BA By A Long Shot
September 27th, 2007
Thursday September 27, 2007. Just gone past 7am and we get the news of the most widely anticipated order of 2007.
All that remains is for Emirates to “upstage” the event at the Dubai Air Show in several weeks from now.
British Airways finally announced it’s long awaited long haul airplane fleet replacement order comprising Boeing 787-8’s and 787-9’s along with Airbus A380-800’s.
Image courtesy of Flight Global.com
Many in the industry regard Mr. Walsh an “Airbus Man”, and the A380 order will now be their ammunition to this belief.
In reality, Walsh had a tough time convincing the Board that the airplane was needed. With the move to Terminal 5 some 6 short months away, Walsh has succeeded in not only getting the big Airbus jet to maximise the efficiency of the new terminal, but he has stuck with the BA philosophy for frequencies with the 787.
Image Courtesy Of Flight Global.com
As I’ve said previously, the future of long haul travel will be decided between who does and who doesn’t operate the 787 family - the BA decision to select the -8 and -9 is one that is of little surprise.
Invariably, people will question the prospects of the 747-8I even more. I’ll go back to the point that while confidence in the model exists, while the 747-8F continues to sell, the chances of a 747-8I sale will not diminish anytime soon. Of course, I fully expect the plethora of detractors to state otherwise - but also today, Bloomberg reports that the costs for the Airbus A380 have swelled to $18bn.
Image courtesy of Flight Global.com
I wonder what the Boeing critics will make of the breakeven number on that airplane? After almost 3 years without a customer, Airbus has secured a big name - but also at a big price. In the coming days, we’ll likely learn just how far down Airbus executives pants were to secure this stunning loss-lead deal.
In the press release, Walsh identifies a few key issues:
“These aircraft set the gold standard when it comes to environmental performance in the key areas of CO2 emissions, local air quality and noise. They will contribute significantly to our target of improving fuel efficiency by 25 per cent between 2005 and 2025.
“They are also much quieter than their predecessors, which is of vital importance at Heathrow. Both the A380 and B787 are rated as producing a quarter of the noise level of the B747-400.
“These new aircraft will continue our commitment to deliver the best travel experience to our customers. This order builds upon our recent investment in improving the customer experience through Terminal 5, the new Club World cabin, inflight entertainment system and ba.com.”
The new aircraft types will enable the airline to strengthen further its network strategy, complementing each other in the longhaul fleet. The A380 will be used to provide more capacity for the airline’s key high-density markets and maximise use of scarce Heathrow slots. The B787 will be used to start new routes and increase frequencies in existing markets.
Given that Walsh and other BA CEO’s have all been advocates of expansion at London Heathrow Airport, this dual strategy of size and frequency is one BA needs to counter other A380 operators into the airport - most notably Emirates.
While the younger 747-400’s in the fleet will soldier on for a decade or more, it’s premature to completely discount the 747-8I just yet. Between it’s A380’s and 777-200ER’s, there is a huge void that needs to be filled. The 777-300ER and A350XWB may also feature.
While today’s order may come as a surprise or anti-climax (depending on your view), what’s important is that British Airways’ appetite for new airplanes has only just begun.
By any means, it’s not over by a long shot.
Sphere: Related ContentEntry Filed under: 787 First Flight, 787 Orders, 787 Premiere, 787 Rollout, Air Transport, Air Travel, Airbus, Airbus A380, Airlines, Airplane, Airplane Order, Airplanes, Airport, BA, BAA, Boeing 747-8, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Boeing 787 Order, Boeing 787 Orders, Boeing 787 Premiere, Boeing 787 Rollout, Boeing Orders, British Airways, Dreamliner, Dubai Air Show 2007, EADS, EASA, FleetBuzz.com, Open Skies
11 Comments Add your own
1. Stratoliner777 | September 27th, 2007 at 9:23 am
This order was utterly unsurprising, and a bit of an anti-climax. Very good point to mention on how it’s a dual strategy.
As to the fleet choices themselves, it’s pretty clear that the 787 is the plane to get in its size category, new technology and all. What’s still a mystery to me in part is what combination works best for the plus size category. Clearly BA is endorsing a fleet of 12 A380s…I suppose this is the ’subfleet’ alluded to before.
The BA press release left out the 747-8I, however. And considering the younger 747-400s, could this be a waiting game to see if the A350XWB can deliver, or opt for the 777-300ER, or wait to see what Boeing does with the 787-10….?
2. Jacobin777 | September 27th, 2007 at 11:05 am
I basically agree with Stratoliner777…very anti-climatic..and we knew they were going to order the A380…..
Obviously with EK, QF, CX and now BA basically wanting a -10 version…I have to believe it will be the one Boeing will have to go for…..
I wasn’t shocked at the B787 order however, though they might order the B748I later down the road, I was quite disappointed they didn’t go with any this order….this still leaves me to believe Walsh had a large hand on this, especially considering just a year or two ago, previous CEO Rod Eddington had stated the B748I and B773ER would be the perfect fit to replace the B744’s* (*-ATWOnline.com).
Regardless…congratulations to both carriers….
3. Dougloid | September 27th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
The view from the Dougloid Towers is available at http://cornponepapers.blogspot.com
4. je44inLA | September 27th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Yep, anti-climactic. But I think that such a strong vote of confidence for the 787 is a good indication that Boeing is going to get many of the remaining BA orders. I had suspected that BA would find use for the A380 on some routes, but they have alot of 747’s to replace and most airlines are down sizing when they replace their old 400’s.
It’s interesting that there is not one A350 in this initial order even though they have announced the switch to an all composite frame. Airbus may have gotten a vote of confidence for the doomed (profit wise) A380, but this seems like a real slap to the A350.
5. Heads Must Roll « B&hellip | October 4th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
[...] on October 4th, 2007. Less than a week after securing a new customer for the ailing A380, Airbus is rocked by another scandal that just doesn’t [...]
6. Richard Aboulafia Speaks &hellip | October 15th, 2007 at 5:40 am
[...] weeks in the industry have also revealed the first tranche of British Airways’ long awaited fleet renewal - an order billed as possibly the most important for [...]
7. Airbus, Boeing At The WTO&hellip | October 20th, 2007 at 8:01 am
[...] deal to see what eyewatering prices were agreed. Or how about just last month when British Airways scored coup of the year when it secured a paltry 12 A380’s for nearly $12m-$20m per airplane less than launch [...]
8. Review Of The Dubai Air S&hellip | November 16th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
[...] to sell over the last three years, and the “jinx” was broken somewhat with the September 2007 order by British Airways. Aside from Emirates, one VIP A380 was sold to HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal another 2 jets being [...]
9. 787 Record Breaker «&hellip | December 27th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
[...] order is a vote of confidence from one of the world’s leading global network carriers in the 787’s unprecedented performance” said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales for [...]
10. Advantage: BA « BOE&hellip | January 29th, 2008 at 7:19 am
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[...] it too would follow its European rival in placing an order for 747-8I’s. The airline then ordered A380’s after Airbus tabled a revised offer. As mentioned in the last entry, BA seems to have ruled out the [...]
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