Boeing steps up pitch for Aeroflot deal

Aviation giant Boeing said Friday that it hoped to win a $3 billion contract to deliver 22 new long-haul planes to flag carrier Aeroflot, even if its rival Airbus has offered a discount.

The tender pits Boeing`s latest 787 Dreamliner jets against Airbus A350 aircraft, and media have speculated that Airbus offered Aeroflot a $100 million discount to win the contract.

Senior Airbus officials have called their bid "unique," but declined to say if they really offered a discount.

Craig Jones, a Boeing vice president in charge of sales in Russia and the CIS, said the U.S. plane maker relied primarily on the "high value" of its 787 -- 50 percent made of lighter and more resistant composite materials -- to win an edge over Airbus.

"First, when we talk about a $100 million [discount] on 20-plus airplanes, it`s not a huge percentage change in pricing," he said during a presentation.

"The second factor is, maybe [Airbus] realized the first offer was not good enough, or they just basically confirmed the value of the 787," he said with a smile.

Jones said Boeing`s calculations showed the Dreamliner`s economical consumption of fuel and other cost-effective factors meant Aeroflot would eventually be saving about $3.5 million per year on each 787.

"This $100 million discount will go away in about 15 months of operation. ... You have to add value to the price, too," he said.

"We are partners with Russia, and we have a superior product, so with that combination I think we have very good chances."

Last month, President Vladimir Putin ordered the merger of all of Russia`s airplane makers into one state-run body, called United Aviation Corporation, to consolidate the moribund sector.
U.S.-based Boeing said it would stay committed to long-term cooperation with Russia`s aviation industry, even if it lost the contract with Aeroflot to Airbus.

Some 1,200 Russian engineers have been involved in the 787 project, and large metal parts of the plane are produced in Russia and delivered to the United States, said Sergei Kravchenko, Boeing head in Russia and the CIS.

"We hope that UAC will become our reliable and long-term partner, and that this partnership will be mutually advantageous," Kravchenko said.

Boeing aircraft make up 81 percent of the foreign jet fleet of the Commonwealth of Independent States, including 76 percent of Russia`s 97 foreign-made jets.

Boeing is in talks to sell as many as 17 of its new 787 airliners to Russian carriers, not including Aeroflot, the largest, Bloomberg reported.

Boeing hopes to sell "up to" 15 of the planned model to one Russian airline and two 787s to another, Jones said, declining to name them.

Production of the 787 is scheduled to start this year, and the first flight is expected next year.

sections: Society, Economics