Boeing upstaged European rival Airbus at the opening of the Farnborough air show yesterday, with a $ 7.2bn order for 75 of its upcoming 737 MAX jets from a US leaser.
Airbus meanwhile said that there could be some slippage in deliveries of its new A350 aircraft.
Boeing said that Air Lease Corp had agreed a firm order for 60 737 MAX 8, and 15 737 MAX 9 single-aisle planes in a deal worth the equivalent of €5.86bn at list prices.
Boeing’s 737 MAX is an upgraded and more fuel-efficient version of the 737, the world’s best-selling commercial airplane, and a response to the upcoming Airbus A320neo, which has enjoyed strong orders.
The first 737 MAX is scheduled to be delivered in 2017, two years after the neo, which has been billed as a more fuel-efficient A320 thanks to engine upgrades.
“The 737 MAX is an excellent addition to our portfolio and the ideal complement to our growing fleet of next-generation 737-800s,” Air Lease Corp chairman and chief executive Steven Udvar-Hazy said on Monday at the biennial Farnborough show.
“The 737 MAX represents a step-change improvement that our airline clients need to compete in the future,” he said at the start of the week-long event near London.
Airbus announced improved versions of its long-haul A330 series of passenger jets, allowing for longer journeys between major world cities thanks to higher fuel capacity.
Airbus also said that the new A330 models would bring “increased fuel efficiency thanks to aerodynamic refinements and engine enhancements.”
It added: “Airbus has decided to offer a further enhanced version of the popular A330 airliner by increasing the maximum takeoff weight capability to 240 metric tonnes” - extending market coverage.
“For example, this newest A330-300 will now be able to connect to the following new city pairs: London to Tokyo; Frankfurt to Cape Town; Beijing to Melbourne; Beijing to San Francisco; Kuala Lumpur to Paris; and Los Angeles to Dublin,” Airbus said in a statement.
But its chief executive Fabrice Bregier conceded that there could be new delays to the delivery of Airbus’ new long-haul A350 commercial plane, which was due to enter service in mid-2014.
“Are we going to be right on track? No. I think there may be some slipping,” he said in an interview.
Airbus, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (Eads), will also be looking at Farnborough to seal more orders for its A350, a response to Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner which is flying after long technical delays.
The Farnborough show is a traditional battleground for Airbus and Boeing, but both manufacturers are facing increasing competition from Brazil’s Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier for mid-range aircraft. China and Russia were also getting in on the act.
Farnborough is also the stage for announcements of orders for military jets but with governments slashing defence budgets to help reduce huge public deficits, major deals are set to be scarce.
Ahead of the show, Airbus last week announced intended to open a factory on Boeing’s home turf, a move that would see the firm roll out its first US-built plane by 2016.
The new $ 600mn assembly plant, to be built in the southern port city of Mobile, Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico, was to produce the mainstay A320 family of passenger planes.
Airbus estimates 4,600 new single-aisle aircraft are needed in the US over the next 20 years.
Boeing has also raised its 20-year forecast for global demand for airliners by $ 500bn, with the market doubling to 34,000 aircraft worth $ 4,500bn.
“We have a kind of dichotomy” in the commercial aviation sector, said independent analyst John Strickland. “Orders are incredibly strong in the years ahead but the big unknown is how the economy will bear up.
“Historically you have often found this mis-match where big orders have come in and by the time they are due to come through for delivery, economic conditions have been difficult and airlines have been struggling to use the planes,” Strickland said.