The big story this week is that aerospace giant Boeing
Remember how I was saying, a few months back, that Boeing's troubles with plane cancellations at Qantas and Air Berlin might be overblown? How Dubai-based Emirates Air was saying that if airlines ahead of it on the 787 delivery list decided to cancel or delay their orders, Emirates just might be inclined to "step into their shoes" and take up any slack that resulted?
Well as it turns out, that's just what's happening.
Three men and Boeing's baby
So far, it's not Emirates per se stepping up to the plate, of course. Rather, on Wednesday we learned that Mideast rival Qatar Airways (QA) is saving Boeing's bacon. In addition to the two Dreamliners it had originally signed up for, QA will now take delivery of four more 787s by September of next year, a big first step in its plan to expand its fleet size by nearly 50% over the next few years.
True, QA's announcement isn't entirely good news for Boeing. In a bit of a disappointment for Boeing, the airline also announced that it's planning to place a much larger purchase order, for as many as 20 to 30 new C-series aircraft, from Boeing rival Bombardier. But lessening the sting was yet another bit of news out of the Gulf.
Bombardier may be invading Boeing's turf with its new C-series passenger jet, you see, but turnabout being fair play and all that, Boeing is stealing a bit of Bombardier's business as well. No sooner had the Qatar dealing been announced, than out came the UAE's Royal Jet with an announcement that it will be buying a pair of Boeing business jets. And if this is any indication of Royal Jet's preference in providers -- if it doesn't spread future orders around among rival business jet operators like Textron
Royal Jet aims to follow the lead of NetJets owner Berkshire Hathaway
Call me a crazy optimist, but I'll betcha Boeing would be only too happy to help 'em out with that.
