IAGblog Podcasts

Philippe Poutissou is VP, Marketing at Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and spent some time talking about next year and also reviewed some 2011 events. The issues discussed include: An overview of their programs;
including a CIASTA update; Why is BBD going for a broad the customer base?; Where does BBD see greatest potential for CS?; Where does Bombardier see the greatest market for the CRJ; On the Q400 there is manifest interest in a larger Turboprop; finally we talk about oil prices and biofuel.

Barry Eccleston is Airbus Americas CEO and spent over fifteen minutes talking about the great year they had plus a peek into a murky 2012. The issues we spoke about are: an overview on A380 programs for 2012; plus what are the biggest program challenges?; With so many sales for neo already booked, will 2012 see more mega sales?; What is Airbus doing to ensure neo delivery on time?; How does Airbus see the oil price playing out over 2012?; plus a view on biofuels; How much will the Euro currency problems impact Airbus?; sales breakdown in Euro vs. USD? and finally are there plans to grow Mobile, AL?

Randy Tinseth is vice president, Marketing, for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and kindly agreed to podcast with us looking forward to next year. We discuss the following topics; Program views (737,747,767,777, 787) for 2012; the biggest program challenges for 2012; Cargo traffic is dropping in double-digits in some parts of the world and cargo traffic usually is a leading indicator of passenger traffic. How does Boeing view the drop and its potential effect on passenger traffic?; How many MAX commitments does Boeing expect to be converted to firm orders in 2012?; How much of a problem is getting a delivery slot now? (when is the earliest available?); How does Boeing see oil prices acting in 2012?

The video from Iran appears to show a US made UAV that its says it captured. Indeed the language they used is that an Iranian military "electronic warfare unit" brought down the aircraft on December 4. What NATO has admitted is that it lost a UAV, but they have not admitted what type of UAV.

While looking at the Iranian TV footage, we have a short conversation with G2Solution's Research Director and UAV expert Ron Streans. The conversation by definition is speculative, but it is educated speculation. Have the Iranian's managed to crack the US' UAV control systems? Is this really what it seems? If it is what the Iranians say, then we are dealing with a serious situation.

We speak with Norman Hecht, an aviation consultant with 38 years in the business, 37 of them with a major engine OEM. Norm explains the most important factors in engine selection - there are nuances and airlines frequently bring in consultants to assist even if they have a long term relationship with the OEM. We talk about Qantas and Rolls-Royce and the A330 which is unique in offering engines from all three OEMs.

Immediately after we completed the podcast with IAM 751, we invited Boeing to take a listen and respond if they so chose. And Boeing did decide to respond. We spoke with Tim Healy, Boeing spokesman on labor matters. It is exciting and gratifying to see much of the same spirit as that expressed by the IAM. Both sides certainly seem to want this to be a fresh start. The stock market already gave Boeing's stock a bump up - truthfully everyone in the Boeing supply chain benefits - the only side that does not is competitors. We do marvel that it has taken so long for both sides to see this. It remains to be seen who the person was between IAM and Boeing who managed to cut through the Gordian knot and create this breakthrough. That person deserves a medal.

Today there was big news from Seattle. Boeing and one of its key unions (IAM 751) came to an agreement on differences going back a long time. There were negotiations that were ongoing but seemed to have ratcheted up seriously into covering the big issues. The union gets to keep the MAX at Renton which is a major win for them. It is also a win for Boeing. Union members are to vote on the agreement next Wednesday and if it passes, even the NLRB problem could go away because the union will advise NLRB that it is no longer in dispute with Boeing.

We spoke with union spokesman Bryan Corliss and he shared the union's perspective on the pending agreement.

India has the world's fastest growing air travel sector - yes faster than the Gulf. Year on year growth was 17%. Imagine that in the EU or North America? The airlines would be doing back flips of joy. But in India you have near total financial chaos. Air India is a political plaything that has no business being a business. Keeping it afloat is hurting the other airlines; Jet and Kingfisher are hurting - the latter badly. There is one shining star in IndiGo. The Bangalore Aviation team explain the impact of political support for Air India and the punitive state fuel taxes are making the industry nonviable in the long run. The squandered opportunity is a shame.

Yes its true. The Obama Administration’s proposed tripling of the passenger security tax is on the table. Will Congress go along? After all there is a real need to cut the deficit. As one can imagine this new tax is not going over well - the ATA is reacting by speaking to one and all. As ATA VP Communications Steve Lott explains, ATA is busy with an education process. He shares some simple numbers that are very interesting. Many would be surprised to find out how much of an airline ticket is taxation. And it is going to get worse. Government has learned over the years that they can keep taxing air travel and it keeps growing. But the airlines are truly burdened at this stage and consumers are running into sticker shock.

Although flights are at record load factors, airlines are producing awful returns on capital. Which means the industry is ever more a risky bet for the financial industry. Without an industry business model that provides a reasonable rate of return there will be a smaller tax base to exploit.The tax base is huge - from the aerospace industry through to the tourism industry. It is a tax base to nurture not needle.

Public policy cannot assume that air travel has an inelastic demand curve, because it does not. The airline industry has laid off thousands of people - and it shows on every trip you take. The industry employees are exhausted and ill tempered. Which is not great for an service industry.

If you would like to join ATA in its education mission, visit http://www.stopairtaxnow.com/.

Our conversation with Gueric Dechavanne (VP at Collateral Verifications) covers the views from leasing firms and valuation firms of the next generation of single-aisle airplanes. As the re-engine programs have gained momentum, we hear much less about current fleet values. Gueric explains how he sees this change - and discusses long term values. We cover a lot of the issues and dwell some on the 757.

Next Page