The aircraft manufacturer has sold to the American carrier Indigo 430 medium-haul A320 Neo for a value of 42 billion euros.
The Dubai Air Show opened with a disappointment for Airbus, disappointed that it has not yet completed an order of thirty A380s with the company of the Gulf of Emirates but it ends in apotheosis for the European aircraft manufacturer. Airbus announced on Wednesday, November 15, a giant historic order for four hundred and thirty aircraft of the A320 family. Once again, the medium-haul Airbus has never so well justified its reputation as a bestseller. The contract with the American owner Indigo is valued, list price, to 49.5 billion dollars (about 42 billion euros). The number of aircraft sold is the largest order in the history of aeronautics.
This wonderful contract indicates that Airbus customers are not disturbed by the legal difficulties of the European aircraft manufacturer entangled in corruption cases. Fabrice Bregier, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, did not make a mistake: "I welcome this new mark of confidence expressed by major airlines that are committed to this unprecedented commercial agreement. It's an overwhelming success for Airbus and its A320 aircraft in global air transport, "said Wednesday the number two Airbus group. Investors also welcome the good deal of Airbus. From the opening of the Paris Stock Exchange, the action of the European aircraft manufacturer jumped 3.11% to 86.14 euros.
In detail, the American owner Indigo acquires from Airbus two hundred and seventy-three A320 Neo and one hundred and fifty-seven A321 Neo, the remotorized version, that is to say much less fuel-efficient, of the medium-haul Airbus. The entire giant order will be distributed to four low-cost airlines: 146 for Wizz Air (Hungary), 134 for Frontier Airlines (USA), 80 for Volaris (Mexico) and 70 for JetSmart (Chile). The contract with Indigo reinforces Airbus' leadership on the medium-haul market. Prior to this order, the European aircraft manufacturer already held 55% of the market share of the most dynamic sector of aeronautics. With the contract awarded by Indigo, more than 15,500 aircraft of the A320 family, including 5,200 in the Neo version, have already been ordered from Airbus.
Catching up on Boeing
Boeing is far behind with "just" just over 4,000 orders for all versions of its 737 Max, the rival of the A320 Neo. With this landmark contract, John Leahy, the historic sales manager of Airbus, the man with 15,000 sold planes who will retire in the coming months, ends his career in style. In 2017, Airbus will fulfill all its objectives. It "should exceed 700 deliveries of appliances" against 688 in 2016, says the European aircraft manufacturer.
Above all, this order allows Airbus to catch up with Boeing in terms of order intake since the beginning of the year. Before the opening of the Dubai show, the European aircraft manufacturer was a delay of 35% to 40% in number of orders on his American rival. The strong dominance of Airbus in the medium-haul sector should allow it to pass Boeing in number of deliveries by 2019.
That year, Airbus planned to once again increase its production rate and get out of its sixty A320 assembly lines each month. Better, the European aircraft manufacturer should push its advantage over its competitor across the Atlantic with its A321 LR. A long-distance version of the A320, which allows for example to reach the United States from Europe, very well received by airlines and especially low cost.
A breath of oxygen
But the titanic fight between the two competitors is far from over. On Wednesday, the American announced a large order for two hundred and twenty-five copies of his 737 Max. A valued contract, list price, to 27 billion dollars or 22 billion euros.
Airbus is not the only one to rejoice in this gigantic order. Engineers, like the French Safran rub their hands. The group led by Philippe Petitcolin, which supplies the engines of more than 60% of the A320s, should find a way to further strengthen its position on competitor Pratt & Whitney.
In fine, in Dubai, the good news fly squadron. The aircraft manufacturer still hopes to complete an order for thirty-six A380 widebody aircraft with the Gulf of Emirates company. A contract of more than 14 billion dollars list price (more than 12 billion euros). A welcome breath of fresh air for Airbus who has not sold a single A380 for two years. Due to a lack of customers, the aircraft manufacturer even announced that it was reducing the production rate of its super jumbo. He planned to release only one copy per month.