United States aviation giant Boeing scored a major victory when Singapore Airlines (SIA) ordered 20 of its new mid-size jets while production delays plague its European rival Airbus, analysts said on Thursday.
SIA on Wednesday announced an order for 20 Boeing 787 aircraft worth $4,5-billion, just hours after publicly expressing displeasure over a fresh postponement in the delivery of the much-vaunted Airbus A380 super jumbo jet.
SIA, Asia’s most profitable carrier, was supposed to be the first airline in the world to launch A380 commercial services and has spent a lot of resources to publicise the feat, only to be told this week it will have to wait longer.
SIA insists that the 787 order had no connection with the A380’s woes. The Airbus A380, which can seat 550 to 840 passengers, is supposed to supplant the venerable Boeing 747 as the reigning giant of the skies but production woes have bedevilled Airbus and its parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).
In the middle of the market, the 250- to 290-seater Boeing 787 ordered by SIA — with 20 additional planes on option — is competing against the Airbus A350, whose development has also been delayed by design changes.
“It is a setback to Airbus as 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners is a big order coming from an airline that Airbus hoped would make a significant order for the Airbus A350,” said Jason Pereira, an airline analyst with research and advisory firm Globalysis in Singapore.
The SIA contract, the largest for the 787 since Australia’s Qantas ordered up to 115 jets in January, will restore the US plane maker as the number one in the world faster than anticipated, Pereira said.
“Boeing already looked set to regain its place as the largest commercial aircraft producer in the coming years,” he said.
“Now with the growing orders for Boeing aircraft — including the 787 Dreamliners — it looks like it is going to happen sooner.”
Airbus earlier said total orders last year gave it a 52% share of the global market. Boeing as a policy declines to state its market share.
EADS, which owns 80% of Airbus, lost about â,¬5,5-billion or more than one-quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the further A380 delivery delays were announced.
Its share price ended at â,¬18,73, down 26,32% from the close on Tuesday. At one point, EADS shares fell 34,10% to â,¬16,75 and the storm continued when credit rating agencies downgraded EADS.
The firm warned that operating profit would be cut by about â,¬500-million ($625-million) per year from 2007-2010 — excluding possible contract terminations.
The massive stock sell-off in EADS on Wednesday showed investors are bracing for more bad news with other airlines expected to follow SIA’s lead in picking the 787 over the A350, analysts said.
“We will see other airlines go that path,” said an aviation analyst with a Singapore brokerage who did not want to be named.
Scorching economic growth has made the Asia-Pacific region a key battleground for the two aircraft makers, with the cash-rich SIA heavily courted by both.
“Competition between Boeing and Airbus is fierce in Asia. They are neck and neck so the [A380] delay is very good news for Boeing as it is trying to eat up the market in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Choosak Ratanachaichan, an aviation analyst at Kasikorn Research Centre in Bangkok.
But all is not lost for Airbus whose single-aisle A320 is likely to remain the aircraft of choice for short-haul flights in Asia.
“Even if Boeing claims pole position, Airbus will probably be hot on its heels. Airbus has very strong sales of single-aisle aircraft with huge success with the A320 which continues to be popular with low-cost carriers,” he said.
Air China announced on Thursday it had agreed to buy 24 A320s for $1,74-billion for delivery between 2007 and 2010, boosting Airbus’ fortunes in the Boeing-dominated mainland Chinese market.
Despite the delays in the A380’s delivery, no Asian carrier has announced an intention to cancel orders for the super jumbo.
Korean Air said it would proceed with a $1,4-billion-dollar contract to buy five A380s despite the latest delay.
“The global status of Airbus will not be swayed much by recent developments unless clients go to [court] for damages,” Kyobo Securities analyst Kim Seung-Chul said in Seoul. – AFP