As the trade days at the 2013 Paris airshow conclude, Airbus has announced US$68.7 billion worth of business for a total of 466 aircraft, in what the manufacturer says shows the resilience of the commercial aviation industry. The deals comprise memoranda of understanding for 225 aircraft worth US$29.4 billion and firm purchase orders for 241 aircraft worth US$39.3 billion.
The A320 family continues its success in the single-aisle market with 371 orders and commitments from six customers announced at the show. Of these, 88 were for the A320 current model aircraft. easyJet announced orders for 100 A320neos plus 35 A320ceos while Lufthansa firmed-up 100 more aircraft. Additional A320 orders and commitments came from Hong Kong Aviation Capital for 60; ILFC for 50; Spirit for 20; and Tunisia’s Syphax Airlines for three – significantly the first A320neo commitment from Africa.
The A350 gained 69 more orders & commitments from four customers. Air France-KLM placed a firm order for 25 A350-900s. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines, already a large customer for the type, returned to order 30 more A350-900s; United Airlines also placed an additional A350 order for 10 A350-1000s — not only bringing its total A350 orders to 35, but also upgrading its previous order for 25 A350-900s to the larger A350-1000 model to replace its Boeing 777s. In addition, Sri Lankan signed a commitment for four A350-900s to complement an order for six A330-300s at the show.
The flagship A380 received a commitment for 20 aircraft from the world’s third largest wide-body lessor, Doric Lease Corp. The contract with Doric is significant as it opens up a new, additional route to market for the A380, which is now available to airlines that wish to acquire the aircraft under the flexibility of an operating lease agreement.
Airbus’s chief operating officer customers, John Leahy, said: “The dramatic rainfall and thunder storms at Le Bourget this year didn’t dampen our order intake.” He added: “Our A350 has been out-selling the 787 by better than 2- to-1 over the last five years. In addition our A320neo family retains a 60 per cent market share.”
