The politics of airplanes

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Politics make strange seatmates, says The Motley Fool http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05101212.htm which analyzes why Boeing is toning down its saber-rattling over Airbus launch aid, suggesting that Airbus may have outflanked the company by offering stakes in the A350 to companies in Russia and China.

Key Quote: “In the case of the A350, Airbus’ partnerships with Russia and China may help mute U.S. criticism of European subsidies. If the U.S. is seen as impeding the A350, this could stir strong protests from Russia and China, two countries with significant influence on U.S. policies.”

Not sure what I think about that, but there it is.

And speaking of politics, the Indian government has formally approved Air India’s plan to buy 777s, 787s and 737s from Boeing.

Key Quote, from the BBC: “The state-run international carrier will buy eight B777-200 LR, 15 B777-300 ER and 27 B787 of Boeing’s newly launched Dreamliner medium-capacity, long-range aircraft, Air India said in a statement earlier this year.”

Here’s a link to that: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4339750.stm

And here’s one from AFX: http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2005/10/13/afx2275460.html

And from AFP: http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=20813