Thank you EADS for this!! Now I can sit back and continue to watch my Boeing stock go up!
I read this article earlier today. Can’t say that I’m crying over this one, but it’s to the point that I almost feel BAD for them. If it weren’t for all the Boeing-bashing they do (and the a-holes on a.net that slam every complimentary article Boeing receives), I’d have much more sympathy. Airbus will get things worked out with the whale jet. The A350? Not so sure. One thing IS for sure: Boeing is ramping up its Dreamliner program, knowing full well that the longer Airbus has to focus on the whale, the more resources are pumped away from 787’s main competitor (A350). At the end of the day, orders are orders, but deliveries are money in the bank.
One of the biggest problems with Airbus, in my oh-so-very-humble-and-modest opinion, is that they do not have a single point for its top management. They have co-presidents! That is absurd! Every organization, especially one as large as Airbus, needs to have its leadership boil down to one person, not a committee.
HA!
Um…okay. Just days after the most recent delay announcement, Airbus has told at least two of its customers (Emirates & Virgin Atlantic) that the A380 will be delayed ANOTHER TEN MONTHS. I’m a Boeing fan, I’ll make no bones about it; but this is going well beyond absurd. I think a strong competitor keeps Boeing on its toes.
I feel bad for all these airlines that are constantly adapting their fleet schedules and timetables to compensate for all the promises that have been broken among delay after delay. Aside from what it’s costing Airbus, how much $$ do you suppose all the airlines themselves are losing by waiting??? Airbus is run by a group of egotists who can’t seem to find their own asses, with all the ass-covering they’ve been attempting for the past year. All talk, no walk. I can’t see how this won’t affect the A350 program as well, whether by causing delays, or simply losing customers because of the damage to their credibility.
Damn you!!! You beat me to it!
Anyway, here is the link to the msnbc story…
An elephant is a mouse designed by a committee!
The version I’ve heard is that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.
Helldiver one of the classic examples of what a committee can do. Built to everyone’s spec’s.
Though a little off topic, Bob Lutz of GM ( formally Chrysler ) is representitive of how one man at the helm with clear vision can make a corporation work well and produce inspired products that the end user really wants…
You have to factor in inflation!
dont worry Airbus has put so much money behind this huge project that at this point you know it has to be released sooner or later
Pika should feel even better about his Boeing stock. I came across this gem today: FedEx cancels A380 orders and buys 777s instead.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/07/news/companies/fedex_order.reut/index.htm?postversion=2006110714
I’ve already done my happy dance for that…Boeing up 5.43%!!
COME ON AIRBUS…KEEP EM COMIN!!
Holy crap, this is a big blow to Airbus. If you think every A380 customer isn’t looking at this as a possible example to follow, think again. If there were 2 customers I thought for sure would wait it out, it was FedEx and UPS, due to the shear enormity of the Whale and the load it can carry. Even with all the bad PR this program has had lately, I’m surprised. Is UPS (my employer) next? I don’t think their fleet needs updated quite as soon or as badly as FedEx, but anything’s possible now. It’s hard to convince people that the ship will stay afloat once others start to jump!! I’m happy for Boeing.
Pika-Hang on to that Boeing stock!! This is a double-dose of good news for them, as it now opens another door for FedEx in the future: 748F, anyone?
Wasn’t FedEx the one who said they expected all A380-800 to eventually be converted into freighters, since the -900 would be the popular/economical one for pax? It may have been UPS.
Figured that I have had it since late 2002, might as well enjoy the ride for a little longer…
Mark, I’m not sure; that could have been FedEx, but here’s 3 things [all along the same lines] to think about:
1)They can still buy some secondhand conversions down the road from airlines or leasing companies.
2)The longer it takes to deliver new a/c, the longer they’ll have to wait for these conversions.
3)FedEx doesn’t have the luxury of a lot of time to “sit around” waiting for the Whale to go through certification in Europe, then in the U.S., then begin to be delivered to those in line ahead of them, then (barring future delays) g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y introduce them into their fleet.
By their own admission, FedEx needs to start replacing their DC-10s (and ultimately their MD-11s) sooner, rather than later. Had they waited longer, they could risk being in a tight situation without any a/c slated for them in production. If other airlines were to cancel their orders first, they’d be filling up Boeing’s order sheets before FedEx got in the door. The other Airbus widebodies are not exactly hot commodities right now.
For shippers, 777 is much better for cargo than any Airbus available (even the currently-used A300).
Anybody know if the Whale flew into Vancouver today as scheduled?
Here’s an email I received today:
Video link:
henrytenby.com/a380.html
The Airbus A380 arrived at a frozen YVR at 0738 am this morning, just a little
after its 0730 scheduled arrival time from Singapore.The aircraft landed on 08L, and here is a short video filmed by the webmaster.
Sun up this morning was at 0743 so the dusk light values were terrible for
photography and filming. The overcast didn’t help. Vancouver is expecting
another 20+ cms of snow today.
Cheers,
Henry Tenby, webmaster
www.AirlineHobby.com
However, I wasn’t able to find it on FlightAware.
I thought this was kind of interesting:
http://iht.com/articles/2006/12/06/business/boeing.php?page=1
Somewhat relevant.