Alaska Airlines has already said it will be moving to an all Boeing 737 fleet as it phases out their MD-80s. American, which operates one of the world's largest MD-80 fleets, has already reduced their fleet of MD-80s, but still retains a large number. United, which operates a large fleet of older 737 generation aircraft, has yet to announce any plans for fleet upgrades. -------------------------------------------------
Boeing Co. expects more orders from network carriers such as Deutsche Lufthansa AG and United Airlines as they replace aging fleets and adjust to higher fuel and operating costs.
"None of the legacy carriers have ordered yet," Boeing Chief Executive James McNerney said at a briefing Thursday. "They could come back into the game in 2007 or 2008."
The rising price of fuel and a "big leap" in technology will force airlines to upgrade their fleets, McNerney said.
Chicago-based Boeing is building the new 787, a plane made of composite materials to make it lighter and more efficient, to win cost-conscious customers away from rival Airbus SAS.
McNerney is speeding plane production to meet record demand from Asian and Middle Eastern airlines and help the company keep pace with Airbus, which said in March it might deliver as many as 430 planes this year, up 14 percent from last year. McNerney declined to provide an outlook for Boeing deliveries this year.
"We want to increase production capacity responsibly," he said. "We've got 350 to 400 orders for the 787, and the plane is sold out for the first three years of delivery."
In the last quarter, 72 of Boeing's 98 deliveries were 737s, planes that are popular with discount airlines, including Southwest Airlines Co. and Ryanair Holdings PLC.
In China, Boeing's focus is to include Chinese companies in delivering and supplying components instead of offering them aircraft production, as Airbus is discussing.
Chicago Tribune
Rumor at US Airways is that they will order Boeing in 2007, model tba.
Posted by: Rob | May 6, 2006 1:19 PM | Permalink to Comment