Boeing this month announced a third delay to its 787 Dreamliner programme.

Valeurs Actuelles analyses how a “commercial success” turned into an “industrial fiasco”. The weekly, however, points out that delays to such ambitious projects are not surprising. Airbus also faced wiring and overweight issues on its A380. The Dreamliner is an innovative product, with more than 50 % of its frame made of composites. Its conception – assisted with advanced software- and its production –an extensive supply chain- were also seen as novelties. As a result, the Dreamliner won unprecedented success: nearly 900 orders even before the plane made its first flight. The programme also benefited from Airbus’s setbacks with its A380 and A350 XWB programmes, adds the magazine.

Zodiac confirmed it would announce an acquisition shortly.

The French aerospace supplier unveiled its first-half results (to Feb. 29) yesterday. Due to the weak dollar, the group reported a 20 % drop in operating result, at € 110M. The acquisition, therefore, should target a company located “in the dollar zone”, a Zodiac spokesman said. In parallel, the group will develop production capacities in low-cost countries, such as Mexico, Brazil, Tunisia and South Africa. Reuters (17/04), La Tribune, Les Echos

Civil and military aviation boosts the titanium market.

Titanium alloys are essential components in the fuselage, landing gear and hydraulics of modern aircraft. The Airbus A380 for instance, uses 77 tons of the metal in its construction. As Airbus and Boeing’s backlogs for large aircraft have been swelling for the past six years and China is significantly expanding its commercial aviation fleet, titanium prices are rising. In order to secure supplies and mitigate the effects of global production shortfalls, both plane makers have entered into long-term agreements with titanium suppliers. Airbus recently signed a GB 550M contract with RTI International Metals. Investors Chronicle

EADS will hold its general meeting on May 26.

Le Revenu says the group’s managers will discuss the AMF probe, the possible revival of a plan to take over Thales, and the 2008 results outlook. Le Revenu

German prosecutors said last week that they had charged a 44-year-old native of Bavaria

with passing sensitive technology information to Russia. A member of the Austrian Parliament revealed the accused was Werner Greipl, a former employee of Eurocopter. The manufacturer dismissed the suggestion that it was involved in a spy case. Spokeswoman Christina Gotzhein said from Ottobrunn that Mr Greipl had worked as an engineer for the group before 2000 and that “Eurocopter has not been involved in this case so far”. Moscow Times (17/04)

Thanks to sustained air traffic growth, European airlines have been able to offset the impact of rising oil prices.

Hence, Air France-KLM and its main competitors are expected to post record results for fiscal 2007/08, though the kerosene bill accounts for 25 to 30 % of their total costs after jumping from $ 61Bn in 2004 to $ 135Bn in 2007. To maintain their margins, airlines have several solutions: imposing surcharges on ticket fares; negotiating and buying oil in advance; or modernising their aircraft fleets. For instance, a Boeing 777 burns 26 % less fuel than a 747-300 and an Airbus A320 built in the 1980s consumes 12 % more than a latest-generation one. Les Echos

AirAsiaX will decide in July whether it orders 25 Airbus A350s or 25 Boeing 787-9s at the Farnborough Air Show, UK.

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of the airline, declared yesterday: “We are at the final stages of deciding between the two types of planes”. He added that the delivery schedules would be a key factor in the choice, and that AirAsiaX would also seriously consider the A350 if Airbus gave a choice of engines. “We have a long relationship with Airbus but the A350 comes only with Rolls-Royce engines. I want a choice of engines –to see who will give me the best price and which one better fits our needs”, said Mr Azran. Declining to give further details, he also said the airline was looking into possible impact from the latest delay announced by Boeing, if it was to select the 787. Sources close to the order plans told Dow Jones Newswires that AirAsiaX expects deliveries “around 2014 and 2015”. Dow Jones Newswires (16/04), The Wall Street Journal Europe

The merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines could benefit to Boeing,

assesses Seattle Post Intelligencer. The newspaper says this merger actually raises several questions about future fleet strategy, as Northwest is the largest operator of Airbus planes in the US, while Delta is one of Boeing’s most loyal customers. Richard Aboulafia, aviation expert at Teal Group, deems that “Airbus probably has more to lose in all of this than Boeing”. Though Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta, said “you are basically going to have a very balanced fleet between Boeing and Airbus”, his company still has 52 unfilled orders with Boeing and Northwest has 18 of the 787s on order, with options for 50 more, which are likely to be exercised. Seattle Post Intelligencer (16/04)

TTU analyses how EADS and Northrop Grumman won the US tanker competition

thanks to a “clever” social strategy. The two partners, indeed, did not forget the social aspect of the contest and set up a “far more interesting” project than Boeing in that matter. They sought to involve some of the US states that had been deeply affected by recent hurricanes: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana, etc. This approach would have seduced a great share of politicians, including California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. TTU (16/04)

The project to implement a golden share at EADS could be delayed,

reports La Tribune. According to concomitant sources, the golden share project will not be ready by the next EADS shareholders’ meeting, on May 26, in Amsterdam. The plan, however, has not been dropped. The sources only told La Tribune that “there was no agreement for the moment”. It seems that shareholders all approve the idea of a golden share, so problems would be due to technical and European law matters. Besides, EADS will have to convince the European Commission, which is hostile to this kind of protection schemes in principle. La Tribune

Michel Prada, president of the AMF, denies faulty investigation

into the alleged insider trading case at EADS. He assesses the EADS probe is one of the “most sensitive” affairs the regulator has had to deal with. He also regrets the leaks to the press, which have “provoked understandable protests from the targeted individuals” at EADS and Airbus, but asserts that “the procedure followed by the AMF has been irreproachable and in compliance with the law”. Mr Prada says he has “not been subjected to any pressure” in this affair. Commenting on the letter Louis Gallois, the CEO of EADS, sent to the AMF mid-March, claiming the watchdog was conducting the investigation “the wrong way”, Mr Prada answers he “does not understand what Mr Gallois wants to say”. AFP (16/04), Reuters (16/04), Bloomberg (16/04), Le Monde, Les Echos, Challenges

Safran has started streamlining its industrial organisation in France.

The French company last week inaugurated three new facilities in China. In parallel, it focuses on improving its industrial base in France. It will regroup its precision mechanics activities – currently scattered among three sites- within new premises to be built shortly in Mantes-La-Jolie, near Paris. The factory is set to open its doors in 2010. L’Usine Nouvelle

Airbus and all major aeronautics players attended the JEC Composites Show in Paris,

from April 1 to 3. The technical platform of France’s Brest-based IUT (technical undergraduate school) was awarded a special prize for a prototype plane called Nijal. This project uses a groundbreaking technology that could revolutionise the manufacturing of large composite parts for aircraft: resin infusion. The IUT’s platform works in partnership with several industrials, notably Airbus, which entrusts the development of more and more complex component prototypes to the platform’s engineering teams. “The works done at the IUT in a record time have been remarkable. They have allowed accelerating the industrialisation of this process, which has a great future for the production of large composite pieces”, says Philippe Blot, head of R&D Composites at Airbus Nantes. Mr Blot also underlines that resin infusion could eventually lead to a 20 to 30 % decrease in part prices. Les Echos

James F. Mulato has been promoted to president of EADS North America’s

Test and Services division. He previously served as executive vice-president of the division. Dow Jones Newswires (16/04)