The Dubai Air Show is known for hosting big names and huge orders. In 2013, Emirates made history at the event by placing orders for Boeing 777Xs and Airbus A380s worth $99 billion dollars. This year has certainly not disappointed, however, the big deal predicted between Emirates and Airbus has not emerged so far.
Emirates were expected to announce an order for more than 30 A380s, the world’s largest passenger airliner, to add to its already 100-strong fleet. Instead, a deal was announced with Boeing for 40 of the new 787-10s. These are the largest aircraft in the Boeing Dreamliner Family and rival to the Airbus A350. The order is worth over $15 billion with deliveries due to start in 2022.
This is a further blow to Airbus, who received an order for 70 A350s from Emirates in 2014 which the airline then cancelled.
This morning however, it’s Airbus with the big news. The manufacturer has just reported its “largest single announcement ever”. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Indigo Partners for the purchase of 420 aircraft. The deal has been valued at $49.5 billion and the order of 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos will be split between Frontier Airlines, JetSMART, Volaris, and Wizz Air. Bill Franke of Indigo Partners commented, “This significant commitment for 430 additional aircraft underscores our optimistic view of the growth potential of our family of low-cost airlines, as well as our confidence in the A320neo Family as a platform for that growth”.
The deal helps Airbus make up significant ground on Boeing for orders in 2017. Airbus were trailing their rival by over 300 net orders but are looking to end the year on almost even footing with this news. For more on the rivalry between the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, see the graph below.
As the Dubai Air Show progresses, a deal between Emirates and Airbus is looking increasingly unlikely.
UPDATE: Boeing have announced another record-breaking order. The manufacturer has made a deal worth $27 billion dollars with Flydubai. The order for 175 of the 737 Max aircraft is the largest ever order for single-aisle jets from a Middle-East airline.
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