Definition of "launch customer"
JF Mezei
customer of the 787.
NW announced its order on May 5th 2005. First delivery in 2008. (now
expected in 2009)
Air Canada announced its order on April 25 2005. First delivery in 2010.
Which of the two should be considered "the" launch customer for the 787
in north america ?
Looking at the A380, Emirates was the first to order, but eventually,
Singapore managed to negotiate its way into getting first deliveries and
now being called "launch customer".
Does "launch customer" have a definition, or is it such a loosely used
expression as to have no meaning ?
Also, are there differences between airlines that order during the
"authorize to sell" period, and those that order between the formal
launch and the first test flight, and those that order between first
test flight and first commercial delivery ? (in terms of applicability
of "launch customer" expression) ?
.
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AdenOne
who order enough planes to fulfill the minimum order requirement,
regardless of when they get their planes, e.g. Lufthansa ordering
enough 737s to allow Boeing to build it, or PanAm ordering 21 747s. In
this sense Both SQ, EK, QF etc are all "launch customers" of the A380,
while Singapore is the "launch operator" (my own term) in the sense it
will be the first to put the plane into revenue service.
ANA will be both a program launch customer and the launch operator of
the 787.
Air New Zealand, the second ever 787 customer, will only get its first
plane in 2010, the first 787-9. So in this sense ANZ is a "program
launch customer" as well as a "model launch customer" even though
first delivery is 2010, 2 years after first 787-8 delivery.
Sometimes, due to politics or other factors, the actual launch
customer is not advertised as such; the hot selling 777-300ER is a
classic example, with Air France as the actual launch customer, but
JAL was the "advertised" launch customer. Air France was first to
order and first to fly the 77W.
You find all sorts of launch customers, some more marketing spin than
others, e.g. "African launch customer" or "North American launch
customer" as well as "GE launch customer" or "RR launch customer" for
various engine\airframe combinations.
A hard and fast rule is:
1) whoever orders before official program launch ("the ones who make
the program possible")
2) whoever orders a special variant of the base model and makes that
variant possible (787-9, 787-3, 787-10, A380-900, B777-300ER)
3) whoever orders enough of a specific engine\airframe combination to
allow the engine program to go ahead can be considered that
powerplant's launch customer.
Robin Johnson
> An article I read mentioned Northwest being the north american launch
> customer of the 787.
>
> NW announced its order on May 5th 2005. First delivery in 2008. (now
> expected in 2009)
>
> Air Canada announced its order on April 25 2005. First delivery in 2010.
>
> Which of the two should be considered "the" launch customer for the 787
> in north america ?
Very hazy meaning these days. I would have thought the launch
customer/s
were those whose orders had been announced at the time the production
of
the aircraft itself was announced.
This is now a very old-fashioned idea.
I would not be surprised if BA is considered a launch customer for the
380,
(if not the 787) by the time it receives the aircraft! The US launch
customer
for the 380 has yet to make itself known, the American one, if South
America is to be included, looks like being Aerolineas Argentinas
>
> Looking at the A380, Emirates was the first to order, but eventually,
> Singapore managed to negotiate its way into getting first deliveries and
> now being called "launch customer".
>
> Does "launch customer" have a definition, or is it such a loosely used
> expression as to have no meaning ?
>
> Also, are there differences between airlines that order during the
> "authorize to sell" period, and those that order between the formal
> launch and the first test flight, and those that order between first
> test flight and first commercial delivery ? (in terms of applicability
> of "launch customer" expression) ?
> .
> --
> misc.travel.air-industry is a moderated newsgroup. Please mail messages to
> m...@airinfo.aero, and seehttp://mtai.airinfo.aerofor the FAQ and policies.