Boeing is increasing the price of its aircraft by about 5.2% and has announced the withdrawal of the 787-300. The aircraft manufacturer, which hasn’t raised prices for two years, blames high wages, goods and service costs for the increase.
The 787-300, however, has fallen victim to the countless delays in production of the 787-800 version. The short-haul variant was always in danger of being dropped since launch customer, All Nippon Airways, swapped its 787-3 order for a 787-800 variant in January.
This is an expected and logical move from Boeing. After all the market has spoken and the need for a shorter range 787 carrying 330 passengers in two classes for 6,500km was deemed as not being the future.
Meanwhile South East Asia continues to suck in the cash:
Base figures and trends point clearly to a new Asian dominance reflective of the wider global economic shift that is taking place at this time. Charting the rise of Asian air traffic shows that for every 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, you can expect 1.5% of commercial passenger and cargo traffic growth. The Asian economy is expected to grow 7% this year while growth is expected to be anaemic in America and Europe. Hence Airbus was very keen this week to continue to target Asia. The thing to watch in this region is interest rates. Can China keep its currency under control and in turn keep those exports at low prices? If China is unable to control its currency then there is a chance, however unlikely, that the Chinese boom could reverse in late 2011.