Airbus and Boeing Begin Pre-Paris Publicity Battle

Airbus and Boeing have begun battling for Paris Air Show publicity more than two weeks in advance of the huge biennial event at Le Bourget airfield.

In now-traditional pre-show maneuverings, the two airliner manufacturers have started announcing large orders for their airliner models that once they probably would have held back for announcement at the show itself.

The pre-Paris intensification of the aircraft-order game began in earnest on May 29 with the announcement by Boeing and Russian customer S7 Group that S7 had ordered 15 787 Dreamliners and had secured purchase rights on another 10 of the type.

Boeing valued the firm order at $2.4 billion at list price, which implies a $160 million list price for the unspecified 787 model that S7 chose.

For its part S7 Group said its subsidiary S7 Airlines would operate the 787s, using them both to replace existing twin-aisle airliners in its fleet and to provide capacity for expansion. S7 Airlines will use the 787s both to increase service frequencies on existing routes and to add new domestic and international destinations.

Boeing said S7's order had increased the 787 orderbook to 584 aircraft and claimed this made the Dreamliner the fastest-selling airliner in history.

Not to be outdone, on May 30 Airbus announced two very large aircraft-order deals.

The first, the signing of an agreement by Qatar Airways to order 80 A350XWB widebody aircraft, was particularly significant because it basically removed any remaining doubt that Airbus might struggle to achieve sales for the new model that the company launched in response to Boeing's huge success with the 787.

Qatar Airways had signed a tentative deal two years ago for 60 of the originally proposed A350 model only to see Airbus withdraw its proposal in response to criticism from several high-profile customers that it wouldn't be competitive enough with the 787. Airbus worked feverishly for several months to develop the proposal for the upgraded A350XWB.

But speculation became rife that fast-growing Qatar Airways might decide not to order the A350XWB given that the service entry date for the upgraded model had slipped by three years to 2014 from the originally planned in-service date for the original A350.

The speculation ended yesterday when Qatar Airways and Airbus signed a memorandum of agreement in Paris for the Middle East carrier to order 80 A350XWBs. In March Finnair had converted an earlier order for nine of the originally proposed A350 model to 11 A350XWBs and Aeroflot then announced it would order 22 A350XWBs, though Airbus doesn't yet include any commitment from the Russian airline in its order total for the type.

Within two hours, Airbus announced another blockbuster. This was an order by Colombian carrier Avianca, the second-oldest airline in the world but never previously an Airbus customer, for 33 A320-family single-aisle aircraft and five A330-200 twin-aisle, long-haul jets.

Avianca also secured options on another 27 A320-family jets and an additional five A330-200 widebodies. If all are exercised, Avianca's total Airbus order will reach 70 aircraft.

The order provides further evidence of Airbus' successful encroachment into what was once very much a Boeing-dominated Latin America market. Various major Latin American airline groups, among them the LAN group of carriers, the El Salvador-headquartered Grupo TACA airline conglomerate and big Brazilian operator TAM, as well as several Mexican airlines, have ordered large numbers of Airbus jets in recent years.

Airbus now has 260 aircraft in operation in Latin America and claims to have won 54 percent of all Latin American orders for new jets since 1990. The manufacturer has tripled its presence in Latin America in just seven years.

Boeing, however, counter-punched today. The U.S. company revealed that European low-cost leader Ryanair had ordered another 27 737-800s, taking its total buy of the type to 308. Explosively growing Ryanair--which carried more than 42 million passengers in 2006--now operates 137 737-800s and has yet to receive another 171.

The chances appear good that Airbus, Boeing or both may announce additional orders before the Paris Air Salon begins on June 18 and it is highly likely they will both announce further deals during the show. Boeing, in particular, has said it expects the 787 orderbook to grow to at least 700 aircraft before the technologically advanced new widebody airliner enters service in 2008.

• Qatar Airways Agrees to Order 80 Airbus A350XWBs
• AerCap Increases A330-200 Buy to 30 Aircraft
• Virgin Atlantic Orders 15 Boeing 787s and Commits to 28 More