The Farnborough Air Show may have been relatively subdued, but Asian carriers were (as ever) still prominent amongst the order announcements from Airbus and Boeing.
Among the more noticeable announcements was Cathay Pacific’s decision to plump for the Airbus A350-1000, giving the European manufacturer a welcome boost. Cathay will buy ten of the type, as it is also converting 16 A350-900 orders to the A350-1000.
In the narrowbody sector, Hong Kong-based China Aircraft Leasing Company (CALC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 36 current generation A320 Family aircraft. The deal includes eight A321s, the largest member of the A320 Family and operators will be able to select fuel saving Sharklets.
Boeing, meanwhile, announced just before the show that Virgin Australia has ordered 23 Boeing 737MAXs at a list price of US$7.2 billion. It also struck a number of big deals with leasing companies for the 737MAX, including Kuwait’s ALAFCO, which is buying 20 737MAX-8s.
Also at Farnborough, British Airways parent IAG saidit has signed a “cooperation deal” with Comac while AirAsia suggested it is interested in Bombardier’s CSeries. although whether these were just negotiating tactics remains to be seen.
