Airbus wins bet, makes president less of a loser

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When your reputation is so bad that you have to make a bet that you’ll meet production targets, as Airbus President Tom Enders did, you need to realize that your victory would be break-even for anyone else. The man with the poor track record scored a bottle of champagne by delivering the fourth of four planes to Emirates Airline on time. The total order is for 58, which means Airbus has plenty of work ahead of it.

Hell, he even had two days of wiggle room. If the champagne is as good as his reputation, Enders will endure an incredibly sweet victory.

Before we give Airbus too much respect, his announcement of champagne success was accompanied with a warning that the fifth plane, due by the end of March, will not be ready until mid-April. Of course, this will occur despite the fact that the on-time delivery “gives us a good basis to further ramp-up our production in 2009.” Emirates president Tim Clark leaked this tidbit to Reuters.

Enders made the bet with the media at a press conference in September because he’s missed his deadlines four times in three years. And, we all know that reporters are perpetually broke … they only make bets they’re likely to win. This says so much about Airbus and its leader.

Already, he’s screwed up 2009. Airbus parent EADS confessed that it will miss its objective of 21 A380s this year. This, apparently, is how one treats its largest customer.

[Via Reuters via USA Today]

Etihad thinks they are ready for the big time

by Josh Lew on

A few years ago, Etihad Airways was an upstart. Sure, it has grown at least 40% each year since its 2003 birth, but that trend can’t be sustained with the economy the way it is now. Right?

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier is adding destinations to its roster rapidly. New routes include Beijing, China and Melbourne, Australia. In the US, it is only possible to catch an Etihad flight out of JFK. But, that may soon be about to change. Etihad has signed two major deals this year, one is a 45-plane order with Boeing and the other a mammoth 51-plane order with Airbus. These will mean that the Etihad fleet will be growing by more than 300% in the coming years. No matter how you look at it, the numbers in those orders are almost ridiculously ambitious, especially considering that most airlines are now doing everything they can to save money rather than spend it.

It seems that Etihad is hell bent on overtaking Emirates as the best known brand to come out of the Persian Gulf.

Pounding weather, in New York and on the runways

by Jerry Guo on

It’s pouring here in New York, with a severe weather alert out for high winds and quarter-sized hail. It’s a good thing I haven’t been going outside this summer–and my apartment, with its windows facing an inner courtyard shields me away from most of nature.

In honor of weird weather, here in New York, in Beijing (where it’s predicted to rain for the better half of this week), and apparently on the runways, here’s an unbelievable clip of an A380 in a crosswind. As an added bonus, the commentary is in Icelandic!

Enjoy Monday.

Emirates A380 arrives in New York!

by Grant Martin on

Dubai’s Emirates Airlines made its inaugural Airbus A380 flight into New York‘s John F Kennedy airport this past Friday, on what will now become America’s first regularly scheduled service with the the new two story jumbo jet.
Gadling was on hand to capture some sweet photos in and around the aircraft, as well as through a press conference detailing the coming Emirates events.

The airline plans to augment the current service (now on a Boeing 773) between JFK and Dubai with this aircraft in order to carry higher volumes to the booming Middle Eastern country. Eventually, they also plan on integrating A380 service to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Emirates is the second customer of the A380, following nearly two years of manufacturing delays and an initial round of deliveries to Singapore Airlines.

In a series of test flights out on the West Coast, the airline will be trumpeting their new expanded service over the next few days, so if you’re in California keep your eyes peeled for the behemoth overhead. While Gadling wont be able to make it out for the test flights, check in with The Cranky Flier at some point next week for the full scoop on in flight performance.

Meantime, check out Gadling’s photos of the aircraft and of the inaugural event and start saving your change for a ticket!

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Emirates’ A380 is on the way!

by Grant Martin on

It’s not very often that we Americans are privy to a taste of the Airbus A380, the new supermega jumbo jet that took to the skies last year.

Singapore Airlines was the first customer of the aircraft and though they took a quick zip around the United States, as our friend Mr. Cranky talked about last year, most folks have barely seen or heard much about the aircraft — after all, none of Singapore’s A380 flights regularly touch American soil.

Emirates, Dubai‘s glorious national carrier, however, has more appeasing plans. Starting later this summer, the airline is opening flights on the A380 between New York‘s JFK and Dubai, while routes from Los Angeles and San Francisco are planned for later in the year.

The airline plans to kick off its festivities with an inaugural flight reception at JFK on August 1st, where the media will be treated to inbound airport goodies from tarmac access to interviews with Emirates’ staff and general merriment. Then, the aircraft flies cross country to California where two “acquaintance” flights are scheduled for the media and other interested parties. Too bad that’s on the wrong coast for me.

If you’ve got any friends in the media world, now might be a good time to cash in your chips for a ride on the A380 — otherwise you’re going to have to wait to fly revenue. Last time I checked, those flights were going for about two grand.

Stay tuned for pictures and coverage from the Emirates reception.