Air Canada's Boeing order (Merged)

By: bring_it_on - 24th September 2005 at 21:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Air Canada's Boeing order may be back on

Air Canada's Boeing order may be back on

Air Canada announced Friday that it has agreed with its pilots on a process to resolve a labor dispute that should allow it to move forward with a $6 billion order for 32 Boeing jets.

The airline backed out of the deal with Boeing in June when it could not reach an agreement with its pilots on how much they would be paid to fly Boeing 777 and 787 jets.

But Montreal-based Air Canada, the country's largest airline, said in a statement that it had reached agreement with the Air Canada Pilots Association on a binding arbitration process that will give it "certainty on pilot costs." The association represents more than 3,000 pilots.

Once that is resolved, Air Canada said, it would go back to reach a new agreement with Boeing on the jet order.

The tentative order from Air Canada earlier this year represented an important breakthrough for Boeing with an old customer that in recent years had become a key customer for Airbus in North America. The European airplane maker was trying to get Air Canada to buy more of its four-engine A340s as well as its planned A350, which will compete against the 787.

Instead, Air Canada opted to buy 18 Boeing 777s -- the first time it has ordered that plane -- and 14 of the new 787 Dreamliners, which will enter service in 2008.

Scott Carson, executive vice president of Boeing jetliner sales, said Friday that he had not heard from Air Canada but welcomed any development that could lead to a new deal being struck.

Under terms of the previous deal, Air Canada was to have started taking delivery of its 787s in 2010. It would have received the first 777 in May 2006, followed by two more that year. But after Air Canada backed out of the deal, Boeing gave two of the airline's 777 delivery positions to Air France, according to people familiar with the matter.

Led by Carson, Boeing's commercial jetliner business is having a banner sales year and is poised to beat Airbus in orders for the first time since 2000. Airbus will still deliver more jets in 2005 than Boeing, just as it did the past two years

"It has been an unbelievable year," Carson said Friday in speech to an air cargo conference in Seattle.

"There is health and vigor in the industry that we have not seen in several years."

Carson said he has been asked several times recently if this will be a peak order year for Boeing and for Airbus, which is also selling a lot of planes (more than 400 so far in 2005).

"It would be hard to imagine that next year would be as strong as this year," Carson said. But while orders may be smaller in 2006, he said it would not be "death valley."

Boeing has 605 net orders this year.

Last year, Boeing won only 270 orders, and its sales chief was replaced in December by Carson, who was heading the company's Connexion business.

"It was a number that was shocking for us," Carson said of last year's order total.

"When there are two players (Boeing and Airbus), it does not matter which of you is second, it is not a fun place to be. But that was the world we woke up to."

Boeing's swelling 2005 order book is owing mostly to more than 100 firm order for the 787 and more than 400 orders for its 737. But the 777 is also selling well.

And Carson noted that recent orders for the 767 freighter means production of that plane is sold out through late 2008. A year ago, the 767 line was in danger of being shut down.

Orders are also up for the freighter version of the 747. Production is nearly sold out through 2007, Carson said.

Boeing is expected to seek approval soon from its board to begin offering an advanced version of the 747 for sale. It will use 787 engine technology and will carry more people or cargo than the current 747-400 model.

Sources say Boeing's commercial team is still waiting on a passenger order for the plane before it goes to the board.

"I'm very optimistic that in the next several weeks or months you will see some exciting news surrounding that product," Carson said of the 747 Advanced.

IN RELATED BOEING 787 NEWS-

Boeing completes firm configuration of new 787

EVERETT, Wash. -- Boeing Co. said Friday it had finalized the major design elements - including structural, propulsion and systems architectures - for its new 787 jetliner.

The completion of the airplane's firm configuration will allow engineers to start more detailed design work on the new airplane.

Boeing plans to begin production of the twin-engine, fuel-efficient 787 in 2006, and commercial airlines are expected to begin flying the planes in 2008. With the new airplane, Chicago-based Boeing is competing against rival Airbus SAS's proposed A350.

By: Tigerotor77W - 25th September 2005 at 01:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00

Good posts, people... the Boeing aircraft will be seen in AC livery soon!