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remember that time that boeing bought 17
airbus a340 jets
yes it actually happened taking place
over 20 years ago this interesting piece
of aviation history may not be common
knowledge to everyone
let's rediscover the story and how it
all happened
the boeing triple seven 200 er initially
named the triple seven 200
igw for increased gross weight was
launched in the mid 90s looking to
establish the program and build up sales
boeing saw massive potential for
business with southeast asian carrier
singapore airlines
however the airline was somewhat content
with the a340 300 in its fleet
that were filling the same role thus
boeing just needed to find a way to
convince the airline to try its new
product
and came up with a smart way of doing so
it was mid-june 1999 the last day of the
paris air show
when american plane maker boeing
announced a deal to purchase 17
airbus a340 300s from singapore airlines
this bold move was made in order to sway
singapore airlines to buy 10 of boeing's
new triple 7
200 ers according to the new york times
boeing had
actually agreed to buy the planes years
prior in 1995.
this was when singapore airlines had
placed its order for 34 of the triple
sevens
with options for 43 more airbus wasn't
happy with the deal
a reaction that seemed quite
understandable this is an
act of desperation we're preparing our
counter-attack at present time
i don't want to predict what our
response will be john leahy
senior vice president and commercial
director of airbus in 1999
via new york times leahey said that
airlines had asked airbus to do the same
thing as boeing
buying up the triple sevens so that new
a340s could be purchased
he had downplayed this practice saying
we cannot make a good business case for
doing that and we always assumed our
competitor couldn't make a good business
case either
news sources are scarce when covering
just exactly how airbus responded and
retaliated with boeing's move
we were able to find a single post on a
message thread
commenting on the aftermath of the
boeing deal the user stated that airbus
considered the boeing singapore airlines
deal a violation of fair trade practices
they also noted that retaliation came
the form of an advertising campaign
that claimed that four engines were
safer than two
while it's difficult to say if the ad
campaign was a direct result to the 1999
deal
or simply to curb the rise in popularity
of the boeing triple 7
versus the airbus a340 we can say with
certainty that there was
indeed a campaign in 2002
boeing wrote an article that references
airbus's campaign to convince airlines
that four engines were better than two
at the 2002 farnborough air show
airbus stirred the debate with a
colossal billboard at the edge of a
runway
that read a340 for engines
for long haul similar full-page ads
appeared in airshow magazines and daily
london newspapers
apparently airbus officials argued that
the ads were not about safety
however industry experts disagreed
saying that they suggested twin jets
like the boeing 767 and triple seven
were not as safe or reliable whatever
the actual intent was
the campaign backfired slightly as it
angered airplane engine manufacturers
who voiced their disapproval
of the ads david colon president and
chief executive of ge
aircraft engine said the following to
the wall street journal
we are vehemently opposed to what airbus
is doing here
an ad like that is the last thing this
industry needs right now
as a side note if that name sounds
familiar it's because cologne
is now boeing's ceo while boeing's sales
tactic with singapore airlines was
somewhat unconventional
the move from quad jets like the a340 to
twin jets like the triple seven
is something that has taken place all
over the world
in retrospect it looks like it was a
battle that airbus was destined to lose
at least the decline of airbus's a340
has since given way to the success of
the a350
and a330 neo lines of aircraft
did you know about this singapore
airlines deal prior to watching this
video
let us know in the comments
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