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Southeast Asia
Singapore Airlines to buy Boeing 777s (not A380s)
2006-12-11
Gloat? Me? Pshaw.
ISTANBUL: Singapore Airlines said it might buy more Boeing 777 airplanes so it could continue to grow if there were further delays with the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet. "Boeing 777-300ERs, in our experience, would be a useful alternative to A380s," Chew Choon Seng, the airline's chief executive, said in an interview Saturday. "We could upsize the order if there are further delays with the A380."

Singapore Airlines has 10 firm orders for Airbus's 555-seat A380, the world's biggest commercial aircraft, and said in July that it intended to buy nine more. Since then, Airbus has pushed back the delivery date because of wiring problems, and the carrier does not expect to get the first of the planes until next October, rather than this month as originally scheduled.

Singapore Airlines placed a $3.6 billion order in August 2004 for 18 777- 300ERs and has the option to buy 13 more.
Posted by:Steve White

#6  All modern transport aircraft have aluminum wiring.
Posted by: TZSenator   2006-12-11 17:35  

#5  And aluminum wiring in the A380. Now there is a confidence builder, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2006-12-11 16:48  

#4  Screw the Airbus. The fricking tails fall off. No way to check the structural wear on composites aside from literally banging on them with a hammer.
Posted by: Icerigger   2006-12-11 15:26  

#3  Once the bugs are worked out, the A380 will do fine, though not as profitable as Airbus hoped. It will have the cachet of being the largest passenger aircraft, much like in the heyday of the 747. But the A380 is a poor freighter, where economics rule. Too heavy and burns too much fuel. The 747-8F or future 787F and follow ons will have better economics.
Posted by: ed   2006-12-11 09:28  

#2  ..And apparently, a new version of the 747 has just been purchased by Lufthansa:

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-12489362.htm (That link is to the original story, I have seen a couple articles today that say the sale went through but can't find the new link)

If that doesn't kill the A380 once and for all, it's unkillable. Their best option at that point may be to build a few cargo versions for the EU military and call it a day.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-12-11 09:13  

#1  I wonder will the death of Airbus kill the "EU Project"?

Airbus would have been a viable business if it wasn't for state interferance, and the US people would have benefitted from having a decent plane market.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan   2006-12-11 06:38  

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