Dubai Airshow gives hope to aircraft manufacturers – mega-order for Airbus

For the European aviation group, the deal is a perfect start to the Dubai Airshow, which has been running since Sunday. It is the first major aviation show in two years. Because of the pandemic, both the Farnborough 2020 and Paris 2021 aviation meetings were canceled. The industry’s expectations are correspondingly high. Boeing and Airbus have arrived with a large number – it is important to finally fill up the order books again.

“We are happy to be able to further expand our relationship with Indigo Partners’ airlines,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, after the mega-order was signed, which Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Bill Franke were also present. Franke is a co-founder of Indigo Partners and one of the most recognized airline investors in the world. Indigo is one of the largest customers of the popular medium-haul jet. The investor has now ordered 1,145 aircraft from the A320 family.

Arch-rival Boeing was able to sell eleven 737-800 cargo planes to the leasing company Icelease by Sunday evening. There is also speculation that the new Indian airline Akasa Air will order between 70 and 80 737 Max aircraft from Boeing.

Top jobs of the day

Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.

It’s a bit like Dubai’s manufacturers can finally break the spell the pandemic has put on the industry for almost two years. Because of the uncertain situation, airlines have been holding back orders for new jets for months.

Boeing shows the 777X in Dubai

This year, Airbus had 292 orders by the end of October, but at the same time 167 jets were canceled. So far there are only 125 aircraft orders on the books of the European aviation group. Before the crisis, the company received more than 1,000 orders a year.

Rival Boeing was in better shape with net orders of around 309 aircraft by the end of October. But that is also a consequence of the re-registration of the Boeing 737 Max, which was not allowed to take off for almost two years after two devastating crashes. Now there are certain catch-up effects here. However, the confidence of many airline managers is slowly increasing because of the increasing vaccination rates and the decision of the US government to allow vaccinated foreigners into the country again.

The Dubai Airshow is extremely important for Boeing in particular. The US company is showing its 777X in the emirate for the first time – on the apron, but also in the air. The group actually wanted to present the modernized version of the 777 as early as 2019. But the first flight was delayed due to technical problems. Now Boeing finally wants and has to deliver. Because the company is still struggling with the consequences of the Max disaster and production problems with the 787 long-haul jet (Dreamliner).

In addition, the 777X will be presented in the home of the first customer: Emirates. The management there was visibly annoyed recently because it was unable to plan firmly with the aircraft. Lufthansa will also follow the introduction of the aircraft very closely. Europe’s largest airline has ordered 20 Boeing 777-9s, the largest version of the modernized aircraft.

Military transporter at the Dubai Airshow

Traditionally, military equipment is shown at the show in Dubai. But because of the long break from the trade fair, civil aircraft are also very well represented this year.

(Photo: Getty Images)

“Dubai is the opportunity to finally meet all the important people again, including from the USA,” says Michael Santo from the Munich-based consulting firm H&Z, which specializes in aviation. Nevertheless, the expert warns against excessive expectations.

In a survey shortly before the start of the show in Dubai, Santo was able to determine a surprisingly good mood in the industry. “More than 80 percent of those surveyed consider the mood in their company and in the industry environment to be positive or very positive,” reports the consultant.

Suppliers are skeptical about Airbus plans

At the same time, however, there were questionable findings. Around 45 percent of those surveyed would have rated the planned increases in production for the A320 Family as difficult and in some cases unrealistic. Airbus plans to increase the number of A320 aircraft built per month to 65 by mid-2023. In the middle of the crisis, the group had only manufactured 40 aircraft of this type per month. By the middle of this decade, the company plans to increase the rate to 70 and more jets.

This is causing unrest among many suppliers. The heads of the engine manufacturers MTU and Safran, for example, recently had concerns about monthly rates of 70 and more. Many suppliers complain that they have so far only read Airbus’ plans in the media, but that there are no specific orders for components and parts. That has consequences: 41 percent of those questioned would only implement the Airbus plans in their own systems at considerable discounts, reports consultant Santo.

He sees Airbus’ goals as extremely ambitious. “It takes a long lead to produce up to 70 aircraft. Airbus itself would have to do its homework, ”says the expert. The question is whether a mix of different A320 variants with the high production numbers is even feasible without an additional production line.

At Airbus, however, they remain confident. In keeping with the air show in the Persian Gulf, the company presented its latest long-term forecast, the first since the beginning of the pandemic. It is a little more modest than before the crisis. However, the Group’s experts assume that 39,000 new passenger and cargo planes will be needed in the next 20 years. That will secure 90 million jobs worldwide. A good 15,000 old aircraft alone would have to be replaced because of the growing pressure in terms of climate neutrality.

In any case, Airbus manager Scherer is certain that the wave of Covid-related cancellations has peaked. “The resilience of our industry is remarkable,” he said. Airlines and investors would continue to believe in their investments and put capital into the fleets.

More: Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr: “We have three times as much liquidity as before the crisis”

.
source site