JAL denies Boeing 777-8/9 order goes with Airbus A350 $9.5b order | FerrariChat

JAL denies Boeing 777-8/9 order goes with Airbus A350 $9.5b order

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by Jet-X, Oct 7, 2013.

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  1. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

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    By ERIC PFANNER

    Published: October 7, 2013


    TOKYO — Airbus announced a $9.5 billion order from Japan Airlines on Monday, giving the European aircraft builder its biggest breakthrough to date in Japan, where Boeing has been the main supplier of jetliners for decades.

    JAL and Airbus said the Japanese carrier would buy 31 A350 wide-body jets, which are expected to replace Boeing 777 jetliners in the carrier’s long-haul lineup. Deliveries will begin in 2019, and the order also included options for 25 more aircraft.

    The A350 order breaks down to 18 of Airbus’s latest 314-seat wide-body, the A350-900, as well as 13 of its larger, 350-seat A350-1000s, a person with knowledge of the deal said.

    While Boeing and Airbus have been battling each other for global market share for years, things have been different in Japan. JAL has never bought a plane from Airbus, and its main rival, All Nippon Airways, also mostly operates Boeing jets.

    Although it is the first Airbus purchase for JAL, the airline acquired Japan Air Systems a few years ago and inherited some Airbus jets in that transaction.

    “Certainly this is the big order Airbus was hoping for, the big foot in the door that could lead to new orders,” said Will Horton, an analyst at the CAPA Center for Aviation in Hong Kong.

    Analysts say Airbus may have offered substantial discounts to alter the airline’s all-Boeing policy.

    The longstanding ties between the Japanese carriers and Boeing also have been subject to new tensions over a series of problems with Boeing’s new 787 jet. Both All Nippon and JAL have bought 787s, and substantial portions of the work on the planes is done in Japan.

    But the introduction of the 787 was delayed several times, and then the plane was grounded by problems with batteries, causing scheduling and logistical difficulties for the Japanese carriers and other 787 customers.

    JAL’s decision to go with Airbus comes amid other signs of change in the cozy relationships that long held sway in the Japanese aviation business. The government, which used to own JAL, is increasingly distancing itself from the carrier.

    Last week the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced that it was awarding 11 of 16 new international takeoff and landing slots at Haneda Airport in Tokyo to All Nippon, the biggest domestic rival to JAL, leaving only five for JAL.

    All Nippon and JAL have an equal number of slots at Haneda, which are coveted because of the airport’s proximity to central Tokyo. Haneda is only about 15 kilometers, or 9.3 miles, from the city’s major business districts, about a quarter of the distance to Narita, the other main airport serving the Tokyo area.

    The government described the decision as a way to promote fairness in the industry, after JAL benefited from several bailouts. Most recently, after JAL filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010, the airline received a capital injection of ¥350 billion, or about $3.6 billion, from a fund supported with taxpayer money.

    But JAL has protested the decision on Haneda, saying it was a flawed way to try to level the playing field. The move also has ramifications for partner airlines of JAL and All Nippon; JAL operates flights in cooperation with carriers in the OneWorld alliance, including British Airways and American Airlines, while All Nippon has a deal with United Continental Holdings and other members of the Star Alliance.

    Having secured its first contract with JAL, Airbus is eyeing the airline’s rival. All Nippon has a handful of single-aisle Airbus planes, and executives have said it is considering the A350 or a new version of the 777 for a pending order.

    Some Japanese low-cost carriers also operate Airbus planes, but the JAL deal was the first purchase of wide-body jets, which carry higher prices and profit margins, by either of the two major Japanese carriers.

    Nicola Clark contributed reporting from Paris.
     
  2. F1tommy

    F1tommy F1 World Champ
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    Maybe Boeing should have offered to build the main fuselage or even a full 777X production line in Japan with Japanese government help. That might have secured the deal for Boeing:)

    This makes me so happy as an American that I think I will go out and buy a Toyota.
     
  3. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    The real question is: how much of the 787 issues caused embarrassment to the airlines? The Japanese are very much about pride and saving face. This may be their way of doing that.
     
  4. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

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    That has a lot to do with it, but it's also getting to a point that they don't want (as do others) rely on a sole source supplier model. A lot of airlines are going this way.
     
  5. Tcar

    Tcar F1 Rookie

    I don't know if it's true, but isn't AirBus a part of a government entity and as such does not have the absolute obligation for profit that Boeing does as a private company with shareholders?

    Is this a level playing field?
     
  6. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
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    No, it is not and never has been. AB is funded and supported by the budgets of a group of European nations, 5 if I can remember. They are only concerned about knocking Boeing out of contention and are not driven by profits.
     
  7. thibaut

    thibaut Formula Junior

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    Sorry but this is not a correct statement.

    EADS (parent co of airbus) is a private listed company. This year the residual holdings of French and Germany governments were disposed of. For years management had tried to rid itself of government influence.

    Boeing and Airbus have been engaged in legal actions for years at World Trade Organisation claiming the other party is getting unfair subsidies. To cut a very long story short, I'd say both received some degree of government help without one being significantly more than the other.

    To be honest, EADS had quite a few problems linked with political choices made by governments 10-15 years ago (A400M silly choice to hand to the Spaniards who were simply unable to manage such a complex plane, Germans wanting sub assembly on the A380 to the point the wiring wouldn't fit at the final assemble in France). These have cost tens of Bns of euro to EADS and no, it didn't take profits out of Boeing.
    That's a key reason why EADS was so keen to get out of government influence and be run 100% for profit.

    Aerospace (civilian or military) has never been a market widely opened to competition. There are an handful of players and almost anything goes on both side when it comes to sell an aircraft.
     
  8. Bob Parks

    Bob Parks F1 Veteran
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    Okay, my statement may not be correct NOW but I refer to my time working on the initial effort on the 777 in 1989 thru 1993 when Airbus was very mouthy about how they didn't have to show a profit on their program and that they were committed to erode Boeing's position as the top commercial jet producer. They literally gave away airplanes at greatly reduced prices that we couldn't possibly meet, hence the influx into U.S. airline companies with many sales of hugely discounted A319 and A320's. You can say what you want about how they now have divested their association with government support but they are where they are now because they were fed at the teats of Mother Europe and bulled their way into the business by any means they could dream up. It was not a level playing field in the 1990's.
     
  9. ralfabco

    ralfabco Two Time F1 World Champ
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    The Pacific is huge. Last time I checked, the U.S., has a large military force based in the Japanese Islands. You cannot find any French soldiers in Japan.

    The president needs to pick up the telephone.
     
  10. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    You're funny.
     
  11. FERRARI-TECH

    FERRARI-TECH Formula 3

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    That's because they would be confused by the flag.. Its a white flag alright but it has a red dot in the center :)
     
  12. ralfabco

    ralfabco Two Time F1 World Champ
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  13. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    I thought this administration was mad at Boeing for trying to stop the unionization in South Carolina?
     
  14. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

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    Actually I don't think your statement is correct.

    Airbus (EADS) is actually a PUBLICLY traded company (~73% of its stock is traded publicly on stock exchanges), and I'm sorry to say, the governments of France (SOGEPA), Germany (GZBV), and Spain (SEPI) still own approximately 26% of the private shares. In other words, the governments have not divested themselves in Airbus. This doesn't change the goal of being run as a for-profit company, as being a for-profit company and having government ownership are completely separate. You can even see on Airbus website that my statement is correct:

    http://www.eads.com/eads/int/en/investor-relations/share-information/shareholder-structure.html

    Subsidies vs. government guaranteed loans are two different things altogether. While the governments that have financial stakes in Airbus **may** no longer provide guaranteed loans, the fact is they still do. What has changed is Airbus as a company **may** seek better financing elsewhere, especially in the event that the governments wish to not provide loans. All of this is covered in the corporate governance and investor information documents. Basically, Airbus is saying "we have access to government loans, but no guarantee they will always be available, and we may have to go outside to find other money."

    It used to be Airbus would take the entire cost of the development program and get government backed guaranteed loans. Now it seems while they are still getting loans (Airbus A350 received over $5b in government guaranteed loans), the amounts are being reduced since Airbus is technically a profitable company.

    Boeing on the other hand has to finance all their aircraft R&D with their own money. Period. However, the tax breaks received are viewed by Airbus as a subsidy. So Boeing doesn't have to pay (e.g.) $30m in state taxes (to keep the jobs there), Boeing now has $30m it can put towards R&D. But the tax breaks Boeing gets pale in comparison to the government backed loans Airbus has received since Day 1 that gave it a grossly unfair advantage in the commercial aerospace segment.

    Just want clarification on what the situation is, even if my explanations are overly simplified.
     
  15. thibaut

    thibaut Formula Junior

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    the so called 'refundable advances' have been investigated ad nauseam by the WTO and the conclusion was they are not state aid. it is not because it is not used by the US governement that it is unlawful. In fact these advances provide profit share in the upisde of the programme they finance. For instance the actual interest rate paid by airbus on the successful programmes such as 320 is much much higher than they would have paid in the normal financing market. As far as I understand it, boeing is using similar approach with its industrial partners whev they share risks of new programmes.
    BTW the counter claim EADS (now called airbus as they wanted to use the name of the better known subsidiary) is that boeing is benefiting from very substantial help on the military side. This also kept a lot of people at WTO busy.

    I think it is difficult to argue that today Airbus is a government owned entity which is aimed at taking sales away from boeing whatever the costs. This is simply wrong. As boeing, they are trying to make a living in a market where you sell today the plane you hope to be able to build in 5 years time without losing their shirt in the process. They were very badly hit by A380 and A400M.

    life is tough enough on the military side where, as others have pointed out, the US government ensures there is no playing field and product offering is compromised by having to please 5-6 european governments with different ideas.
     
  16. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

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    I'm sure we can debate this all day, but this doesn't make sense per se. If Airbus can get better finance rates on the open market for development loans, then why do they take the state provided loans instead?

    I have my opinion why this is, but all it does is further extend the debate.
     

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