SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Some of the world's largest jet buyers said
Tuesday Airbus and Boeing should focus on existing planes before
developing an all-new aircraft to replace the U.S. company's
workhorse 757.
Replacing the discontinued 757, a jet used on transcontinental
U.S. routes and trans-Atlantic flights, is one of the most-watched
strategic issues facing Airbus Group NV and Boeing Co., who already
have bulging order books for new and existing plane models.
"Both manufacturers have a lot to digest," Steven Udvar-Házy,
chief executive of Air Lease Corp., said at an industry conference
here.
Air Lease has an order book of around 400 planes worth over $30
billion, and the industry veteran has a long track record of
influencing new development programs at Boeing and Airbus.
Jeff Knittel, president of transportation and international
finance at rival lessor CIT Group Inc., said that while there would
be future demand for a new family of aircraft from Boeing, it
didn't need to rush out a new model.
"The question is when does it get filled and does it need to get
filled immediately?" said Mr. Knittel. He said execution on
existing programs is important: "Let's get some of this done then
refocus."
A senior executive at United Continental Holdings Inc. said it
has started evaluating potential replacements for its 757
fleet.
United still operates more than 90 Boeing 757s, and the
potential replacement of a jet the U.S. aerospace firm stopped
delivering in 2005 has been closely watched in airline and
aerospace industry circles.
Ron Baur, United's vice president of fleet, said the airline was
looking at both the A321LR now being developed by Airbus and an
all-new Boeing jet that the U.S. company is sketching out.
Mr. Baur told an industry conference that its evaluations are at
the conceptual stage as its 757s are comparatively young, still
flying regularly on extended routes across the Atlantic that don't
require a larger twin-aisle jetliner. The airline's older workhorse
757s that are flying domestically are being quickly retired and
replaced with new Boeing single-aisle jets.
"It would be great if Boeing and Airbus took a coffee break,"
Aengus Kelly, chief executive of lessor AerCap Holdings NV said in
an interview. The head of the largest jet lessor by fleet value
called on plane makers to focus on completing and delivering the
thousands of aircraft currently on order.
Leasing companies, which rent jets to airlines for anything from
a few months to a decade or more, are traditionally cautious about
new planes that might affect the pace of deliveries of orders or
demand for their own existing fleets.
After multiyear delays developing new jetliners over the past
decade, Mr. Udvar-Házy at Air Lease urged a focus on current
commitments. He said this would afford plane makers more
credibility when moving to the next all-new airplanes.
The comments potentially offer breathing room to Boeing, which
is developing eight new versions of existing planes as part of a
major overhaul of its commercial portfolio. Similarly, Airbus is
ramping up production of its new long-range twin-aisle A350 XWB,
and transitioning to an updated version of its single-aisle A320
range.
Airbus has opted to make incremental improvements on its biggest
single-aisle jetliner, the 180 to 240-seat A321neo, boosting the
jet's range with new fuel tanks and an increasing in its carrying
capacity. The move has spurred a renewed interest by Boeing to
examine the medium to long-term demand of a midsize jet between its
biggest single-aisle 737 and the long-range twin-aisle 787
Dreamliner.
Mr. Udvar-Házy said an all-new jet from Boeing is as much as
eight to 12 years away, pushing any development to no earlier than
2023.
"I don't really see either manufacturer spending $12-15 billion
dollars rolling the dice on an all-new airplane at this point" he
added. Increased risk aversion toward all-new projects, the
availability of a new fuel-efficient engine and where the jet might
be built will also guide and potentially slow Boeing's decision,
Mr. Udvar-Házy said.
The Air Lease chief has been a longtime advocate of a Boeing
undertaking and has repeatedly pushed the U.S. plane maker to make
a sizable investment in a new 200-250 seat jetliner. Mr. Udvar-Házy
indicated a preference for a small twin-aisle jetliner that could
still operate out of smaller congested U.S. airfields like La
Guardia Airport in New York City.
Boeing said Monday that its survey of airlines and lessors has
pushed it to study a new jetliner that is larger than the 180-seat
757 and that could fly around 4,800 nautical miles.
Write to Jon Ostrower at jon.ostrower@wsj.com
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