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| An Airbus A350 flies over the ninth green during round two of the Airbus LPGA Classic presented by JTBC at the Crossings Course at the Robert Trent Jones Trail at Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Alabama on May 23, 2014 |
Toulouse
(France) (AFP) - Emirates airline delivered a huge blow to European aerospace
group Airbus on Wednesday, cancelling an order for 70 new-generation A350
airliners -- a deal that analysts estimate to be worth about a tenth of the
aircraft maker's 2014 orders.
The
long-distance aircraft, due to go into service this year, is the Airbus
flagship project of the moment to compete with the Boeing 787 which has been
flying since 2011.
The size of
the cancellation is the biggest-ever by a prestigious customer for a civil
airliner.
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The
interior of the economy class of the
new Airbus A350 XWB is pictured during a
presentation in Hamburg, northern Germany
on April 07, 2014 (AFP Photo/Patrick
Lux)
|
The
cancellation decision was made following "on-going discussions with the
airline in light of their fleet requirement review", Airbus said.
The deal
was said to be worth $16.5 billion (12 billion euros) when it was announced in
2007, but Airbus said that customers were already interested in taking up the
cancelled aircraft.
The sudden
announcement by Emirates, a powerful player in the expanding Gulf airline
industry, sent Airbus Group shares down 5.5 percent to 11.22 euros.
And in
London, aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce warned that the decision would cut the
value of its order book by 2.6 billion pounds (3.2 billion euros, $4.3
billion).
The cancellation
"amounts to eleven percent of orders which Airbus expects to take in
2014," said analyst Christophe Menard at brokers KeplerChevreux.
The
airliner business accounts for the main part of activities by Airbus Group,
formerly EADS, and the head of its sales division John Leahy said: "It's
not good news commercially but it has no impact financially."
Opening an
innovation show by Airbus at its headquarters in Toulouse, Leahy, who has
played a major role in the rise of Airbus over the years, said that he had time
to find other customers for the cancelled planes which were due to be delivered
from 2019.
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Emirates
Airlines planes stand
on the tarmac of Dubai airport
May 1, 2003 (AFP
Photo/Nasser
Younes)
|
Customers
'queue' up
"I am
amazed that we already have enquiries, there is already a queue of
people," he said.
In Dubai,
Emirates also ordered 150 Boeing very-long-haul 777-8 and 777-9 airliners which
are due to enter service from 2020. It also took an option on another 50 of
this version.
Emirates
was not available for comment on Wednesday.
Airlines
had been making massive aircraft orders in anticipation of a pick-up in air
traffic as advanced economies recover from a slump and with emerging economies
expected to deliver a boost in demand.
The future
Boeing 777 series and the Airbus A350 are competitors in what is known as the
medium, twin-engined segment, the heart of the market, said analyst Scott
Hamilton at Boeing's home base in Seattle in Washington State.
The
decision affects nearly 10 percent of the orders for the new Airbus long-haul
aircraft which is going through the processes for obtain airworthiness
certification.
Airbus
added that it was still very confident in the A350 programme and said that it
had orders from 28 airlines for 742 aircraft six months ahead of the plane
entering service.
A notable
feature of the plane is that the fuselage is made mainly of composite
materials.
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Airbus said
that the cancellation
followed an order placed by Emirates at
the Dubai air
show in November for an
extra 50 A380 superjumbo planes
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Emirates
had ordered 50 A350-900 and 20 stretched A350-1000 aircraft in 2007, marking
the second-biggest order by volume for the A350 plane after 80 ordered by Qatar
Airways.
Singapore
Airlines has also ordered 70 A350 planes.
Scott
Hamilton said that the cancellation could leave a gap in the Emirates fleet
which would give Boeing an opportunity to sell its 777-300R model which is
available for delivery from 2017.
Emirates
could decide to increase substantially its fleet of these Boeing planes rather
than take up a new model.
Menard said
that in all probability, Emirates had decided to streamline its fleet and focus
on the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777 series.
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