Asian and low-cost airlines defied worries about the global recession and placed dozens of orders with Airbus at the Paris Air Show, in sharp contrast to rival Boeing, which reported no new sales.
Planemakers at the world’s biggest air show are trying to coax airlines and governments to open their pocketbooks and buy more aircraft despite plunging passenger loads and revenues.
Airbus CEO Tom Enders declared that Tuesday’s sunny skies — after pelting rain on Monday’s opening day — boded well for business.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
Airbus announced two firm orders from Vietnam Airlines and the Philippines low-cost airline Cebu Pacific worth US$1.8 billion on Tuesday. Vietnam Airlines ordered 16 Airbus A321 single-aisle jets worth US$1.4 billion and pledged to buy two more A350-XWB planes.
The airline made a deposit and signed a memorandum of understanding for the two A350 planes, which falls short of a firm sale and means Airbus does not count the order in its overall tally.
Cebu Pacific made a firm order for five single-aisle A320s worth a total of US$385 million at list prices. Airlines often negotiate substantial discounts to catalog prices, particularly in tough economic times.
Kuala Lumpur low-cost airline Air Asia ordered 10 A350-900 jets and placed options for five more. The list price for the 10 jets would be US$2.4 billion.
Boeing’s vice president for international corporate communications, Charlie Miller, shrugged off the Airbus announcements.
“Airbus and Boeing approach air shows in a different way. Boeing doesn’t save up orders to announce at air shows. That has been our policy for years. Our policy is to announce orders as soon as they are firm,” he said.
Boeing has sought to concentrate on its military programs. The head of its air refueling tanker programs expressed confidence in the US jet manufacturer’s chances to win the rematch with Airbus’ parent EADS for a multibillion-dollar contract with the US Air Force.
Boeing vice president Dave Bowman said his team was “pumped and ready to rock” when the Air Force issues its request for offers in the coming weeks.
Both rivals sought to minimize expectations this year amid worries about credit markets, the global economy and the unexplained crash of Air France Flight 447.
“This is not the time to expect huge orders, but there are still orders coming in because the situation is different from region to region” and company to company, Enders told a news conference. “What counts for our numbers, our financial health, is not orders but turning our backlog into delivery.”
He also sought to reassure its thousands of workers amid cutbacks across the aviation industry.
“We are very much interested in keeping stable the most important asset we have in our company ... our skilled workforce,” he said.
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