Leasing company AWAS (Ireland) Ltd is expected to announce a deal to buy up to 100 Airbus jets worth US$6.9 billion, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday in its online European edition.
The news came after US aerospace group Boeing said last week it delivered 441 commercial airplanes last year as part of a tight race with Europe's Airbus for the lead in the global market.
The AWAS deal was for 75 single-aisle jetliners, with options for 25 more, which Airbus will book this year, the WSJ said.
The airplanes are valued at US$6.9 billion based on list prices, but big orders normally attract large discounts.
The report said that the deal would lift AWAS a notch higher among second-tier aircraft-leasing companies. These companies, which provide aircraft to airlines around the world, are among the biggest plane buyers in the aviation business.
AWAS has been one of the fastest-growing midsize players. The company, purchased in 2006 by British private-equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd, now owns or manages 320 aircraft.
Last month it announced an order for 31 single-aisle 737 planes from Boeing and purchase rights for 19 more, with a catalogue price of US$2.3 billion.
Airbus has been in a dogfight with Boeing for the lead in both orders and deliveries.
The full order book for both groups last year has not yet been released. But through the end of September, Airbus had received 854 plane orders to 893 for Boeing.
Airbus, which has been mired in financial difficulties, was overtaken in 2006 by Boeing, with its 1,044 orders against 790 for the latter.
Boeing is expected to have some 1,400 orders for last year, but Airbus could top that figure, some estimates show.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from