Airshow brings orders worth £45bn for Airbus
AIRBUS secured orders for 431 planes and deals worth more than £45bn over four days at the Farnborough Airshow.
The company came to the famous show with deals for 321 jets for 2018 but saw the order book bulge in a whirlwind 96 hours. In total there were 93 firm orders and 338 memorandum of understanding (MoUs). The deals are worth around £46bn at list prices.
The A320 family remains the big draw with deals for 304 planes. There were also deals for 42 A330neos, 25 A350 XWBs and 60 A220-300s.
The superjumbo A380 did not secure any orders.
Wings for all the planes – with the exception of the A220-300 – are made at Broughton.
While the airshow contuinues, today was the last day of sales for the aerospace giant.
Sales yesterday included an order for 34 A330neo widebody aircraft by AirAsia X.
AirAsia X is a Malaysia operator, and sister company of AirAsia, is the largest custoer of A330neo for Airbus with the airline having ordered 100 in total.
AirAsia X will be the first
airline in Asia to operate the A330neo, with deliveries of aircraft on order with Airbus scheduled to start in Q4 2019. The A330neo will be operated by AirAsia X out of its bases in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Vietjet, the Vietnamese carrier, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of an additional 50 A321neo single aisle aircraft.
Eric Schulz, Airbus chief commercial officer, said: “Our year to date and our end of show commitments confirm the strong market appetite for all our leading aircraft product families.
“At the top end, our A380 is now opening new opportunities for the second-hand market. I am especially pleased about the strong response that our widebody family is enjoying. More than 150 orders and commitments for our A330/ A350/A380 offerings in 2018 are a strong endorsement.
“At Airbus, we are positive about our future – in single aisles, widebodies and the middle of the market. We are right there with the right aircraft.”
Yesterday the first of five BelugaXL aircraft to fly landed safely at Toulouse-Blagnac.
Following the first flight, the BelugaXL will undergo some 600 hours of flight test over 10 months to achieve Type Certification and entry into service later in 2019.
The BelugaXL programme was launched in November 2014 to address Airbus’ transport capacity requirements in view of the A350 XWB ramp-up and Single-Aisle production rate increases. Five aircraft will be built between 2019 and 2023 to gradually replace the five BelugaST.
The aircraft will operate from 11 destinations as Airbus’ method of transporting large aircraft components.
Based on an A330-200 Freighter, the BelugaXL is powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines. The lowered cockpit, the cargo bay structure and the rear-end and tail were newly developed jointly with suppliers, giving the aircraft its distinctive look.