Randy's Journal: Archives
17 July 2006
Counting crows
FARNBOROUGH, England - I know this is supposed to be a week-long marathon, and we're supposed to pace ourselves, but today was a sprint from start to finish.
It began on the broadcast viewing platform overlooking the airfield bright and early with Breakfast TV. A warm sun was already baking the show grounds when I chatted live with BBC-TV, Bloomberg TV, and CNBC Europe. And that was just in the first hour.
And in between Dragon Dancing at the EVA 777 (which I did not get to see, as it turns out), and jets roaring overhead, I chatted with the New York Times, BBC World Service radio, BBC Radio 5 Live, Italy's Radio 24, the Washington Post, Seattle Times, Seattle P-I, and several others.
The Dragon Dance must go on - even if I didn't get a chance to see it in person today.
And setting a theme that would stick around through the day, one of the earliest questions for me was: does Boeing take any comfort from Airbus' troubles and delays? My answer is no, these are complex programs. And as I've said here in the blog, I know they'll work through it all.
This was the same message I heard from Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Alan Mulally later in the morning at his briefing in the Media Centre.
And yet, I had to just scratch my head at a story posted on the BBC Website today, titled, "Airbus struggles as Boeing crows." Well, I haven't seen or heard a Boeing person crowing here at Farnborough or anywhere else for that matter. And I have yet to see a story with a headline like this backed up with any quote to that effect.
This particular story stated that Alan Mulally "could hardly contain his glee at the additional delay to the A350's launch." Really? What Mr. Mulally said was that we have compassion for what they're going through. That new airplanes are hard, and that Airbus is a terrific competitor. I'll let you decide if that sounds like "glee."
Intensely discussing the commercial airplanes market with Radio 24's Sebastiano Barisoni.
There was some news today out of the Boeing Chalet. Indonesia's Lion Air exercised purchase rights and ordered an additional 30 737-900ERs - our newest, most efficient and capable single-aisle airplane. Lion Air is the launch customer for the -900ER.
And Kuwait's recently-launched LoadAir Cargo signed an order for two 747-400 Extended Range Freighters. LoadAir plans to develop local, regional and intercontinental cargo operations from its base in Kuwait City.
As for the news out of the competition - we'll save for another day a discussion of the latest A350 offering. Meantime check out Boeing's Farnborough Airshow Website and catch up on the latest happenings.