Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC
Boeing is attempting to overturn a decision by China Eastern Airlines (CEA) to acquire Airbus A340-500/600s.
It is proposing a deal similar to the controversial agreement the US company sealed with Singapore Airlines earlier this year, which will take the carrier's A340s in return for it purchasing 777s. Meanwhile a senior Airbus executive has acknowledged that a further shrink of the A330 is being studied as a possible A300/A310 replacement.
Shanghai-based CEA wants up to seven new Rolls-Royce Trent 500-powered A340-500/600s to replace its five Boeing MD-11s on services to North America, and has reportedly signed an outline agreement with International Lease Finance for the lease of four aircraft, with options for a further three, for delivery from 2002.
Chinese Government approval is being sought for the deal, but it is understood that this could be blocked due to the number of surplus widebodies - both in service and on order - allocated to other key Chinese carriers such as Air China and China Southern Airlines.
The Airbus victory follows fierce competition with Boeing, which was offering the 747-400 (Flight International 21-27 July) and represents a blow for the US manufacturer. It is seeking to overturn CEA's decision with a new package which includes Boeing 777s and a Singapore Airlines' (SIA) type trade-in deal covering CEA's five existing A340-300s. With Airbus still angry over Boeing's strategy with SIA, it will be anxious to prevent a repeat in Shanghai.
Meanwhile, the existence of the study into a further shrink of the A330 as a possible successor to the 220/250-seat A300/A310 family has been confirmed by Adam Brown, Airbus vice-president-forecasting and strategic planning, while speaking at a Commercial Aviation Report-organised conference in Washington DC.
Despite Airbus denials, Flight International had earlier reported that the company was looking at a 19-frame fuselage shrink of the A330-300, tentatively designated A330M19 or A330-100 (18-24 August). Brown stressed that the consortium was still "looking at all sorts of possibilities", and that the "study is one of many options".
Alternatives are thought to include adaptations of the 10-frame shrink A330-200 or a German supported proposal to further stretch the 190-seat A321 narrowbody into the 200-220 seat "A322". An earlier study, based on modernising the A300/A310 with a new powerplant, cockpit avionics and fly-by-wire controls, is thought to be too expensive.
Source: Flight International
