Boeing tips 692 Jets for QF-DJ by 2022

[Wirraway]

Tues "Sydney Morning Herald"

Boeing tips boom in Asia
By Scott Rochfort
March 2, 2004

Betting on the explosion in air travel across Asia to continue for the next two decades, Boeing has predicted the worldwide fleet of passenger jets will need to more than double to 33,999 by 2022 just to keep up with demand.

Despite the post-September 11 visions of mothballed airliners dotting California's Mojave Desert and Boeing's recent financial woes still fresh in some minds, the latest forecasts by the company predict new passenger aircraft orders from 2002 to 2022 will total $US1.9 trillion ($2.45 billion).

At a media briefing in Sydney yesterday, Boeing's head of marketing, Randy Baseler, said an expected 5.1 per cent per annum world growth in air travel during the next 20 years would be led by an estimated four-fold lift in passenger traffic within the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Baseler predicted the passenger jet fleet in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific would grow from 307 in 2002 to 839 by 2022.

He said this would amount to airlines across the region - notably Virgin Blue and Qantas - ordering 692 airplanes costing $US59 billion.

This would be a fraction, however, of the predicted 24,276 jets Boeing expected to be ordered worldwide during the period, with 18,387 consisting of "growth airplanes" and the rest replacing part of the world's existing fleet of 16,000 passenger jets.

But the biggest growth hot spot, according to Boeing, will be China's booming domestic and outbound aviation market which will require 2000 new aircraft during the period.

Boeing also conceded Airbus had gained the ascendancy for the twin-aisle, 300 to 400 seat aircraft market in 2003, by outselling Boeing 777 with its range of A340 and A330-300 aircraft. In 1999, Boeing's 777 accounted for more than 80 per cent of sales in this market.  Meanwhile, Virgin Blue's international carrier Pacific Blue announced plans to commence two weekly services from Melbourne and Brisbane to Vanuatu from September to coincide with its plans to start flights to Fiji.

At present, the government-owned Air Vanuatu services Port Vila with five flights a week from Sydney, three from Brisbane and two from Auckland. Despite Virgin's designs on the South Pacific aviation market, analysts say South-East Asia will be key to Virgin's long-term growth potential.

Amid growing speculation the airline could buy into the initial public offering of the low-cost Malaysian carrier Air Asia later this year, Virgin's head of strategy, David Huttner, said: "There's nothing imminent."

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[Wirraway]

Tues "The Australian"

Carry-on gang required for Jetstar: Boeing chief
By Steve Creedy
March 02, 2004

JETSTAR pilots might have to pitch in and help load baggage if they want the new Qantas offshoot to succeed, a senior executive with US aircraft manufacturer Boeing predicted yesterday.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes senior vice-president of marketing Randy Baseler questioned how many of the current crop of aviation start-ups were genuinely low-cost - and how many would survive.

He said traditional carriers "had not had what you'd call any resounding success" in their attempts to establish low-cost subsidiaries.

The difficulty for mainline airlines was establishing a culture in the subsidiary unlike the parent company's, he said.

"The ones that have survived the test of time - of course there's still only one that's survived the test of time: Southwest - (have) a culture where everyone feels the customer and the passenger is theirs and they are willing to do anything to get the airplane turned around quickly," Mr Baseler said.

"And so you have pilots that are willing to load luggage if they have to get the airplane going.

"Those are the kinds of attitudes you have to have ... if it's possible."

Mr Baseler said he did not know whether Qantas would succeed with Jetstar.

But he believed the airline, which opted for the Airbus A320 ahead of Boeing's 737, had chosen the wrong aircraft for quick turnaround.

Mr Baseler was in Sydney to give a Boeing market overview. He predicts airlines in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific will need to buy almost 700 new aircraft worth $US59 billion over the next two decades to keep up with traffic growth.

The aircraft manufacturer predicts Asia-Pacific will remain a growth leader over the next two decades, with annual growth of 5.9 per cent compared with a world average of 5.1 per cent.

The more mature Australasian market would see lower average annual traffic growth of about 4 per cent, with routes to northeast Asia (up 4.9 per cent a year) and southeast Asia (up 4.3 per cent a year) leading the rises.

Boeing believes the availability of longer-range aircraft means the Pacific and southeast Asian market will fragment into a larger number of routes using mid-size aircraft to directly connect cities,

Mr Baseler said new ultra-long-range aircraft such as the Boeing 7E7 and the 777-200LR would allow fully loaded planes to fly non-stop between Perth and London or Sydney and Chicago.

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[Buster Hyman]

Sounds like a big call by Boeing...I wonder how many Boeings will be included in that figure?

[Sheep Guts]

Does sound like a big call. But maybe Boeing have seen the light so to speak and are taking there product to the people to regain some of that obvious lost ground to Airbus.
I mean when did you last see Boeing Big wigs in this hemisphere. Interesting....

I suppose hes right about the growth in the Asia market which will spill over into the Pacific market one would think.

Time will tell. I wonder if the Jet Star drivers will clean their own windshields like SouthWest :E

DJ will hang in their I hope and I hope Jet Star do aswell for all our sakes. I couldnt stomach another Aussie Airline flop.:{

Remmember guys we are all in the same boat, just make sure the Company CEOs dont sway your thinking, leave the bickering to them


Sheep