Airbus intensified its battle with Boeing yesterday when Dubai-based Emirates confirmed the largest-ever single aircraft order that extended the European manufacturer's lead over its US rival.
Emirates split the order of 71 aircraft between the two manufacturers, but added substantially to its Airbus commitment by doubling its orders for the new A380 superjumbo to 45 aircraft. All the Boeing aircraft will come from operating lease deals already booked by the US company.
The Middle East airline said the aircraft had a list price of nearly $19 billion, but it has secured large discounts because of the industry downturn. Neither Airbus nor Emirates would comment on the scale of the discounts.
Ryanair and EasyJet, Europe's leading low-cost carriers, both announced big orders last year for short-haul aircraft from Boeing and Airbus backed by generous manufacturer finance terms. UK-based EasyJet is estimated to have secured discounts of up to 50 per cent as part of a deal that will see it switch from an all-Boeing fleet.
The Emirates deal was announced at the Paris Air Show, which has seen a heated exchange between Airbus and Boeing over their production rates, demand forecasts and customer incentives. The Emirates deal also brought new engine contracts worth about $900 million at list prices for Rolls-Royce, the UK jet engine maker.
Part of the deal turned previous letters of intent, announced at the Dubai air show in November 2001, into firm orders. Nevertheless, the deal underlines the ambitions of the small Gulf emirate to turn Dubai into one of the world's leading aviation hubs and Emirates, the state-owned airline, into one of the world's biggest long-haul carriers.
Yesterday's order gave a vote of confidence in the future of the 555-seat A380 superjumbo, which is being developed as the world's largest commercial airliner, and for which the Dubai carrier will be by far the largest operator.
It more than doubled its previous commitment from 22 to 45 A380s and accounts for more than a third of the total Airbus A380 order book of 124 from 10 customers including eight commitments that are still to be turned into firm orders.
Most of yesterday's order for 45 Airbus aircraft represents new business for the group. Only four of the aircraft are being acquired via leasing companies, which were previously placed, with 41 coming as additions to Airbus's order book. - (Financial Times Service)
