Singapore Airlines chooses Airbus over Boeing

By DEAN VISSER

Associated Press

SINGAPORE – Singapore Airlines said today it will buy 10 of Airbus Industrie’s massive A3XX jetliners and options for 15 more, giving a huge boost to the European aircraft maker in its bitter battle with American rival Boeing Co.

The total value of the deal, including firm orders and options, is worth $8.6 billion, Singapore Airlines officials said today.

Delivery of the planes to Singapore will take place between 2006 and 2011, the airline said.

Singapore Airlines said it will be the first carrier to operate the new aircraft.

The announcement today was a harsh blow to Boeing, which had been aggressively marketing its own planned plane, the larger-capacity 747X, in Singapore.

Singapore Airlines’ decision “was the culmination of a keenly contested competition between the A3XX and the B747X,” the airline said in a statement today.

“We remain committed to the 747X family of airplanes despite Singapore Airlines’ announcement today,” said Alan Mulally, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group, a unit of Boeing Co.

“Singapore Airlines continues to be one of our most important customers. They operate 47 of our 747s, and 18 of our 777s,” Mulally said in a statement.

Airbus was jubilant about the sale.

“The selection of the A3XX by Singapore Airlines reflects clear market preference for an all-new aircraft in the very large category,” Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard said in a news release.

Airbus’ gigantic A3XX, still in the development stage, will be able to carry up to 650 passengers – the biggest passenger plane ever to take to the skies.

Airbus hopes the superjumbo will break Boeing’s stranglehold on the long-range, high capacity market, which Boeing has long dominated with its 747.

The A3XX is costing Airbus an estimated $12 billion or more to develop.

Airbus presently doesn’t make a jetliner big enough to compete with Boeing’s 416-seat 747-400. The Singapore deal will give it greater comfort in moving ahead with its expensive A3XX venture.

Airbus has already received orders for 22 of the megaplanes from Air France, New York-based International Lease Finance Corp., and Emirates Airlines of the United Arab Emirates.

Airbus’ first planned model, the A3XX-100, will seat 555 passengers. The aircraft is scheduled to make its first flight in 2004 and enter service near the end of 2005.

Singapore Airlines said it plans to deploy the A3XX on routes to London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney.

Engineers for Seattle-based Boeing spent more than a year in the mid-1990s studying whether the company should build its own all-new superjumbo, but dropped the plan after deeming it impractical.

Airbus Industrie is based in Toulouse, France. It is a co-owned by the European Aeronautic Defense &Space Co. and Britain’s BAE Systems.

Copyright ©2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Members of South County Fire practice onboarding and offboarding a hovering Huey helicopter during an interagency disaster response training exercise at Arlington Municipal Airport on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. The crews learned about and practiced safe entry and exit protocols with crew from Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue before begin given a chance to do a live training. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish, King counties train together for region’s next disaster

Dozens of agencies worked with aviators Tuesday to coordinate a response to a simulated earthquake or tsunami.

Police stand along Linden Street next to orange cones marking pullet casings in a crime scene of a police involved shooting on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens man identified in Everett manhunt, deadly police shooting

Travis Hammons, 34, was killed by officers following a search for an armed wanted man in a north Everett neighborhood.

Ciscoe Morris, a longtime horticulturist and gardening expert, will speak at Sorticulture. (Photo provided by Sorticulture)
Get your Sorticulture on: Garden festival returns to downtown Everett

It’s a chance to shop, dance, get gardening tips, throw an axe and look through a big kaleidoscope. Admission is free.

Funko mascots Freddy Funko roll past on a conveyor belt in the Pop! Factory of the company's new flagship store on Aug. 18, 2017.  (Dan Bates / The Herald)
Lawsuit: Funko misled investors about Arizona move

A shareholder claims Funko’s decision to relocate its distribution center from Everett to Arizona was “disastrous.”

Lynnwood
1 stabbed at apartment in Lynnwood

The man, 26, was taken to an Everett hospital with “serious injuries.”

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. Highway 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Red flag fire warning issued west of Cascades

There are “critical fire weather” conditions due to humidity and wind in the Cascades, according to the National Weather Service.

A house fire damaged two homes around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 6, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Photo provided by Marysville Fire District)
Fire burns 2 homes in Marysville, killing 2 dogs

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire north of Lakewood Crossing early Tuesday, finding two houses engulfed in flames.

Dolly Hunnicutt holds onto a metal raccoon cutout while looking through metal wildflowers at the Freeborn Metal Art booth during the first day of Sorticulture on Friday, June 9, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sorticulture brings gardening galore, fun by the bushel at 130 booths

“Every year there’s something different to see,” one attendee said at the opening of the three-day festival in downtown Everett.

Alex Dold lived with his mother and grandmother, Ruby Virtue, near Echo Lake. His sisters, Vanessa and Jen Dold, often would visit to play board games and watch soccer on television.
Troubled deputies at center of $1.5M settlement in Maltby man’s death

In 2017, Bryson McGee and Cody McCoy killed Alex Dold with their Tasers. Neither of them work for the sheriff’s office anymore.

Most Read