Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 21. May 9, 2025
- Does an A220-500 need a new wing and engines? Part 2. May 8, 2025
- Embraer downplays tariff impact on 2025 results May 6, 2025
- JetZero readies effort for private equity fund raising May 5, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 20. May 2, 2025
Boeing’s 1Q2010 results
Boeing released its first quarter results today.
Here is the 12 page PDF financial presentation.
Earnings call begins:
EADS to bid on tanker
Reuters just moved this story that EADS is preparing to bid the contract alone. L-3 Communications appears to be definitely out of partnering with EADS and “for now” EADS is prepared to go it alone, Reuters says.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-EADS/AL) blasted US Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Boeing/WA) for what Sessions termed attempts to intimidate potential EADS partners. Here is this report.
From strictly a taxpayers’ point of view, the EADS competition should result in better pricing for the Pentagon whoever wins. The past competition has already seen the price driven down compared with the original Boeing lease deal from 2002-2004 and an improved airplane offering from Boeing.
US favors negotiating trade dispute
Crain’s Chicago Business reported yesterday (April 6) that US Trade Rep. Ron Kirk wants to negotiate an end to the EU-US trade dispute over Airbus and Boeing subsidies.
We only just spotted this–there hadn’t been any pick-up by the media that we saw.
The link to the story is here.
But Boeing still says launch aid has to end, a position Airbus continues to resist.
Boeing seeks cybersecurity recruits
Boeing’s Defense unit created a cybersecurity division a few years ago as the company recognized the growing threat to national security and the need to diversify from traditional weaponry with changing defense needs.
Here is a story today about Boeing’s effort to find new recruits for cybersecurity from Bloomberg.
777 production spotlighted
The latest issue of Boeing Frontiers, the company magazine, spotlights the Lean Production line for the 777. This follows the years-long conversion for the 737 line.
We have always felt these Lean Production methods are one of the secrets to Boeing’s success since implementation following the production debacle in 1997. Boeing is going to adopt a Lean Production Line for the 767, which will enable the company to offer the Pentagon better pricing for the KC-X tanker bid. We wrote about this in a previous post.
DOD is within its rights to extend tanker deadline
It was predictable that Boeing supporters would become apoplectic when the Defense Department said it will extend the May 10 deadline 60 days to July 9 should EADS decide to submit a bid for the KC-X program, but legally DOD is within its rights.
We talked with two people yesterday who have no skin in this game and both told us that at this stage, ie, before bids have been submitted, DOD has the full discretion to set the deadlines any time it wants. Or DOD has the discretion to cancel the competition altogether, to be extreme about it.
DOD to EADS: You’ve got 60 days
Update, April 1, 0800PDT: Boeing just issued this statement in response to the DOD announcement yesterday:
ST. LOUIS, April 1, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Defense on March 31 said it will extend the deadline to receive proposals in the U.S. Air Force KC-X Tanker competition from May 10 to July 9 if European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) makes a formal request for an extension. The Boeing Company today responded with the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed with EADS-Airbus efforts to further delay this vital warfighting program and tilt the U.S. procurement process in its favor. EADS-Airbus has been fully engaged in the competition for four years and was always expected to provide the vast majority of its team’s work content.
“We welcome the denial of EADS’s repeated requests to alter U.S. warfighting requirements, and we support the Air Force’s stated intent to provide a level playing field for qualified competitors. We do not see a legitimate reason for EADS’s bid deadline extension request, and we believe an extension that favors any individual competitor does not further the goal of ensuring fair competition.
“Boeing remains fully prepared to submit a competitive proposal by the May 10 deadline originally set by the Air Force. However, this latest development, along with the World Trade Organization’s recent final ruling that Airbus has been heavily and illegally subsidized for decades, requires Boeing to review all of our options for going forward while we wait for a final determination on a deadline extension.”
Original Post:
DOD just announced that it will extend the deadline from May 10 for 60 days to July 9 in order to give EADS the opportunity to submit a bid for the KC-X contract. This is contingent upon EADS notifying the Pentagon of its intent to bid.
EADS hoped for 90 days.
The Pentagon will compress its evaluation schedule to stay on its delivery date timeline for an early-fall contract award. No changes will be made in the RFP. The Pentagon also rejected questions whether political interference was involved.