Jetmakers end Dubai rollercoaster with big orders pending
DUBAI: It started with a deal that never was and ended with the mother of all air show announcements–thisweek’sDubai Airshow saw little in the way of firm new business, but reminded observers the rivalry between two global giants is as fierce as ever.
As stragglers placed a handful of orders, delegates said the show would be remembered for the collapse of an anticipated Airbus deal to sell A380 superjumbos to Emirates and hunger for smaller jets including a record deal for 430 Airbus A320s.
A Boeing 787 deal with Emirates also shook up the battle for widebody orders.
All that barely moved the needle in this year’s order race, where Boeing leads, as most deals are not final.
But the two rivals left Dubai with over 700 provisional orders for the bread-and-butter, narrowbodymodelsonwhichtheirfutures mainly depend.
“It’s the aviation equivalent of
It’s the aviation equivalent of pile it high and sell it cheap. Rob Morris, Ascend Flightglobal global consultancy head
pile it high and sell it cheap,” said Rob Morris, global consultancy head at Ascend Flightglobal.
“This is where they generate their cash.”
Boeing notched up 33 firm orders and Airbus disclosed an order for 45 jets to China’s CDB Leasing.
If all 674 preliminary air show deals turn into solid business, Airbus’ 35 per cent share of the market it shares with Boeing will rise to 48 per cent.
But both seemingly have enough business in hand to make it a tense end-year countdown.
“It’snothingnewtoseeverylarge orders. However, the devil is in the detail,” said Aengus Kelly, chief executive of AerCap, the world’s largest leasing company.
“How many of them will be firm and when will the delivery dates actually occur? Some of them could be a decade away,” he added after signing a series of deals with Egyptair.
On Wednesday, US investor Bill Franke pulled together a cohort of airlines in which he has stakes to announce a preliminary wholesale deal for 430 Airbus jets, achieving what one awed financier called a “masterstroke” of low prices.
Boeing bagged a flydubai order for 175 of its 737s.
That worries some analysts who say planemakers are waging a futile battle, having already sold out for the next 8 years.
Several noted it was the last show before retirement for Airbus sales boss John Leahy, fighting to get back on even terms with Boeing after a bruising start to the event.
“Maybe it was John Leahy’s last hurrah to get one last deal out there; but what a way to go out,” Morris said. — Reuters