The Boeing Co. picked up a potential $4.6 billion order for 20 777s, but Airbus got Monday’s biggest news from the Paris air show – its first major order for the A350.
Both orders came from Qatar Airways, which is pursuing an ambitious growth plan.
Neither deal is firm. The airline said both are “subject to the resolution of certain important outstanding issues with each manufacturer.”
The airline didn’t say how many A350s it wants, but said it could end up ordering “up to 60.”
The order would be worth about $10.6 billion, Airbus said.
Qatar Airways’ decision to buy A350s over Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner was not particularly surprising, said analyst Scott Hamilton with Leeham Co. Qatar is a “loyal Airbus customer” that flies an Airbus fleet, he said.
That includes 14 A330s, with more on order. The A350 is designed to be an overhauled version of the A330.
That tipped the scales, the airline said.
“The existence of the Airbus A330 in Qatar Airways’ current fleet and slightly more advantageous commercial terms led us to believe that the A350 would be the optimum choice,” the Qataris said in a statement released in Paris.
The decision “was very hard to make,” according to the statement from Qatar Airlines. “Both aircraft types showed very strong advantages in different areas.”
It was an important order for Airbus, which has had a hard time selling its proposed A350. Before Monday, it had only one conditional order for 10 of the planes, while Boeing had run up 266 orders and commitments for the 787, including deals with three Airbus A330 customers – Korean Air, Air Canada and Northwest Airlines.
Airbus is expected to pick up a third order of 20 A350s from the airline created by the merger of bankrupt US Airways with America West Airlines. Airbus is providing a $250 million loan to help finance the merger.
The Qataris said Monday that they plan to buy at least 20 777s from Boeing, a mix of extended-range 777-200LRs, 777-300ERs and 777-F cargo jets.
About half the planes in the deal would be 300ERs, a Boeing spokesman said. Boeing hopes to have the deal concluded by the Dubai air show this fall.
The airline said it plans to take delivery of the 777s between 2007 and 2010. It plans to use the 300ERs to replace smaller planes on existing routes, while the 200LRs will be used on new routes from the Middle East to North America and Australasia.
Boeing has one of its two initial 200LR Worldliners at the Paris air show. The company plans to take the plane on a 20-city world tour as part of its flight test program.
Also Monday in Paris, low-cost Irish carrier RyanAir said it was exercising an option for five more 737s for delivery starting in 2007. The option was negotiated as part of a 100-jet deal the airline made in 2002.
The airline, which now has a fleet of 91 planes, has 230 737-800s on order.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@ heraldnet.com.
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