UK-based Virgin Atlantic Airways has finalised a $4.4bn deal with Airbus to buy 12 A350-1000 aircraft, including eight A350-1000s and four new aircraft on long-term leases.
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The Indian discount airline needs to ramp up its 43-plane fleet quickly to pose a meaningful threat to IndiGo, which controls 38.5 percent of the market and flies 108 aircraft.
To date, over 170 A320s have already been delivered to AirAsia.
Bombardier itself hopes to win fresh orders for its fuel-efficient C Series jetliner at Farnborough as it looks to challenge the dominance of Airbus and Boeing in medium-range, single-aisle aircraft.
Boeing pulled ahead of Airbus in the aircraft order stakes on Day 2 of the 2016 Farnborough Air Show Tuesday, announcing more deals in China and one with Europe’s biggest tour operator, before its European rival hit back with a blockbuster 72-jet sale to Go Airlines India Pvt.
Boeing announced a memorandum of understanding with XiamenAirlines for the purchase of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 200 aircraft, Jamie Jewell, a spokeswoman for CFM International, said in an email Monday. It will be the launch customer for Boeing’s 737 MAX Component Services program.
The leasing arm of Standard Chartered Plc also bought 10 current generation 737-800s valued at $960 million it said were destined for “northeast Asia”.
Kunming Airlines, which began operations in 2009, is based at Changshui International Airport in the capital city of Yunnan province and serves 40 cities across China.
Air Lease Corp doubled an order to six 737 MAX 8s worth US$660 million.
Cromer added that Bombardier’s long-delayed C Series jet – whose first customer Swiss flies commercially for the first time on Friday, July 15, between Zurich and Paris – is gaining “momentum” after winning recent key orders from Air Canada and Delta Airlines.
Airbus kicked off Tuesday’s Farnborough air show order activity with a deal with Germania.
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Boeing started the second day of the show with an order for 10 737 Max single-aisle planes and one 787-9 Dreamliner from TUI AG of Germany at a list-price value of $1.4 billion. It also said it has the largest backlog of any Boeing customer, with 180 planes. “The addition of 787-9s to its fleet will provide TUI Group with greater flexibility across its route network, while the 737 MAX will ensure it remains at the forefront of the European leisure market”. These airlines are TUIfly, Thomson, TUIfly Nordic, Jetairfly, Corsair and TUIfly Netherlands, serving more than 180 destinations around the world.
