Emirates km and quantis have made huge announcements that could have significant implications on the long running competition between Airbus and Boeing these Airlines known for their strong ties to Boeing aircraft recently announced plans to purchase from Boeing's main rival Airbus these announcements have sent shock waves throughout the industry as many see it as airbus's knockout blow to the already struggling Boeing however the decision by these Airlines to shift from Boeing to Airbus has not been an easy one as there are a lot of Dynamics involved today we dive deeper into these huge announcements and the
reasons behind the decision by these Airlines to overlook Boeing in favor of Airbus stay tuned let us start with the Dutch flag carrier KLM which has enjoyed a strong relationship with Boeing since March 1967 when it made its first Boeing order a 747 jumbo jet since then the airlines fleet has been predominantly boing as of December the 2024 96 aircraft out of the airlines 115 aircraft are Boeing made this accounting for an impressive 84% Boeing made aircraft in its Fleet however km has been facing a problem with the aircraft in its Fleet you see some
of these airliners are aging and required to be replaced in fact it's Boeing 427 37 aircraft currently average about 18 years making this Fleet to be one of the oldest globally therefore km has been aware of the need to modernize its Fleet in an effort to enhance efficiency and cut costs associated with the need for frequent repairs of the Aging Jets so when The Airliner made the decision to modernize its Fleet many thought it was automatic that it would choose to purchase new Jets from Boeing however much to the industry's surprise km announced that it
had struck a deal with Airbus for the purchase of 134 Airbus Jets spread across the A320 family and the a350 family it was not immediately clear why the airline had made this decision barely 5 years after its chief executive officer Ben Smith was quoted saying in the near future KLM will only use the tri 7 and the 787 as their Long Haul Fleet as it turns out there are more factors at play in this decision however we shall come back to those factors much later let us now shift to another airline that has equally sent
shock waves in the industry after announcing its decision to ditch Boeing in in favor of its European rival in the land down under quantis has made a similar move signaling a shift from its long running relationship with Boeing at the moment the airlines Fleet of 125 aircraft includes 89 Boeing made aircraft but all that is set to change in a few years in 2021 quantis announced that it has chosen Airbus as its preferred supplier to replace its domestic Fleet already it has committed to purchasing 20 Airbus a three 321 XLR and another 20a 2 2300
airliners from the European aircraft manufacturer in addition to that it announced that it had taken the purchase option for 94 more narrowbody airliners subject to approval by the board these airliners would replace the Boeing 737 and 717 aircraft that the airline had relied upon for years to meet the demand for domestic travel in Australia and it did not stop at that in 2022 the air line announced that it had placed an order for 12 Airbus 351,000 widebody airliners for its project Sunrise a program of non-stop flights from Sydney Melbourne and Brisbane to far away cities
such as New York Cape Town Frankfurt and London this decision followed intensive consultations after both Boeing and Airbus had pitched their jets with the former fronting the tri 7x as the best alternative for quantis thus the decision by quantis to overlook the trip 7x caught the attention of the commercial aviation industry triggering many questions on why it would make that call surprisingly the case is the same for Emirates an airline known for its Reliance on the Boeing 7 aircraft for its Long Haul operations however its recent announcement is all but a signal that it could
also be angling for a shift away from an increased Reliance on the American aircraft manufacturer in fact the gulf-based carrier had initially ordered 70 Airbus a 350 aircraft back in 2007 but later cancelled this order and instead added more Boeing 7 aircraft in his Fleet in what seemed to be a show of trust and confidence to Boeing however things took a turn in November 2019 at the Dubai air show where the airline placed a firm order for 50 airb a 35900 aircraft in a deal worth about $16 billion later during the 2023 Dubai air show
Emirates announced another firm order for 15a 35900 aircraft further solidifying its intention to work with Airbus as it seeks to modernize its Long Haul Fleet and make it more cost and fuel efficient Emirates has also made it clear that it is more than willing to purchase the larger Airbus a 351,000 when Rolls-Royce manages to resolve a few engine issues that it has raised now why would these Airlines known to be Ardent Boeing customers make such critical decisions to choose Airbus to replace their Boeing jets these Airlines have considered multiple factors that have informed their decision
to shift to Airbus one of the weightiest factors that have made it necessary to make the tough call is the efficiency associated with the European aircraft let us start with the narrowbody airliners that KLM has ordered in this Niche the A320 family holds a slight Edge over its direct Boeing competitor the 737 Max series boasting of a 15% fuel efficiency rating compared to the 14% rating that characterizes the max series therefore purchasing the A320 family aircraft guarantees km reduced operating costs and more importantly positions it more conveniently to contribute toward reduced carbon emissions thus aligning
with the industry's sustainability Outlook in addition to that km could have chosen the A320 family aircraft due to its Superior capacity and range for instance the a321 Neo aircraft can accommodate up to 244 passengers while its closest rival the Boeing 737 Max 10 can only accommodate a maximum of 204 passengers for an airline like km the additional seats would mean enhanced capacity to FY more passengers domestically and within the region and with that more revenues the case is the same for the range where the Airbus aircraft trumps the 737 with a range of 4,620 Mi
compared to Boeing's 4,392 MI the additional range gives km more flexibility in Flight planning moreover the A320 family aircraft is known for its customer friendly pricing an aspect that could also have played a significant role in km's final decision in the same light the a321 XLR that quantis has chosen as a replacement for its aging domestic Fleet that is largely composed of Boeing has actually been dubbed the Boeing killer these aircraft actually dominate Boeing in all areas that you can think of from r range to capacity and from efficiency to technological advancements for instance in
terms of range the a321 XLR can fly up to 8,700 km about 3,000 km more than its closest rival the 737 Max 10 in addition to that it is 30% more fuel efficient than the previous generation aircraft completely overshadowing Boeing's 20% fuel efficiency the a321 XLR also promises more car space which qutis can capitalize on in transporting more cargo throughout the country and earning a bit more Revenue compared to what it could earn if it decided to go with the newer 737 Max aircraft also it is important to note that the a 22300 aircraft that
quantis has ordered is the best suited alternative to the Boeing 717 at the moment mainly due to the fact that the Boeing 737 Max 7 which could be the best alternative is yet to be certified further giving Airbus the upper hand in this case moving on to the widebody airline Niche the decision by the three Airlines to choose the a350 is based on a number of factors that clearly favor the European aircraft over its American Alternatives first the a350 has a better range compared to the Boeing aircraft for instance in the case of KLM the
airline was faced with a decision between the a350 and the Boeing 787 now the a350 has an impressive range of between 9,300 Mi and 10,300 Mi compared to the 787 range of between 8,46 Mi and 7,280 Mi the additional miles means that km will enjoy more agility when it comes to flight planning something that might not be the case with the 787 the a350 also promises more seating capacity and better fuel efficiency than the 787 there are other factors that cut across the niche and which could also have contributed to the decision by Emirates km
and quantis to choose Airbus over Boeing one of the most critical factors that we need to look at is actually Boeing you see for the last few years Boeing has been on an uncontrolled nose dive occasioned by frequent quality control issues that have seen its reputation take a serious hit it started in 2019 when it was discovered that the company had fitted an erroneous software on the new Boeing 737 Max 8 and failed to inform Airlines of its presence all these in an effort to avoid triggering a need for extensive pilot training and to attract
more Airlines into purchase ing the new airliner Boeing would later come out clean about this software a bit too late following two tragic crashes that claim the lives of more than 300 souls in addition to that a series of quality control issues have resulted in the delayed certification of a number of its new aircraft including the Boeing 737 Max 7 And1 and the Boeing 7x which is actually intended to compete with the Airbus a 351,000 as if that's not enough there have been a number of whistleblowers that have criticized Boeing's way of doing things in
its Triple 7 and 787 production facilities further raising questions on the safety of these airliners in general Boeing is currently in shambles and this has pushed many airlines away as they would rather get aircraft from a reliable manufacturer than risk buying Jets from a manufacturer that has had a rocky past few years another pertinent factor that we must consider is the fact that Airbus has proven to be quite faster in its deliveries compared to Boeing for instance in the first half of 2024 data shows that the European aircraft manufacturer delivered a total of 323 aircraft
to 65 customers a stark difference from Boeing's 175 aircraft within the same period therefore for an airline that wants to have its Jets as soon as possible without having to deal with the increased uncertainty of delayed deliveries Airbus is automatically the only option it is possible that these Airlines could also have been influenced by this fact especially as they prepare for the soaring demand in passenger air travel both domestically and internationally this brings us to the next question what next for Boeing well Boeing must first address the quality control issues that have dented its reputation
significantly only then will it convince airlines that they can rely on its jet to fly passengers to their destination safely in addition to that it must burn the Midnight Oil to ensure that it gets the 737 Max 7 and 10 as well as the triple 7x certified and delivered to already frustrated Airlines this way it will have reduce the risk of more Airlines ditching its planes in favor of Airbus more importantly Boeing must ensure that it matches or even surpasses airbus's Innovation to position its Jets at par with Airbus only then will it be guaranteed
of competing squarely with its European rival remember to subscribe to the channel for more videos like this and we will see you on the next one
