Airbus celebrates big orders at air show

Airbus said yesterday it had won an order for 60 narrow-body A320neo planes worth $5.1bn (£3.15bn) at list prices from the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric.

Analysts expect narrow-body planes, the backbone of fast-growing budget airlines, to be a key battleground for orders between Europe’s Airbus and US rival Boeing at the biennial air show.

Airbus believes it has the upper hand with the A320neo, whose more efficient engines save airlines 15 per cent in fuel costs, according to the company.

Engine maker Pratt & Whitney boss David Hess said he expected an “astounding” amount of demand for the A320neo. Sources close to the matter said Airbus was also likely to report an order for 30 A320neos worth about $2.4bn at list prices from Scandinavian airline SAS.

Qatar Airways said it hoped to conclude a deal this week to buy A320neo planes as well. Boeing conceded it might lose some custom while it makes a decision about whether to re-engine or redesign its competing 737 narrow-body plane, although it was confident of winning out over the longer term.

It also upstaged Airbus with successes in other plane sizes and booked the first big order of the show for six 777-300ER wide-body jets worth $1.7bn at list prices from Gulf carrier Qatar Airways.

Analysts expect Middle Eastern and Asian airlines to dominate the buying as they seek to boost transport links for their booming economies. The Boeing deal came a day after Airbus unveiled plans to boost the range of its future competing A350, of which Qatar is the biggest customer.

Airbus was left red-faced following a series of mishaps on the eve of the show, including a taxiway collision involving an A380 superjumbo.

The right-hand wing-tip of a test plane for the world’s largest jetliner, with a wingspan of almost 80 metres, scraped a building at Le Bourget airport on Sunday and was withdrawn from the air show’s traditional flying displays.