IAG signs LOI for 200 737MAX - some for BA LGW
#151
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,212
#152
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: AAdvantage Asia Miles Air China
Posts: 870
I'm also an Engineer, but after listening to interviews from some of those at/formerly at Boeing, I'm not so confident. Lots of stories of extreme pressure being exerted to get things done and out the door, with defects being overlooked. One quality manager talked about parts that failed QC and being put in the defective bin for scrapping being pulled out; the defective marker paint being scrubbed off by a manager and the part installed on a plane, as they didn't have a replacement at hand. The priority was to get planes out the factory door at all costs.
Boeing strikes me as a company run by accountants who are doing a great job of obliterating the engineering process safety valves that exist within the business. Lack of documentation, mis-representing systems, self-certification with minimal oversight because the US Congress cut funding. These accountants are not the first. I was going to put a humorous comment on TEPCO here but these days people are way too over-sensitive.
I also qualified as a pilot, albeit non-commercially, and flown some dodgy aircraft, no fun when you get to 3K feet and your single engine decides to take a holiday. So personally I will not be getting on a 737 Max, or any other name they call it any time soon, and if I had known about the DC10s before their crashes would not have flown on them either.
As an aside I went to a college producing some of the leading aerospace engineers in the business today, and I think one of the key differences between them and more modern day counterparts is they are more practical rather than theoretical engineers. They have more real world skills rather than CAD-CAM desk based skills
#153
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: London
Programs: Mucci Blue, BAEC Gold, Blockbuster Video card
Posts: 1,378
I only fly from LGW for leisure. So I'd be taking not only myself but my family with me typically.
Will therefore watch developments with great interest. Not saying yay or nay on flying on them yet - I think it's too early to form a useful opinion imho.
But for comparison I'm on the A321 next time out
Will therefore watch developments with great interest. Not saying yay or nay on flying on them yet - I think it's too early to form a useful opinion imho.
But for comparison I'm on the A321 next time out
#154
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,221
#155
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 540
#156
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
#157
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
#158
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,221
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...-order-459191/
#159
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,212
Reuters posted an article today, headlined "Airbus demands chance to bid for IAG's surprise Boeing 737 MAX order"
In keeping with FT's rules, here is a short excerpt of the article and a link to Reuters' website
In keeping with FT's rules, here is a short excerpt of the article and a link to Reuters' website
PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus called on Thursday for a chance to compete for a blockbuster plane order by British Airways owner IAG, which stunned industry executives at this week’s Paris Airshow by ordering 200 of Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX.
Tuesday’s blockbuster order, worth more than $24 billion (£19 billion) at list prices, was partly seen as an effort to preserve competition between planemakers, damaged by the three-month-old grounding crisis. But it clearly rattled Airbus which was caught unawares after signing a smaller order for A321XLRs with IAG.
“We would like a chance to compete for that business,” Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer told reporters, adding that IAG had not issued a formal tender for the narrow-body order.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fr...-idUKKCN1TL0TR
#160
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: UK
Programs: IC Hotels Spire, BA Gold
Posts: 8,668
Reuters posted an article today, headlined "Airbus demands chance to bid for IAG's surprise Boeing 737 MAX order"
In keeping with FT's rules, here is a short excerpt of the article and a link to Reuters' website
In keeping with FT's rules, here is a short excerpt of the article and a link to Reuters' website
PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus called on Thursday for a chance to compete for a blockbuster plane order by British Airways owner IAG, which stunned industry executives at this week’s Paris Airshow by ordering 200 of Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX.
Tuesday’s blockbuster order, worth more than $24 billion (£19 billion) at list prices, was partly seen as an effort to preserve competition between planemakers, damaged by the three-month-old grounding crisis. But it clearly rattled Airbus which was caught unawares after signing a smaller order for A321XLRs with IAG.
“We would like a chance to compete for that business,” Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer told reporters, adding that IAG had not issued a formal tender for the narrow-body order.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fr...-idUKKCN1TL0TR
#161
Join Date: Feb 2018
Programs: Mucci, BAEC Silver, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 1,038
#162
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 887
It seems that a combination of factors (Jet Airways demise, along with their 200+ 737Max order, and the 737 Max grounding) presented an opportunity at short notice.
#163
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
We are OT here, but it has been reported as conversion of 30 from an existing order.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...-order-459191/
#164
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: UK
Programs: IC Hotels Spire, BA Gold
Posts: 8,668
As I posted up thread, those 2 cashes are are an indictment of a shocking safety culture at Boeing, their last two new planes in the space of 5 years have been grounded on safety concerns shortly after EIS, two crashes resulting in the needless loss of circa 350 lives. Prior to that, the DC10 in 1979 was the last pax jet in the western world to be grounded on safety. With WW being a pilot himself I would have thought his utter disgust and anger at Boeing trying to blame the pilots would have held some small sway. Fantastic idea by IAG, FFS at least wait until the plane has approval to fly again
#165
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
We have no idea what discussions took place between IAG Airbus and Boeing before the LOI was signed. But if WW had had preliminary discussions prior to the grounding of the max, then I could well imagine after the grounding Airbus lost the incentive to offer IAG a large discount.
With Airbus being up in arms and demanding the opportunity to bid, perhaps the discount will move back to where WW thinks it should be.
WW now has a stick to beat Airbus with. I would bet that is exactly what he is about to do. A letter of intent is pretty much worthless.
With Airbus being up in arms and demanding the opportunity to bid, perhaps the discount will move back to where WW thinks it should be.
WW now has a stick to beat Airbus with. I would bet that is exactly what he is about to do. A letter of intent is pretty much worthless.