Boeing 'efficiency' paying off

[A1FlyBoy]

"Fuel efficiency and light -weight planes are the keys to our selection at a time when fuel prices are high, Yamamoto said."

All Nippon leaning to Boeing 777

Bloomberg News
Published June 4, 2005

All Nippon Airways Co. said it may use Boeing Co.'s 777-300ER aircraft to replace 53 of its largest planes in a purchase valued at $13 billion, passing over the Airbus SAS A380.

Also Friday, Vietnam Airlines said it will buy four Boeing 787 Dreamliners as part of a plan to expand its fleet to meet increasing travel demands.

All Nippon wants smaller planes that burn less fuel and wants to reduce its number of aircraft types to cut oil and training costs, President Mineo Yamamoto said. The Tokyo-based airline may decide on the plan in February, he said, without saying if All Nippon would buy or lease the aircraft.

"We are also studying the A380, but the 777-300ER is the most likely," Yamamoto said. "Consolidating large-size planes into one model with the 777 may be the best way to improve our cost structure."

Jet fuel may rise 7.5 percent this year, to an average of $57 a barrel, All Nippon said, making it more imperative to use planes that are more fuel-efficient.

"Fuel efficiency and light-weight planes are the keys to our selection at a time when fuel prices are high," Yamamoto said.

Three of four planes in All Nippon's fleet are Boeing's, and the selection of the 777 in the airline's biggest replacement program underscores the challenge faced by Airbus Japan's President Glen Fukushima in persuading Japanese airlines to switch to the Toulouse, France-based planemaker.

Chicago-based Boeing has strengthened its dominance in selling planes to All Nippon and Japan Airlines Corp. by awarding contracts for parts to Japanese companies. Boeing gave 35 percent of contracts for the proposed 787 model, including work for the wings and fuselage, to Japanese manufacturers.

All Nippon, Japan's second-largest airline, was the first customer for the 787, with a $6 billion order last year for 50 planes. The airline has 186 aircraft in its fleet, almost 72 percent of them made by Boeing.

Also Friday, Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has instructed the state-owned airline to complete the contract with Boeing, which is expected to be signed during his visit to the U.S. this month, said spokesman Nguyen Chan.

Boeing has said the wide-body jetliners will be delivered to Vietnam in 2010. The deal is valued at about $500 million at list prices.

 

[Metro752]

What was it, for every 9 or 19 737 w/ winglet flights, it saves enough fuel to fly the entire 10th or 20th flight. Something like that.

Lots of money I would say.

 

[sqwkvfr]

I remember an article when the A380 was still in the very preliminary planning stages...Boeing met with several of it's Pacific rim customers and learned that the 777 was a better fit for those airline's needs.

It apears they were right.

 

[Vik]

Only time will tell ..

 

[jetflyer]

This is why countries are starting to worry about "EFFICIENCY":


AP article on Yahoo:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050529/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_gone_10

The best explanation of PEAK Oil I've found is from this six month old article:
www.yubanet.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/8/15426


Read these two articles and you'll learn how serious our oil problem will become in the near future.

Jet