T - News).

The new airlines will fly Airbus A320 jets, cementing their reputation as the plane of choice on regional networks over archrival Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - News) Qantas, which also flies Boeing's best-selling 737 narrowbodies, plans to acquire up to 110 of the Airbus planes, worth more than $9.4 billion.

As Qantas rebases its loss-making international operations in Asia, it also plans to give up some of its long-haul routes and retire older planes as well as cut jobs.

"Right now 82 out of every 100 people flying out of Australia are choosing to fly with an airline other than Qantas, not including Jetstar," the airline's Irish-born chief executive, Alan Joyce, told a news conference.

Joyce has cut costs and jobs since taking the helm at Qantas in 2008, with growth increasingly focused on the budget offshoot Jetstar, which he ran before becoming chief executive.

"To do nothing, or tinker around the edges, would only guarantee the end of Qantas International in our home Australian market. That would be a tragedy," he said, adding that the international operation's cost base was around 20 percent higher than its major rivals.

Joyce said the new premium airline was expected to be launched next year with an initial fleet size of 11 A320s. It may based in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and would not be majority owned by Qantas, he said. China was also being considered, one source familiar with the airline earlier told Reuters.

Qantas has an existing relationship with Malaysia's AirAsia (Kuala Lumpur:AIRA.KL - News), which this week agreed to swap shares with Malaysian Airline system (Kuala Lumpur:MASM.KL - News) as part of a partnership deal.

Qantas shares closed down 0.33 percent at A$1.52.

"It's a prudent move," said Jason Teh, a portfolio manager at Investors Mutual, which does not own Qantas shares.

"That's a way to get your costs down. If you know your return on capital's going to be thin, share your capital base. The international business is more cyclical and poses more competitor threats than their domestic business."

POLITICAL AND UNION RESISTANCE

The plan announced by Qantas drew immediate fire from several quarters. Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the government will examine the plan to ensure it does not breach the airline's privatization rules.

"The Australian government very firmly believes in an Australian-based and majority Australian-owned Qantas," he said.

The Qantas Sale Act of 1992 requires the airline's operational base and headquarters to be in Australia, foreign ownership is capped at 49 percent and the name Qantas is preserved. At least two-thirds of the board and its chairman must be Australians.

Trade unions and a key independent senator have said they could also seek legislative or regulatory steps to ensure Qantas remains an Australian-owned company.

Qantas faces a likely escalation of industrial action at home over the plan's estimated 1,000 job cuts, with trade unions opposed to any move by Qantas to shift its international operations offshore. About 200 pilot jobs were expected to be included in the cuts.

"Until we get an assurance from Alan Joyce that future Qantas flights will be operated by Qantas pilots, instead of outsourced and offshored alternatives, we will be doing everything we can to stop this destructive strategy for Qantas's future," Barry Jackson, president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, said in a statement.

FOCUS ON ASIA

Qantas' plan refocuses its offshore business squarely on Asia, a region that should account for more than half of global airline profits this year, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Qantas plans to acquire between 106 and 110 Airbus A320 aircraft, including planes for Jetstar Japan and the new premium Asia-based airline. Between 28 and 32 planes of these would be current-generation A320s and the rest the fuel-efficient, next-generation A320neo aircraft.

Airbus has scored resounding victories over Boeing with its narrow-body A320neo aircraft, taking a commanding lead in the single-aisle market once dominated by Boeing's 737 family.

Just last month AirAsia announced a deal worth $18.2 billion at list prices for 200 A320neo planes while AMR Corp's (NYSE:AMR - News) American Airlines, previously an all-Boeing customer, ordered 260 narrow-body A320 planes.

Qantas and its regional brand QantasLink have mixed fleets with notable Boeing narrowbody and widebody presences. Jetstar has only Airbus narrowbodies, but it has orders for Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

"I would count this as a loss for Boeing," said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at The Teal Group, noting Airbus has "core strength" in narrowbody markets with Asian low-cost carriers.

Qantas also delayed the delivery of its final six A380s for up to six years in a move aimed at conserving capital and bolstering its balance sheet.

It said it would retire four Boeing 747s and would make no change to its existing order of Boeing 787s.

Qantas reaffirmed its earnings guidance, though it said the restructuring would cost more than A$350 million ($367 million).

($1 = 0.955 Australian dollar)



*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

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