Airbus nets 68 A320 orders

The aircraft-leasing firm BOC Aviation ordered 25 planes, Qingdao Airlines requested 23 planes and Zhejiang Loong Airlines sought 20, the European planemaker said in statements on the sidelines of an air show in Beijing.

Air travel is rising steadily in Asia and other emerging markets, with passenger trips in China reaching 320 million in 2012, up nine per cent from the year before.

The orders marked a “vote of confidence in the long-term appeal of our popular A320 family”, John Leahy, the chief operating officer for customers, said in a statement.

BOC Aviation’s order includes 12 A320neos, which are designed to cut emissions and fuel consumption, while Qingdao Airlines’ includes 18 and Zhejiang Loong Airlines’ has nine.

The two latter carriers are both start-up airlines. Qingdao Airlines will begin operations next year and take delivery of the first A320s in 2016, the statement said. Zhejiang Loong will begin business this year.

Singapore-based BOC Aviation is the aircraft-leasing arm of the major state-owned Bank of China. Airbus A320s make up a core part of its fleet, its website says.

A BOC spokeswoman in Singapore told AFP that the list price for the 25 planes it ordered is $2.6 billion.

The company ordered another 50 A320s in January, half of them from the “neo” series, with delivery to begin next year and continue through 2019.

The airline Air China also ordered 100 A320s in May, due to be handed over between 2014 and 2020.

Airbus has a factory in China that assembles A320-series planes.

The company predicted in its annual industry forecast on Tuesday that the Asia-Pacific would overtake Europe and North America in air traffic by 2032.

With overall growth rising 4.7 per cent a year, the world would need another 29,000 new commercial aircraft over the next two decades, it said.

By then two-thirds of people in emerging markets would take a flight each year, compared to one in five now, Leahy said.

Meanwhile, VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co, Vietnam’s only privately owned carrier, was to sign an agreement on Wednesday to procure 100 planes from Airbus SAS, with deliveries starting next year, a person familiar with the plan said.

The planes are valued at between $8 billion and $10 billion based on list prices and the type of aircraft to be delivered over the next 10 years, the person said, declining to be identified as the information isn’t yet public. VietJet is getting the A320 family of single-aisle jets, and some of them will be leased from the Toulouse, France-based planemaker, the person said.

The budget airline is considering an initial share sale to fund its expansion, Managing Director Luu Duc Khanh said in an interview last month, as a surge in Asia-Pacific travel demand prompts carriers such as AirAsia Bhd and PT Lion Mentari Airlines to buy new aircraft.

Airbus on Tuesday predicted airlines globally will buy planes valued at $4.4 trillion in the next two decades, driven by demand in India and China and growth among low-fare airlines.

“VietJet is signalling that they are ambitious and want to break into the region, not just focus on their domestic market,” said Brendan Sobie, Singapore-based chief analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation. The market is “very competitive, although it’s growing.”

VietJet was planning to sign an initial agreement with Airbus as early as Wednesday, coinciding with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to France, the person said. The person declined to say how many of the orders will be on a firm basis or options.

Airbus unveils lower-weight A330 Staff Report Airbus has announced a new lower weight variant of its A330-300 wide-body aircraft that is optimised for use on domestic and regional routes in high growth markets with large populations and concentrated traffic flows. China will be one of the most important markets for this new version of today’s world’s most efficient and reliable widebody aircraft. The announcement was made by Fabrice Bregier, president and CEO of Airbus, at the Aviation Expo China (Beijing Airshow) 2013, which has opened its doors today in Beijing. “The new lower weight A330-300 variant specially designed for regional and domestic use is Airbus’ solution for markets with large populations and fast growing, concentrated air traffic flows. Operators of the new A330-300 variant will benefit from a proven, mature and reliable aircraft that brings relief to limited airspace, airport congestion and pilot shortage,” said Fabrice Bregier. “We are announcing the new A330-300 lower weight variant today in China because here we see strong pent-up demand for efficient and reliable wide-body aircraft connecting mega cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou.” Compared to current A330-300 variants that are adapted to longer-range missions of up to 6,100 nautical miles (nm), the new A330-300 regional and domestic variant will be optimised to seat up to around 400 passengers in Airbus’ best in class 18 inches wide economy seat comfort on missions up to 3,000 nm and offer significant cost savings through a reduced operational weight of around 200 tonnes. The reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs thanks to these innovations will result in an overall cost reduction by up to 15 per cent compared with the today’s long-range A330-300 variants. In addition, the new A330-300 variant will benefit from the latest A350 XWB and A380 technologies. These include cockpit functionalities such as dual head-up display and the latest navigational systems. The cabin will also be future proofed with innovations such as modern slimline light-weight seats, high broadband wi-fi connectivity throughout, the newest In-Flight Entertainment allowing HD TV, LED lighting and full colour mood lighting. business@khaleejtimes.com