December 8, 2003
HOW ARE YOUR EURO'S LOOKIN'?:
Japan refuses to fly Airbus superjumbo (Andrew Clark, December 8, 2003, The Guardian)
Japan's two international airlines, which are the world's biggest carriers outside America, have snubbed the new A380 superjumbo in a crushing blow to the European manufacturer Airbus.Posted by Orrin Judd at December 8, 2003 12:25 AMAll Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) are the leading users of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which the A380 is intended to replace, and are regarded as a make-or-break market for the new aircraft.
As recently as last week, senior Airbus executives were saying they expected to sell the A380 to Japan, claiming that the plane could be packed with 900 seats on busy domestic routes between Tokyo and Kyoto or Sapporo.
But the two airlines have resisted intense pressure from Airbus to sign up for the A380. ANA's chief executive, Yoji Ohashi, this weekend ruled out a purchase before 2010, saying he intended to stick to the company's existing long-haul fleet of Boeing 747s and 777s.
Keisuke Okada, ANA's corporate planning director, criticised the design of the superjumbo, saying larger aircraft created too many problems at airports: "Already, when I take a ride on a 747, I have to wait a long time to board - it's a crazy stress." He said baggage handling was frequently "chaos" when jumbo jets, which carry more than 560 people on domestic routes in Japan, arrived en masse.
Experts said failure in Japan leaves the Toulouse-based manufacturer with an uphill struggle to break even on the A380 - to the dismay of the British government, which provided £500m of "soft loans" for the project which are only repayable if the plane makes a profit.
"900 seats"
As a frequent flyer, I find that overwhelming to contemplate. Surely there is diminishing customer satisfaction when such large numbers are involved in the logistics of loading and unloading. Waiting for your luggage, (fighting other flyers to get to your briefcase) would make the whole exercise painful.
Posted by: h-man at December 8, 2003 6:39 AMWhat part of the words 'North Korea' don't the Europeans understand?
Posted by: jim hamlen at December 8, 2003 7:11 AMNot to worry. Airbus can always convert them into flying tennis courts, start a "Skies Open" and cash in on the advertising.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at December 8, 2003 7:24 AMBoeing's decision to enlist heavy involvment of the Japanese in production of its next generation of aircraft no doubt played a major role in this decision. The Europeans will probably cry foul over that, but given the subsidies over the years the Airbus consortium has gotten to avoid going belly-up, they're the last ones who should be whining about a sweetheart deal between Japan and the largest U.S. aircraft firm.
Posted by: John at December 8, 2003 7:24 AMJohn is exactly on track. Boeing is supposedly giving away a lot (in terms of technology transfer) to the Japanese, hoping to back into subsidies from the Japanese government via the Japanese manufacturers. The funny thing is that the Euros are crying foul at this, even though subsidies was how Airbus was created and how it survived during hard times.
Posted by: MG at December 8, 2003 7:47 AMThe Japanese don't by SUV's because they don't
have room for them so it seems that they also
don't have room for the Super Jumbo.
On a more practical level, how do you board 900 passengers through a 3' wide hatch and a single jetway? Slo-o-o-o-o-o-wly.
Posted by: Mike Morley at December 8, 2003 2:27 PMThe Hawaii visitor industry has discouraged superjumbos on the grounds of passenger inconvenience.
I doubt Orrin squeezes much business history into his busy reading program, but a history of Boeing might be instructive. The 737, which is now the most successful airliner in history, was a big money loser for over a decade before the turnaround came.
So don't use those euros for ballast just yet.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at December 8, 2003 5:23 PMI didn't have the reference on the 737 earlier. Try "Legend & Legacy" by Robert J. Serling.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at December 9, 2003 12:38 AMBigger, Douglas planes. The idea that a midrange, 100-passenger jet had a business niche was resisted.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at December 9, 2003 3:03 PMI realize that we're supposed to assume that everything European is effete and worthless, so, quick, close your eyes before you accidentally read this disturbing fact: Airbus is badly outselling Boeing these days.
Posted by: Steve Sailer at December 9, 2003 3:17 PM