Boeing's Selling Airbuses Now Too

One of Boeing's top salesmen is here at le Bourget-trying to sell brand new Airbuses!

Dinesh Keskar, president of the Aircraft Trading group, plays the crucial role in many new Boeing sales of taking used airliners in part exchange, no matter who made them.

He has just moved the first three of 17 Airbus A340-300s traded in by Singapore Airlines in favor of 10 Boeing 777-200ERs, placing them on lease with Cathay Pacific. "The A340s are the biggest deal we have ever done," he told Show News.

The remaining A340s will be removed from service at SIA as the 777s are delivered and handed over to Boeing. While most will have a few thousand flight hours on them, the last two will be absolutely brand new.

But it is not just a case of in one door and out the other. Keskar often has to arrange for the aircraft to be refitted or refurbished, or changed from one airline's configuration to another. He is even considering upgrading the CFM56-5 engines on the SIA A340s before resale to make them more attractive with better fuel burn and reduced maintenance requirements.

"We will explore which upgrades are available," he says. "It is a bit like remodeling your kitchen before you sell your house, if you think it will add value beyond your investment."

Aircraft Trading has placed 15 aircraft in the last 15 months, including a Learjet in January. Current inventory includes two 747SPs (parked in the desert), two 25-year-old 747-200 passenger airliners, one JT9D-70-powered 747 freighter ("a tough one to place with those engines"), with five ex-Reno Airlines MD90s on the way. "I hope to clean out all the vintage types by September," Keskar says.

He is working toward building a higher profile for Aircraft Trading, one that could include marketing airliners for a fee for customers, and that already offers a "plane for sale" listing on his website at www.boeing.com/bat. "That has become quite popular, and is now getting 10,000 hits a month," he claims. Advertising is part of his strategy too, to make the group a first point of contact for those buying or selling airliners.

The future "could see us looking at different things," Keskar says, without being specific. "But we haven't yet bought an aircraft on spec," he added, dropping a hint of the range of activities he might consider.