Aircraft Manufacturer

Airbus won a total of 160 orders and commitments at the 13^th Dubai Airshow worth US$44 billion, underlining the strong appeal of its widebody aircraft. The A380 and A350 XWB in particular,  were demonstrated to be spot-on with customer requirements and expectations. The order intake includes 142 firm orders worth US$40.4 billion (50 A380, 40 A350-900, 10 A350-1000, 26 A321neo, 10 A320neo and 6 A330-200F) and 18 Memorandum of Understanding worth US$3.6 billion.

By value, Emirates placed the single largest order for 50 additional A380s, worth US$20 billion, commending its efficiency and passenger appeal and confirming the A380 flagship status within their fleet.

By numbers, Etihad Airways placed the single largest firm order for Airbus at the Dubai airshow with 87 aircraft (40 A350-900, 10 A350-1000, 26 A321neo, 10 A320neo and one A330-200F) worth US$19 billion at list prices.

The versatile A330-200F has seen ongoing success with five firm orders from Qatar Airways Cargo (plus eight commitments) and one firm order with Etihad Airways representing a total of 14 orders and commitments worth US$3billion. Air Algérie also committed for three A330-200 passenger aircraft worth US$648 million, building on their top reliability.

Lybian Wings, based in Tripoli, announced the start of its operations at the airshow, choosing Airbus to build up its initial fleet with a commitment for three A350-900s and four A320neo’s

John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers commented: “With its central position geographically, its strong economic growth and population-centres just a flight away, Middle Eastern carriers stand to reap the benefits of traffic growth. The order intake at the airshow, by value our biggest ever Dubai, is a clear evidence that the Middle East region is investing in the most modern and efficient aircraft to capture this growth,” he added.

Traffic growth has led to average aircraft size ‘growing’ by 25 per cent with airlines selecting larger aircraft or up-sizing existing backlogs. Larger aircraft like the A380 combined with higher load factors make the most efficient use of limited slots and contribute to rising passenger numbers without additional flights as confirmed by London’s Heathrow Airport. A focus on sustainable growth enabled fuel burn and noise reductions of at least 70 per cent in the last 40 years and this trend continues with innovative products like the A320neo, the A320 Sharklet, the A380 and the A350 XWB.