BY David onjili
They are the two main manufacturers of aeroplanes world over and theirs is a rivalry that is not just steeped in profit but pride. Their duopoly has made other aeroplane manufacturers become almost insignificant. Airbus has hers as a European consortium and Boeing was able to merge with Mc Donnell Douglas to exert its dominance not just in America but the world over.
The Americans view Boeing as their statement of aviation dominance and the Europeans seek to break this by their product; the Airbus. You have to witness the launch of their planes to understand what this is all about, when Boeing was hit by the delay of their much hyped Dreamliner 787, Airbus capitalized on this vacuum by releasing the Airbus A350 to march it and went further to produce the Airbus A380 super jumbo.
The announcement by Emirates airlines to purchase 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners, worth US$ 15.1 billion, which would ultimately take Emirates’ total wide-body commitment with Boeing to 2014, was a massive sales boost from Boeing against their rivals Airbus. Emirates’ Chairman and CEO Mr. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saad Al Makhtoum hailed the move citing their commitment to the future of aviation. Noteworthy is the fact that Emirates is the single largest airline that operates the Airbus A380 super jumbo, with a fleet of 140 A380s out of the total number of 319 A380s that Airbus has been able to sell so far.
The Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners which will start being delivered in phases will see the airline maintain a young and efficient fleet of planes, Emirates airlines continue to dominate the world aviation circles bearing in mind that the government helps her financially to purchase planes and the locals of Dubai also benefit from cheaper fares that are subsidized by the government.
Their strategy is also interesting, with major airports world over suffering congestion due to increase in traffic of passengers and thus more flights to cater for this. Emirates opted for the double decker A380s which could transport more passengers (around 700) in one flight and thus reducing congestion of planes at her airport while maximizing on the number of passengers entering Dubai as tourists and also dispatching others world over using Dubai as a transit route.
When Boeing launched their 787 Dreamliner, their strategy was to maximize on fuel consumption while offering a sleek and comfortable plane that would carry around 300 passengers. The use of a lighter material; carbon fiber, was hailed as the new innovation that would help reduce carbon emission and help airlines cut down on fuel which eats so much into their profits. A total shift from Airbus and its A380 super jumbos, after Emirates, Singapore Airlines comes second with around 25 orders for these super jumbos. Clearly many airlines are finding the A380 expensive to not only purchase but maintain, considering that the passenger terminals have to be redesigned to accommodate the plane.
One major complaint for the Airbus A380 as expressed by Etihad Airlines CEO Mr. James Hogan when he said that their airlines were done with purchasing any more planes of the said model was that it is far more expensive to maintain the four massive turbo fan engines it runs on. Boeing planes, which majorly operate with two turbo fan engines, were a more viable economic option in terms of maintenance.
The duopoly these two manufacturers enjoy makes it very difficult for outsiders to objectively conclude which plane manufacturer has an edge over the other in terms of sales and market dominance. They release data that suits their interests and thus third parties can not conclusively say one is ahead of the other, yet recent orders by airlines of Boeing planes seems to have shifted momentum in their favour. This is also on the back that the superjumbo A380 are not being purchased as earlier projected.
Ethiopian Airlines too recently made an order of four cargo freighters worth $1.3 billion at the ongoing Dubai Airshow, these recent orders of Boeing planes although not conclusive could indicate that Boeing is having an edge over their rivals. It is time, however, that will tell.
