After 40 years of trying, Airbus has made little impact on Japan's sizable aviation fleet. The country's carriers fly only 44 of its aircraft. But Boeing's dominance is under threat after Japan Airlines (JAL) announced an order for 31 Airbus A350s with a list price of $9.8 billion, and placed an option for a further 25 planes.
Airbus's arrival suggests that Boeing is suffering for the faults that have plagued its 787 Dreamliner in what has been that aircraft's most important market.
JAL was one of the two launch customers for the Dreamliner, but the plane arrived three years late. A global grounding for three months after battery fires in January shook the confidence even of loyal Japanese buyers, though JAL denies it is turning its back on Boeing because of the delays and technical issues.
The Dreamliner's other launch customer, All Nippon Airways (ANA), is said to be considering Airbus over Boeing for its next big order. The Chicago-based planemaker will be desperate not to lose again, which will encourage ANA to ask for sizable discounts.
JAL and ANA had been unusual among airlines in their determination to stick exclusively with Boeing, which went to great efforts to hold on to this monopoly and invited Japanese aerospace firms to make 35 percent (by value) of the Dreamliner, including the wings and some fuselage sections. The Japanese government even provided launch aid to the firms to land the work.
Boeing tried to blame the Japanese batterymaker for the fault. The industry consensus now is that there must be problems with the ambitious electrification of the Dreamliner's flight controls. Instead of using compressed air from the engines, it uses electricity to control many functions. Insiders now suggest that Boeing will bring back some hydraulics in a forthcoming revamp of its 777 long-haul plane.
Before this latest setback, Boeing was already running behind the European firm. Airbus has 1,112 orders in its backlog, nearly 90 more than Boeing. More than 80 percent are for single-aisle planes, mostly bought by low-cost carriers for short routes, but the fatter profit margins come from wide-bodied, long-haul planes.
For some years Boeing has been beating Airbus in the wide-bodied market. Airbus is catching up and so far this year is only a dozen orders behind Boeing's 181. The Airbus A350 only made its maiden flight in June, but it now has 756 orders, compared with 979 for the Dreamliner, which first flew in 2009.
