Airbus matches Boeing with new long range jet that can fly 19 hours straight

Boeing’s upper hand in the market of ultra-long-range commercial aircraft has just been matched by Airbus. Boeing, which was able to enchant the market with its yet-to-be-built 777-8 as the world’s ultimate longest-range jetliner with 8,700 nautical miles of range sans any refueling, was checkmated by Airbus with its offer of the newest long range aircraft.

On Oct 13, Airbus countered the suzerainty of Boeing in long range jets with its promised delivery of A350-900ULR (Ultra Long Range) for Singapore Airlines, which can fly 19-hours non-stop.

Niche market

Both Boeing and Airbus planes have been competing for a relatively smaller market of long range jets, where the demand is not that high. But the accomplishment by Airbus with a promised delivery for ULR in 2018 can rattle Boeing, which has a timeline until 2020 for its 777-8 jets.

“Airbus has a good jump on them,” said Scott Hamilton, president of Leeham LLC.

However, Bjorn Fehrm, a France-based aeronautical and economic analyst for Leeham LLC, said Boeing has a rigorous mileage rating vis a vis Airbus. That means, Boeing will have a 500-mile edge on the Airbus model. At the same time, the Airbus jet will be significantly smaller in size with its A350-900 carrying only 325 passengers, unlike Boeing, which can accommodate 350-377 passengers.

The seven A350-900ULRs committed by Airbus to Singapore Airlines' will carry only 170 first class passengers. Airbus has not stated how much a full passenger load will reduce the A350-900ULR's maximum range.

Boeing shares slump

Meanwhile, shares of Boeing and Airbus slumped after Delta Air Lines chief commented that a big number of wide-body passenger jets are to come off lease soon. He hinted that sales of fresh wide bodied jets from Boeing and Airbus will be under pressure. It triggered investor concern that the plane-makers will have a bumpy road ahead both in pricing and demand.

Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson on Wednesday said he is seeing a “huge bubble” in the used wide-bodies jets market and is interested in adding more second-hand long-haul jets than new ones.

Plenty of used planes belonging to Boeing’s 777 models had been in service with carriers like Emirates -- one of its biggest users. The latest Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 wide-bodies are still under exposed and have order backlogs with orders having at least five years of production time, reported Bloomberg.

As more planes come off lease it may hit the fresh sales of Boeing, mainly in the current-generation 777s, which has been its main source of profit, said George Ferguson, senior air transport analyst with Bloomberg Industries.

For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below.