Boeing zips back to top

Firm beats rival Airbus in orders at Paris air expo

PARIS — Boeing secured nearly twice as much in order value at the Paris Air Show as rival Airbus as demand for the Max 10, the biggest version of its 737 workhorse, pushed the U.S. company to its first win at the aviation industry’s annual showcase in five years.

Chicago-based Boeing reported this week that it registered or promised orders for 571 planes, worth $74.8 billion at list prices. Airbus announced 326 orders or commitments worth $40 billion.

Airbus won a late boost from two big orders from Iran, which is expanding its aviation industry after years of sanctions. Customers routinely negotiate discounts.

Toulouse, France-based Airbus dismissed the setback, saying it’s focusing on meeting delivery targets to make up for production snags rather than seeking new purchasers.

Boeing’s haul easily surpassed the $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 prepared for an accelerating travel boom. That’s in contrast to the relatively restrained buying from crowded markets in the U.S. and Europe.

The biggest buyer at the Paris expo was GE Capital Aviation Services, which ordered 100 Airbus planes valued at $10.8 billion and converted 20 Boeing production slots from earlier purchases to the planned 737 Max 10. The model, rolled out to combat Airbus’ hot-selling A321neo, secured 336 commitments, including customers shifting to it from the 737’s other Max versions.

Even with the boost from the Max 10, order flow isn’t expected to surpass deliveries this year, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said. That’s because demand jumped in past years as high fuel prices encouraged airlines to scramble for more efficient planes.

That order flurry caused Airbus’ backlog to more than double in two years to surpass 6,700 airliners. The company is focusing on speeding up deliveries after delays on the A320neo series and wide-body A350, COO Fabrice Bregier told investors at a conference Wednesday.

One of the largest airline customers at the Paris show was India’s SpiceJet Ltd., with a deal for 40 Boeing planes, including 20 conversions, reflecting industry interest from Asia. The carrier was joined in orders at Boeing by Chinese operator Okay Airways Co. Ltd., Japan Investment Adviser Co. and BOC Aviation Ltd. The leasing arm of China Development Bank signed deals to buy airliners from Airbus and Boeing.

Avolon, the world’s third-largest lessor, ordered $8.4 billion of Boeing models at the Paris event. The unit of Beijing-based Bohai Capital Holding Co. decided to lock in deliveries of as many as 125 upgraded narrow-body jets from the U.S. company because the slots are “very valuable real estate,” Avolon CEO Domhnal Slattery said.