Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
US appeal of Airbus WTO ruling aimed at A350, future of A320
There is been some perplexed reaction to the appeal by the US Trade Representative to the World Trade Organization that the USTR and Boeing claimed only a few months ago were sweeping victories in the complaint that Europe had illegally subsidized Airbus over four decades.
There shouldn’t be any confusion; the answer is simple. Say “A350” and “A320.”
To be sure, the US won most of the important points it challenged but as Airbus, its parent EADS and the European Union pointed out at the time—and which we reported—the US failed to prevail on the all-important point that launch aid, per se, was illegal.
The US appealed this finding, as well as findings that certain financial aid provided by France for the A380 development was not illegal export subsidies. The US also has appealed this finding.
Here’s what Airbus said Friday in response to the US appeals:
RR speaks out on NEO vs new airplanes
Rolls-Royce speaks out on its views of Airbus and Boeing going with a new engine option for their A320-737 class airplanes in this long Wall Street Journal article.
We’ll make two observations:
US Aerospace’s AN-112KC
When a small company called US Aerospace announced it teamed with Ukraine’s Antonov to offer an aerial refueling tanker called the AN-112KC, observers from all over the industry scratched their heads in puzzlement.
First, few had heard of US Aerospace. It turns out that this is a “Pink Sheet” publicly traded company that is in financial difficulty. A “Pink Sheet” company is a mechanism in which stock of companies that typically cannot qualify for the major exchanges can be traded, or stock that is called “Penny Stock” is trade. Penny Stock is stock that sells for, well, pennies. Bankrupt companies are also often traded on the Pink Sheets.
US Aerospace is in default of significant debt and it has owed back taxes to the US government. It latest quarter report indicated around a half-million dollars in cash.
O’Keefe fate unknown; assessing impact on tanker competition
The fate of Sean O’Keefe, CEO of EADS North America, who was among those on the de Havilland DHC-3 Otter than crashed and killed five of the nine people on board, remains unknown. Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, for whom O’Keefe once worked, was killed, according to NBC and CBS news.
O’Keefe reportedly was traveling with his son. The elder O’Keefe often accompanied Stevens on fishing trips.
EADS NA is in a controversial and bitter competition with The Boeing Co. to win the contract for the KC-X USAF aerial tanker. Whether O’Keefe was among those killed or serious injuries require a long recovery period, his absence from the EADS leadership is unlikely to affect the company’s effort to win the contract.
DAE cancels Boeing, Airbus orders
DAE Capital canceled 10 Boeing 777s, 15 Boeing 787s, and 25 A320s/A350s, according to data from both manufactures.
Commercial Aviation Online picked up the Airbus cancellations:
Dubai Aerospace Entreprise (DAE) has cancelled a total of 25 Airbus A320/A350 aircraft, latest figures from the the European manufacturer show.
The lessor, which had 70 A320 and 30 A350-900 aircraft on order, now has 52 A320 and 23 A350-900 orderbook with Airbus.
The chart above, based on the Ascend data base, shows the delivery streams for all the Airbus and Boeing orders prior to cancellation.
Boeing’s Albaugh talks about 737 future
Here is another segment of our interview with Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, during the Farnborough Air Show.
In this post, we report Albaugh’s thoughts on boosting the 737 rate to 40 per month and the challenges associated with doing so; the chess game between Airbus and Boeing over re-engining vs. replacement; the prospect of using an open rotor engine; and more.
Buying Russian for US lift
We have, from time-to-time, joked that the USAF ought to buy a Russian aerial tanker as a way to avoid the Boeing-EADS-Northrop-Airbus rhubarb in the long-running KC-X saga.
Well, here’s news that the US Navy is planning to buy Russian helicopters and United Technology’s Sikorsky helicopter division is not at all happy with this sole-source selection.
Let’s see if all the Buy American crowd gets as wound up over this one as they have in the KC-X contest.