State of the Airlines

Monday, September 18, 2006

Aeroflot Delays Decision on the Next Big Thing

Aeroflot had been poised to make a $3 billion commitement on 22 long range aircraft until it announced late last Friday that this decision would be delayed "indefinitely". The Boeing 787 was seen as a front runner since its most direct competitor, The Airbus A350 is still on the drawing board without any buyers yet. Spin control has local media reporting that Aeroflot doesn't really know what they want. But it seems to me there is a fair bit of politics running amok here. Reuters is reporting that Russia is in "bilateral talks" with the U.S. as it tries to join the World Trade Organization while a Russian bank has just purchased a 5% stake in Airbus parent company EADS. According to the article the Kremlin has been seeking some influence in the business decisions at EADS. So what will win, world politics or state interests?

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