New Aircraft?

I heard a rumour recently that there will be an announcement at an air show in July about new aircraft for VA. Apparently they may be for the new Dubai route and others, and it could be 787 Dreamliners. Apparently the '4 engines 4 long haul' is going, and perhaps this would lean towards the 787. Anyone else heard anything?

Please do a search before posting, there have been numerous topics on this lately, most notably this one. It gives many rumors about aircraft that VS might cancel and/or might order.

Fair point, and I did look but felt that as this rumour originated from inside VA and in an area of the company that would know, it was worth re-visiting.

Many of the points addressed in the thread I mentioned above originated from inside VS as well, but point taken.

Gossip & rumour from every angle, people on the inside at VS "think" they know, but i doubt it. The industry is VERY secretive, you can expect orders ft Farnborough, from VS & a LARGE order from EK!!!!

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To give you some idea of what may happen take a look at this thread on A'Net,guess we will see if anything comes out of Farnborough.

To give you some idea of what may happen take a look at this thread on A'Net,guess we will see if anything comes out of Farnborough.

The wise words of a.net[B)]

VS.

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Hey what can I say,it looked to me like the OP was lifted pretty much from A'Net.

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Ok,just to throw some petrol on the fire,the rumors are that VS will announce a big order for new aircraft at Farnborough and now Primaris has canceled their 787 order leaving 20 slot's open,could a 787 order be in the works?

I don't know, Primaris's slots were for 2010, VS may want something that will be able to be delivered around 2007/2008.

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Originally posted by VS-EWR
I don't know, Primaris's slots were for 2010, VS may want something that will be able to be delivered around 2007/2008.

Like what? Just of the top of my head I don't think there is anything Boeing can give them by then,A330 maybe?

Rumours aside I was just looking at some of the aircraft types. Correct me if I'm wrong but the A330-300 is virtually the same as the A343 but with two engines and about 25% less range. Seat cofiguration would be a no-brainer, exactly the same as the existing A343's but with v-port.

That would sure be popular here .

Phil

Originally posted by jetwet1

Originally posted by VS-EWR
I don't know, Primaris's slots were for 2010, VS may want something that will be able to be delivered around 2007/2008.

Like what? Just of the top of my head I don't think there is anything Boeing can give them by then,A330 maybe?

Boeing can probably give them 777s by then, and then there are of course A330s, which lots of people are saying are the ticket. I sort of doubt it since the recent Airbus foul-ups may be a deterrent, but still, A330s works the best.

Well, Farnborough is only two weeks away, so we may not have to wait until then. My guess, if VS are cancelling the 380 orders then they'll want new planes from 2007 to fill the gap ... they'll also have planned for the capital spend and all so may well have the finance in place ...

Id love to see a VS 748, but its a small chance seing as they will (eventually) be getting the A380.
However, the 748 would suit LGW well.

kev.

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Im thinking A330 if anything new is coming,same cockpit as the 340,lower costs,pretty much fit into the VS route system well.

Im thinking the 777 may be to much plane for VS.

I had a rather interesting realization early this morning. See what you think. Boeing currently has 20 Unidentified orders for the 777, and it was recently learned that the 777-300ER would be visiting Farnborough instead of the 777-200LR, which could mean that perhaps VS has ordered this aircraft? Then again, BA has secured delivery spots for 10 777-300ER aircraft so this could just be an official announcement of that order. But that still leaves another 10 unaccounted for. Think about it. Yes, the A330 has the same cockpit as the A340, but the 773 is the same class as the 346. It might just make a good addition to Virgin's fleet. This is probably just hopeful thinking, but you never know.

Story from the middle east is that the 20 aircraft order is for Qatar, a mix of LR/ER's. VS would be VERY lucky to secure a B777 delivery before late 2008, it is proving very popular (perhaps due to increased reliability & efficiency compared to the A346). Air France, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific plus numerous others have substantial orders in for the B777 & i can't see anybody giving up delivery slots!!!!!

I would be very shocked if VA announced an order for the 777. After all we are forgetting that VS evaluated both the 777 and the 346 and decided that the 346 suited their model best. My guess would be 330's due to the association with the 340.

More to the point as launch customer VS got a very good price for the A346. If you recall the market place was in turmoil after 9/11 & VS used this to their full advantage when doing a deal. The B777 at the time wasn't as efficient as the current GE90-115 powered ER & -110 powered LR.

Do you not think that VS might go for the 777 rather than the A330 as they could use it as a higher density aircraft for the B&S routes.

Talk from the top dogs is A330, but until something official is announced, who knows!!!

Well, IF the announcement IS going to be made at Farnborough then we dont have long to wait. My money would be on an announcement on the opening day, maybe even the 1st order annoucement of the show. Who knows?

I was thinking maybe SRB would drop some of the A346 orders for A345s......maybe going along the route of SQ?

Nick

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Originally posted by VSMAD
I was thinking maybe SRB would drop some of the A346 orders for A345s......maybe going along the route of SQ?

Nick

The 345 has proven to be a dog of a plane,in itself it is a nice aircraft,however with the amount of pax you can fit on it it just cannot make money.The 772 ER has close to the same range and can carry more pax and cargo.

Im looking for a A330 order,but who knows [?]