At this year\u2019s Farnborough Air Show, Airbus SE is chasing orders for its A330neo airliner, positioning the widebody model as an attractive alternative to more advanced jets because of its favourable economics and availability.
\nAmong the possible buyers of the jet, a more advanced version of an aircraft that first entered service in the mid 1990s, are Saudi Arabia\u2019s Flynas and Flyadeal, as well as Vietnam\u2019s Vietjet Aviation JSC, according to people familiar with the discussions.
\nCarriers studying orders are either still negotiating possible contracts or have completed agreements that they plan to announce at the expo kicking off today, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
\nA large order haul would shore up the backlog for the A330neo, which has more fuel-efficient engines and a redesigned wing.
\nAirbus has been particularly successful over the past year with the more advanced A350 airliner, its other widebody aircraft, though slots are scarce for any new buyers.
\nBoeing Co is also working to build momentum for its 777X model, whose sales have flagged amid certification delays that have pushed the jet\u2019s market entry back by at least five years from its original date.
\nKorean Air Lines Co said in June that it\u2019s in the market for as many as 30 new jets from the US planemaker and is evaluating the smaller 787 Dreamliner model.
\nThe airline also said at the time that it\u2019s planning to order new freighters and is looking at Boeing\u2019s 777X for that.
\nWith the A321neo sold out until well into the next decade, and both Airbus and Boeing struggling to ramp up production, conversations with airline customers have circled around supply chains and delayed airplanes.
\nStill, the annual trade show that alternates between Farnborough and Paris is still expected to produce hundreds of commercial jet orders in a mix of new deals, commitments and already booked orders.
\nAirbus and Boeing declined to comment on prospective sales at the show.
\n\u201cWidebody sales are likely the centre of action at Farnborough this year,\u201d said George Ferguson, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Salespeople for the twin-aisle models will get a \u201cworkout\u201d at the airshow, he predicted in a July 15 report.
\nOne deal that stands to be among the biggest in coming weeks is still being negotiated and may not land in time for the air show: Qatar Airways is exploring a major purchase of as many as 200 widebody jets, to be split between Boeing\u2019s 777X and 787 models, and the Airbus A350, which Bloomberg News first reported in March.
\nTalks continue and no agreement may be announced in time for the show, some of the people said. Qatar Airways had no comment.
\nFlyadeal, the low-cost unit of Saudi Arabia\u2019s flag carrier Saudia, is close to an order for 10 to 20 A330neos, some of the people said.
\nFlynas, another Saudi discounter, is also mulling a 15-plane order for the model, the people said. An official for Flyadeal said the airline is evaluating widebody options and that it has not made any decisions. Flynas declined to comment.
\nVietjet, which announced a preliminary order for 20 A330s in February, will likely firm up that purchase at the air show, some of the people said.
\nThe Vietnamese budget airline signed a memorandum of understanding for the widebody jets with Airbus at the Singapore airshow early in the year.
\nWhile the focus of the expo near London may be on widebody jets, single-aisle models will still play a large role.
\nAmong major accords that may be formally signed is Cebu Air\u2019s deal for as many as 152 of Airbus\u2019s A321neo jets, a transaction valued at US$24bil based on price. The companies already reached a preliminary accord at the start of July.
\nBut with order backlogs for the Boeing and Airbus workhorse models stretching out into the early 2030s, airlines have less of an incentive to lock in deals far into the future that could carry hefty price increases due to inflation and annual escalation clauses. \u2014 Bloomberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At this year\u2019s Farnborough Air Show, Airbus SE is chasing orders for its A330neo airliner, positioning the widebody model as an attractive alternative to more advanced jets because of its favourable economics and availability. Among the possible buyers of the jet, a more advanced version of an aircraft that first entered service in the mid …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":null,"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[96,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-featured-en"],"yoast_head":"\n