Air India : AI : AIC

La compagnie "antionale" Air India affiche des pertes lourdes. Carburant trop cher ( comme beaucoup d'autres ), mais très taxé en Inde. Toutes les cies indiennes souffrent.

La commande d'A 380 se fera peut-être attendre.

Sur Flight :

National carrier Air India's debt swelled to 152.41 billion Indian rupees ($3.2 billion) in June after paying for new planes from Boeing and Airbus.

This is more than double its debt of 65.5 billion Indian rupees in November 2007, said Indian civil aviation minister Praful Patel in a statement to India's parliament.

"The airline has been facing a financial crunch for the past few years," Patel told parliament in the statement.

He added high oil prices and the recession have compounded the airline's operating losses.

The week commencing 29 June, the Indian government agreed to bail out national carrier Air India.

In late June, Air India also avoided a strike by agreeing to bring forward a wage payment to 3 July from 15 July.

On 16 June an Air India spokesman told ATI the company would delay $70 million in pay for two weeks to 15 July from 1 July, citing a challenging economic environment. The move would have affected 31,500 employees.

A threatened strike on 1 July, however, apparently caused Air India management to bring the delayed wages forward to 3 July.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Merci Patts

Voici la composition de la flotte d'Air India, tableau sur Wikip, en, juin 2009

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Cela chauffe entre Air India et Boeing

Annulation de 7 777 et poursuiite en justice de Boeing pour cause de retard du 787.

An in principle decision has been taken to cancel order of 7 Boeing 777 aircraft each costing around 250 million dollars to save over 8 billion dollars.
Air India also plans to take Boeing to court over non-delivery of the dreamliner 787 aircraft. The planes were expected to arrive in September but may be delayed till 2012.

La chasse aux économies est ouverte.

Le national flagship indien a reçu le soutien gouvernemental, sous conditions

Sur Aerocontact :

Le gouvernement indien soutient Air India mais ne lui signera pas de chèque en blanc. Après une réunion avec le Premier ministre Manmohan Singh, le ministre de l’Aviation Civile Praful Patel a déclaré le 24 juin que la compagnie
indienne obtiendrait le soutien financier du gouvernement mais que celui-ci sera conditionné à sa restructuration.

Air India a donc du travail devant elle. Elle doit présenter un plan de réorganisation sur deux à trois ans d’ici un mois.
Celui-ci devrait prévoir un nouveau conseil d’administration composé de directeurs indépendants, un plan de réduction des effectifs, de baisse des coûts opérationnels, une révision de la grille des salaires et la poursuite de l’intégration d’Indian Airlines dans Air India.
Air India est en effet dans une grande détresse financière et manque à ce point de liquidités qu’elle éprouve des difficultés à verser leur salaire aux employés. Elle a enregistré 800 millions de dollars de pertes en 2008.

Elle ne devrait cependant pas renoncer aux appareils neufs qu’elle a commandés pour moderniser sa flotte. Ceux-ci lui permettront en effet de réduire sa consommation de kérosène, ce qui n’est pas du luxe dans un pays où le carburant est si taxé qu’il représente près de 40% des dépenses des compagnies aériennes.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Un milliard $ de pertes prévues sur exercice clos au 31 mars 09.

Le national flagship a quelques ardoises; et des coûts récurrents auxquels le ministère indien de l'aviation civil veut trouver des remèdes. La croissance se trouve dans le modèle low cost ?

Sur ATW Penton :

Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India Ltd. is expected to report a loss of approximately INR50 billion ($1.02 billion) for its fiscal year ended March 31, some 25% more than the figure targeted last month, Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the national parliament's upper house yesterday.

He wrote that NACIL's deficit is "largely due to high operating expenses, which have been compounded due to the present economic recession resulting in a drop in passengers," in addition to high fuel prices and debt servicing, the Press Trust of India reported.

NACIL reportedly owes INR5.99 billion to Airports Authority of India and another INR5.42 billion to oil companies. Patel said AI's management will be reorganized, with a new COO to be added along with seven new independent directors, according to PTI. "You will see in the next 30 days a major change in the top management in Air India.
You are going to see a major change in the board. Some heads are going to roll.
We are going to bring high-quality people with a proven track record in business," Patel said.

He also reiterated his support for AI's entry into the low-cost market. "That's where the growth is and is something that Jet and Kingfisher have already done. It's up to the airline whether to use AI Express for that purpose or something else," he said, according to Asian News International.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Attention il ya deux fils sur Air India. Il faudrait pouvoir les fusionner mais je sais que nos Admin et amis sont super bizzy.

Bonjour, voilà qui est fait, merci Jeannot pour la bonne remarque.

Du pragmatisme dans la serieuse crise d' AI. Recherche d'expertise.

Sur Channel news Asia :

INDIA: India is seeking experts' help to bring its troubled national carrier Air India back on course. The carrier has come under flak for not paying salaries on time and also asking for government aid to the tune of US$2 billion.

The government is now seeking to shake up the carrier and a change in top management is on the cards. Since June, Air India's management has been struggling to save the carrier.

High fuel prices, coupled with fewer passengers and the global economic crisis, have left Air India with US$800 million in losses. It also faces a debt of US$4 billion.

Air India has also deferred paying its 31,000 employees to save around US$73 million. But now the government has made it clear that the airline must become leaner and trimmer. Within the next 30 days, it is going to change the top management.

Praful Patel, India's Civil Aviation Minister, said: "The government's support is there, but the government's support
also comes with a condition that Air India must shape up and must become leaner and trimmer, and also must put its best foot forward."

Analysts said no amount of handout now can help the airline unless it restructures its operations.
Since March 2006, Air India's expenses related to aircraft purchase, fuel and staff have gone up nearly seven times.

On the other hand, it is seeing a drop in passenger numbers because of high ticket prices and competition from budget carriers such as Jetlite and Spice Airways.

S.R Khanna, aviation expert, said: "Apart from bringing down costs, you have to have competitive prices and then competitive quality of service. Are the consumers getting the same quality of service provided by other airlines?

--"No longer can you say that I am a government company, I am protected by the government and I have lifetime employment."

Under the bailout, the government will help pay the salaries of Air India's employees by mid-July. And it may go in for partial disinvestment of the state-owned carrier in the near future.

Air India has 210 employees working for each of its 147 aircraft. That is more than the staff of British Airways and Lufthansa Airlines, which have a bigger fleet. Air India itself admits that overstaffing has left limited scope to boost productivity.

Now the government has given the airline two months to shape up and trim its employee numbers, besides restructuring its operation, to become more competitive. - CNA/vm

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

JP Morgan pour financer une partie des Boeing en commande chez AI.

3 B777-200 ( LR ? ) et 4 B777-300ER ( Eximbank où es-tu cachée ? )

Pour les Airbus : IDBI Bank

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

In March, the airline raised $1 billion from a consortium led by IDBI Bank to fund the purchase 21
Airbus passenger aircraft.

Air India has taken delivery of 48 of the 111 aircraft it has on order, and has no plans to defer the remainder despite a tough economic environment and a crowded Indian aviation market. It says that it is waiting to see how the Indian economy recovers, and adds that the new aircraft are also coming in as it steadily sells older ones and returns leased aircraft.

In June Air India carried 6.5 million passengers, according to a statement from the civil aviation ministry. It had 18% of the market, behind Kingfisher with 24.4% and Jet Airways/JetLite with 23.9%. Air India's load factor was 68% in June.

The airline, which made losses of around 50 billion Indian rupees ($1.02 billion) for the financial year ending 31 March, has asked the Indian government, its owner, for a bail-out.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

AI et le Ministre indien de l'aviation civile demande aux banques de sursoir temporairement aux paiment des intérêts de prêts en cours.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

NEW DELHI -- Air India, the nation's flag carrier, has asked banks to defer existing working capital loans that are due for repayment as part of restructuring steps to trim losses, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Tuesday.

AI devrait recevoir de l'Inde 500 million USD + d'aide. Paiement des salaires, financement d'avions.

Pas de restrictions pour les Cies étrangères dit M. Patel ( et quid des deux ou trois concurrents indiens ?)

La menace d'annulations de commande continue de planer...

Sur Bloomberg :

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Air India, the state-run carrier that has $1.5 billion in accumulated losses, is set to get its first government bailout after a slump in air travel left it unable to pay salaries and buy planes.

The airline may receive 25 billion rupees ($513 million) of additional capital from the government, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, 52, said in an interview in New Delhi yesterday.

“We want to infuse equity,” Patel said. “Air India’s equity base is very low.”

The government plans to rescue Air India after a slump in traffic and a doubling of debt pushed it toward a financial crisis. The airline is considering canceling planes and preparing a reorganization plan after delaying June salaries for its 31,000 workers.

Air India will return the money to the government when it goes public, Patel said. The initial share sale could come in a year after the market condition and the airline’s financial health improves, he said.

The airline, which has an equity capital of 1.45 billion rupees, will receive “soft loans” from the government, Patel told parliament on July 14. Air India last month set up a committee to recommend a revival program after the government said any state rescue would be accompanied by restructuring and cost-cutting conditions.

The carrier “will resort to aggressive revenue management,” Patel said.

Defer Repayment

The airline will ask banks to defer working capital loans due for repayment, return some leased aircraft and seek extensions of credit from state-run oil retailers on jet-fuel purchases, Patel said. The carrier will delay or cancel orders placed with aircraft makers, he said.

Air India’s debt more than doubled to 152 billion rupees as of June after it increased loans to pay for 49 of the 111 aircraft it bought from Airbus SAS and Boeing Co.

The carrier had placed orders for 68 planes from Boeing and 43 with Airbus.

The airline will redeploy employees without dismissing any of them, Patel said.

National Aviation Co. of India Ltd., Air India’s parent, had asked for a loan of 27.5 billion rupees and equity infusion of
12.31 billion rupees in the year ended March 31.

There is “no question of any review” on any policy to restrict foreign carriers operating in the country to help Air India,
Patel said.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Alit....pardon, Air India semble accumuler les bonnes nouvelles. M. Patel, le Ministre, doit débrouiller tout ça pour le national flagship. Le président de l'IATA rappelait l'an dernier que l'époque des national flagship était révolue...

Maintenant les indemnités de compensations pour des reports et/ou annulations A et B.

Un paragraphe sur la différence de charges carburants par comparaison avec les cies privées.

IndiaTimes :

MUMBAI: Air India, the national carrier and the country’s largest by fleet size, may have to pay a penalty of Rs 125 crore to Boeing and Airbus for deferring and cancelling earlier orders for buying aircraft from the two international companies.

A total of 70 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus will be deferred and a few orders will be cancelled, according to two people close to the development, resulting in a penalty of about Rs 125 crore.

Air India will also stand to lose Rs 15-20 crore additionally as interest, because National Aviation Co of India (Nacil),
the holding company for the carrier, had made pre-delivery payments to Airbus and Boeing. All these aircraft was supposed to be added to Air India’s fleet by 2011 and now will be deferred till 2015, the persons added. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said the company would inform once a decision is taken. An Airbus spokesperson said delivery timetables and other contractual issues with customers are confidential.

The Air India penalty payment comes at a time when Tata Motors is also likely to pay Rs 300 crore for JLR’s breach of a raw material purchase contract with Ford. As in all contracts, when carriers sign aircraft purchase agreements with manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, there are penalty clauses, if the purchaser fails to pay or if there is any
deferment in the order. With Air India currently passing through one of its most trying times, the company has decided to defer and cancel few future deliveries, triggering the penalty clause.

“The cancellation and deferment will happen in phases,” said one Air India official. “In the first phase, the company has delayed purchase of seven Boeings, which otherwise would have seen a payment of about Rs 8,000 crore. Next, the company may defer 15 new Airbus planes, which were scheduled to be inducted toward the end of fiscal 2010,” the official added.

Air India had placed orders for a total of 111 aircraft — 68 from Boeing and 43 from Airbus SAS — valued at Rs 50,000 crore for its fleet replacement and expansion programme in 2005. Currently, it has a fleet of 155 aircraft. Air India has paid Rs 8,000 crore for purchase of 24 aircraft, while Indian Airlines has purchased 24 aircraft at a cost of Rs 4,738 crore in the past three years. In the past two years, Air India has inducted 11 Boeing 777s and 15 Boeing 737-800s for its international routes. Nacil, formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, has accumulated losses of Rs 7,200 crore till March 2009. This is more than 10 times the losses Air India posted in 2006-07, before the merger. It has a workin g capital overdraft of Rs 15,000 crore, while fuel and manpower cost is about 60% of its total cost, against 45% in the case of private airlines.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel said Air India has adopted various measures to improve its financial position, including rescheduling or cancellation of future aircraft deliveries and routes rationalisation.

“It makes sense to defer and cancel future deliveries, as many of Air India planes are not flying to their full capacities after the recession,” said an analyst with domestic brokerage firm.

The domestic airline industry is estimated to have lost Rs 10,000 crore in 2008-09, mainly on account of high fuel prices, excess capacity, poor load factor and irrational pricing. Globally, airline losses may total $9 billion this year, nearly double a previous forecast, according to the International Air Transport Association.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Des subsides...ou subventions. En tout cas : besoin urgent de liquidités.

Adieu à la commande d' A 380, soyons réalistes.

Pour l'instant, il faut dégager les avions dont la location revient trop cher. Mais..nous seulement ce n'est pas le seul problème, mais les lessors ne sont pas vraiment du même avis

Pour information, 1 EUR=68.2128 INR ou 0.0147 EUR=1 INR

Times of India :

NEW DELHI: Cash-strapped Air India-Indian Airlines has sought an immediate [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of about Rs 10,000 crore from the
government along with an annual equity infusion of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore for the next four to five years, which will be linked to the induction of new aircraft into its fleet, sources said.

In all, the tottering airline on Saturday projected a requirement of almost Rs 20,000 crore, roughly the size of Delhi
state's annual [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], over the next five years.

The assistance was sought during a presentation to the committee of secretaries (CoS), which is headed by cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar. The finance ministry has now been asked to determine the extent of help AI should get, once it prepares a detailed plan, to be reviewed by the CoS in a month's time.

Aviation minister Praful Patel told TOI that the initial equity infusion would be limited to Rs 2,000-2,500 crore. The government may make only a partial contribution. The balance will be raised from the market via the IPO route at a
later date, he said. Patel assured that the equity sought from the government would be kept low. AI is also learnt to be looking at an immediate soft loan of about Rs 10,000 crore from the government.

The airline currently has an equity base of Rs 145 crore. The merged airline, National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), accumulated losses of Rs 7,200 crore till March. The AI-IA combine is to receive 111 new aircraft worth $11
billion (list price) to replace decades-old planes in its fleet. Until now, 51 new planes worth $4 billion have joined the fleet. But the slowdown, which has hit all airlines, has affected the already struggling AI particularly badly and it needs a massive cash infusion to stay in the skies.

So, armed with a plan for cost-cutting and revenue enhancement, AI chief Arvind Jadhav met the CoS to seek a bailout. The CoS, which includes the finance and aviation secretaries Ashok Chawla and M M Nambiar, was set up to examine issues related to the national carrier after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Patel last month.

Making a presentation to the committee of secretaries (CoS) on Saturday to get bailout funds may be the easy part for National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) — the Air India-Indian Airlines combine. For, cost-cutting moves like salary slashing, returning of expensive planes and creating new revenue generating streams, admit top officials, will be an uphill task.

However, it was made abundantly clear to NACIL that any [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] help from the government will come, if and only if, NACIL is able to convince it about two things — it has a plan, and more importantly, that it can implement it. Also, any assistance from the government would have to be matched by an aggressive cost reduction, including a drastic cut on salaries, and a better revenue management by NACIL and that it must come up with a concrete cost reduction proposal.

Significantly, the CoS decided that NACIL would appoint a cost auditor immediately to monitor, review and ensure that the cost reduction and operational efficiencies are effected, a statement issued by the aviation ministry after the CoS meeting revealed.

On the salary front, AI and IA give their 31,000-odd employees performance-linked incentives (PLI), which comprises almost 60-80% of their overall pay package at senior levels. NACIL has an annual wage bill of Rs 3,100 crore for its 31,000 employees, with PLI accounting for almost half the salary expense. Now, AI is trying to cut the PLI but reaching an agreement with unions could be more difficult than pruning some staff through leave without pay or VRS routes.

During the Saturday meeting, NACIL chief Arvind Jadhav told the CoS that the airline needs the new aircraft to compete in market. With a price tag of $11 billion, these new planes will mean a huge repayment liability for the cash-strapped airline.

‘‘We currently have over 40 leased planes that were taken on very high rentals in a period when air traffic was booming, aircraft were in short supply and lease rentals were high. The monthly lease bill is about Rs 100 crore. These
planes will be returned but in this depressed [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the aircraft owners are not willing to terminate leases easily as they may not be able to find takers for these planes after getting them back,’’ said a senior official.

The idea is to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on lease dole outs and, instead, use that for paying for the new planes that would also be very fuel efficient unlike the old rented ATF guzzlers. But getting the companies to take the planes back is going to be a huge challenge. A leased Boeing 777, for instance, has a monthly rental of $9 lakhs.

During the two-hour meeting, a presentation was made to the committee of secretaries (CoS), which is headed by cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar by the ministry and SBI Caps on financial restructuring, which basically means
cost-cutting and enhancing revenue. T

The airline also told the panel that it needed new aircraft to phase out the old ones in its fleet in order to compete. NACIL said it will reduce its annual wage bill of Rs 3,100 crore by finding a low-cost alternative to the performance-linked incentive that employees get and which accounts for nearly half of the total salary bill.

The CoS asked NACIL to immediately appoint a cost auditor. They have presented an annual cost-cutting plan but that was not specific. AI has to come up with a more detailed plan, possibly with quarterly benchmarks, whose progress can be monitored.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Suite du feuilleton sur l'annulation de commandes de B777s. Cet article cite une annulation de 5 exemplaires.

Indian flagship carrier Air India, struggling with massive losses, has cancelled orders for five Boeing 777 planes, a report said Friday.
The Hindustan Times also said the state-run airline was claiming 710 million dollars from the US planemaker for failing to deliver 27 B-787 aircraft on time.
"The cancellation orders have already been issued by my engineering department," Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
He alleged that Boeing's failure to deliver the 27 B-787 planes had caused large losses for the company.
"The entire schedule of Air India has gone haywire. We have put a claim of 710 million dollars for their failure to deliver the aircrafts to us in time," the Air India chief told the newspaper.
Spokesmen for both Air India and Boeing declined immediate comment on the report.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Bonjour, chers tous !

Autre lien, même 'topic' :
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
DATE:31/07/09. SOURCE:Air Transport Intelligence news
Air India in talks with Boeing to cancel six 777-300ERs
By [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Beleaguered Indian national carrier Air India is in talks to cancel an order for six [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-300ERs that it was due to receive in the next two years.

La Cie. prend une prompte initiative ! Cela cache des choses. Est-ce que Air India serait en trzin de viser deux objectifs :
-- 'faire payer' Boeing, et revoir sa relation avec cet "airframer", pour revenir un peu plus vers Airbus, en matière de "gros porteurs" ;
-- 'exploiter Boeing (l'affaire des 27 x B787-, pour alleger ses problèmes, déjà très 'pesants'?

"Air India is in a dialogue with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on the cancellation of six Boeing 777s in view of the global aviation scenario," says an Air India spokesman. The carrier has asked the government, its owner, for a bail-out to cope with massive losses and rising debt.
It had been due to receive the six aircraft in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 fiscal years, says a spokesman. According to Flight's ACAS database, Air India has 10 777-300ERs and three Boeing 777-200LRs on order.

Eh, oui ! Air India aura besoin de réduire les voilures pour survivre.

These were part of a 2006 order worth an estimated $8 billion for 23 777s, 27 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-8s and 18 737-800s. Indian Airlines, with which Air India merged last year, also ordered 48 new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] aircraft at the same time. Debt levels at the National Aviation Co of India (Nacil), Air India's parent company, reached 152.41 billion Indian rupees in June after paying for new aircraft.
Earlier in July, Air India said that it had received a $1.06 billion loan from JPMorgan Chase & Co to fund its of 10 Boeing passenger aircraft - three 777-200s, four 777-300s and three 737-800s - that it plans to take delivery of in this financial year.

Programme visiblement insoutenable pour Air India.

A spokesman said that there are no plans to cancel the delivery of the aircraft that are due in the year to 31 March 2010.
He declined to comment on whether Air India would cancel any of its 787 orders.

Les B787-8 posent des problèmes. Il y aurait , surement, un paquet d'appareils frappés par le surpoids, dans ce lot-là !

Air India made a loss of around 50 billion Indian rupees for the year to 31 March, according to the country's civil aviation minister. It has been losing money for years and has asked the government for an equity infusion of 12.31 billion Indian rupees and a soft loan of 27.5 billion Indian rupees that will be repaid over 15 years.
The government, in turn, has asked it to come up with a cost-cutting and restructuring programme that will help it to return to profitability.

Dans la crise, il sera difficile de refuser les aides demandées, ..... et d'imposer des mesures "trop draconiennes". Le but est de sauver la Compagnie, ... non pas de la 'tuer'.

In June, Air India had an 18% share of the Indian domestic market with 6.5 million passengers. That put it behind Kingfisher Airlines (24.4%) and Jet Airways/JetLite (23.9%). Its load factor in June was 68%.

Le contexte local, aussi, est difficile pour Air India !

Intéressant le cas Air India dans la relation avec Boeing pour le 787. C'est la seule compagnie qui parle "officiellement" de réclamer quelques petits $.

Bonjour, chers tous ! Bonjour, Jeannot !

Jeannot a écrit:Intéressant le cas Air India dans la relation avec Boeing pour le 787. C'est la seule compagnie qui parle "officiellement" de réclamer quelques petits $.

Oui !
Mais compte tenu des "règles et procédures" en Inde, en raison de la position et du rôle du Gouvernement, il s'agit quasiment d'une obligation préalable à toute demande faite auprès du Gouvernement, en vue du type d'aide recherchée par le Cie. aérienne en ce moment, et "going forward".

Aussi, après avoir soutenu (ou encouragé ? ) Air India, il y a quelques années, dans ses décisions favorisant Boeing, par rapport à Airbus (il ne faut pas oublier qu'Air India avait rondement "engueulé" Airbus), il y a des "formes" que le Gouvernement indien et le Cie. aérienne devront observer maintenant, s'il y a une procédure d'annulation totale ou partielle d'une commande qui, en son temps, avait fait monter les tensions.

En effet, Airbus s'était considéré comme ayant été inéquitablement traité dans le processus d'évaluation des offres, ... allant presque dans des allégations, selon lesquelles Boeing aurait été préféré d'avance, et que l'apparent appel d'offres n'était qu'une fiction, mal habillée comme concours !

Je posterai bientôt quelques liens et extraits, à ce sujet ! ;)

La " réclamation " d'AI, concernant les 27 B 787 porterait sur US$ 710 millions

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]


Et l'annulation, sur 5 B 777( sur 23 commandés en 2006 )

Bonjour, chers tous. Comme promis, .... la suite ! Ceci sera long !

Les liens, extraits et commentaires permettent de voir l'ambiance qui régnait à l'époque. Avec le recul, on peut mieux comprendre les réactions d'Airbus, à l'époque, et les réflexions d'Air India aujourd'hui.
(A) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
DATE:14/06/05. SOURCE:Flight International
Distant Rivalry

GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES

NB : Guy NORRIS, journaliste excellent, n'est pas responsable de la manière dont les éléments pour cet article ont été avancés / triés sélectivement par les responsables du partenariat Boeing-GE !

With [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]’s [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on track for certification by year-end, the US manufacturer’s tussle with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] will reach a new arena – the ultra-long-range market.

Oui, ......marché qui s'est avéré, ...... comme plutôt réduit.

Four months can make all the difference in aerospace.

Surtout quand on fait du marketing agressif, sans étayer le "huffing & puffing" avec de vraies données techniques, et en faisant des promesses sans possibilité de confirmation sans recul suffisant ou "normal" pour permettre d'évaluer le tenue ou la non tenue desdites promesses, ..... qui sont contractuelles.

Il s'agit d'une période d'appréciation (des résultats factuels et réels par rapport à ceux promis) assez longue, pour démontrer que les résultats promis s'avèrent tenues, ... ou, par exemple, non remplies, ou insuffisamment remplies pour permettre de conclure le respect du contrat.
Aujourd'hui, des Cies. aériennes, telles qu'Air India, et d'autres Cies. ont acquis, aujourd'hui, assez de recul et d'expérience pour déterminer que les B777-300ER et -200LR n'ont pas tout à fait rempli le contrat, ... c'est à dire, non pas en stricte conformité avec le cahier des charges et les promesses de performance (y compris "cost performance") faites lors de la signature du contrat définitif.

Mais, ici, regardons principalement le cas du B777-200LR.

Le cas des B787-8 est d'une autre nature, ... pour des raisons évidentes.

At the roll-out of the 777-200LRe in mid-February (2005), Boeing put a brave face on the disquieting fact that the twinjet was making its public debut with a mere five firm orders from two customers – the smallest pre-first-flight backlog of any jet airliner in its prestigious history.

C'est vrai.

But by June, just three months after the first flight, it is a different story.

Vrai aussi.

The two test aircraft have already stormed past the halfway point of the flight-test programme, while the customer count has doubled following sales agreements with Air Canada and Air India, which were secured as part of an intriguing double-act with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. The directly related 777 Freighter (which is based on the -200LR airframe) has also been launched on the back of orders from Air Canada and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], meaning that sales commitments have quickly climbed to about 36 passenger and freighter aircraft – the total will depend on how customers decide to split their orders between the -200LR and other 777 variants.

Oublions le B777-200F dans ce contexte.

More importantly perhaps, Boeing is busy crunching the numbers from the vital range performance tests that will be pivotal in its bitterly competitive struggle with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. ....[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] vice-president and programme manager Lars Andersen says: “We’re not ready to tell anyone yet what the answers are, but we don’t think there are going to be any surprises.”

Les Cies. apprennent tous les jours que la seule référence du SFC, voire même la consommation, sans prise en compte tous les autres éléments 'clé' du "big picture" / "image globale', ... ne suffit absolument pas en matière d'évaluation de la performance 'globale' d'un appareil !

This effectively means that Boeing expects the 777-200LR to achieve the same basic degree of relative range improvement in flight test that was seen with the -300ER. “We changed the -200LR book value to represent the trends we saw with the -300ER, and we’re out portraying the aircraft in that way,” says Andersen.

Oui ! C'est 'l'opération marketing' mentionnée ci-dessus.

Building on range increases demonstrated by its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] stablemate, the company believes the aircraft will be capable of distances up to 17,450km (9,420nm).

Oui ! "Believes" ! 'Croit' ! Affirmation non vraiment étayée (voir ci-après). Du DPO !

“That’s around 900nm more than the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-500,” says Andersen.

Présentation trompeuse et fausse ! Il s'agit du chiffre attributable à la toute première variante de l'A340-500, non pas a celle dite "A340-500HGW" (High / Heavy Gross Weight), seule à comparer avec le B777-200LR, tel que nous connaissons ce dernier.
Cette variante d'A340-500 dépasse légèrement les 9,000N (chiffre brut et net).

Pour ce qui est du B777-200LR, sa distance franchissable la plus longue est de 9,380NM (chiffre brut, ... sans 'décote').
Mais c'est bien l'A340-500HGW qui effectue régulièrement les vols commerciaux ("scheduled flights" ) les plus longs (sous les couleurs de SIA : Singapour / NY aller et retour, au dessus du pôle nord,.... et Singapour / LA aller et retour, en vol "trans-Pacific").

Le chiffre de 9,380NM précité pour le B777-200LR est 'brut', avant la décote pour réfléchir les distances nettes réelles en 'point à point' ("pont-to-point") des itinéraires réels sous ETOPS.

Le chiffre de 9,380NM B777-200LR n'est donc pas "stricto sensu" comparable avec celui de 9,000 (ou 9,000 à 9,100NM) de l'A340-500HGW.

Il suffit de se demander pourquoi SIA n'a pas cédé ses A340-500 pour prendre les B777-200LR à la place (il n'est pas difficile de savoir pourquoi SIA ne veut absolument pas les B777-200LR sur les vols mentionnés ci-dessus ).

Aussi, il faut se rendre compte que les B777-200LR (et -300ER) ne sont pas choisis pour les itinéraires qui passent au-dessus des hautes montagnes (il leur faut les contourner, ... ce qui allonge la distance et transforme certains itinéraires théoriquement franchissables (en 'point-à-point') non franchissables sous ETOPS.
..........................

On coupe ici, pour éviter un post trop long.

Suite : 2ème volet, de ce post, divisé en trois volets.

(B)

Boeing claims.....enhancements (which) will give the 777-300ER a 22% fuel burn per seat advantage over the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and the -200LR as much as a 25% advantage over the -500.

Totalement faux ! L'avantage est de l'ordre de 7% à 8%, ...ou de 8% à 9%, …. tout au plus, … avant correction (vers le bas ! ) via "décote" pour les raisons d'itinéraires indiquées ci-dessus.
Si l'on commence à tenir compte des déroutements réels des B777-300ER /-200LR pour des problèmes de moteur avérés / confirmés, en raison des difficultés, respectivement, avec les GE90-115B/110B, l’avantage s’amenuise encore ! … ……..

Engine performance

However, it is the in-service performance of the GE90-115B engines on the -300ER that gives Andersen even greater confidence of success for the -200LR.

Bizarre ! Même en 2005, il n’a pas dû faire la même lecture que nous !

“The engines have been doing very well in terms of performance,” he says. “They’re even coming out of the factory with better sfcs than before, and performance retention is right on prediction.

Que sait-il, au juste, de “performance retention” ? GE ne doit pas avoir les mêmes critères que RR !

When we are in discussions with airlines on the performance of the aircraft, we typically, on the 777, take into account a 3% degradation after three or four years. So far what we’ve seen on the -115B is right on that trend line.”

Oui ! C’est sûr ! Pas les mêmes critères que RR (certainement à moins de 1% pour ce genre de moteur, pour une période d’exploitation identique, dans des conditions identiques !

General Electric GE90 projects general manager Chaker Chahrour adds: “I’ve been around for a while, and I’ve never seen a programme that has over-achieved by so much.”

Est-ce que personne n’a eu la bonne idée de lui dire, « Stick around a little bit longer » ?
« Over-achieved » ? Vraiment ? Ah, si ! Si ! Dans le taux réel d’IFSD !

GE is planning a significant ramp-up of GE90 engine production to accompany the growing orderbook for the 777. “We delivered 54 engines in 2004, and plan around 80 for 2005,” says Chahrour. “We will go into the high 90s in 2006 and we are looking at going to around 130 in 2007. This covers all models of the engine, although predominantly it’s the -115B.” Boeing plans to be producing seven 777s a month by 2007, of which five will be -200LR/300ERs.

Il aurait réellement visé les records en matière d’IFSD et de déroutements, …. il n’aurait pas pu faire mieux !

The basic reliability of the -300ER is also another plus as regards prospects for the -200LR, says Andersen. The 17 aircraft in service by early June had established a rolling 12-month average dispatch reliability rate of 0.992, while the engine in-flight shutdown rate and removal rate had both remained at zero.

Visiblement, il a lu les statistiques qui l’intéressaient ! Ou Boeing-GE et leurs responsables ont modifié quelques définitions et critères ! La FAA a été convaincue, ….. mais pas longtemps, tout de même !

On interromp là !

Suite et fin de ce post, coupé en 3 volets.

(C)

In service, the aircraft had accumulated a high 64,000h against a relatively low 4,100 departures and 8,200 flight cycles. “Reliability continues to become more important in a long-haul fleet, particularly when it comes to keeping slots at distant destinations, and keeping a track on crew costs,” says Andersen. “The more distant the range, the more they need to be totally reliable.”

On ne doit vraiment pas parler de la même chose !

Auxiliary tanks

To achieve the -200LR’s maximum quoted range, Boeing is offering up to three 7,000 litre (1,850USgal) auxiliary fuel tanks in the belly space.

Les vrais professionnels, possédant une réelle capacité de discernement ne veulent pas de ceci ! Qantas, & SIA, par exemple ! Augmenter l’emport en kérosène ! “Carrying fuel to carry fuel” !
C’est pour cette raison que Qantas ne voulait point du “hub buster” (B777-200LR proposé par Boeing, ou A340-500HGW, ...... avec des réservoirs auxiliaires / supplémentaires sur les vols Londres-Sydney-Londres, notamment) !

Proof-of-concept demonstration tanks have been fitted to the second test airframe, WD002, which joined the flight-test programme at the end of May. “We have got all three tanks in it, although we are still evaluating the need for them on some routes,” says Andersen. “We convinced ourselves and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (PIA) that they didn’t need a tank.

Ceci n’est pas la stricte vérité ! La vérité est que, pour répondre au cahier des charges, de PIA, il fallait éviter d’installer le réservoir de kérosène en question ! Pourquoi ? Eh bien, ….. il s’agit du problème de “….having to carry (extra) fuel, … just to carry fuel, … for the distance” (“… du besoin de transporter du kerosene (supplémentaire), ..……. juste pour transporter du kerosene, ….. pour faire la distance”) !
Le problème pour PIA était d’avoir à atteindre l’altitude de 41,000 rapidement, et d’assurer la majeure partie de la phase « croisière » à cette altitude ! Si Boeing installait le réservoir supplémentaire, il n’y aurait aucune chance d’atteindre le niveau de 41,000 pieds dans le temps voulu ! Problème : de toutes les façons, …. Le B777-200LR restait scotché à l’altitude de 39,000 pieds maxi pendant 3 heures !
Même en passant à 41,000 pieds après 3 heures, il lui était impossible de relier les villes LAHORE (me semble-t-il) & NY, Chicago & Toronto.
Le GE90-110B ne fait pas le job ! Même avec l’option « thrust bump », ce ne serait pas sûr ! Un moteur avec exclusivité ne peut même pas faire le job, et ! Et il ne s’agit pas que de l’aspect du décollage d’aéroports « hot & high » ; mais du problème découvert chez ces moteurs GE90-115B et 110B, soit le problème d’ordre général du décollage des aéroports « hot » tout court !
Lien : [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Concern over B-777s' qualité (à vrai dire, … il s’agit principalement de sa performance, plutôt que de sa qualité ) !

From AMRAIZ KHAN
LAHORE - The B-777s delivered to PIA earlier this year are stated to be not up to the required specification and the management has expressed its concern over its quality, sources in the national flag carrier confided to The Nation here on Sunday.
As per sources, the planes cannot gain the required height during flight and are consuming more fuel, causing loss to the airline.
Two reasons are being attributed to not gaining the required height - the fuel burden and climate of the country. The plane was purchased to fly non-stop to New York, Toronto and Chicago, so it has to carry a huge amount of fuel; consequently cannot gain the required height during the initial three hours flight.
However, when a certain quantity of fuel was consumed, the plane could gain required height - ‘’when a plane makes low flight it consumes more fuel’’ an official of engineering department said.
Temperature and climate of the country was also described as hindrance in the take off of the plane.

Pour ce qui est d'Air India ….

But with Air India we’re looking at a couple of cities where there might be a need.” He adds that no operator has yet specified the tanks.

NB : intéressant !
………………….

………Until now, the test work at Edwards has been aimed at VMCG (minimum control speed with critical engine failure during take-off run), and VMCA (minimum control speed with critical engine out, out of ground effect). To attract some prospective carriers, notably Singapore Airlines, it is thought Boeing and GE have also decided to offer the full 115,000lb-thrust (512kN) capability of the GE90 on the -200LR, as well as the baseline GE90-110B derate version as standard.

“We originally planned to certify at 110,000lb thrust, but we did some tests at 115,000lb and didn’t find any issues,” says Andersen. “That’s good news, because we think there’ll be some operators that want 115,000lb for obstacle-limited airports.” GE confirms “the plan is now to offer 115,000lb as the thrust option”, rather than an interim “thrust bump” rating of 113,000lb that was planned until recently.

Clarification utile ! On voit bien qu’il est question de donner à cette variante, B777-200LR une puissance suffisante !
----------------
Take-off tests
……………………………………
First delivery

The -200LR flight-test aircraft will, meanwhile, be refurbished before delivery of WD002 to launch customer Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in January 2006. The second aircraft, WD001, which will take longer to refurbish, will be handed over to PIA in February. Overall, Boeing predicts possible sales of 300 aircraft in the -200LR category over the next 20 years, with a further 200 sales predicted for the 777 Freighter.
Despite its slow start, confidence is growing at GE. “I think it’s going to be a winner,” says Chahrour. “The reason it hasn’t sold so well so far is because of the timing.

Possible ! Mais, ……

Together with the 777-300ER and the 787 family, it will fit all the long-range requirements, and obviously with a range in excess of 9,300nm, the -200LR is in a league of its own.”

Vraiment ? La ligue des IFSD ?

The double-act sales routine with the 787 is also likely to see further additions to the 777 order6book, says Andersen. “It’s been really encouraging to see the joint purchases of both 777s and 787s, and we’ll see more of that. It’s turning around now because of the trends you’re seeing in the world economy, passenger traffic growing and airlines deciding it is the right time to update their fleets. Plus having an aircraft like the -200LR gives them the ability to add additional non-stop city pairs they haven’t been able to link before. The -200LR really manifests the intent of an ultra-long-range aircraft.”

Ce qui précède est davantage un article qui récapitule un effort de marketing, du tandem Boeing –GE !
C’est en prenant en compte cette toile de fond qu’il convient de positionner la relation PIA – BOEING & GE, et celle d’aujourd’hui entre Air India & Boeing / GE.

On arrête là pour le moment !

Airbus avait cru que les genres d'articles publiés avant & pendant le processus de l'Appel d'Offres, et juste après les soumissions respectives de Boeing et d'Airbus, réfléchissaient la quasi-certitude d'un favoritisme au bénéfice de Boeing !

Pour ceux qui croient que j'exagère ces aspects, voici un lien et des extraits (l'article vaut le détour).

Lien :
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Vol:22 Iss:11 URL: [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
CIVIL AVIATION

The Boeing deal
JOHN CHERIAN

THE Indian government's decision to purchase 50 Boeing aircraft to replenish Air-India's fleet has not gone down well in many European capitals, especially Paris and Brussels. The European consortium Airbus Industrie was hoping for a slice of the lucrative Air-India contract.

Le fait, dit très clairement.

The Indian carrier will now buy eight B777-200 LR, 15 B777-300 ER and 27 B787 Dreamliner medium-capacity, long-range aircraft. The deal is worth around $7 billion. In the same week, the Chinese government also came to Boeing's rescue by placing a substantial order for its South China Airways. The new contracts Boeing has bagged have provided a boost for the mid-size "Dreamliner", ...

Bonne semaine pour Boeing, ...... moins bonne pour Airbus (dans le segment "long-haul" / long courrier).

The new deals may also help Boeing to regain the top slot in the commercial aviation business. The Americans and the Europeans have been engaged in cutthroat competition since the 1980s. In recent years, Airbus Industrie had stolen a march over Boeing. The American company had become virtually dependent on orders from the booming aviation sector in China for survival. Beijing doled out orders to both Boeing and Airbus, managing to keep both Washington and Brussels happy.

Ceci est bien présenté.

The European anger may have been compounded by the fact that India's decision to opt for Boeing was announced immediately after Airbus had successfully test-flown its new super jumbo, the A-380, in the last week of April. Before the Boeing deal was clinched, there was hectic lobbying by American and European officials with their Indian counterparts. According to one report, United States President George W. Bush had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting India to consider the offer from Boeing sympathetically.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is said to have also lobbied strongly for Boeing as she did for Lockheed Martin, the manufacturers of F-16s. Both Boeing and Lockheed Martin are pillars of the U.S. military-industrial complex. U.S. Secretary for Transportation Norman Mineta was in New Delhi in early April to lobby for Boeing. A day before Air-India announced the decision to go with Boeing, French Transport Minister Giles de Robien had a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to push the case for Airbus Industrie. Thomas Pickering, who was a former U.S. Ambassador to India, had come to New Delhi two years ago to lobby for Boeing when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government was in power. Following his visit, the government at that time gave strong indications that Air-India would opt predominantly for a Boeing fleet.

Tous ces points mentionnés ici ont donné l'impression, à tort ou à raison, que 'les dés étaient pipés', ... que l'affaire était couru d'avance, au bénéfice de Boeing !

The other state-owned company, Indian Airlines, was given the green signal to go in for new Airbus planes. Many of the private carriers that have come up in recent years have also signed deals for the purchase of short-range Airbus aircraft.

La continuité !

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has opted for continuity in aviation deals as it has done in the case of defence deals. There is also talk that the Boeing deal was expedited in the hope that the U.S. would support India's candidature for the United Nations Security Council. Bush administration officials have been complaining for some time that India is not doing enough for the U.S. despite the surge of Indian Information Technology exports to the U.S. The Indian trade surplus with the U.S. has almost trebled over the past decade, reaching $15.6 billion. The imports from the U.S. amount to $6.1 billion.

Evidemment, avoir de forts soupçons d'avoir été victimes de ces types de consideration, suffit à Airbus, aux Européens & à leurs "leaders" comme "incitation à protestation officielle". Car ces considérations n'ont aucune place dans un appel d'offres international, qu'elles arrivent par pression, discussion ou autres "influences & itinéraires" !

According to European diplomats, India signed the Boeing deal without getting anything concrete in return from the U.S. They say that one of the factors that could have swung the Air-India deal the Boeing way was the paltry promise of more U.S. work visas for Indians. They also think that the Indian establishment is inherently pro-U.S., given the fact that close relatives of many top officials and politicians are working, residing or studying in the U.S. "In the long-standing battle in the Indian government between those who feel repulsion at Washington and those who feel attraction to it, attraction is winning out," The Financial Times quoted a French diplomat resident in New Delhi.

Espoirs, optimisme infondé (naïveté?), possibilité de Traffic d'Influence, illusions de traitement favorable pour une certaine catégorie d'Indiens privilégiés, ....... autant de facteurs allégués, à tort ou à raison, ... mais avec une colère certaine, comme motivations ou pulsions particulières allant dans le sens d'une sélection de Boeing, plutôt que vers le choix d'Airbus !
--------------------
H. GOUSSE/AP
The giant Airbus A-380 on its first flight in France on April 27.

Senior Congress party office-bearers, however, say that there were no political or other considerations involved in the deal with Boeing. The deal, according to them, was done after a careful study of Air-India's requirements. They say that the Air-India fleet predominantly consists of planes from the Boeing stable. That Air-India's engineers and technicians are trained to handle Boeing planes is another argument making the rounds.

Jusque-là, ...... ces arguments ont, ou peuvent avoir du poids. Mais ..... read on !

Anyway, they say, Airbus had no reason to complain, as it has been awarded the contract to upgrade the Indian Airlines fleet. Praful Patel has said that the decision was not based on geopolitical considerations. He also insisted that his Ministry had not influenced the Air-India Board. He said in the Lok Sabha that the Airbus allegations "are baseless and not based on facts". He went on to add: "Equal opportunities were given to both aircraft manufacturers for submitting competitive bids."

Les positions commencent à se durcir !

However, according to Airbus Industrie vice-president Nigel Harwood, the company (Airbus SAS) was not given "fair and equal treatment".

Allégation très grave ! A ne pas sous-estimer !

While expressing "astonishment" at the Indian government's decision, the Airbus official pointed out that the B787 short-listed by Air-India, was still on the drawing board.

Factuellement correct.

Harwood told the media in New Delhi that his company was not given a chance to make a presentation on the A380 while Boeing made its case on the B787. The B787 Dreamliner is not expected to fly before 2007. Harwood called for an inquiry by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

Intéressant ! Avec le recul, ..... quelles sont les réactions ?

"We are questioning how the evaluation was done. We feel that it was not fair and are astonished at the decision. It is a massive blow to us," said Harwood.

Qui ne me croit pas maintenant ? Je ne prends aucune position "anti-Boeing" ! L'article est écrit par un journaliste indien, de très bonne facture, et qui n'a pas de parti-pris !

A technical committee of the Air-India Board had recommended in 2002 both Boeing and Airbus planes. The BJP-led government delayed the procurement after being subjected to intense lobbying from the U.S. However, as recently as November 2004, the Air-India Board broadly endorsed the Technical Committee's recommendations and announced that it was proposing the purchase of 10 Airbus-340 long-haul aircraft and 18-Boeing 737-800 medium-range planes.

Oui ! Cela s'est passé de cette façon, à l'époque.

The government reacted strongly to the reported comments of the French Ambassador, Dominique Girard, about the unfairness of the deal.

Ceci confirme que je n'ai rien exagéré dans mes posts ci-dessus !

The diplomat was quoted as saying that "factors other than commercial" seemed to have clinched the deal. The Press Trust of India had reported that the French Ambassador feared that the proposed defence deal involving the purchase of 126 fighter jets would meet a similar fate.

Il y a / avait, vraiment, un problème de confiance !

There is hectic lobbying going on by the Americans, the French and the Russians for the sale of fighter jets. F-16s and Mirage-2000s are the current front-runners. The Russians have offered to set up an assembly line in India for the co-production of MiG-29s.

Oui !

The U.S. has a propensity to impose sanctions on countries. Iran has to buy spare parts for its Boeing in the international grey market to keep Iran Air's planes flying. The late Shah of Iran had opted for Boeing planes.
The French Ambassador was quoted as saying that the Europeans are reliable suppliers of spare parts and adhere to contracts, even if serious political differences arise.

Pourquoi certaines personnes, ... cherchent-elles à masquer ces aspects ?

According to observers of the diplomatic scene, it would have been inconceivable for the U.S. Ambassador in New Delhi to keep quiet if Air-India had opted for Airbus planes instead of Boeing aircraft. The stakes are exceedingly high.

Ici, ...... ce ne sont pas les responsables d'Airbus qui parlent !

The American Ambassador recently told the Indian media that Washington was not happy with the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline as the U.S. had imposed economic sanctions against Iran. There was no official reaction from the government in response to the U.S. diplomat's statement. The Ambassador has been treated by the Indian government for some time as the primus inter pares in the diplomatic community in New Delhi.

L'anecdote est à mesurer !

Réactions ?

Un aspect intéressant dans ce contexte : le soi-disant "double act" B777 & B787.

Rappel :

The double-act sales routine with the 787 is also likely to see further additions to the 777 order-book, says Andersen. “It’s been really encouraging to see the joint purchases of both 777s and 787s, and we’ll see more of that. It’s turning around now because of the trends you’re seeing in the world economy, passenger traffic growing and airlines deciding it is the right time to update their fleets. Plus having an aircraft like the -200LR gives them the ability to add additional non-stop city pairs they haven’t been able to link before. The -200LR really manifests the intent of an ultra-long-range aircraft.”

Voilà ce que disait Lars Andersen en juin 2005 !
Quelle belle naïveté !

Les amalgames (en raisonnement) sont à proscrire ! Mais il ne s'agit pas d'amalgame quand on évoque cet aspect de "joint purchases" de B777 de B787 !

Regardez les cas d'Air Canada & d'Air India ! Quel désordre ineffable ! Quel magma !
-- B777 bradés et B787 incapables de voler malgré 2 ans de retard (au bas mot), déjà accumulés ! Et il ne s'agit pas de se moquer de Boeing ou de son programme B787 ! Que personne n'essaie jamais de nous accuser de cela ! Jamais !

-- Le vrai péché est le procédé, avec les financements du Groupe GE (GECAS ou autre "bras"), se cachant derrière le petit doigt, qui s'appelle l'Exim-Bank ; financements avancés à des Sociétés déjà en détresse, dans les conditions suivantes : "Achetez mes moteurs, et je vous financerai vos avions" !

-- On a vu ce que cela donne !

-- Et les B777-300ER, par exemple, dans ces "packagings" sont bradés ! Il ne s'agit pas de 2ème fournée ! L'avion est en état de mort (commerciale) lente, ..... et ce sont les avions -- et surtout les "créneaux de production y afférents" -- envisagés à un moment en tant qu'options ou "purchase rights", attribuables à des clients, qui ne veulent plus commander cet appareil !

Qui aurait pensé pouvoir ainsi lier les affaires d'Air Canada et d'Air India, au travers de ce genre de raisonnement, il y a 3 ou 4 ans ? Eh bien, ... c'est fait, ..... et cela correspond à la réalité ! Ce n'est point une fiction !

Avis personnel (mais partagé par beaucoup! ).
Il est grand temps que "Corporate America" (et, dans l'aviation civile, Boeing & GE), mette de l'ordre dans ses réflexions et pratiques, apparaissant comme antidiluviennes !

Que dit Lars PETERSEN aujour'hui ? Et les paquets de BCL et "Bloggers & Co.", du même acabit ?

Au lieu de poursuivre leurs vielles lunes d'exclusivités ridicules, Boeing & GE feraient mieux de réfléchir au désordre qu'ils ont contribué à injecter dans le contexte aéronautique et de toute l'aviation civile.

Il ne s'agit pas d'entrer dans le jeu du blâme (cela ne sert à rien ! ), ... mais de dire qu'il faut que cela change ! Nous avons tous besoin de ces grandes maisons, Boeing et GE, et de leurs belles réalisations et réussites !

Mais le monde de l'aéronautique et de l'aviation ne peut plus s'offrir le luxe de laisser passer,..... et on ne veut plus jamais voir, ...... leurs collusion, complicité, connivence et concoctions d'exclusivités inacceptables ! ;)

Pour 'enfoncer le clou', voici un post que j'ai été amené à écrire, en décembre 2008, pour répondre énergiquement à certains forumistes "'d'ailleurs", qui cherchaient à véhiculer leurs idées reçues et propagandistes au bénéfice du B777-300ER (ou -200LR). Ils ne connaissaient pas leur dossier sur les moteurs GE90-115B / -110B.

Ils étaient / sont pilotes de gros porteurs, à moteurs GE, ils croyaient que leur DPO allait l'emporter sur les faite et la réalité des faits, ...... qui ont leur pertinence dans le cas de plusieurs Cies. aériennes (y compris Air India & PIA) qui exploitent les variantes précitées du B777. Ils ont eu tort.
-------------
Pour donner des références promises ....dans mon post du 19/12/2008.....
---------------
Liens :
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ... injet.html

DATE: 06/12/05. SOURCE:Flight International
Thrust bump for twinjet

Boeing plans to test a General Electric GE90-115B-powered 777-300ER with modified full-authority digital engine control software allowing the engine to produce full 115,000lb (510kN) take-off thrust at temperatures up to and above 38˚C (100˚F). The “thrust bump” qualification tests are being undertaken in response to requests from Emirates and other carriers for guaranteed hot weather take-off performance margins.

NB : "hot weather take-off performance margins". Non pas que "hot & high" ! J'ai vérifié ceci auprès de Flight International et de RR, & de P&W, qui m'ont confirmé que GE leur avait dit la même chose ! Je ne vais pas les traiter d'affabulateurs ! Aussi, le motoriste de RR & un journaliste de Flight International, m"a spécifié "Dubai",... entre autres !

Flight tests, originally scheduled to take place in Alice Springs, Australia around 29-30 November, have been delayed for around a week until the weather “heats up down-under”, says the company.

Clair ?
------------------------------
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ... -ge90.html

DATE:20/02/07. SOURCE:Flight International
Boeing powers up thrust bump testing for GE90
By Guy Norris

Engine upgrade improves 777-200LR/300ER's take-off performance in hot conditions.

NB : "Hot", ...et... non pas "Hot & High"

Boeing undertook certification flight tests in Alice Springs, Australia earlier this month of a new "thrust bump" setting on the General Electric GE90-110/115 powerplant, using engines installed on an Air India 777-200LR.

Ni bluff, ni affabulation, ni fiction, ni "économie avec la vérité, .. ni mensonge ! Clair ?
.....

GE says the thrust bump rating, which will be available for both the -110B1 on the -200LR and -115B1 on the 777-300ER, is a modification of the schedule settings in the full authority digital engine control (FADEC).

Factuel. Et, maintenant, le bouquet ! Lisez bien, .... et très attentivement !

The new schedule modifies available thrust at altitudes below 3,000ft (915m) and temperatures that are "well above 90e_SDgrF [32°C]" for better take-off performance from airfields at low altitudes, but with high temperatures.

Je répète : " for better take-off performance from airfields at low altitudes, but with high temperatures.
Clair ?
Pour ceux qui sont fâché avec 'anglais, " pour améliorer la performance au décollage d'aéroports situés à de basses altitudes, mais ayant des températures élevées" ! Soit "hot tout court", point que j'ai appuyé, mais qu'on a contesté à tort !

"With the schedule modification we will get up to 2.5% higher thrust at take-off without any hardware changes," says GE. The flat rating of the engine is not affected, although frequent use of the thrust bump setting is expected to eat into time-on-wing margins.

Voilà pour ......... ! Il n'a pas encore compris, peut-être, que, si l'on a trop de "eating into time-on-wing margins", et que l'on ait sous-estimé cet aspect, on a bel et bien des dégâts, ... et à l'improviste !
Différence fondamentale avec RR : si RR fait un "bumped engine", pour ensuite faire un up-grade jusqu'à un "nouveau standard", comme ici, RR introduit les "hardware changes" / "modifications du matériel" ! Clair ?

Boeing and GE first attempted to test the thrust bump setting, dubbed the -L1, on the GE90-115B at Yuma, Arizona in September 2005, but could not obtain the 42°C temperatures required for the tests. Other than Air India, potential customers for the rating option include Emirates.

Il est dit,... mais il s'agit de rumeurs,;;; que d'autrs clients pourraient inclure, ETIHAD, QATAR & CATHAY. Mais, là, je n'affirme rien! Je n'affirme pas ce que je ne sais pas, contrairment à certains, visiblement !

Mais il est dit, aussi, que GE pourrait être en train de faire, ou d'envisager de faire, le nécessaire pour PIA, via "thrust bump" !

Matt Cawby
Boeing has tested the new setting on an Air India 777-200LR
-------------

Pour les éléments déjà cités sur PIA (et les problèmes avec ses B777-200LR) dans le post du 19/12/2008 à 01h02, ...

--voici un lien:
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ... ostcount=1

---------------------

OK ! Les faits sont clairs !

Que personne, ... personne, ...ne vienne dévier le débat ! [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Je maintiens ma remarque, dont le bienfondé ne sort que renforcé.

Et ce Forum, tout Forum, .... doit avoir un système référentiel plus large qu'AF, tout de même, et les expériences plus diverses et variées que celles d'AF !
..........................

Bonne journée !

Bonjour,

Nouvelle perturbation chez Air India. Diminution du bonus de productivité pour les pilotes, au moins puisqu'une vague d'arrêts maladie provoque des annulations de vols.

Les vols d'Air India perturbés par les protestations des pilotes

NEW DELHI, 26 sept 2009 (AFP)

La compagnie aérienne indienne Air India a indiqué que plusieurs de ses vols étaient perturbés samedi après que certains pilotes se sont déclarés en maladie pour protester contre la décision de la compagnie de
réduire les bonus de productivités.

2009 AFP

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Où ont-ils été chercher çà ? [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

La Cie est déjà dans une bien mauvaise passe. M. PATEL avait déjà déclaré qu'il n'était pas question de diminuer les taxations sur l'ATF, mais çà c'est pour toutes les compagnies Indiennes.