Airlines gave a major lift to the order book for the next generation Airbus A350-XWB,  announcing contracts for 114 of the planes on the first day of the recently held Paris Air Show. The welcome vote of confidence puts the late-to-the-gate program on more solid footing, although still well behind Boeing’s rival jet, the 787 Dreamliner.  The A350 orders, worth more than $27 billion, were part of a total haul of 219 firm orders and provisional ones - including 13 for the much-delayed A380 superjumbo - with a combined value of $45.7 billion at list prices.

“The A350 program is now confirmed,” said Doug McVitie, Managing Director of Arran Aerospace in Dinan France. “They have industry money to build it and they have gained credibility,” he added.

US Airways said it had agreed to terms with Airbus for 22 of the long-range A350s, part of a 92-jet deal that includes 60 of Airbus’s popular A320 single-aisle planes and 10 new A330s. Airbus valued the US Airways orders at $10 billion at published list prices.

John Leahy, the Airbus chief operating officer for customers, said the order for single-aisle jets would give US Airways the largest fleet of A320-family jets in the world. The airline, based in Tempe, Arizona, currently operates 93 A319s, 75 A320s and 28 A321s.

Right decision
Airbus had been engaged in an intense competition with Boeing’s 787 for the US Airways contract, and speculation had recently mounted that the deal could go to the U.S. manufacturer. Andrew Nocella, a US Airways senior Vice President for planning, offered little insight into the carrier’s decision to opt for the Airbus plane.
“The A350 is the right machine for US Airways at the right time,” Nocella said. “The timing for delivery worked out very well for us.” US Airways expects to receive its first A350s in 2014.

The US Airways announcement followed a contract signing ceremony at Le Bourget airfield of a previously disclosed order from Qatar Airways for 80 new A350s. Akbar Al Baker, the airline’s Chief Executive, said the order was worth $16 billion.

Louis Gallois, the Airbus Chief Executive, said Qatar would be the first airline to receive the new A350, in 2013. Aviation Lease and Finance, or Alafco, based in Kuwait, converted a previous purchase option for 12 A350s into a firm order, the first such order for the craft from a jet leasing company. The company, known as Alafco, also placed a new order for seven A320s in a combined deal worth $3 billion. “Any leasing company order is good news because it means they believe the aircraft will get market acceptance,” McVitie said. Alafco had previously announced an order for 12 of Boeing 787 jets in March.

ILFC order
According to recent news reports, International Lease Finance Corporation, considered one of the most influential players in the aviation business, was nearing a deal with Boeing for as many as fifty 787s worth $7.6 billion at list prices.  That deal, if confirmed, would make ILFC, which has previously ordered 22 of the planes Boeing’s single largest customer for the Dreamliner, surpassing a 50-plane order from All Nippon Airways in 2004. All Nippon Airways is due to take delivery of the first 787 in May of next year.

“The significance of the ILFC order is that they are seen as opinion-makers,” said Nick Cunningham, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, a London-based brokerage.

Other Airbus orders include a contract for 30 new Airbus A320s from Jazeera Airways for 30 A320 jets worth between $2.1 billion and $2.4 billion. The carrier, which is based in Kuwait and Dubai, began operations in October 2005 and currently operates five A320s in its fleet. GE Commercial Aviation Services announced orders for up 60 A320s, and the Russian carrier S7, placed a firm order for 25 of the planes.

Airbus also obtained more than a dozen new orders for the 555-seat, twin-deck A380 from existing customers for the plane: Eight from Emirates, which has already ordered 47 of the superjumbos; three from Qatar Airways, and a commitment for two orders from Air France. “This is really more than Airbus could have expected for the A380,” said McVitie of Arran Aerospace. “Even they are not coming from new A380 customers, any news is good news.”
The A380 has been beset by a series of manufacturing delays linked to the installation of its electrical wiring, which have put deliveries almost two years behind schedule. Airbus says it is on track to deliver the first A380 to Singapore Airlines in October.

The European Union and the United States said that they would cut emissions from aircraft by improving air traffic control systems, the Associated Press reported from Brussels. But the agreement announced does not head off a fight over the EU's separate plan to make all airlines that fly to Europe trade carbon permits.
The European Commission and the US Federal Aviation Administration said the plan would let them quickly put in place new emission-reduction technologies to reduce greenhouse gases from aircraft.
Source: New York Times