Virgin Atlantic gives $8bn order to Boeing in fresh setback for Airbus
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Print
Email
Virgin Atlantic dealt a massive blow to Airbus yesterday by placing a jet order worth up to $8bn with its arch-rival, Boeing.
The order for as many as 43 new 787 Dreamliner aircraft will enable Virgin to become the first airline to operate non-stop services from the UK to Australia - a 16- or 17-hour flight.
The order is the biggest placed for the 787 by a European airline. Virgin has placed a firm contract worth $2.8bn at list prices for 15 787-9 aircraft, the largest in the family with a capacity of up to 290 passengers. It has signed options on another eight and purchase rights for a further 20. The 787s will start to enter the fleet from 2011, and will progressively replace Virgin Atlantic's Airbus A340-300 jets.
Airbus had been competing for the order with its A350 jet. Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin chairman, did not close the door on ordering further Airbus aircraft, saying it was vital that the aviation industry continued to have at least two competing manufacturers. He added that Virgin remained firmly committed to its existing order for six A380s.
The 787 Dreamliner is made from 50 per cent composite materials and will be 27 per cent more fuel efficient and 60 per cent less noisy than the A340 jet that it will replace. Sir Richard said that the environmental advantages of the plane, which has two engines as opposed to the four on the rest of the Virgin fleet, was a key reason it had opted for Boeing, along with availability. Although Airbus is promising even bigger fuel savings - and hence lower carbon emissions - with the A350, the aircraft will not enter service until 2013 at the earliest.
Virgin also confirmed that it is joining with Boeing and the US engine manufacturer General Electric in a project to develop a new generation of bio-fuels to power future aircraft - a move that could cut their carbon footprint dramatically. The aim is to demonstrate the technology on a Boeing 747 jumbo next year.
Jim McNerney, the Boeing chairman, said that a number of options were being looked at for producing the fuel, from soya beans and algae to grain and "cellulosic" crops such as prairie grass. Until now, it had not been thought feasible to produce eco-friendly aviation fuel, because conventional fuels such as ethanol freeze at altitudes higher than 15,000 feet.
Sir Richard predicted a "major breakthrough" in the technology in the next two to three years, which could make bio-powered aircraft a commercial reality by the time its 787s start to be delivered in 2011.
Virgin is planning new long-haul flights to Perth, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Seattle, Vancouver and Bangkok. It currently operates 37 aircraft, so the latest order could double the size of the fleet. To date, Boeing has 544 orders worth $75bn from 44 customers for the 787, making it the most successful jet launch in commercial airline history. The plane enters service in 2008.
