Ikke alltid like lett å forhandle om ordre på nye fly...
I noen sjeldne tilfeller dukker det opp beretninger om hva som foregår bak kulissene når selskaper går igang med forhandlinger med flyprodusentene, slik det skjedde etter at Airbus og Boeing hadde kjempet om en ordre fra Iberia. I dette tilfellet er er det regjeringen i Zimbabwe som har forsøkt å bestille passasjerfly fra Russland, nærmere bestemt fem Il-96-400, og som denne historien forteller er det tydeligvis ikke like enkelt....
Hele storyen er å finne her:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200612081037.html
Utdrag fra artikkelen:
I noen sjeldne tilfeller dukker det opp beretninger om hva som foregår bak kulissene når selskaper går igang med forhandlinger med flyprodusentene, slik det skjedde etter at Airbus og Boeing hadde kjempet om en ordre fra Iberia. I dette tilfellet er er det regjeringen i Zimbabwe som har forsøkt å bestille passasjerfly fra Russland, nærmere bestemt fem Il-96-400, og som denne historien forteller er det tydeligvis ikke like enkelt....
Hele storyen er å finne her:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200612081037.html
Utdrag fra artikkelen:
Zimbabwe wanted to buy at least five llyushin and Tupolev aircraft from Russian's Voronezh Aircraft Construction Company (Vaco). Zimbabwe was to get five Ilyushin 1l-96s consisting of three 400T and two 400M passenger aircraft.
The planes have been nicknamed "flying coffins" because of their technical faults and frequency of horrific crashes. Engineers at Air Zimbabwe, which is trying to buy planes to beef up its depleted fleet, have raised serious concerns over the quality of the planes although Russian diplomats in Harare have downplayed the concerns. Air Zimbabwe recently acquired three MA60s from China.
Sources said Gono had to virtually flee Russia in fear of his life after the protracted negotiations stalled and the deal turned sour.
The problem, sources said, started after the Russians demanded that Zimbabwe must pay in advance a "commission" of US$25 million which was to be shared equally among political and business "chefs" in Moscow and Harare to facilitate the deal.
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Sources said when Gono arrived in Moscow he was told a US$25 million "commission" had to be paid before the deal could be signed.
He was also told, according to sources, that half of the money -- US$12,5million -- would go to senior officials in Russia and the other to Zimbabwean big shots.
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The Russians insisted that money had to be paid and warned they were not interested in negotiating such a deal with "inexperienced" officials who did not know the unwritten rules in aviation deals.
Gono pretended to give in under pressure and said the issue would be looked into and said he still needed to consult his principals. After getting off the hook through delaying tactics, Gono, fearing for his life, scurried out of his hotel and went to another near the airport, before leaving the country in a hurry.
"Having bought some time in the deal, Gono booked out of his initial hotel and went to check into another one by the airport to ensure his safety before practically fleeing Russia," a source said.