Boeing ’s commercial jetliner chief said Sunday that if its deal to sell Iran passenger aircraft is blocked by the US Congress, all other US companies that supply to its rivals should be prohibited as well. Ray Conner, the CE of Boeing’s commercial jetliner unit, said that any effort to legislatively block its 80-jet deal with Iran Air shouldn’t unfairly disadvantage the plane maker against its rivals. The US House of Representatives last week passed amendments that would block the use of Department of Treasury funds for granting licenses for export or re-export of commercial passenger aircraft and their parts and services. A further amendment would prohibit any US financial institution from participating the export of passenger aircraft to Iran. Airbus has said it, too, requires Washington’s approval to export airliners to Iran. <br/>
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Boeing is seeing strong airline interest in a new mid-range aircraft on its drawing board, bolstering the case for its biggest potential product development of the next 10 years. No current-generation aircraft are specifically designed for long flights within a region, like the 7-hour trek from Tokyo to Singapore, said Ray Conner, CE of Boeing’s commercial aircraft unit. “There is clearly a market desire or need,” Conner said. For more than a decade, Boeing has studied a series of aircraft options for addressing the so-called middle of the market -- a relatively untapped segment where Airbus is starting to extend its reach. But after intensive conversations with leading airlines and lessors, Boeing sounds increasingly confident that it’s close to a solution. <br/>
Boeing’s commercial jet chief Sunday said geopolitical instability and continued lower fuel prices have caused a slowdown in large jetliner demand. Ray Conner, CE of Boeing’s commercial jetliner unit said that “we’ve got work to do this year” to bolster sales of the company’s most expensive and profitable airliners. Analysts and investors are closely watching the pace of order announcements at the biennial summer air show for signs of broader industry weakness. Conner cited uncertainty in Europe over the UKs vote to leave the EU, ongoing sanctions in Russia, an ailing Latin American economy, and violence and instability in the Middle East as adding doubt to future expansion plans for airlines. “I think people are in a wait-and-see type mode in terms of what they want to do,” said Conner.<br/>
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer expects more interest in the CSeries program at the Farnborough Airshow, especially following the June 29 delivery to SWISS. “The program continues to gain momentum,” Cromer said. “We had the real introduction [of the aircraft] at the Paris Air Show last year and certification since then. Entry-into-service and the CS300 certification are coming up soon.” He said this momentum includes recent orders from Delta Air Lines and Air Canada. “The momentum is very tangible in the kinds of conversation we are getting from the industry,” he said. Cromer sees rising interest, especially “from sophisticated airlines—and many of them watch airlines like Lufthansa, Air Canada or Korean [Air].” <br/>
Since its commercial introduction in 2007, the Airbus A380 has brought a long-lost sense of glamour back to travel. Financially speaking, it’s a disaster of similarly grand proportions. An initial flood of interest from airlines has turned into a slow drip, and Airbus is leaning heavily on one customer, Emirates, for sales. Not a single US carrier has bought one, and Japanese airlines have taken just a handful. Airbus has delivered 193 A380s—early on it predicted airlines would buy 1,200 supersize planes over 2 decades—and has only 126 in its order book, to be built over the next 5 years or so. Worse, many orders appear squishy, because airlines are shifting away from superjumbos. <br/>
GE Aviation has a business backlog of US$154b and expects to deliver more than 2,800 large commercial engines this year, the company said. The backlog is a company record and represents a 48% growth in 3 years. GE Aviation president and CE David Joyce said the past 10 years was a “unique era” in commercial aviation for product development and investment. GE, with partner companies Safran in the CFM International joint venture and Pratt & Whitney in the Engine Alliance JV, expects to deliver more than 2,800 large commercial engines in 2016 and 10,000 between 2015 and 2020. <br/>