Airbus, Boeing clash over jumbo freighters

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FARNBOROUGH (Reuters) - Forget about extra-wide seats and luxury frills, the battle is on to sell freight versions of the world's largest passenger planes to oil the wheels of globalization.

In this year's sweltering Farnborough air show, executives have been getting hot under the collar about claims and counter-claims from bitter rivals Airbus (EAD.PA) and Boeing.

Each accuses the other of misleading airlines about the hard economics of flying their jumbos in and out of the world's fastest-growing trade zones like China and India.

At stake is a global market for the largest air freighters that Boeing (NYSE:BA - news) estimates to be worth 340 aircraft or close to $100 billion at list prices over the next 20 years.

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But the models are very close in orders so far. Boeing has sold 28 747-8F while Airbus has sold a net 25 A380-800F.

The 747 and A380 freight battle stands out as one of the most direct head-to-head battles between Airbus and Boeing, alongside fierce competition over single-aisle passenger jets.

While the passenger versions take aim at different segments

-- Boeing's carries 450 people and Airbus 555 in standard layout -- the freighters are closer with payloads of 140 to 150 tonnes, plus or minus a margin for their respective accuracy claims.

The demand for such freighters is effectively a tussle for East-West trade flows, spurred on by China's burgeoning exports.

Yet competition is also heating up for the regional and North-South markets served by smaller planes as Airbus prepares to launch a 65-tonne freight version of its A330-200 wide-body, and both firms eye returns from converting single-aisle jets.

Weight is not the only factor in this year's freight fracas.

Airbus says the roomy A380 is more suited to a shift toward less density in goods traffic. High-tech items tend to have more packaging and therefore weigh less for the volume used.

Boeing counters that Airbus is blinded by its sale of A380 freighters to parcel firms Fedex (NYSE:FDX - news) and UPS (NYSE:UPS - news) who operate that way. At transition points like Anchorage, Boeing teams have been inspecting the goods being loaded on palettes and found average density is as high as before, Baseler said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060721/bs_nm/transport_airbus_boeing_freight_dc

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