Delta shoots down Boeing’s CSeries dumping claim

May 23, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Delta Air Lines shot down Boeing’s claim that Bombardier “dumped” the CSeries order, in testimony last week before the US International Trade Commission.

Boeing filed a complaint April 27 that Bombardier sold the CS100 to Delta for $19.6m, well below its production cost, a price that constitutes “dumping.”

Bombardier CS100.

Boeing seeks tariffs of nearly 80% on the importation of the airplanes to Delta.

Boeing’s complaint is that the Delta deal made it impossible for Boeing to offer the 737-700 at a competitive price.

Read more

Paris Air Show Preview

Subscription Required

Introduction

May 22, 2017, © Leeham Co. The Paris Air Show begins June 17, and few in the industry expect much in the way of orders this year.

The order cycle is on the downward side of the bell curve. Sustaining the 2,000, 3,000 or nearly 4,000 gross orders announced 2011-2013 simply couldn’t be achieved. The “order bubble” had to break, and it did. Last year, Airbus and Boeing reported some 1,400 orders between them.

Airbus guides that it will tough to achieve a 1:1 book:bill this year. Boeing is running about 1:1 book:bill so far but it also guides conservatively. Still, LNC thinks Boeing might surprise this year–and some of this could be at the Paris Air Show.

Leeham Co.’s new publication, Commercial Aviation Report, provides a Focus Report on the Air Show. This encompasses the expectations for Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, COMAC, Irkut, Mitsubishi, CFM, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce into one easy-to-read package.

The pre-airshow press briefings by the OEMs begin next week. We don’t expect any earth-shattering news from these and we wanted to get our views out ahead of these briefings.

Summary
  • Boeing wants to launch the 737-10 MAX at the Paris Air Show. This could spur a group of orders that would give Boeing a rare win in the headlines vs Airbus on the latter’s home ground.
  • Mitsubishi plans to have its MRJ90 at the Air Show. One airplane entered the paint shop for ANA colors–this might be the one making the appearance.
  • Embraer expects to have its KC-390 there. Will the E195-E2 also make an appearance?

Read more

Pontifications: The pricing jigsaw puzzle

By Scott Hamilton

May 22, 2017, © Leeham Co.: The prices airlines and lessors pay for their airplane purchases have long been of intense interest to just about everybody associated with the airline industry.

The manufacturers want to know what their competitors are selling the planes for.

The airlines want to know what their competitors pay for their airplanes. The same is true for lessors and their competitors.

(Airlines are less interested in what the lessors pay; they are only interested in what they must pay the lessors to lease the airplanes, and aren’t really concerned about the lessors’ costs.)

Appraisers want to know the prices of new aircraft, and prices on the secondary market, to have a basis for predicting base and current market values today and 25 years in the future.

The credit rating agencies want to know that values of the airplanes to rate financing deals.

Read more

Bjorn’s Corner: Keeping airliners operational. Part 5

By Bjorn Fehrm

May 19, 2017, ©. Leeham Co: Last week we described the different working groups and review committees and boards involved in defining a new airliner’s maintenance requirements.

We now continue with describing a practical maintenance task from the maintenance plan for a common aircraft, the Airbus A320.

Figure 1. The first modern maintenance program was formed around the Boeing 747. Source: Wikipedia.

Read more

Regional aircraft for US Scope clause operations. Part 3.

By Bjorn Fehrm

Subscription Required

Introduction

May 18, 2017, © Leeham Co.: In the second article about the US regional aircraft market, we looked at the cabins for the regional aircraft we examine. We started with looking at the typical classes and their seat ratios for the mainline aircraft the regional aircraft are feeding to/from. Then we mimicked that on the regional aircraft.

We filled the cabin with domestic First-class seats, then Premium economy and finally Economy until we got 76 seats or the cabin said stop.

Now we complete the picture by comparing the economics of the aircraft after which we summarize our findings.

Summary:

  • The benchmark aircraft for the US scope clauses is the E175 from Embraer. It was designed for the scope clause market.
  • It’s larger dimensions means the operating costs are slightly higher than the CRJ900.
  • A scope clause-bound operator can compensate the Bombardier CRJ900’s tighter cabin with more seat pitch. It has the longest cabin of all compared aircraft.
  • The MRJ70 and CRJ700 are too short for scope clause flying with 76 seat cabins and the MRJ90 is too heavy for the 86,000lb maximum weight limit.

Read more

Is Bombardier a stalking horse in Boeing complaint?

Analysis

May 17, 2017 © Leeham Co.: Is Boeing’s complaint against Bombardier over the Delta

Delta Air Lines CS100.

Air Lines CSeries deal merely a stalking horse for future action against Airbus?

This is the theory of one person LNC spoke with on the sidelines Tuesday at the annual Airfinance Journal Conference in New York.

Testimony in the Bombardier case begins this week.

Read more

Air industry uncertain about Trump policies

Adam Pilarski

May 17, 2017, © Leeham Co.: The US airline industry remains uncertain where the Trump Administration is going, said Adam Pilarski, chief economist of Avitas Aviation, at the annual Airfinance Journal conference in New York.

“There are huge differences  between candidate Trump and President Trump,” he said. China was  not declared a currency manipulator. There is no border wall. The US embassy has not been moved to Jerusalem.  Trump now supports ExIm Bank and NATO.

“Let’s not get too involved in what he said, because he didn’t mean it,” said Pilarski.

Read more

Interest seen in Boeing’s “797,” says lessor

May 16, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Air Lease Corp., one of the world’s leading lessors, sees

John Plueger, CEO of Air Lease Corp.

a “quite a bit” of interest from its customers in the prospective Boeing Middle of the Market aircraft, says its CEO, John Plueger.

Speaking at the Airfinance Journal conference in New York today, Plueger acknowledged with some push from moderator Mark Streeter of JP Morgan that pricing needs to be in today’s dollars in the $70m-$75m range.

Read more

Welcome back, Commercial Aviation Report

May 15, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Welcome back, Commercial Aviation Report.

Today Leeham Co. is re-launching the publication that became the foundation of an international publishing and conference company and which ultimately led to the creation of Leeham Co. and Leeham News and Comment.

Commercial Aviation Report, or CAR for short, was launched Oct. 1, 1989, by Scott Hamilton, Chris Kjelgaard and Bernard Tilbury. The bi-weekly newsletter evolved into a magazine and later the creation of a monthly, Commercial Aviation Value Report.

It’s conference unit, Commercial Aviation Events, became one of the top aviation conference organizers. CAE created the first commercial aviation conference in Eastern Europe, after the fall of the Iron Curtain; and the first commercial aviation conference in China.

Read more

Special Report: Focus on the Boeing 737-10

Subscription Required

May 15, 2017: © Leeham Co.: It’s coming down to crunch time for Boeing to launch the 737-10 MAX.

There was the “soft launch” of the airplane at the March 2017 ISTAT conference in San Diego.

The Paris Air Show is around the corner. It’s next month, and Boeing officials want to launch the program there.

In a Special Report, Leeham Co. LLC is re-launching the magazine that was the foundation of the creation of Leeham Co. and Leeham News and Comment. The magazine, Commercial Aviation Report, or CAR for short, takes an in-depth look at the 737-10, its genesis and its competitive position against the Airbus A321neo.

Read more