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IHT: Airbus faces turbulent year as the dollar declines

IHT: Airbus faces turbulent year as the dollar declines: "One example: The planemaker aims to cut the time for final assembly of single-aisle A320-series aircraft to 25 days from 40 days, partly by keeping each aircraft in progress at one location rather than pushing it along during assembly from a first to a second and then a third station.
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'There are many things we do better' than Boeing, he said, 'but on this particular point, they assemble a plane in less time than we do. But we'll match that.'
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A Boeing spokesman, Thomas Brabant declined via e-mail to disclose its plane-building times.
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Forgeard said his cost target would be 'tough to obtain because it's harder to squeeze costs out of companies that are working at full speed than at those with bloated work forces.' He added, 'We need to do some re-engineering - that is, rethink the manner in which we do things to arrive at cost savings.'
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Klaus Breil of Adig Investments in Frankfurt, said, 'Everyone was skeptical that they could be equal with Boeing, and they've achieved that.'
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Forgeard was wooed from the top job at Lagardere's Matra Defense unit to run Airbus in 1998. At the time, Boeing sold two of every three large airliners worldwide. Airbus had no aircraft seating more than 400 passengers to compete with Boeing's 747.
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Five years later, Airbus has said 2003 deliveries about equaled or topped the 303 planes of 2002 and were down 7 percent from the record 325 aircraft in 2001. Boeing delivered 280 planes in 2003, a 26 percent drop from 2002 and down 46 percent from 525 planes in 2001.
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Forgeard aims to maintain that lead with the help of the new 555-seat A380, which will be the world's largest airliner when it enters service in 2006.
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Bloomberg News "

IHT: Airbus faces turbulent year as the dollar declines

IHT: Airbus faces turbulent year as the dollar declines: "For 2002, Airbus reported operating margins of 7 percent after earning E1.36 billion, or $1.72 billion at current exchange rates, before interest and taxes, compared with a 7.1 percent margin at Boeing's commercial-jet unit. For 2003, Airbus's margin will be about 7.1 percent, "

Airbus ready to take up 7E7 challenge

Airbus ready to take up 7E7 challenge: "And payback terms of the government loans to Airbus are not public.
Boeing believes it is being undercut by Airbus on aircraft pricing in large part because of the more than $15 billion in government subsidies that Airbus has received over the years to develop its lineup of jets, from the A300 to the new A380."

Business America: Commerce does study on airbus subsidies

Business America: Commerce does study on airbus subsidies: "A key finding is that none of the Airbus programs--past, present or future--appears commercially viable. It states that on the average, 74 percent of the cost of developing new Airbus aircraft have been provided by Airbus governments and that by the year 2008, Airbus programs are likely to have accumulated more than $30 billion in negative nominal cash flow."

Bloomberg.com: Germany

Bloomberg.com: Germany: "Rivals
Boeing, the world's second-biggest commercial aircraft maker, will base its freighter on the twin-engine 777-200LR, Boeing's longest-range passenger model that will be delivered for the first time next year. The freighter will carry 222,000 pounds, or 101 metric tons, and have a range of 5,980 miles with a full load.
Airbus, the world's largest commercial aircraft maker, will compete with the A380 freighter, which will carry a payload of 150 metric tons and have a range of 6,463 miles fully loaded. The aircraft will also be introduced in 2008. "

Boeing 737

Boeing 737: " brand new wing design improved fuel capacity and increased aerodynamic efficiency. Besides flying farther and faster than earlier models, the new 737s also can fly higher than the competing A320, giving passengers a smoother ride. Airlines benefit from its altitude capability by being able to fly above bad weather, congested routes and less capable airplanes. Next-Generation 737 designers also drew inspiration from the 777, placing large displays in the flightdeck dashboard and updating the passenger cabin with contoured walls and ceilings that create a spacious feeling and greater stowage capacity than the classic 737s."

Airbus Industrie

Airbus Industrie: "As its sales burgeoned, the consortium received subsidies from its governments that totaled $13.5 billion by 1990. These funds made it possible to develop important new aircraft, and to win sales by offering low, low prices. The first step came in 1984, with the new Airbus A-320. This 150-seat airplane aimed at the low end of the market, seeking to serve numerous routes of short distance that carried only modest numbers of passengers. The A-320 competed with the Boeing 737 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series, which served those routes as well. But there was plenty of demand for aircraft of this size, and the A-320 rolled up large numbers of sales."

Airbus A320 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Airbus A320 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Early on in its service lifetime, the A320 had several highly publicized crashes. The most notorious occurred on July 26, 1988, when an Air France A320 crashed during an airshow in Habsheim, France. While the crash was officially blamed on pilot error, the investigation left numerous unanswered questions. Switzerland's Institute of Police Forensic Evidence and Criminology later determined that the plane's flight data recorder had been substituted after the crash, throwing the entire investigation into doubt."

FLUG REVUE November 1996: Airbus A320 dominates its market

FLUG REVUE November 1996: Airbus A320 dominates its market: "Boeing is demanding the certification according to the 30 year old derivative rights for the new 737, even though it has larger wings, another structure, new high-lift devices, new engines, a new empenage, a new landing gear, a new electrical system, as well as, significantly modified fuselage sections, entirely new avionics, and a new cockpit. Although Boeing is asking for 15 exemption to the total of 377 sections of the current regulations, exactly these 15 points, in my point of view, are a major concern to flight safety.' "

EADS and Airbus

Last year, Airbus accounted for 63% of EADS's €30.1 billion ($39.06 billion) in revenue and 90% of its operating profit of €1.5 billion. In 2003, Thales posted a net profit of €112 million on revenue of €10.57 billion.