Leeham News and Analysis

Paris Air Show wrap; and other Odds and Ends

It’s over and here are the Airbus and Boeing press releases, followed by some Odds and Ends:

Airbus books almost US$70 billion at Paris Air Show 2013

·        466 Airbus aircraft orders & commitments across all product families;

·        A320neo Family retains 60 percent market share;

·        A350 XWB, A330 and A380 all continue to outsell the competition.

At the 2013 Paris Air Show, Airbus won US$68.7 billion worth of business for a total of 466 aircraft, which shows the resilience of the commercial aviation industry. The deals comprise Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for 225 aircraft worth US$29.4 billion and firm purchase orders for 241 aircraft worth US$39.3 billion.

The A320 Family, spearheaded by the A320neo, continues its trailblazing success in the single-aisle market with 371 orders and commitments from six customers announced at the show, worth approximately $37.8 billion. Of these, 88 were for the A320ceo – showing that today’s in-production aircraft is still the most sought-after industry workhorse. A stand-out commitment during the show for the A320 Family was the announcement from easyJet for 100 A320neos plus 35 A320ceos – the winning result of a very intense competition. Another major endorsement for the A320 Family came from Lufthansa with the firming-up of 100 more aircraft. Additional A320 Family orders and commitments came from: Hong Kong Aviation Capital for 60; ILFC for 50; Spirit for 20; and Tunisia’s Syphax Airlines for three – significantly the first A320neo commitment from Africa.

Another star at Paris was the A350 XWB which flew for the first time on Friday 14^th June 2013 and successfully completed its second flight on Wednesday 19^th June. At the show this aircraft gained 69 more orders & commitments worth $21.4 billion from four customers on different continents. Air France-KLM placed a firm order for 25 A350-900s. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines, already a large customer for the type, returned to order 30 more A350-900s; United Airlines also placed an additional A350 order for 10 A350-1000s — not only bringing its total A350 orders to 35, but also upgrading its previous order for 25 A350-900s to the larger A350-1000 model to replace its Boeing 777s. In addition, Sri Lankan signed a commitment for four A350-900s to complement an order for six A330-300s at the show.

At the top end of the product range, the flagship A380 received a commitment for 20 aircraft from the world’s third largest wide-body lessor, Doric Lease Corp, in a deal worth more than $8 billion. The contract with Doric is significant as it opens up a new, additional route to market for the A380, which is now available to airlines who wish to acquire the aircraft under the flexibility of an operating lease agreement.

John Leahy, Airbus’s Chief Operating Officer, Customers said: “The dramatic rainfall and thunder storms at Le Bourget this year didn’t dampen our order intake.” He added: “Our A350 XWB has been out-selling the 787 by better than 2- to-1 over the last five years. In addition our A320neo Family retains a 60 percent market share lead. That’s a ‘corner’ I want to stay boxed into.”

Boeing Launches New Commercial Airplane; Highlights Innovation, Efficiency and Partnerships at 2013 Paris Air Show

LE BOURGET, France, June 20, 2013 –Boeing (NYSE:BA) enjoyed a strong and productive Paris Air Show launching its newest model, the 787-10 Dreamliner, announcing important commercial airplane orders and strengthening alliances and relationships with customers and partners around the world.

“The 50^th Paris Air Show has been important for Boeing with a number of historic milestones,” said Charlie Miller, Vice President of International Communications. “Our airline customers have strongly endorsed Boeing’s innovative family of commercial airplanes with outstanding orders and the launch of our latest 787 Dreamliner model.” 

“The excitement and enthusiasm among customers, partners and suppliers for the products and technologies Boeing showcased across the commercial and defense businesses validated our commitment to innovation and customer focus,” said Miller.  

            Boeing highlighted its family of efficient commercial airplanes in both the single and twin-aisle market segments. The 787-10 Dreamliner was launched with 102 orders and commitments from five customers, including Air Lease Corporation (30), GE Capital Aviation Services (10), International Airlines Group / British Airways (12), Singapore Airlines (30) and United Airlines (20).

The new 787-10 covers more than 90 percent of the world’s twin-aisle routes with seating for 300-330 passengers. Design of the 787-10 has already started at Boeing and international partners will be involved in detailed design in the months ahead, with first delivery targeted for 2018.

The innovative 787-8 Dreamliner in Air India livery flew for the first time at the Paris Air Show, and the Qatar Airways 787 on static display attracted hundreds of customers, partners, government officials and news media. The ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system, produced by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, was part of the U.S. Corral display throughout the show.

Over the past week, customers have demonstrated their strong confidence in the full family of Boeing commercial products – the Next-Generation 737, 737 MAX, 787, 777 and 747-8, announcing orders and commitments for 442 Boeing airplanes, valued at more than $66 billion. Additional orders for 20 Next-Generation 737s and 20 737 MAX airplanes from unidentified customer(s) were posted on the Orders & Deliveries website today. The number of Boeing net orders for 2013 currently stands at 692.

Boeing announced during the show key partnerships with Embraer on the sales and marketing of Embraer’s KC-390 medium-size transport, and with Sikorsky on a joint venture to compete for sustainment services in support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ s rotorcraft fleet.  The U.S. Marine Corps V-22 Program Manager reported that operational success of the Bell-Boeing tilt-rotor played a key role in the recent award of a $6.5 billion multi-year contract for 99 aircraft. Boeing also announced that work has begun at Le Bourget on a $354 million Mid-Life Upgrade contract with Air France Industries to upgrade four French E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.

Customer announcements this week

(Note that Boeing is including a May 31 announcement from TUI in this tally–Editor)

 * First announced by customer on May 31

Odds and Ends

Embarer has good show: Embraer launched its E-Jet E2 with 375 orders and commitments, most for the E-175-E2 75 seat model.

Aerodynamics of the goose in flight: The video is a hoot (or should we say honk); you will enjoy this a lot.

By your finger tips: If you thought the video was a hoot, get a “load” of this story.

787-9F: Boeing plans to make a freighter, some day, of the 787-9.