FedEX likes SUPER-JUMBO EGGS

[A1FlyBoy]

PARIS, July 15 (Reuters) - FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX - News) put its faith in the largest-ever commercial plane on Monday when it became the seventh firm to sign up for the Airbus A380 with an order for 10 of the superjumbo jets.

The contract, which includes options on 10 more, is a key win in the European planemaker's war with Boeing Co (NYSE:BA - News) to secure the custom of cargo operators accustomed to using Boeing's 747 for intercontinental cargo.

The FedEx deal, which takes the A380 order backlog to 95, would be worth around $5 billion at list prices if all options became firm orders.

But analysts think Airbus has been offering hefty discounts to lure airlines to its behemoth amid a morose sector climate.

Boeing dropped out of the race to build a new large commercial jet when it scrapped plans for a longer version of the 747. It is now focusing on a smaller, faster Sonic Cruiser, a plane whose feasibility is still being examined.

The A380-800F cargo planes would be delivered to FedEx between 2008 and 2011.

French President Jacques Chirac will inaugurate the new A380 final assembly site near Toulouse, France on Tuesday.

The A380 has bolstered Airbus's production backlog during the aviation downturn of the past year as airlines looked to a hoped-for upturn in traffic by the time the 555-seat jet reaches the market in 2006.

FedEx becomes the second U.S. customer Airbus has stolen from under Boeing's nose, after plane-leasing company International Lease Finance Corp, part of insurance group AIG (NYSE:AIG - News), signed up for 10 of the planes.

The other carriers which have already decided big is beautiful are Air France (Paris:AIRF.PA - News), Emirates , Lufthansa (XETRA:LHAG.DE - News), Qantas (Australia:QAN.AX - News), Singapore Airlines (SES:SIAL.SI - News) and Virgin Atlantic .

Planemakers are always keen to secure the loyalty of first-time customers for a new plane, because initial orders normally lead to more, and widen the base of customers for lucrative services and spare parts.

Questions have been raised over whether Airbus will be able to pay for A380 development given the cash crisis at many of its airline customers, and indeed whether the potential market for the A380 justifies the outlay.

But the company has said it does not expect a slump in aircraft output this year or next and is banking on cost cutting to free up more cash for investment down the line.

 

[av8raaron]

Airbus? BOOOOOOOOO!

Boeing - now that's the stuff. Everytime I hear the word airbus, I think of the video of the Air France A320 flying into trees off the runway threshold. If you want to fly a 7x7, get your ATP. If you want to "fly" an airbus, learn C++ and Javascript.

It's like Pancho says in "The Right Stuff": "Some sum'b!tch has gotta fly that thing up, and some sum'b!tch has gotta bring 'er down, and that sum'b!tch is called a PILOT!"

 

[flydog]

Dude do you really know what your are talking about?

How much of your 70 hrs TT is Boeing or Airbus?

While Boeing is out building bat planes and supersonic x-planes Airbus is creating a new market with an airplane that will have restaurants, individual cabins, a business class with beds. This thing is just plain cool. An airplane people will WANT to spend 14 hrs in. Given a choice I doubt people will cramp themselves into a Sonic Cruiser over an A-380 just to cut 45 minutes out of a 12 hr trip

And I cant wait to see the payscale for that SOB

 

[FL000]

Dude do you really know what your are talking about?

How much of your 70 hrs TT is Boeing or Airbus?

Judging from your profile, it's about the same as yours.

 

[av8raaron]

It was a joke. 'Nuff said.

 

[boscenter]

A bad one at that...

 

[Jepp2Jet]

An airplane people will WANT to spend 14 hrs in. Given a choice I doubt people will cramp themselves into a Sonic Cruiser over an A-380 just to cut 45 minutes out of a 12 hr trip

45 MINS? I think they have a bigger goal than that..

http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/concept/photo_time.html

 

[flydog]

Yeah but I wasnt the one making stupid remarks about what a dangerous and crappy flying airplane an Airbus is when I never flew one in my life

 

[Yeti]

Dude do you really know what your are talking about?

How much of your 70 hrs TT is Boeing or Airbus?

While Boeing is out building bat planes and supersonic x-planes Airbus is creating a new market with an airplane that will have restaurants, individual cabins, a business class with beds. This thing is just plain cool. An airplane people will WANT to spend 14 hrs in. Given a choice I doubt people will cramp themselves into a Sonic Cruiser over an A-380 just to cut 45 minutes out of a 12 hr trip

And I cant wait to see the payscale for that SOB

Actually I read the Sonic Cruiser, travelling in the neighborhood of .98, is going to shave at least an hour off of every 3,000 miles flown when compared to the rivals in the .83 to .84 range. And it's said to be able to do that with little or no premium over standard ticket prices. I think a lot of business travellers would jump at that.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Long Haul

It sure would beat flying a 737 or any other small passenger-jet for the rest of my career.

Give me a long international trip anyday! Life's to short to fly domestic - too much of an adventure flying around the world to waste on layovers like Lubbock and Kansas City.

Good thing I'm patient - I can't wait to fly it!