Paris Air Show: Day 5

The Paris Air Show drew to a close today (at least in terms of plane orders) with a few more for Airbus: 20 A350s for Singapore Airlines and 20 A320 family planes for Riyadh-based National Air Services. In a press release, Airbus mentioned its gains with much fanfare. “This Airshow has confirmed that Airbus is very much back on the market, continuing to satisfy customers with the right products. Especially the A380 and A350 XWB have been the highlight of the show, receiving tremendous customer endorsement. They will lead the way in the future in terms of aircraft technology, passenger comfort and environment friendliness. Also, the A330/A340 Family continues to be very much in demand, as is our single-aisle Family,” said Airbus President and CEO Louis Gallois. ”This should give us further incentive to pursue our efforts to turn the company around in order to be able to deliver on our promises”.

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Paris Air Show: Day 4

Surprise, surprise - Airbus has announced several orders so far today while Boeing has announced none. But keep in mind - Boeing has been steadily receiving orders throughout the year, while Airbus tends to save them up for the air show. And even though Airbus handily outsold Boeing at last year's show, Boeing ended up getting more orders for the year.

That said, here are today's orders:

Columbian flag carrier Avianca has ordered 19 more Airbus planes, 14 of which are in the A320 family, and five A330-200s. (It had options on the A330s, but this converts them to firm orders).

Hong Kong Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 51 Airbus planes, an order made up of 30 A320 family planes, 20 A330s and an Airbus Corporate Jet (basically, a plush version of the A319). BAA Jet Management also bought an Airbus Corporate Jet, to be based in Hong Kong.

Indonesian carrier Mandala Airlines purchased 25 A320s, which will be used to replace the aging Boeing 737-200s that it currently operates. Mandala will be the first Indonesian airline to operate the A320.

Singapore budget airline Tiger Airways signed a MoU for 30 more A320s and 20 options. This will certainly expand the airline's fleet by quite a bit, as it currently operates only nine A320s.

Embraer has also been receiving a few orders, too:

Brazilian carrier BRA Transportes Aéreos signed an order for 20 EMB 195 planes, with options for 20 more. The deal is valued at $730 million at list prices, and the planes will be delivered starting in 2008.

The EMB 190 got its first order from a Mexican airline when Aeroméxico announced that it would operate four of them under a contract with GECAS. (This order was previously booked.)

Italian airline Alpi Eagles confirmed five options for the EMB 195. The options were placed in March, when it ordered five planes. The value of the confirmed options is $182.5 million at list prices. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in April 2008.

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Paris Air Show, Day 3

Airbus has completed another order-filled day at the Paris Air Show, eclipsing rival Boeing yet again in terms of orders. Here's a wrap-up:

United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways purchased twelve Airbus wide-bodies, dividing the order between five A330-200s, three A330-200Fs, and four A340-600s. The order provides a bit of a boost for the A340 program, which has seen few orders recently.

As mentioned yesterday, Aeroflot bought five more A321s, as well as ten more A330-200s (which will be leased) and also placed a firm order for 22 A350s, which it had committed to back in March. Aeroflot will be relatively unique in that it will be operating both the A350 and its arch-rival, the Boeing 787.

Mumbai, India-based Kingfisher Airlines, which has been growing rapidly, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy up to 50 Airbus planes. The agreement is for 15 A350-800s, 10 A330-200s, 5 A340-500s and 20 A320 family planes.

Two carriers from Libya also placed orders with Airbus today. Afriqiyah Airways placed a firm order for five A320s and signed a MoU to acquire six A350s, with delivery starting in 2017. Libyan Airlines also signed a MoU to buy four A350s, four A330-200s and seven A320s, allowing the airline to modernize its fleet of aging planes.

Yekaterinburg, Russia-based Ural Airlines signed an MoU to purchase five A320s that will allow it to phase out the old Tupolev Tu-134s and -154s that it currently operates on short-to-medium range routes. The airline already operates two leased A320s.

Leasing company CIT Aerospace signed a firm contract for seven A350s and 25 A320 family airplanes.

Turkish cargo operator MNG Airlines placed a firm order for two A330-200Fs, proceeding with the MoU that it signed in January for the planes. MNG, which operates a fleet of A300Fs and F-27s, is seeking to fly to long-range destinations with the new planes.

A subsidiary of Aircastle Limited, a company that leases planes to passenger and cargo airlines, has signed a contract to buy fifteen A330-200Fs.

And the air freight company Flyington Freighters placed an order for six more A330-200Fs. The cargo airline was the first to purchase the A330-200F and will be the first to operate it.

Boeing, on the other hand, only really had one order to announce: Air France will buy nine 777-300ERs and KLM will get seven 737-700s. (Technically it's two orders, but Air France and KLM are two airlines, one company.) The order has a value of $2.7 billion at list prices. This is the first time that the two airlines have bought airplanes together, and it highlights their different fleet strategies: KLM is going Boeing for short-haul while Air France has Airbus airplanes for short-haul and mostly Boeings for long-haul.

Once again, Airbus has come out way on top in terms of orders placed. Boeing's order is important - Air France and KLM are important customers for both manufacturers. But Airbus certainly has stolen the show here with the orders that seem to just keep coming and coming. Even though 'saving up' orders for the air show is a tried and true Airbus practice, it is one that attracts a lot of attention.

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Intrepid Aviation and Thai order A330; Leahy: "Airbus is back"

Aircraft lessor Intrepid Aviation announced a firm order of 20 Airbus A330-200 freighter airplanes, the largest order received for the aircraft so far. Deliveries will start in 2010 and run through 2012.

Thai Airways International also announced that they would be purchasing A330s (though none of the freighter variety). It has ordered eight more A330-300s, adding to its fleet of twelve A330s that it currently uses on routes across Asia. The airline also reconfirmed its order for the A380, the first of which will be delivered to the airline in late 2010.

Airbus also held a press conference at Le Bourget earlier today, in which COO John Leahy announced that "Airbus is back". With all the orders that the airline has announced in the last few days, Leahy is probably right.

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Fly Asian Xpress orders A330

Malaysian carrier Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) has ordered fifteen A330-300s at the Paris Air Show today, up from its previous commitment of ten. The airline signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for ten A330s back in April. FAX is a privately owned airline that is subcontracted by AirAsia to fly domestic routes in Malaysia. The A330s won't go into service for FAX directly, but instead fly for Air Asia X, which FAX owns and which will operate long-haul budget flights under the brand name of AirAsia.

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ILFC orders 63 Boeings

During the second day of the Paris Air Show, the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) announced an order for 63 Boeing aircraft, worth about $8.8 billion at list prices. ILFC is ordering 50 more 787s, with deliveries starting in 2010 and ending in 2017. In addition, ILFC ordered ten 737s and announced that it was exercising options to order 787-8s and one 777-300ER.

This announcement makes ILFC the largest orderer of the 787 to date, with 74 airplanes ordered. It orders airplanes and then leases them out to airlines.

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Paris Air Show Analysis: Day 1

Day 1 of the Paris Air Show is over, and here are the results:

Boeing: 46 total orders (6 today)

• 6 x 777 Freighter (GECAS)
• 40 x 737-900ER (Lion Air - these had already been ordered but the customer was unidentified until today)
  

Airbus: 342 total orders (310 today)

• 3 x A320, 80 x A350, 3 x A380 (Qatar)
• 60 x A320, 10 x A330, 22 x A350 (US Airways - 20 of the A350s had already been noted on Airbus' order sheet)
• 8 x A380 (Emirates)
• 30 x A320 (Jazeera)
• 60 x A320 (GECAS)
• 12 x A350, 7 x A320 (ALAFCO - the A350 had already been noted on Airbus' order sheet)
• 2 x A320 (Nouvelair)
• 25 x A320 (S7)
• 2 x A380, 18 x A320 (Air France)

In other words, an excellent day for Airbus, which has seen its high-profile models, the A350 and the A380, struggle recently. Both of the models saw strong sales today. And the A320 family continues to be a serious competitor to the 737 family. Airbus' success today has garnered a lot of media attention - rightfully so.

But Randy Tinseth, VP of Marketing at Boeing, thinks that Boeing's relatively paltry order numbers aren't indicative of much. In his latest blog post, entitled 'The long run', he says, "So keep in mind it’s just one week out of 52." Translation: just because Airbus is doing so well here doesn't mean that they'll be in the lead when it comes to year-end totals. "We don’t save orders to score points in an artificial battle for the week," said Tinseth, referring to Airbus' practice of 'saving' orders for events like the Paris Air Show. "Other companies" - cough cough Airbus - "might have a different approach – and maybe that works for them," he said.

Tinseth has a point. Today's orders are good news for Airbus, but the folks in Toulouse can't let their 'newfound' success go to their head. Boeing has seen strong sales so far this year, and both companies will continue to battle it out after the air show is over. Even though they are interesting and important, there is a tendency for people to get carried away with the numbers. For Airbus: congratulations. For Boeing: it's only the first day of one week.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

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Paris Air Show: Day 1

The 47th Annual Paris Air Show opened earlier today in Le Bourget, France. The Air Show is a place where many airlines announce orders for airplanes from the major manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus, and this year, the main focus is on two airplanes in particular: the 787 and the A350. Here are the highlights of the first day's events. This post will also be updated throughout the day - check back later! (Pictures are courtesy of Boeing and Airbus.)

GECAS orders Boeing 777 freighters
GECAS (GE Commercial Finance) announced an order for six Boeing 777 Freighters, although GECAS could substitute some of them for passenger models in the future, if desired. The order is valued at $1.42 billion at list prices (keep in mind that for the majority of these large orders, there's usually a discount).

Lion Air orders Boeing 737-900ER
Indonesian carrier Lion Air announced an order for 40 more Boeing 737-900ER airplanes, an order valued at over $3 billion in list prices. Lion Air now has 100 total orders for the 737-900ER.

Akbar Al-Baker, CEO Qatar Airways, and Louis Gallois, CEO Airbus

Qatar Airways orders 80 A350s, 3 more A380s
Qatar has ordered 80 A350 'XWB' planes and an addition three A380s, meaning that they now have five A380s on order. The A350 order is broken up into 20 of the -800, 40 of the -900, and 20 of the -1000 varieties. Deliveries, according to Airbus, will begin in 2013. This order was a key one for Airbus, whose A350 has been slipping behind the Boeing 787 in terms of orders.

Chairman of Emirates Group Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Gallois

Emirates orders 8 more A380s
Dubai-based Emirates has agreed to buy eight more A380s. A launch customer for the type, Emirates has the largest number of A380s on order, with 55. “It gives us a great sense of pride that Emirates Airline are showing such faith in our A380 product and in Airbus," said Airbus chief Louis Gallois. "We thank Emirates Airlines for this."

Jazeera Airways orders 30 A320s
Kuwait-based Jazeera has ordered 30 Airbus A320 aircraft, bringing the number of A320s it has on order up to 40.

US Airways increased A350 order, announces 'fleet renewal'
US Airways has announced that it will buy 92 Airbus aircraft for its fleet renewal in the future. The order is comprised of 22 A350-800s, 10 A330-200s, and 60 A320 family airplanes (a mixture of A319s, A320s and A321s). This is a sign that US Airways is committed to operating a predominantly Airbus fleet - it already operates 205 Airbus aircraft.

Nouvelair orders 2 A320s
Tunisian charter carrier Nouvelair has ordered 2 A320s, complementing the fleet of thirteen A320 airplanes (A320s and A321s) that it already has.

GECAS orders 60 A320 family airplanes
GECAS, which earlier announced an order for the 777F, has also signed a deal with Airbus for 60 more A320 family airplanes, which include the A318, A319, A320 and A321.

ALAFCO chair Ahmed Al Zabin with Airbus COO John Leahy

ALAFCO orders A350, A320
Kuwait-based ALAFCO (Aviation Lease And Finance Co.) has signed a firm contract for 12 A350s and has also ordered seven A320s.

S7 CEO Vladislav Filev with Airbus COO Leahy

S7 orders 25 A320 family planes
Russian carrier S7 has ordered 25 A320-family airplanes, adding to its leased fleet of A319s. Deliveries start in 2009, and the order is worth $1.8 billion at list prices (even though Airbus sales chief John Leahy said the actual price was "somewhat" less than list). Interestingly, S7 also recently ordered new Boeing 737s.

Air France signs MOU for A380, A320
Airbus announced that Air France would sign a 'memorandum of understanding' to buy two A380s and 18 A320s, although it should be noted that this is not yet an official order.

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Lufthansa, JAL go for Embraer

I'm creating a new post here because the other one was getting a bit long. Not to be outdone by Boeing and Airbus, Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer has also announced new aircraft orders at the Paris Air Show:

Lufthansa has ordered 30 Embraer 190 airplanes, with the option to order other planes in the 'E-Jet' family. The order is valued at over $1 billion (at list prices, of course). The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in January 2009.

JAL has ordered 10 Embraer 170 airplanes, with options for five more. The first delivery is scheduled for 2008; notably, the planes will have a single-class interior and fly for J-AIR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JAL, which flies regional routes throughout Japan.

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