Randy's Journal: Archives

29 March 2005

Beer and Wiener schnitzel

I'm back recently from spending 10 days bouncing between 5 countries.

I'd like to post a few thoughts about the adventure.

The trip was a great chance to meet again with reporters, airlines, airplane finance people, investors, and industry analysts from across Europe. In general, they seemed upbeat about where the industry is going, a completely different attitude from just a couple of years ago.

First stop was Geneva, for the Aircraft Finance Conference. I was asked to speak a bit about why I think the 787 Dreamliner is the most efficient airplane for the middle of the market. With several hundred in the auditorium this was a great opportunity to share our vision for the future of air travel.

From Geneva I flew north to Finland. I hadn't been in Helsinki for 10 years, and it was great to be back, even if the temperature was about minus-10 degrees Celsius. Indoors, anyway, I got a warm reception from the Finnish Aviation Press Association.

In France a couple of days later I noticed that the weather map said Helsinki was down to minus-25 degrees or so. That's cold. And it figures that all the while, back in Seattle it was unseasonably warm and sunny.

At Boeing's office in Paris I joined in a discussion with French media - a terrific opportunity to get a fresh perspective. One reporter for La Croix asked me about this blog, and ended up doing a piece on it. I can kind of understand the motivation. As I look at the stats, quite a few of the thousands of visitors to this site are from France (and Belgium, and the UK too!).

I had a little downtime in Paris, so even though it was cold, I walked from my hotel near the Opera Garnier (where the Phantom of the Opera once lived) to the Eiffel Tower. Those who know Paris will recognize that as a pretty healthy walk.

Then it was on to Germany, where it was media roundtable time again.

Now, one of the first things I wanted to do when I arrived in Frankfurt was have a great meal. The title of today's entry might give you a little idea of what I chose off the menu.

A day later, I was off to my final stop, Madrid. In Spain, one of the obvious topics was Iberia Airlines' choice of Airbus single-aisle jets over the Boeing 737.

I told reporters we were disappointed in not winning this one. We certainly offered Iberia a very competitive proposal. The Next Generation 737 rated highly, but in the end Iberia based its decision on already having Airbus airplanes in its fleet. And Airbus made a financial offer that we weren't prepared to match.

Even so, Iberia has been a very good Boeing customer, and we're looking forward to further discussions with them about the 787. And apart from Iberia we have other very good customers in the Spanish market such as Air Europa and Spanair.

Still, someone asked me: Are you guys out of Spain?

My answer was, no, of course not. In fact, just before I arrived in Madrid it was announced that Gamesa Aeronautica of Spain is going to work on the Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) project. This is the modified 747 that's going to transport large composite structures of the 787 Dreamliner. Part of the LCF will be designed in partnership with Gamesa, the first Spanish supplier supporting the 787 program.

I expected some tough questions. That comes with the job. It was no surprise.

But I should say that in the business sense, as well as in hotels and restaurants, in every country, people were friendly and professional. I felt very welcome.

And that should come as no surprise, either.

Yes, it's a tough business, like many others.

But differences between Boeing and Airbus are just part of the competitive nature of the commercial airplane industry.

For me, the business side of this game doesn't cross into personal feelings. We're all so interconnected now, culturally and economically. Our friendships go back a long time and they'll continue on for generations to come.

Having said that, I'm looking forward to my next trip. And another helping of Wiener schnitzel.