Good News Amid Trying Times For Beleaguered Manufacturer

Russia's OAO Transaero airline made a preliminary order for eight A330-200 aircraft on Friday.

Airbus has been engulfed in a miasma of misery of late amidst shakeups in company leadership and delays in its premier A380 Superjumbo program. An order for new aircraft -- even a preliminary one -- is certainly a ray of sunshine in gloom for the company.

Bloomberg reports the Russian economy has grown steadily over the past few years along with oil prices. With the relative largesse, Russians are better able -- and more likely -- to indulge in luxuries like air travel.

Transaero operates a relatively old fleet of aircraft and is looking to modernize with its purchase from Airbus.

In an e-mail to Bloomberg the carrier said, "The purchase will allow Transaero to begin the program of overhauling its fleet of long-range airplanes on average two years ahead of other Russian airlines."

In the deal, reported to be worth nearly $1.2 billion, Transaero will take delivery of the A330s between 2009 and 2012. Also in the works is a possible deal for a further 10 A320 aircraft.

As ANN reported, Russia's VneshTorgBank recently acquired a 5% stake in EADS, Airbus' parent company, and indicated they wished to acquire "at least a blocking interest" in that company. A blocking interest would make Russia, VneshTorgBank's owner, a so-called "industrial shareholder" giving them the same level of control in the corporation as its biggest shareholders.

EADS' Co-Chairmen quashed Russian hopes in a statement released shortly after VneshTorgBank's acquisition saying it wasn't in EADS' best interest to add to its ranks of industrial shareholders just now.

Last week, ANN speculated Russia's relationship with EADS and Airbus might come up at a summit meeting in Paris between Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac.

Aeroflot's recent announcement of their intention to purchase 22 Airbus aircraft combined with latest deal with Transaero
adds up to quite a lot of business between the two.

Is it possible that Putin's palavering paid off?

FMI: www.airbus.com