Update on Airbus and Boeing

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Altair

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For my 200 post I thought I would start a new thread.
I know some on this forum follow aircraft types and thankfully avoid the a.net type of Airbus vs. Boeing flame wars so here is the latest on what is happening

Airbus:
BBC NEWS | Business | Fedex ditches Airbus for Boeing
Although it is for the A380F, there is now only 1 customer for this type left, UPS for 10, Emirates converted their order for 2 to the passenger version. The freighter version provides bulk but not as much lift so was not a good choice for freight hualers, who have flocked to the 747-8. The impact on Qantas is the possibility of getting some A380 earlier, but it may mean that a stretched or heavier weight version may now not go ahead if Airbus cancels the A380F altogether.

Boeing:
Boeing to boost production rate of 787s - Nov. 7, 2006
I wonder if Virgin or Qantas/Jetstar will be able to get some 787 earlier to replace the 767 or for route expansion? Air New Zealand had hoped to get some 787 earlier but could not, they delayed their delivery in order to become the launch customer of the 787-9.
 
Altair said:
Although it is for the A380F, there is now only 1 customer for this type left, UPS for 10, Emirates converted their order for 2 to the passenger version. The freighter version provides bulk but not as much lift so was not a good choice for freight hualers, who have flocked to the 747-8.
And in the case of FedEx, they have chosen the 777-200F since they need the capacity sooner than either the A380-800F or 747-8F could deliver.

I note that table of orders shown in that BBC article does not include the new order for 8 additional aircraft from Qantas.
 
This is great news for Boeing and FedEx but really sad for Airbus. Afterall, really strong products only come from really fierce competition.

When you think about what FedEx stands for - getting deliveries to places on time - the delays at Airbus go against their company ethos and probably spelt the end of FedEx's A380 order.
 
Flying Fox said:
When you think about what FedEx stands for - getting deliveries to places on time - the delays at Airbus go against their company ethos and probably spelt the end of FedEx's A380 order.
Imagine the FedEx account manager explaining why your parcel will be delivered 2 years late because Airbus were a bit behind in their production schedule :shock: .
 
The Australian said:
Fat chance: 'overweight' Boeing still on schedule

Steve Creedy November 09, 2006

QANTAS executives can breathe a little easier after US aircraft manufacturer Boeing yesterday expressed confidence that it could address weight problems with its 787 "Dreamliner" and predicted the new plane would be delivered on schedule.

more....

Despite the PR, could Boeing also be in for some delays with the 787?
 
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Shano said:
Despite the PR, could Boeing also be in for some delays with the 787?
I would have thought Boeing stood a high chance of suffering delays because they have outsourced so much of the design work. Boeing on this project seem to be Project Managers and system integrators and Australia knows how they are far from perfect....RAAF Wedgetails
 
Altair said:
I would have thought Boeing stood a high chance of suffering delays because they have outsourced so much of the design work. Boeing on this project seem to be Project Managers and system integrators and Australia knows how they are far from perfect....RAAF Wedgetails

Quite true.

I have also read that the significant amount of outsourcing that Airbus have done for the A380 is also contributing to the delays - it was reported that they have cut their number of suppliers from 3,000 to 500.

I don't know if Boeing are outsourcing to this extent but you really need to be on top of your game to manage this number of suppliers and still meet schedule commitments. Time will tell if Boeing can manage this.
 
I'm note sure Airbus 'have cut their number of suppliers from 3,000 to 500' yet but I think that is their plan.

I guess that the other thing to remember is that both Airbus & Boeing are really Assembly Centres for parts that come from all over the world.

Co-ordination of all this must be a real nightmare, esp if one supplier is having problems and everyone else is on schedule.
 
Shano said:
I don't know if Boeing are outsourcing to this extent but you really need to be on top of your game to manage this number of suppliers and still meet schedule commitments. Time will tell if Boeing can manage this.
I had a quick look but could not find anything about how much Boeing has outsourced the design work.:( However I am sure they used this point as an advantage of the 787. The benefit of designing this way was to share the risk as Boeing at the time was struggling against Airbus. Also from memory Boeing had drastically cut it US based design workforce, before they bought out McD they used their designers (777?), so they may not have been able to complete the work in time.
Flying Fox said:
Co-ordination of all this must be a real nightmare, esp if one supplier is having problems and everyone else is on schedule.
Well I remember that Rolls Royce announced that they have temporarily stopped production of their engine due to delays.:shock:
 
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