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 19. April 25, 2025
- How good is the C929? Part 2. April 24, 2025
- Boeing First Quarter Results Update: China is 10% of the backlog, with 500 in “Unidentified” April 24, 2025
- Boeing First Quarter Results: Tariffs, Return flights, $10.55bn asset sale April 23, 2025
- RTX Q1 2025 Earnings: GTF Talk Takes A Back Seat To Tariffs April 22, 2025
Boeing’s 1Q2010 results
Boeing released its first quarter results today.
Here is the 12 page PDF financial presentation.
Earnings call begins:
EADS confirms KC-X bid
Update, 500 PM PDT: Innovation Analysis Group has a 24 minute podcast on this development featuring Flight Global defense writer Steve Trimble, TEAL Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia, IAG’s Addison Schonland and us.
Original Post:
EADS North America and Airbus have scheduled a press conference for 2pm EDT today. EADS NA CEO Sean O’Keefe, former EADS-NA CEO Ralph Crosby (who remains in charge of obtaining the KC-X contract) and Airbus Americas Chairman Allan McArtor are scheduled to appear.
Clearly this is the kick-off for the return of EADS to the competition.
Update, 0945AM PDT: Boeing already is on the offense, issuing a statement that the WTO ruling that Airbus, and the A330-200 on which the KC-45 is based, benefited from illegal subsidies should be considered. The Department of Defense has stated repeatedly that the WTO ruling will not be considered.
The WTO Interim Report on the EU case against Boeing is expected to be issued in June, ahead of the extended deadline of July 9 for proposals to be submitted. It is widely anticipated that Boeing will likewise be found to have benefited from illegal subsidies.
We have all along cautioned about focusing on the subsidies issues because we believed both parties will be found to have violated WTO trade rules. The Airbus report is out and the Boeing report is coming. Boeing and its supporters already have said any Boeing violations will “pale” in comparison with launch aid provided Airbus.
Whether it does or doesn’t remains to be seen, but since the underlying thesis of Boeing and its supporters is that any WTO violation should disqualify a company seeking this contract, then any violation by Boeing would disqualify Boeing. This, of course, won’t happen and therefore neither should it happen with respect to EADS (or Northrop before it withdrew).
Furthermore, DOD has reaffirmed over and over that it will not consider the WTO rulings, so all this is for Congress. This makes a sham of the DOD procurement process. The debate should be on the technical and operational merits of the offerings.
The press conference 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.
L-3 appears out as EADS partner
Update, April 16, 0900 PDT: Reuters moved this story this morning about EADS options dwindling away.
DOD Buzz has this analysis on why EADS needs a partner.
Original Post:
Reuters just moved this report that L-3 is probably out as a potential partner for EADS in a possible KC-X tanker bid.
This sends EADS scrambling for alternatives.
Reuters also reports that political pressure may have had a hand in Northrop Grumman’s decision to withdraw and that political issues may be involved in L-3’s apparent decision to withdraw from consideration.
If true, if political interference is at work, “incendiary” won’t even begin to cover the fall-out that could come from this.
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.
Key conferences coming up
There are a couple of key conferences coming up that we want to particularly bring to the attention of our readers.
In Washington State, there is the Innovation Summit next Friday, April 9.
Aside from the fact we’re appearing on the aerospace panel (our third conference appearance this year already), this summit goes well beyond commercial aerospace and also deals with defense and non-defense issues, including clean technology.
Which leads us to the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference April 27-29 in the “other Washington,” WA DC. With aviation moving toward biofuels at an increasingly rapid pace is an important event.
Then there is the Making a Difference: Aerospace Leadership for Energy and Environmental Challenges May 11-12, also in Washington, DC. This is a particularly attractive program. This one is sponsored by AIAA, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Coupled with Aviation Week’s Eco-Aviation conference (dates this year still to be announced), these provide the most comprehensive opportunities in the US for aviation environmental conferences.
Aviation Week’s 2009 conference.
Airfinance Journal has its 30th Annual conference April 26-27 in New York City. This is a premier aviation conference that focuses on commercial aviation finance.