Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE
BOEING HAS DROPPED Japan from its proposed partnership with China and South Korea to develop a new 100-seat passenger aircraft, in the face of intense competition from European manufacturers.
Boeing is understood to have abandoned hopes of including Japanese industry in the programme, as a concession to two other Asian partners, being courted by a rival European consortium.
Alenia, Aerospatiale, British Aerospace, Daimler-Benz and Fokker have joined forces to compete against Boeing and McDonnell Douglas for a stake in the planned regional-aircraft project.
Senior US and European aerospace officials are now visiting Seoul to submit their best and final bids to Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) and the Samsung-led Korean Commercial Aircraft Development Consortium (KCDC).
AVIC and KCDC are offering Western manufacturers a 20% stake in the $2 billion programme in return for key technology, marketing and after-sales support. A final selection, is expected to be announced, by early October.
Boeing has been conducting separate 100-seat-aircraft studies with both Japan and China and has been trying to get the two countries, along with South Korea, to co-operate on a single Asian project. This has proved impossible for a mixture of political and historical reasons.
"Boeing has been forced to make a decision between co-operation with China or Japan. At the end of the day, they know which side their bread is buttered," notes one regional analyst. The decision casts further doubt on the future of Japan's already-delayed 100-seat YS-X.
Senior Boeing sources have admitted privately that involvement in the Asian collaboration is market-driven, being intended to boost sales of Seattle-built aircraft in China. Boeing is keen to conclude a deal with Air China for up to 15 777s.
Aerospatiale and Fokker have already been conducting joint studies with AVIC and KCDC under separate bilateral memorandums. European manufacturers are understood to be pushing for a stake of more than 20% in the project and have proposed the setting up of production lines both in Europe and Asia
McDonnell Douglas has also presented proposals to AVIC and KCDC, based on the development of an Asian 100-seat aircraft, but which would run parallel with its own similarly sized MD-95 twinjet.
China and Korea have set aside a further 10% provision for a third Asian partner to join the programme at a later date.
India's Hindustan Aeronautics is interested in joining the venture and has signed a memorandum with AVIC to begin a joint study in October. India is reportedly prepared to invest $200-500 million in the project.
Source: Flight International
