Rivalry shadows Paris Air Show
LE BOURGET, France — Aircraft of all descriptions are arriving for the Paris Air Show, but the global aerospace industry’s biggest gathering looks certain to be dominated more than ever by its biggest rivalry: the Boeing-Airbus dogfight.
Planes and helicopters have been flying in since early this week to take their places on the tarmac at Le Bourget, north of Paris, where they will go on display Monday alongside aeronautic and military hardware ranging from flight simulators to missiles.
Among them, the Airbus A380 “superjumbo” is bound to get the most attention at its first air show appearance — even as the European aircraft maker is struggling to maintain the lead it took from its U.S. rival two years ago.
The 555-seater A380, scheduled to arrive Sunday, represents Airbus’ bet on a strong market for very large planes, while Boeing Co. sees more demand for long-range, mid-size jets like its fuel-efficient 787, which enters service in 2008.
After a slow start, Boeing’s “Dreamliner” has drawn a surge of orders and commitments, to a total of 266. But the Airbus A350 — the European company’s answer to the 787 — is having trouble getting off the ground, with just 10 nonbinding orders to date, and a trans-Atlantic trade dispute threatening its planned funding.
Airbus’ top plane salesman John Leahy had vowed to close some of the 787’s lead, saying more than 100 A350 orders would be clinched in time to be announced at Le Bourget.
But Emirates, which analysts expected to account for about 50 of those orders, said Friday it will not announce any purchases during the show.
“No decisions have yet been made and we do not have any new orders to announce in Paris,” the Dubai-based airline said, adding that it is still considering options including Boeing’s 787 and 777.
Leahy’s task cannot have been made any easier by the apparent setback to the A350 announced Wednesday, when parent company European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. said the program was on track for a final go-ahead “by the end of September” — instead of next week, as many had expected.
Airbus spokesman David Velupillai declined to say Friday whether the earlier target stands, or to elaborate on reasons for the new September deadline. EADS, which is embroiled in a Franco-German boardroom dispute over management changes, said Wednesday it was keen to avoid straining resources for other aircraft programs.
Airbus recently admitted that the first A380s will be delivered up to six months late, and several of its 15 early customers said they will seek compensation under the terms of their contracts.
Plans to use cheap loans from European governments to fund one-third of the A350’s 4 billion euros ($4.9 billion) development cost are also at the center of a bitter trans-Atlantic trade dispute over plane subsidies, after Washington filed a complaint against the EU at the World Trade Organization last month and Brussels reciprocated.
No final decision has been announced on whether the government aid will be used — a factor that Randy Baseler, Boeing’s vice president for marketing, believes could be holding the A350 back.
“I don’t think they can announce the launch of an airplane and then apply for aid afterward,” Baseler told The Associated Press on Friday. “So that might be a reason they’re delaying too.”
Airbus has repeatedly upgraded the specifications of the A350 — a derivative of its existing A330 — and is already on its fourth design.
“If they really do get 100-plus orders at the air show, it’s a done deal,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with U.S. consultancy Teal Group.
“But if the air show passes and customer interest is lackluster because they’re waiting, then there’s the real question of a fifth A350 incarnation.”
In that case, he said, Airbus might have to go back to the drawing board and produce an “all-new” plane.
In a three-class configuration, Airbus says the A350 will carry a maximum of 285 passengers 7,500 nautical miles (1 nautical mile equals 1,852 metres). By comparison, the larger of the two long-haul 787 versions will carry 259 passengers 8,300 nautical miles, Boeing says. Scale models of both planes will be on show at Le Bourget.