Airbus’s bigger A350 aircraft has won almost 500 orders, 10 of them at the Paris Airshow, forcing Boeing to turn its attention to the market for bigger planes with more than 300 seats. The Chicago- based company is considering an upgrade of its 15-year-old 777 aircraft. Airlines say it should spend billions on a new aircraft instead.
Boeing, which said it had “bet the company” in the 1960s when spending twice its market value on the 747 jumbo jet, faces a conundrum after adopting a rival strategy to Toulouse, France-based for the long-haul plane market.
The A350 is scheduled to enter service in 2013, giving Airbus two 300-plus seat models less than six years old to range against the 777, which debuted in 1995, the 767, dating from 1982, and the 747 jumbo, an aircraft that was delivered to airlines the year after man first landed on the moon.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said Boeing has been forced to review its strategy because the A350 will be 25 percent cheaper to fly than the older 777. He spoke after the company announced 58 firm orders at the Paris show, including an A350 contract from AirAsia X of Malaysia. Boeing won two orders.
Boeing will reach a decision on its response to the A350 in the next one or two years after studying the competitiveness of a planned 350-seat version of the new Airbus, spokesman John Dern said in Paris.
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