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John Leahy: Composite Barrels are "old fashioned"
Scott Carson, left, and Steve Udvar-Hazy. ILFC ordered 52 more 787 Dreamliners. Photo by James Wallace.
Steve Udvar-Hazy, founder and CEO of International Lease Finance Corp., inked a firm deal with Boeing Tuesday at the Paris Air Show for 52 more Dreamliners. That follows an initial order for 22 of the Boeing jets in 2005.
ILFC will receive 787s at nearly one a month from 2010 into 2017.
Hazy said there will be more Dreamliner orders from ILFC.
"Hopefully this is just the beginning of our 787 relationship,'' he said. "The 787 represents what the world needs tomorrow.''
Meanwhile, Hazy will meet with Airbus CEO Louis Gallois Wednesday to talk about the A350 XWB.
ILFC was the launch customer for the early version of the A350, which was essentially an A330 fuselage with a new wing and new engines. Hazy ordered 16 of those planes with four options.
But Airbus redesigned the A350 after Hazy and others complained last year it was not competitive with the 787. That resulted in today's A350 XWB.
Hazy said ILFC has been having "extensive discussions" with Airbus about the final design configuration of the A350 XWB.
At a news conference with Scott Carson, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, to announce the 787 order, Hazy was asked if he agreed with comments made at the air show earlier this week by Tim Clark of Emirates. Clark told reporters that Boeing's approach in designing the 787 with large one-piece composite fuselage barrels represented the future of the industry.
After several changes, Airbus has said the A350 fuselage will be composite panels on an aluminum frame.
John Leahy, the Airbus sales chief, told me Tuesday that Boeing's design with the composite barrels is "old fashioned.''
But Hazy said he likes Boeing's approach better than what Airbus plans for the A350.
"We know how it is done, what goes into it and how the pieces fit together,'' Hazy said. "We have been discussing with Airbus whether there is any other optimized solution like using a composite frame... and I think Airbus is seriously evaluating all those issues.''
In recent days, Hazy said, Airbus has indicated a design change could be made without delaying the A350's entry into service in 2013.
Given how much an ILFC order for the A350 would mean for that plane and for Airbus, expect some changes in the A350 fuselage design.
Boeing released this photo Tuesday showing the 787 in final assembly. The landing gear are about to be installed, whch will mean the Dreamliner can sand on its own.
