A380: the countdown is on - Orient Aviation

EXECUTIVE PROFILE
literally shut out of <strong>the</strong> action, with h<strong>is</strong> team
refused access to dec<strong>is</strong>ion-makers who
had trouble taking <strong>the</strong> fledgling Airbus
company seriously.
“In one case, <strong>the</strong>y had sent <strong>the</strong> trainee,
who knew nothing about [<strong>the</strong> airline] at
all. Our guy was giving a presentation
to a trainee. And that was it. They sent
back <strong>the</strong>se glowing reports, saying <strong>the</strong>
presentation was well received. I can
remember saying when I got a team built
up over <strong>the</strong>re, if anybody ever tells me <strong>the</strong>
presentation was well received again, he’s
out of a job.”
How did he change that and built
acceptance for Airbus in Boeing’s back
yard? “Actually, it was getting in <strong>the</strong>re and
seeing <strong>the</strong> people, one on one. You had to
have a little bit of an understanding of <strong>the</strong>
market. What we tried to do <strong>the</strong>n was to get
some American salesmen,” said Leahy.
“I was a pilot and <strong>the</strong>y thought that
was big. But we were looking for people
with MBAs, preferably with a finance
background and some people who knew
<strong>the</strong> transport industry. One of <strong>the</strong> things we
started to do was to real<strong>is</strong>e when we were
being bullshitted by an airline and when
<strong>the</strong>y really wanted to see us.
“The key was to be able to show <strong>the</strong>
product. If you could understand US Air, if
When John Leahy’s men go on <strong>the</strong>ir calls, <strong>the</strong>y
don’t only have <strong>the</strong> details of a passenger giant
in <strong>the</strong>ir briefcases; <strong>the</strong>re are <strong>the</strong> specifications
for a jumbo freighter in <strong>the</strong>re as well, writes
Charles Anderson.
The <strong>A380</strong>F <strong>is</strong> due in service some two years after <strong>the</strong> passenger
variant. Its design has been frozen, main component assembly starts
at <strong>the</strong> end of 2005 with final assembly following in <strong>the</strong> third quarter
of 2006. As a derivative, its flight test phase <strong>is</strong> comparatively short.
So it should be ready for take-off in mid 2007, with entry into
service a year later.
Airbus <strong>is</strong> claiming that at 150 tonnes it offers 29% more payload
and 50% more volume than its Boeing 747 equivalent, with direct
operating costs totalling 20% less per tonne. Seventy-one large
cargo pallets or containers will fit into its three decks.
Richard Carcaillet, director of product marketing for <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong>
programme, sees <strong>the</strong> freighter’s high volume capacity as important
to <strong>the</strong> Asia-Pacific, especially with <strong>the</strong> growth of manufacturing
and assembly in China.
“More and more air cargo <strong>is</strong> not that urgent. Ra<strong>the</strong>r it <strong>is</strong> made up
of high value goods,” he said. Then <strong>the</strong>re are electronic components,
d<strong>is</strong>k drives and consumer goods which need careful handling.
John Leahy in front of <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> mock-up in Toulouse
you could understand American and Northwest,
figure out who <strong>the</strong> key players were and
get <strong>the</strong>m to spend a little bit of time l<strong>is</strong>tening
to you, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> product sold itself.”
In 1994, having seen annual sales to
North American carriers r<strong>is</strong>e from 40 to
329, he moved to Toulouse to h<strong>is</strong> present
position and set h<strong>is</strong> team <strong>the</strong> ambitious
commercial goal of 50% of <strong>the</strong> global
market, a figure that Airbus says it has now
achieved in orders and deliveries.
14 ORIENT AVIATION / <strong>A380</strong> Quarterly Update DECEMBER 2004-FEBRUARY 2005
He recalls spelling th<strong>is</strong> out for <strong>the</strong> board
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>n Airbus Industrie consortium.
“It was our Brit<strong>is</strong>h partner at <strong>the</strong> time who
looked at me and said, ‘John, that’s very
interesting. It’s just us, <strong>the</strong> board, here.
What’s <strong>the</strong> real goal?’
“I looked at him and said ‘50% of <strong>the</strong>
market’. He looked at me and like, thought,
‘hmm, <strong>is</strong> he having us on or does he really
believe it?’ But we got <strong>the</strong>re.”
<strong>A380</strong>F ready for take-off in 2007
China makes many of <strong>the</strong>se.
“Having said that, <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong> freighter <strong>is</strong> a heavy freight machine
as well. But <strong>the</strong> volume gain <strong>is</strong> particularly significant for <strong>the</strong> major
trade routes to and from Asia. The economics are unprecedented.”
Its range – 5,600 nautical miles – also means fuel stops in out-of<strong>the</strong>-way
spots where freighters traditionally land, such as Fairbanks
in Alaska and Tashkent in Uzbek<strong>is</strong>tan, can be cut out. “They are
interesting places,” said Carcaillet. “But in <strong>the</strong> end you have to use
more time flying your cargo. You also have higher costs and, at fleet
level, you need more aircraft for a given service unit.”
Seventeen freighters are currently on order, with five going to lessor
ILFC, two to Emirates Airline and 10 to Federal Express (FedEx).
That last sale will have given A3XX veteran Philippe Jarry
much pleasure. As <strong>the</strong> man tasked with assessing <strong>the</strong> market for
what was to become <strong>the</strong> <strong>A380</strong>, he was sent to Memph<strong>is</strong>, Tennessee,
to talk to FedEx founder Fred Smith.
Jarry was reluctant. At that stage he could only v<strong>is</strong>ual<strong>is</strong>e <strong>the</strong>
<strong>A380</strong> as a passenger aircraft. Smith saw it differently. He showed
<strong>the</strong> Frenchman a Dassault Falcon sitting outside h<strong>is</strong> office.
“We started with th<strong>is</strong>. It has one deck,” he told Jarry. “Today
we operate MD-11s, 80-tonne payload, two decks. You tell me 150
tonnes, three decks? We will learn how to load it.”