Airbus order summary for the 2018 Farnborough International Air Show
With the sales campaign now officially over for this year’s show, it’s time to wrap it all up with a summary. Here’s a list of actions from the last four days:
Pre-show orders
Airbus kicked off the pre-show with 177 orders for narrow body aircraft and 84 orders for wide body aircraft from the beginning of the year. The action started when JetBlue placed an order for 60 A220-300s, making them the launch customer for the rebranding. In total, this deal was worth $5.6 billion dollars at list prices.
DAY 1
Sichuan Airlines A350 order
Sichuan Airlines kicked off Airbus’ day one with an order for 10 A350-900s. Although the order was listed as an unidentified customer earlier in the year, the airline signed to firm and disclose the order. An agreement was also made to lease an additional four of the same aircraft.
Starlux commits to the A350 family
Round two for the A350 campaign started when Starlux signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for five A350-900s and 12 A350-1000s.
Once firmed, this order is expected to be worth $23.4 billion.
The airline also plans to firm their order for 10 A321neos by the end of the year.
Wataniya Airways firms A320neo order
Previously signed as an MoU at the 2017 Dubai Air Show, Wataniya firmed their order for 25 A320neo aircraft during the Farnborough Air Show.
The deal is worth $2.7 billion at list prices.
Leasing action begins with Goshawk
Goshawk Aviation – a 50/50 joint venture between NWS Holdings and Chow Tau Fook – placed an order for 20 A320neos during the show, adding to the companies portfolio of A320neos, A330ceos and neos and the A350.
At list prices, the deal is worth $2.2 billion.
Large commitment for the A320neo family
An undisclosed lessor signed an MoU for 80 A320neo family aircraft.
Information about this deal is limited. No engine selection has been made and no date has been provided as to when we could expect a disclosure announcement.
Airbus did mention the lessor was global leading.
Macquarie AirFinance orders the A320neo
Macquarie AirFinance placed a firm order for 20 A320neo jets during the show. This adds to the lessors portfolio of 119 Airbus aircraft consisting of 110 A320 family and nine A330.
At list prices, this deal is expected to be worth $2.2 billion.
Salam Air orders A320neo
Salam Air is a budget airline based in Oman. The airline was launched in early 2017 and operates to 14 regional and global destinations.
With an all Airbus fleet, it’s no wonder they ordered six A320neos for fleet upgrades and expansion. Five of these aircraft will be leased from an undisclosed lessor.
DAY 2
Undisclosed customer signs for A350s
Day two of the event saw an undisclosed customer sign for eight A350-900s.
Information is limited about this order, however at list prices, the value is expected to be $2.5 billion.
Undisclosed customer signs large deal for A320neo family
An undisclosed customer signed a memorandum of understand for 25 A321neo and 75 A320neo during the early hours of the event.
No engine selection was made.
Using Airbus list prices, the determined value of this commitment if firmed is $11.5 billion.
Peach Aviation adjusts order
Low-cost carrier Peach Aviation converted their order for 10 A320neos to eight A320neos and two A321LRs, making them the first to operate the type in Asia.
Deliveries will commence in 2020 and no engine selection has been made.
IAG orders additional A330s
International Airline Group (IAG) firmed their order for two A330-200s for LEVEL.
The aircraft are configured with 21 premium economy seats and 293 economy seats and will join the airlines fleet in 2019.
At list prices, the deal is valued at $477 million.
Future US airline commits to A220
Future US carrier being led by David Neeleman, JetBlue’s founder, has signed a memorandum of understanding for 60 Airbus A220-300s. This comes one week after JetBlue placed their order for 60 of the same type.
The airline plans to utilize these aircraft on thin routes while having the option to fly them farther.
At list prices, this deal is worth $5.5 billion if firmed.
DAY 3
Undisclosed order for the A330neo with a twist
An undisclosed customer signed a commitment for six A330neo aircraft.
While the variant wasn’t documented, the list price Airbus mentioned in their press release was the same $259.9 million figure as the A330-800, leading people to believe the order is for the lonely variant.
Viva Aerobus firms order for A321neos
Viva Aerobus, the ultra-low cost carrier based in Mexico, firmed up their order for 25 A321neos and converted their order for 16 A320neos to the larger A321neo variant.
This order takes the airlines order book to 80 A320 family aircraft consisting of 12 A320ceos, 24 A320neos and 41 A321neos.
Uganda Airlines orders A330neo
Uganda Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding for two A330-800neos, finally showing some love to the type.
At list prices and if firmed, the deal is worth $519.8 million.
DAY 4
Undisclosed customer for A320neo
The final day for sales campaigns saw Airbus pick up a memorandum of understanding for 10 A320neos.
Again, not much information has been provided as to when the aircraft will be delivered and to who.
No engine selection was made either.
VietJet complicates fleet with additional A321neo commitment
After ordering a large amount of 737s, VietJet switched to Airbus for a brief moment to sign a memorandum of understanding for 50 additional A321neos.
Once firmed, the airline will have 123 A321neos on order.
At list prices, this deal is worth $6.5 billion.
Air Asia A330neo
After months of teasers and debates, Air Asia has placed an order for 34 additional Airbus A330-900neos, taking their total order for the type to 100.
The deal for the 100 aircraft is worth $29.6 billion at list prices.
Deliveries are set to begin during the fourth quarter of 2019.
This isn’t “just another order”
Tony Fernandes, Air Asia X co-group executive, has been undecided on this order for a while now. When he announced he was visiting the sales team at Boeing holding a model of the 787 Dreamliner, rumors began to circulate and people started to get concerned about the future of the A330neo.
Since then, Fernandes has been in regular talk with both manufacturers about what each aircraft can and can’t do. He describes these discussions in the following statement:
“Our decision to not only reconfirm our existing order of 66 A330neos, but to add 34 more, follows what is probably one of the most thorough aircraft evaluations the industry has ever seen.”
He add in a later statement:
“We have looked at every aspect of the A330neo from technical performance and reliability to passenger comfort and it’s clearly the right aircraft for us to expand efficiently our fast-growing long haul network.”
With this deal, Airbus can breathe a sigh of relief. The added pressure to compete against the hugely popular 787 both from airline statements and media meant Airbus had to push harder and harder to win the deal.
In the end, it worked out for them. Fernandes’ statement sums up the airlines decision and sparks some life into the jet.
This order is definitely one to be proud of from both sides and is an excellent way to conclude the Boeing and Airbus sales campaigns at this years Farnborough International Air Show.
Conclusion of the sales campaign
Over the past four days, Airbus won business for 431 commercial aircraft, consisting of 93 firm orders and 338 MoUs.
Splitting this figure up we get 60 A220-300s, 304 A320 family aircraft, 42 A330neos and 25 A350s. Airbus is happy that the A330-800 is included in these figures after it lost its sole customer to the 787.
This years total orders to 754 aircraft, consisting of 354 firm and 398 MoUs.
Airbus does note that more sales campaigns are coming soon, withing a few weeks even. Chief Commercial Officer, Eric Schulz even mentions the possibility of additional A380 orders with new customers. Time will tell.
In the end, Airbus had an outstanding show with plenty to offer. Securing the A330neo order with Air Asia is one massive achievement to be pleased with.