Airbus was very busy last week. Qantas is adding more A380s tempered by Virgin Atlantic coming up with more question marks to its order.
On the A380 front Virgin Atlantic announced an agreement in principle to defer deliveries of its first aircraft until 2013. ”By then, we believe the A380 will have proven its innovative design over several years in commercial service,” said a spokesman.
”The deferral will also enable Airbus to prioritise production and deliveries for its launch customers, such as Singapore Airlines. We have extended the leases of several of our Boeing 747-400 aircraft in order to meet our fleet needs and future growth plans." However Qantas was much more positive”increasing its firm commitment from 12 to 20 to be delivered between 2008 and 2015.
A new American carrier Skybus Airlines, based in Ohio, came in with a signed firm order for 65 A319s, and in Beijing, with a grinning President Chirac looking on, China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corp signed a general terms agreement for 150 A320s and a letter of intent for 20 A350 XWBs.
The A320s are on top of the 150 ordered by China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group (CASGC) last year. As yet the final specification for the A350 XWB has not yet been defined. Clearly politics defined the order.
There is little doubt that China is a huge potential market. The plan is for many of the A320 series aircraft to be assembled at a plant in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone. However the French unions are keeping a watchful eye on the situation.
Past experience has shown that when production lines are split it is usual for the original plant to suffer. Previous Airbus plans to move total A320 assembly to Hamburg were hastily withdrawn after pressure. With the BAe 146, British Aerospace opened up a line at Manchester parallel to the original base at Hatfield, and then later on closed the Hertfordshire operation.