An AirAsia order for 100 A321neo jets, valued at over $12 billion, was Airbus’ largest for the show. At the same time, Russian cargo giant Volga-Dnepr Group finalized the acquisition of 20 Boeing 747-8 freighters. In comparison, passenger traffic in China rose about 10 percent and less than 5 percent in the U.S., IATA said in a December presentation.
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Malaysian low-priced carrier AirAsia Berhad announced a $12.5-billion firm order to buy 100 A321neo aircraft from Airbus at the Farnborough air show on Tuesday.
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which has United Kingdom bases in Filton and Deeside, has secured orders from four airlines.
Meanwhile, Airbus said Tuesday that it will reduce 2018 production of the A380 to just 12 planes a year, about half of 2016 production.
This announcement sees the total number of A320 Family ordered by AirAsia rise to 575, reaffirming the carrier’s position as the largest airline customer for the Airbus single aisle product line.
– Vietnam’s Jetstar Pacific Airlines signs memorandum of understanding for 10 A320ceo aircraft, worth USD$980 million at list prices.
AirAsia is already the top Airbus customer by aircraft numbers. China’s highly growing fleet market has opened up tremendous growth opportunities for Boeing and its arch rival Airbus Group.
“The new aircraft will help us in unlocking new domestic routes while providing a springboard for continued global network expansion in the years to come.” said Go Air CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer.
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”.
Sales chief John Leahy said he was not anxious about aviation markets overheating and rejected questions raised by rival Boeing over the quality of its order backlog.
Mr. Conner highlighted that the new aircrafts will assist the Chinese plane maker’s aim to extend its fleet and flight network both throughout the mainland territory and outside the region.
“We believe there is no greater endorsement of the technology choices we have made for the LEAP engine than the continued confidence of an airline such as AirAsia”, said Jean-Paul Ebanga, President and CEO of CFM International.
The airline is based at Changshui International Airport in Yunnan Province, and its majority shareholder is Shenzhen Airlines.
British Prime Minister David Cameron will also attend the show on Monday, when he is expected to finalise multi-billion dollar deals with Boeing to buy nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes and to upgrade 50 Apache helicopters.
– Air Europa orders 20 737 MAX 8s, worth USD$2.2 billion at list prices. Deal was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing’s website. Deal includes an option for one additional 787-9.
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Also, TUI group committed to Boeing’s GoldCare maintenance coverage for the 737 and 737-MAX fleet.
