Airbus has enjoyed a bumper third day at the Paris Air Show - with deals involving more than 180 planes.
The aerospace giant blasted away the quiet start to 2019 with a series of announcements.
These included deals for the newly announced Airbus A321XLR - which will offer the longest range in aviation for a single aisle passenger plane.
Qantas Deal
Australia’s Qantas Airways Limited is backing Airbus’ new extended range A321XLR with an agreement covering 36 aircraft.
This includes the conversion of 26 existing A320neo Family orders plus a new firm order for 10 A321XLRs
The aircraft will allow the Qantas Group, which includes low-cost carrier Jetstar, to improve its network and fleet flexibility to better serve point-to-point markets in Australia, Asia and the South Pacific.
Indigo Partners
Indigo Partners and three of its airlines will acquire 50 of the new AirbusA321XLR long-range, single-aisle jetliners.
The Memorandum of Understanding includes new orders for 32 A321XLRs and the conversion of 18 existing A320neo family orders.
Twenty of the A321XLRs will be allocated to Wizz Air, 18 to Frontier, and 12 to JetSMART.
Taiwan sales
Taiwan’s China Airlines (CAL) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for 11 A321neo aircraft and will acquire another 14 aircraft of the type on lease. CAL has selected the A321neo to meet future requirements in the single aisle category.
These 25 aircraft will join the Airbus fleet at the airline currently comprising 23 A330s and 14 A350 XWBs.
A320neo deal
Dublin-based leasing company Accipiter Holdings has signed a Purchase Agreement to acquire 20 A320neo aircraft.
The order, which was disclosed during the Paris Air Show by Paul Sheridan, Accipiter CEO and Isabelle Floret, Head of Leasing Markets, had been completed in March 2019, and was listed in the order books as undisclosed.
American Airlines
American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, will acquire 50 Airbus A321XLR aircraft. The purchase agreement includes the conversion of 30 of American’s existing A321neo slots to A321XLRs and incremental orders for an additional 20 A321XLRs.
The A321XLR will have the longest range of any single-aisle commercial jetliner. The added range of up to 4,700 nm will allow airlines to operate the aircraft from U.S. East Coast airports to medium-size European cities.
