Airbus UP, Boeing DOWN

[1279shp]

October 4 , 2005

European planemaker Airbus delivered 271 aircraft in the first nine months of 2005, compared with 224 in the same period of the previous year, it said on Tuesday.

Gustav Humbert, the new chairman of the group that is 80 percent owned by EADS and 20 percent by BAE Systems, said last month he expected deliveries of 360-370 planes in 2005 and more than 400 in 2006 after 320 in 2004.

The two shareholders are due to decide on the launch of the A350 mid-sized plane soon.

Rival Boeing, hit by a strike in September, expects to deliver 320 planes this year and 395 in 2006. It said on Tuesday it delivered 62 commercial aircraft in the third quarter, down three from a year ago, while the nine month total was 217.

A spokesman for Airbus declined to say what the level of new orders was at end-September.

Commercial director John Leahy said two weeks ago that it was possible that the combined new orders of Airbus and Boeing this year could break the record 1,631 planes of 1989.

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October 4, 2005

Boeing deliveries of commercial aircraft slumped to a ten year low in its strike-hindered third quarter, the US aerospace company said on Tuesday.

Third quarter deliveries to airlines and lessors, at 62, were down by 23 from the second quarter and by 5 from the year-earlier period. The previous low quarter was the third quarter of 1995, when it was also 62.

A nearly month-long walkout by 18,500 workers at Boeing's plants in the states of Washington, Oregon and Kansas ended last week and analysts have said they are hopeful the company will be able to make up for the lost deliveries in September.

Boeing's deliveries for the year to September stood at 217, behind the 271 total reported on Tuesday by European rival Airbus.

Boeing's most popular plane by far remained the 737 Next Generation, a jet favored by low cost carriers. It accounted for 47 deliveries in the three month period.

Separately, Boeing said Indian domestic carrier Jet Airways had confirmed an order announced during the Paris Air Show for 10 777-300ER widebody planes.

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[WHBM]

Well I give this one about 10 replies before the A v B enthusiasts start their cuttting-and-pasting from previous threads again.

But meanwhile it's a valid issue. Although deposits etc are paid, most of the actual cash an aircraft manufacturer receives is on delivery, and if you lose deliveries you lose cash flow. And the difficulty is that once you are "off the treadmill" your senior management get distracted in replanning all their cash and banking facilities. The banks are not fools and will wonder how things got off track in the first place and whether the management is the right one if they are going to lend a lot of money.

Meanwhile Airbus seem to be on the reciprocal track, and must be getting benefit fom spreading overheads over a larger number of deliveries.

It is not apparent what the planned numbers were at Boeing without the strike, where although the 737 and 777 continue to be turned out the other programmes have little to contribute in numbers now.