The Month in Review: February

February was another strong month for new Airbus business, with 128 orders booked in February for jetliners ranging from the A319 to the A350 and A380; while 38 deliveries of single-aisle and widebody aircraft were made to Airbus customers in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Korean Airlines expanded its A380 orders with three more aircraft, which are in addition to the five A380s purchased in 2003. The carrier will introduce A380 service in 2010, beginning its operations on high density traffic routes from Seoul to the U.S. West Coast, with subsequent destinations likely to include cities on the U.S. East Coast and in Europe.

February orders were paced by the 46-aircraft acquisition of Brazilian carrier TAM Linhas Aéreas – the largest Airbus client in the southern hemisphere. This purchase covers 12 A350-800s and 10 A350-900s, making TAM one of the major airline customers for Airbus’ all-new widebody twin-jet. Also included in the TAM order were four widebody A330-200s, plus 20 single-aisle aircraft (three A319s, nine A320s, and eight A321s).

Other large orders during the month were AirAsia’s booking for 25 A320s, and Vietnam Airlines’ acquisition of 10 A321s and 10 A350-900s.

New customers placing orders during February were Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Co., with 10 A321s; Hawaiian Airlines, acquiring 6 A350-800s and six A330-200s; and a private customer for an A350-900. Completing the bookings were Afriqiyah Airways’ purchase of six A350-800s, and the BOC Aviation order for five A330-200F freighters.

Leasing companies accounted for numerous deliveries during the month, providing new aircraft for the portfolios of CIT Leasing (an A330-200 for Qantas Airways, an A321 for Qatar Airways and an A320 for Avianca – which becomes a new Airbus operator), ILFC (one A320 for National Air Services, two A321s for Air France, and an A330-200 for KLM), Aerventure (an A319 for Skybus and an A320 for Aegean Airlines), RBS Aerospace (an A320 for Aeroflot), and GECAS (one A320 for Virgin America).

Other February deliveries included single-aisle aircraft for U.S. carriers (two A319s to Spirit Airlines, plus A320s for Frontier Airlines and jetBlue Airways), along with single-aisle and widebody jetliners for European customers (Wizz Air, Lufthansa, TAP, Germanwings, Iberia for Clickair, Turkish Airlines, easyJet, Niki GB Airways, CSA Czech Airlines, Hamburg International and Air One). Asian carriers receiving Airbus aircraft in February were Jet Airways, Sichuan Airlines, AirAsia, Simplifly Deccan, Air China and indiGo.

The Month in Review: March

The 54 aircraft orders booked by Airbus in March included its second contract for a VIP version of the A350 XWB, while the month’s 48 deliveries reached a new record high and introduced the third A380 into Singapore Airlines’ fleet.

Both the single-aisle and widebody aircraft families logged a strong order intake during March, composed of 27 A320 Family aircraft (six of which are Airbus Corporate Jetliners), 26 A330s and the VIP A350 XWB.

A330 Family aircraft bookings during the month came from four existing customers, which underlined the continued strong worldwide demand for Airbus’ mid-sized medium/extended-range jetliner. China Southern signed for 10 A330-200s, while the new long-haul low-cost operator AirAsia X also ordered 10 A330-300s to bring its total fleet for the type to 25. In addition, the U.S.-based CIT leasing company ordered five A330-200s and Finnair added one more A330-300 to its fleet.

Airbus received its new A350 XWB VIP contract from an undisclosed private Asian customer, which is the second booking for this version of the aircraft. It clearly indicates the corporate jet market’s vibrancy, and underlines the strong demand for fuel-efficient, modern and spacious aircraft. The new contract brings total firm A350 XWB orders to 356 from 21 customers.

The 48 aircraft delivered by Airbus in March were composed of 39 A320 Family aircraft, eight jetliners from the A330/A340 Family, and the no. 3 A380 received by Singapore Airlines. This record number of deliveries surpassed the previous monthly peak of 46 deliveries in October 2006.