Record haul at Paris air show for French-based Airbus
French-based planemaker Airbus is celebrating a bumper week at the Paris International Air Show at Le Bourget aerodrome north of the capital with a record 50 billion euros of orders including the biggest single airliner order in history.
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Malaysia’s AirAsia has confirmed a request for 200 of Airbus’ A320 neo fuel-efficient medium-haul jets at a total cost of 12.7 billion euros. The order makes the Malaysian low-cost pioneer Airbus’ biggest customer with a total of 375 planes on order and 89 A320s already in service.
Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy also said that an unidentified firm had ordered 10 A380 super jumbos for 2.64 billion euros. Shares in Airbus’ parent company, EADS, increased 1.5 per cent on news of the AirAsia deal.
The success of the unglamorous A320 neo or New Engine Option has taken the company by surprise. It claims to be 15 per cent more fuel efficient than other planes and with fuel representing almost a third of an airline’s operating costs it has arrived at just the right moment.
Le Bourget has not proved as much as a draw for Airbus rival, Boeing, although the US company has never used the Paris air show to profile it planes in the same way as Airbus.
Sales figures for this year reveal the gap between the two companies. Since January, Airbus has received 725 firm orders while Boeing has only 195.
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