BOEING TOPS AIRBUS IN PARIS
US planemaker secures US$66b in orders, interests against French rival’s US$24b
BOEING dominated the deal flow at the Paris Air Show, overwhelming rival Airbus on the back of Asian demand for the new Max 10, the biggest version of its 737 workhorse.
The American planemaker secured orders and expressions of interest for more than 500 jets worth as much as US$66 billion (RM283 billion) through Tuesday, compared with Airbus’s tally of 227 airliners for about US$24 billion.
Airbus could still fire back, as the Toulouse, France-based manufacturer ’s veteran sales chief John Leahy will be loath to be outdone in what’s set to be his last appearance at the aviation industry’s biggest gathering.
Boeing’s 737 Max 10, rolled out to combat Airbus’s hot-selling A321neo, has secured US$30 billion in commitments alone at the show. While many deals were tentative or involve conversions of existing contracts, the overall haul looks set to surpass the total US$50 billion signed at last year’s show in Farnborough, England, which was the lowest figure since 2010.
Asian purchasers were particularly active as they gird for an accelerating travel boom, a contrast to the relatively restrained buying from crowded markets in the United States and Europe.
“We have never seen a demographic shift like that ever in the world, in terms of the scale but also the purchasing power,” said Domhnal Slattery, chief executive officer of Avolon, after the world’s third-largest lessor ordered US$8.4 billion of Boeing planes.
Boeing said demand for singleaisle planes as well as wide-bodies remained buoyant, despite concerns about economic and political turbulence in the Middle East and low fuel prices serving as disincentive to invest in more efficient aircraft.
“We are continuing to see strong energy in the marketplace,” said Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg, predicting that new orders should roughly match deliveries this year.
With numerous conversions among the Boeing orders, “that wouldn’t qualify as a launch as far as we’re concerned at Airbus,” said sales head Leahy. Bloomberg