After intense scrutiny over safety and its public image, Boeing Co on Tuesday won a vote of confidence as International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways PLC, signed a letter of intent to buy 200 of its 737 Max jets that have been grounded since March after two deadly crashes.
The surprise order lifted the energy of a previously subdued air show, where the talk had been of the possible end of the aerospace cycle, given the challenges at Boeing and Airbus SE, as well as geopolitical and trade tensions around the world.
It was not immediately clear how many of the 200 aircraft would wind up as firm orders and how many would be options, nor how it would affect Airbus’ presence at IAG, which placed an order for 14 A321XLR hours before the announcement.
Photo: Reuters
“It’s a great coup, but for now it’s a communications coup as it’s a letter of intent. We will see what kind of deal lies behind it,” a European industry source said.
Even so, Boeing was expected to try to capitalize quickly on the move and seek further support for the Max as it offers airlines other big packages at attractive prices.
The combination of 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 10 planes would cost US$24 billion at list prices, although companies usually strike deals for discounts. The planes would be delivered between 2023 and 2027 to airlines owned by IAG.
IAG expressed optimism that regulators would allow amended Max jets to fly again soon, but it is unclear when that would be, notably for regulators outside the US.
Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd yesterday said that it would order 10 Airbus A321XLR jets and convert a further 26 from existing orders already on the plane maker’s books.
Airbus is also in talks with leasing company GE Commercial Aviation Services and has been trying to secure eye-catching orders for the A321XLR from JetBlue Airways Corp and American Airlines Group Inc, although the world’s largest carrier does not typically announce deals at air shows.
The European plane maker has been negotiating with US investor Bill Franke, whose Indigo Partners has been known to place orders for multiple airlines within its portfolio and could close a deal at the Paris Air Show, industry sources said.
Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer said that there was some softness in the market, but did not see an increase in cancelations.
He told investors he expected to win more orders for the smaller A220, formerly known as CSeries.
Airbus and Boeing are cushioned by thousands of orders for the single-aisle jets.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury predicted a pickup in orders after a slow start to this year, and voiced concerns about trade tensions and the growing risk of a no-deal Brexit.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
RSS