Originally Posted by
PrimaVista
I do get the feeling Willie is still smarting at not getting more A380s at the price he wanted. Whilst there is undoubtedly an element of opportunism in this LOI., I also think this is a deliberate and very public case of picking up his toys and walking away from Airbus to remind them they do not have anything like preferred supplier status.
Competition is good, after all...
But if you look at the big picture, it makes no sense. Yes, Airbus has the big pie in the short haul with the A32X, but what about the long haul?
Where was WW when Airbus needed IAG to buy more A380s to keep the line alive until possible neo decision was made? BA was clearly looking into that. Why keep ordering 77Ws when you'll be receiving A35Ks and could very well order A359s instead and kickstarting the 772s replacement cycle? And was the 777-9 order to spite airbus instead of more A35Ks or a regret for not ordering more A380s? Or was it political, like some of 77Xs orders are?
If WW is playing games with Airbus and mad with them I'm pretty sure Airbus is not happy as well, not only there isn't a single widebody order in sight for Airbus in the near future, not only BA keeps adding Boeing's at will, be it 787-10s, 77Ws or 777-9s but now also gave Boeing the maintenance contract for its Airbus short haul fleet. And despite the short haul being the cash cow for airplane makers due to their impressive volume, the big bucks are made in the widebodies.
So I'm not sure what's to gain with this LoI or with WWs latest comments. Yes, it will look good in IAGs finance reports but it will not make Airbus lower their prices or be friendlier, especially considering the widebody and maintenance situation.