Billions of dollars are at stake as the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing Co and Airbus SE, duel over orders this week at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, UK — the biggest event of its kind this year.
Beyond the order avalanche, manufacturers, suppliers and airlines use the event to haggle over contracts and float ideas for new planes and ventures. Military officials and governments hammer out arms deals and announce defense initiatives.
Farnborough, which alternates with the Paris Air Show held every other year at the city’s Le Bourget Airport, is also a showcase for new technology and ideas, from flying taxis to space flight.
The US manufacturer got things going with a US$4.7 billion order for 14 Boeing 777 Freighters and purchase rights for an additional seven.
The new order is to double DHL’s global B777 fleet and help it curb emissions, the delivery service said.
Heading into the show, Airbus was closing in on orders totaling US$29 billion, based on list prices, from Taiwanese startup StarLux Airlines (星宇航空) and Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd.
The US$23 billion AirAsia deal would give a boost to Airbus’ slow-selling A330neo wide-body, while adding to the order pile for the popular A320neo narrowbody family. AirAsia would become the biggest customer for the marquee jet.
StarLux, founded by former Eva Airways chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), is aiming to start long-haul service to North America by 2021.
Airbus is seeking to jump-start the order book for its newly acquired C Series small jetliner, now renamed the A220, which it sells in a joint venture with Canada’s Bombardier Aerospace.
Going into Farnborough, Airbus was trying to iron out the last hurdles to a 60-jet order from David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways Corp, and a group of investors who are trying to start a new US low-cost airline.
The A220 program received an important vote of confidence from Air Lease Corp founder Steven Udvar-Hazy, who told reporters that the A220 is “a more attractive prospect” under Airbus.
“This has changed the whole landscape in terms of its credibility,” Udvar-Hazy said.
The largest manufacturer of jet engines, CFM International Inc, has a message for Airbus and Boeing executives who are mulling a boost in production of their narrow-body aircraft next decade: “not so fast.”
Airbus and Boeing are undergoing an unprecedented order boom for single-aisle aircraft driven by fuel-saving planes and growth in air travel, especially in Asia. That has put pressure on suppliers — especially engine manufacturers — who have fallen behind on orders.
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