Will It Supplant The 737?

Is the Boeing 737's heyday finally coming to an end? It is if the folks who run Airbus have anything to do with it.

The Associated Press reports last year, Airbus captured 62-percent of the world market for single-aisle aircraft. There were 918 orders for the A320, versus 569 orders for 737s -- a record for the type, but the 349-airplane difference has likely kept Boeing from robust celebration.

Already this year, the numbers are again in Airbus's favor. At Asian Aerospace 2006, which wrapped up on Sunday in Singapore, the A320 family again outdistanced the Boeing 737 in wrapping up sales to several low-cost carriers based in Asia and on the subcontinent.

As Aero-News reported last week, Airbus closed A320 deals last week with Indonesia's Adam Air, India's Go Air, and the state-owned Indian Airlines. The total for Airbus: more than 80 aircraft, versus a mere 10 737s sold to India's SpiceAir.

Does that mean the 737's best years behind it? Not necessarily... but one analyst says the airframe's age may be working against it on the global market.

"With the 737, even though they've upgraded the length, the avionics, and the wings, the cross-section of the plane remains the same as it was forty years ago," said Andrew Miller, chief executive of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Others speculate the issue may not be one of airframe age at all... but rather, who is offering the best deal.

"What Airbus has done very successfully is to go beyond a certain pricing threshold, which makes their products more attractive to potential customers, especially low-cost carriers," said Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Standard & Poor's in Singapore, suggesting Airbus may simply be cutting prices to clinch as many orders as it can.

In any case, Airbus would like its narrow-body success to rub off on its widebody line. Boeing's 777 continues to outsell the A340 by a wide margin -- and those aircraft carry higher profit margins for their manufacturers.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.airbus.com