Regarding the Dubai Air Show, it looks like Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Airbus are eyeball-to-eyeball, and so far, neither has blinked.This year's Dubai Air Show has ensured that 2007 will be a record year for commercial jetliner orders, Reuters reported, with the two aerospace giants signing more than $82 billion in orders at the show.
For 2007, Airbus' orders should surpass the 1,111 amassed in 2005, Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said. Boeing, which had 956 orders through Oct. 6 and does not forecast orders, is within 66 planes of having its third straight record year, Bloomberg News reported.
DAE sets the tone
Monday's mega-order announcement by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise set the tone for the air show. DAE, the Persian Gulf emirate's entity aimed at establishing a large airport and aviation-services company, ordered 70 Boeing 747 next generation planes, 15 -787 Dreamliner plane, 10 -777-300ERs and five 747-8 freighter planes for $10.5 billion, and ordered from Airbus 70 A320s and 30 A350 XWBs for $13.5 billion.
Also, Qatar Airways confirmed an order for 30 787 Dreamliners and five 777 Freighters for $6.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The airplanes were previously listed on Boeing's website as unidentified. Boeing shares gained 60 cents to $93.46 in Tuesday afternoon trading.
In addition, Saudi Arabian Airlines ordered 22 Airbus A320s with an option for another eight for $1.7 billion.
Global battle
United States-based Boeing and European Union-based Airbus are engaged in a global battle for not only market share of commercial airline miles flown, but also regarding which aircraft design will best meet the needs of air travelers in the initial decades of the 21st century. And the stakes are enormous: assuming no global economic recession in the immediate years ahead, and a continuation of Asia, Latin America, and Middle East economic development trends, airline orders from emerging market buyers will reach the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Boeing argues that point-to-point air travel will be the era's defining air travel flight, and that customers, frustrated and fatigued by the existing hub-and-spoke system, will flock to airlines that offer fast, direct, point-to-point flights in a postmodern aircraft that can offer them numerous traveler comforts/amenities. Boeing's next-generation 787 Dreamliner is at the core of this point-to-point strategy.
Conversely, Airbus, although not willing to completely cede the point-to-point travel market to Boeing, argues that superjumbo air travel, which features lower ticket prices, larger seating capacity and longer ranges, will be the flight most preferred by airlines and air travelers. Airbus' A380 will typically carry 525 passengers more than 8,000 miles non-stop. With the A380, Airbus hopes to not only redefine long-distance travel, but also displace Boeing's legendary 747 jumbo jet, which has been the standard bearer for transcontinental flight since its inception.
Analysts are quick to note that while the Dubai Air Show's orders highlight the continued robust condition of the commercial aviation sector, we're still early in the game regarding the nature of flight at the century's start. Some analysts argue that given the right global growth conditions, both Boeing's and Airbus' aviation models could succeed. With more-modest economic growth projections, it's likely that one aviation model will take the lead, analysts say, and provide the initial air travel standard as the globalization era progresses.
Monday's mega-order announcement by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise set the tone for the air show. DAE, the Persian Gulf emirate's entity aimed at establishing a large airport and aviation-services company, ordered 70 Boeing 747 next generation planes, 15 -787 Dreamliner plane, 10 -777-300ERs and five 747-8 freighter planes for $10.5 billion, and ordered from Airbus 70 A320s and 30 A350 XWBs for $13.5 billion.
Also, Qatar Airways confirmed an order for 30 787 Dreamliners and five 777 Freighters for $6.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The airplanes were previously listed on Boeing's website as unidentified. Boeing shares gained 60 cents to $93.46 in Tuesday afternoon trading.
In addition, Saudi Arabian Airlines ordered 22 Airbus A320s with an option for another eight for $1.7 billion.
Global battle
United States-based Boeing and European Union-based Airbus are engaged in a global battle for not only market share of commercial airline miles flown, but also regarding which aircraft design will best meet the needs of air travelers in the initial decades of the 21st century. And the stakes are enormous: assuming no global economic recession in the immediate years ahead, and a continuation of Asia, Latin America, and Middle East economic development trends, airline orders from emerging market buyers will reach the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Boeing argues that point-to-point air travel will be the era's defining air travel flight, and that customers, frustrated and fatigued by the existing hub-and-spoke system, will flock to airlines that offer fast, direct, point-to-point flights in a postmodern aircraft that can offer them numerous traveler comforts/amenities. Boeing's next-generation 787 Dreamliner is at the core of this point-to-point strategy.
Conversely, Airbus, although not willing to completely cede the point-to-point travel market to Boeing, argues that superjumbo air travel, which features lower ticket prices, larger seating capacity and longer ranges, will be the flight most preferred by airlines and air travelers. Airbus' A380 will typically carry 525 passengers more than 8,000 miles non-stop. With the A380, Airbus hopes to not only redefine long-distance travel, but also displace Boeing's legendary 747 jumbo jet, which has been the standard bearer for transcontinental flight since its inception.
Analysts are quick to note that while the Dubai Air Show's orders highlight the continued robust condition of the commercial aviation sector, we're still early in the game regarding the nature of flight at the century's start. Some analysts argue that given the right global growth conditions, both Boeing's and Airbus' aviation models could succeed. With more-modest economic growth projections, it's likely that one aviation model will take the lead, analysts say, and provide the initial air travel standard as the globalization era progresses.
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