Paris Air Show update — day two
For you freight dogs, the most interesting news from Paris Day 2 was the reported announcement by Brazil-based manufacturer Embraer confirming plans to launch a commercial version of its KC-390 twinjet military transport. The commercial version would be longer than the military version, with two plugs added – one forward of the wing and one aft. Embraer predicted a market for between 200 and 250 units for the commercial version. History has not been kind to companies that have tried to market commercial versions of military transports, so it is hard to say at this point how realistic the 200-to-250 prediction is. The first step would be signing up a significant launch customer…
Regarding new orders, Day 2 did not produce quite the bonanza we saw on Day one, but with 177 orders and commitments signed, it was still a good day for the manufacturers. To no one’s surprise, the Airbus narrowbody A320neo family dominated: Lessor CIT signed an MoU for 50 units, JetBlue firm-ordered 40, and Indonesian carrier Garuda ordered 10. Interestingly, Garuda also ordered 15 standard (i.e. non-neo) A320s. In addition, Taiwan-based Trans Asia Airways ordered 6 A321neos, bringing Airbus’ total for the day to 121 orders.
Boeing did not sign as many total orders – 46 to Airbus’ 121 – but did score orders and commitments for a considerable number of widebodies. US-based lessor GECAS signed an MoU for 2 747-8 Freighters (the first freighter orders of the show) and 8 777-300ERs. Also signing up for 8 777-300ERs was Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, while Mongolia-based MIAT ordered 1 767-300ER. On the narrowbody side, Boeing took orders for 27 737-800s: 1 from MIAT, 10 from Malaysia Airlines, and 15 from Norwegian Air Shuttle.
And finally, Korean Air signed a Letter of Intent with Bombardier for 10 CSeries jets, with options for 10 more, and purchase rights for another 10.
To sum up, the first two days of the Paris Air Show have seen orders and commitments for 520 commercial aircraft: 365 for Airbus, 98 for Boeing, 20 for Bombardier, 22 for Embraer, and 15 for ATR.
