Airbus’ war of words

Associated Press

LE BOURGET, France – Fighter jets may be slicing the skies above the Paris Air Show, but the real battle is being waged at ground level, where Europe’s Airbus is stacking up new orders while Boeing maintains it’s still the highest flyer in the airliner market.

Airbus, with 155 firm orders since this week’s show started, has grabbed most of the headlines in a rivalry pitting two industry mammoths with vastly different styles and visions.

Boeing says it defers to its customers on when to announce new orders, and that deliveries, not orders, are what really count.

“Market leadership comes down to who is getting airplanes out the door and into the sky,” said Seddik Belyamani, executive vice president for sales at Boeing, which is now based in Seattle but is preparing to move its headquarters to Chicago.

“Our competitor has been talking about reaching 50 percent market share. How is it that we continue to deliver 61 percent of airplanes?” he told reporters Wednesday.

John Leahy, an executive vice president at Airbus, has an answer to the delivery argument.

“It is purely an attempt to cover up the obvious: that they are not getting the orders,” he said. “Firm orders become deliveries in two to three years. It’s obvious that when we have 50 percent of the orders, it’s only a matter of time before we will have 50 percent of the deliveries.”

Last year, Boeing delivered 489 planes compared with 311 for Airbus. Boeing expects to deliver 530 planes this year.

The two airlines do not just differ on how to decide who is the market leader.

Their visions of the future of air travel also clash – with Airbus putting its money on size and Boeing betting on speed.

Boeing has long said the future lies in direct flights between smaller cities, bypassing crowded hubs.

“We see market fragmentation – or point-to-point operations – continuing worldwide, which means airlines will rely more and more on smaller airplanes,” Randy Baseler, Boeing Commercial Airlines vice president for marketing, said Wednesday.

In its annual report released at the show, Boeing said it expects world air travel to grow by 4.7 percent and air cargo transport to grow by 6.4 percent a year over the next 20 years. That increased demand will spur airlines to invest $1.7 trillion for 23,500 new commercial airplanes, Boeing said

Of that total, Boeing said, 18 percent or 4,300 planes will be smaller regional jets with 90 or fewer seats, 56 percent or 13,300 will be larger regional jets and single-aisle planes, 21 percent or 4,900 will be intermediate-size jetliners, and just 5 percent or 1,100 will be for Boeing’s 747 and Airbus Industries’ new A380 superjumbo.

Earlier this year, Boeing dropped plans to build a stretch version of its classic 747 jet and decided instead to focus on the Sonic Cruiser – a futuristic-style plane projected to fly just under the speed of sound.

“This added speed will give airlines what they want, a competitive advantage,” Belyamani said.

Company officials have acknowledged that the technology behind the delta-winged plane is still being worked out.

Airbus officials are skeptical.

“I think they are doing that because they haven’t got any orders to announce … I think it’s public relations,” Leahy said, commenting on Boeing’s promotion of the speedy plane in Paris.

To fit its vision of the future, Airbus is building the A380 superjumbo – a 555-seat double-decker jet that will be the world’s largest passenger plane. It has 67 firm orders for the plane, which is due to be delivered starting in 2006.

So far this year, Boeing has logged 124 orders. Airbus had booked 144 before the Paris show, and obtained another 155 firm orders during the show and 20 additional options to buy planes.