Boeing grabs $18.5-billion order
Bombardier shares slump with no orders announced at industry event
TOULOUSE — Boeing Co. widened its lead over Airbus Group SE at the Paris Air Show with a $18.5-billion second-day haul of deals for its single-aisle planes, the most widely flown aircraft type in the global airline fleet.
Bombardier Inc., meanwhile, slumped as the plane maker passed the second day of the show with no new aircraft orders or commitments.
The widely traded Class B shares fell 6.5 per cent to $2.45 at the close in Toronto, the biggest one-day drop since March 2. On Monday, Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s Swiss unit switched an order for 10 of the smaller version of the C Series jetliner to take the larger model instead.
A 100-jet order for Boeing’s 737 Max from AerCap Holdings NV boosted the U.S. company’s odds of claiming bragging rights on Airbus’ home turf at the industry’s biggest trade event. Boeing orders and commitments had a list value of $41 billion to Airbus’ $20 billion, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.
“This is a big day for us, it’s a real highlight of the show,” said Ray Conner, the head of Boeing’s commercial aircraft unit. Buyers typically get discounts off published prices.
Korean Air Lines Co. and lessor SMBC Aviation Capital together netted Boeing 40 planned sales of the 737 Max, the upgraded version of the plane maker’s top-selling model. SMBC and AerCap will get the Max 8, while Korean Air’s Max 8 agreement includes “substitution rights” for the larger Max 9.
“Boeing’s announcements so far at the Paris Air Show are somewhat better than expected,” Cai von Rumohr, a Cowen & Co. analyst, wrote in a note to clients, citing commercial demand and sales of the C-17 military transport. He rates Boeing as outperforming. Boeing suffered a setback Tuesday when Russia’s OAO Aeroflot said it was scrapping a 22-plane order for the widebody 787 Dreamliner. Aeroflot no longer needs the 787, deputy chief executive Giorgio Callegario said in an interview. He said the contract terms allowed for a re-evaluation of the purchase.
AerCap swung attention back to the narrow-body segment, the planes that carry about 75 per cent of the world’s passengers, after twin-aisle planes took the spotlight Monday as the expo opened. The singleaisle niche has been a source of strength for Airbus, whose A320neo family had won 60 per cent of the sales for reengined narrow-bodies heading into the show.
Boeing’s deal with AerCap alone outstripped the 97 single-aisle sales logged by Toulouse, France-based Airbus through Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Boeing’s haul stood at 140. The A320neo will debut this year, ahead of the Max’s 2017 entry into service.